PALINDROME Infinity Shuttle Roller Coaster coming to Cotaland in Austin, Texas

Marcus Leshock
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PALINDROME Infinity Shuttle Roller Coaster coming to Cotaland in Austin, Texas

We had another big announcement at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo yesterday – a new roller coaster called Palindrome is coming to Austin, Texas!

Palindrome is an infinity shuttle roller coaster from the German manufacturer Gerstlauer. It features a 95-foot vertical lift hill, a top speed of 51 mph and two inversions – that’s before you hit the “hopstall” and experience the entire ride again backwards. This will be the first Infinity shuttle roller coaster built by Gerstlauer in the United States.

The coolest element might be the zero-g stall that happens over a roadway. You flip upside down and travel right over the road with cars traveling beneath you.

Check out the video…

This is a major thrill addition for Cotaland, a small park at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack in Austin. Right now they have a few rides for young kids. The park is aiming to open this coaster sometime in late 2022.

According to the official release, Palindrome is currently being manufactured by Gerstlauer in their Münsterhausen, Germany factory. The ride will be assembled by Ride Entertainment once it gets to Austin.

You can learn more about Cotaland on their website Cotaland.com. 

More of my theme park coverage can be found here.

And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!

ArieForce One roller coaster coming to Fun Spot Atlanta

Marcus Leshock
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ArieForce One roller coaster coming to Fun Spot Atlanta

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions – or IAAPA – kicked off their annual convention in Orlando yesterday. We usually get a few reveals at this expo every year and we had a big one yesterday.

Fun Spot Atlanta officially unveiled their new ArieForce One roller coaster designed by Rocky Mountain Construction. It was no secret that Fun Spot had been working with Rocky Mountain on a coaster – they’ve been teasing the project for a while now. Yesterday we got our first official look at the full layout and all of the specific elements that will be featured.

https://twitter.com/marcusleshock/status/1460951857086541826

You might be wondering about the name. ArieForce One is named in honor of Fun Spot’s founder John Arie, Sr. The ride’s theme comes from his love of flying and all things space travel. The park says the queue line will continue this theme as well.

So what about the ride itself? Here are some of the details from the park’s official press release…

  • Themed queue lines based on John Arie Sr’s boyhood passion for flight;
  • Two state of the art 20 passenger steering axle trains that just scream high speed thrills;
  • 3,400 feet of RMC’s award-winning patented steel Ibox track;
  • A HUGE tension-building ascent up a towering,154-foot lift hill;
  • Reaching incredible speeds up to 64 mph;
  • Intense ride elements including a steep, 83-degree first drop and the largest Zero-G Stall in America;
  • Four exciting inversions including a first ever Raven Truss Dive, two Zero-G Rolls and a 180-degree stall.

Fun Spot Atlanta put out a teaser video that shows a lot of these elements in action. Take a look…

And the team from CoasterForce was at IAAPA for the reveal. They captured these shots of the car after its big unveiling…

https://twitter.com/CoasterForce/status/1460686748443365382

Here’s a shot they took of the ride’s full layout. I love how all of the great Rocky Mountain Construction elements are incorporated, from overbanked turns, tons of airtime to a QUAD DOWN to finish the ride.

Fun Spot is spending $13 million on this coaster, the largest single investment on any ride in the company’s history. It’s a big play for them, a move that will put them on the map for enthusiasts like me. I know I will be going out of my way to get to Atlanta to ride this when it opens. I suspect many others will do the same. It’s not clear when the ride is scheduled to open – right now the website says “coming soon.”

What do you think about ArieForce One? Are you as excited for this as I am?

You can read more about ArieForce One here. 

See more of the latest trending news here. 

More theme park coverage here. 

Adele helps a fan propose during her “One Night Only” special

Marcus Leshock
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Adele helps a fan propose during her “One Night Only” special

I know I’m a few days late on this, but I finally caught up on the Adele: One Night Only special yesterday.

Talk about a person with a gift. Adele is one of those rare performers who can command a stage simply with her voice. If you haven’t watched the special, I highly recommend it. Her new music sounds outstanding as well.

During the show, Adele brought out a man named Quentin Brunson and his girlfriend of seven years, Ashleigh Mann. Ashleigh had a blindfold and noise canceling headphones. When she removed them, she was at the foot of a large stage looking out at a star-studded crowd, her boyfriend down on one knee ready to pop the question.

If you haven’t seen the proposal yet, you can watch it here….

Adele’s new album 30 comes out this Friday.

More trending news here. 

MEGASPIDER! Australian Reptile Park looking for mystery donor of massive funnel web spider

Marcus Leshock
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MEGASPIDER! Australian Reptile Park looking for mystery donor of massive funnel web spider

They’re calling it “the stuff of nightmares.”

The Australian Reptile Park says a mystery donor dropped off a massive funnel web spider recently. They’ve nicknamed it “Megaspider.” It’s the biggest funnel web spider they’ve ever received measuring in at 8cm with fangs big enough to bite through a human fingernail.

Let’s take a second to process that.

OK, moving on.

The Reptile Park encourages people to safely trap these spiders and donate them. The park will milk the venom out of the spider so they can turn it into antivenom. That antivenom saves up to 300 lives per year. Here’s a neat video on how they actually do this…

This particular spider arrived as part of a weekly collection, inside of a tupperware container without any labels showing where it came from. Park employees are trying to find the area in hopes to find even more of these large spiders. They can produce larger amounts of venom for the antivenom program.

Here are some photos of the MEGASPIDER!, courtesy of the Australian Reptile Park, you can also see a video of it crawling around HERE.

You can learn more about the Australian Reptile Park here. 

More trending news here. 

We’re doing a 100 Day Health Challenge!

Marcus Leshock
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We’re doing a 100 Day Health Challenge!

Who doesn’t love a good challenge? Especially right before the holidays start?!

OK, don’t answer that.

My wife Jonna and I are always inspired by people who push themselves out of their comfort zones and try new things, especially when it comes to health and wellness.

We decided that we wanted to do something going into the end of the year and into 2022. Before I take on any challenge or new goal, I always ask myself one question – why?

In this case, I’m not looking to lose weight. I’m not hoping to look a certain way. But as our lives are getting busier and busier, I’ve been getting less intentional about my own personal health and well-being. I find that I have been prioritizing other things over my own health. Have you been there before? Are you there now? Jonna and I are both looking for something to put our OWN health at the front of our minds again.

So how do you do that? The 75 Hard was the first thing that came to mind. Have you heard of it? I personally haven’t done it but I know quite a few people who have and they have said great things about it.

To summarize, it’s a 75 day challenge where you commit to doing certain things every day. Here are just some of the basics..

  • Follow a nutrition plan or “diet”
  • Workout twice a day for at least 45 minutes, one workout outdoors
  • Drink 4 liters of water a day
  • Take a 5 minute cold shower
  • Take progress photos every day

There is a LOT more to it than that, but I can tell you right away, when I read this I knew it would be too much for our current lifestyle. The idea of finding time to do TWO workouts every single day doesn’t work right now. Also, a cold shower just isn’t for me. I tried it. Nope lol.

But what I DO like – committing to work on our health each and every day in some way. So we sat down and worked out what we wanted to commit to and how it could work. I settled on this…

  • Follow a nutrition plan – For me, I am working on increasing my protein intake every day and cutting super carb-heavy / junk foods. No desserts, no soda, no alcohol.
  • One 45 minute workout per day
  • Drink around 100 ounces of water per day
  • Bible devotion every morning
  • Read 5 pages of nonfiction, self improvement book

I want to stress something – these are MY goals! While Jonna and I are doing this together, our individual goals look a lot different. YOUR goals would probably look a lot different than this. Maybe this would be too easy for some of you! Maybe it would be way too hard!

But I want to put this challenge to you – would you be willing to commit to do something healthy every day for the next 100 days? Maybe it’s cutting out or cutting back on soda. Maybe it’s going for a walk every day. The point is to commit to do something that will make you think about your health and, in the end, hopefully you feel a lot better.  And make sure you check with your doctor or health care provider if you are planning any kind of change to see if it’s right for you.

I’ll be posting updates here throughout my journey – it’s another way for me to hold myself accountable and actually see this out. I’m not sure about you, but when I write things out it forces me to really think about HOW I’m feeling and what I’m learning through the process.

Here’s our live video where we discussed what we’ll be doing over the next 100 days!

Check out the latest trending news here. 

Alaska DNR offers ice thickness warning for your Woolly Mammoth

Marcus Leshock
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Alaska DNR offers ice thickness warning for your Woolly Mammoth

Winter is coming. Soon enough we will be looking at our lakes and wondering when it’s safe to venture out for fishing or ice skating.

But just how thick does ice have to be to do this stuff?

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources and Fish and Game has some answers for you. For example, they say ice should be at least 4″ thick for ice skating or fishing. It takes 8-12″ of ice to drive a car onto a lake.

And your Woolly Mammoth will require 25-52″ of ice to avoid him plunging into frigid waters.

Here’s the full graphic from their tweet…

Now, it’s been a while since I or anyone else has seen a Wooly Mammoth around. I had to look it up. Turns out it’s been 10,000 years since they walked the Earth. They weighed about six tons or 13,000 pounds. LiveScience has more about how Wooly Mammoths survived in such brutal conditions…

“The lumbering, shaggy-haired woolly mammoth once thrived in the frigid Arctic plains despite having originally migrated from a more tropical climate. A new study has found tiny genetic mutations that changed the way oxygen was delivered by its blood could be responsible for its tolerance to the cold climate.

The woolly mammoth was an elephantid species and most closely related to today’s Asian elephants. It went extinct around 10,000 years ago.  But because the mammoth lived in the Arctic, many remains of the species have been found preserved in the permafrost.”

So if you happen to find a Woolly Mammoth, let them know that it will take at least 25″ of ice for them to venture out onto a frozen waterway.

Be safe out there, people. And mammoths.

More trending news here. 

A giant Star Wars house is for sale in Florida …. for $11.5 million

Marcus Leshock
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A giant Star Wars house is for sale in Florida …. for $11.5 million

You can pay a fortune and make your reservation at the new Star Wars hotel coming to Walt Disney World – or – you can just buy your own Star Wars house!

Well, it will cost you a little more money. Just $11.5 million.

The Twitter account ZillowGoneWild shared this property for sale in Kissimmee, Florida. It features 17,694 square feet of space with 15 bedrooms and 19 bathrooms. The listing says the home is new construction and it looks absolutely stunning….

But that’s not why this home is trending. Take a look at some of these rooms….

That’s right – there are more than a few Star Wars touches all over this massive home. I mean, no home is complete without Han Solo frozen in carbonite…

Here’s more from the listing….

“For the kids this home features a 3rd floor hidden loft area with a Kids Theatre and area for video games like Star Wars on PS4 or Xbox.  However be aware you might be watched by Darth Vader himself! Dreams do come true when it is time to go to bed with two amazing kid-friendly THEMED bunkbed rooms that sleep up to 12!  The fun doesn’t end there, this house is specially equipped with a whole house LASER TAG for everyone to play!! This custom private home is built for the most discerning of buyers who are looking for that WOW home filled with character that is suited for the whole family.”

So not only are there a bunch of Star Wars rooms in the house … there is a whole house LASER TAG game for everyone to play. 

You might be asking – how does one family need all of this space? The home is located just six miles from Disney World, so the new owner could rent it out to vacation guests when they’re not using it themselves. And there is plenty of room for multiple families. 

You can check out the full listing for this Star Wars house here. Just remember to invite me down after you buy it. 

WATCH: Saturday Night Live mocks the hard seltzer craze in hilarious sketch

Marcus Leshock
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WATCH: Saturday Night Live mocks the hard seltzer craze in hilarious sketch

Just about everybody is making a hard seltzer these days.

Even JC Penny?

The comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy made their debut on Saturday Night Live over the weekend with this hilarious sketch poking fun at all of the hard seltzers that are on the market right now.

The group features writers Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy. The guys have had videos blow up on social media recently and now they’ve been hired on SNL.

Here’s their full Saturday Night Live hard seltzer sketch. I thought it was great…

More on Please Don’t Destroy here.

The Spider-Man No Way Home trailer is officially here

Marcus Leshock
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The Spider-Man No Way Home trailer is officially here

After it reportedly leaked over the weekend, Sony has officially released the Spider-Man No Way Home trailer.

They’re calling it a “teaser” trailer, but there is a LOT to break down here. I’m not going to pretend like I spotted half of the references in this thing. My head is swimming with the idea of going back through time and running into previous Spider-Man villains. It looks like they are really going for it with this one. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together.

Here is the official Spider-Man No Way Home trailer…

The movie opens on December 17.

What do you think about the trailer?

Full VelociCoaster review and anaylsis – Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure (VIDEO)

Marcus Leshock
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Full VelociCoaster review and anaylsis – Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure (VIDEO)

Our Universal trip has come to a close and some of you have asked if I was going to ride the new VelociCoaster. Well, we rode it. And I have some thoughts.

In fact, I have 18 MINUTES worth of thoughts.

I put together a video with my full review and analysis of what could be my new #1 roller coaster. Yes, VelociCoaster is THAT good.

Here’s my full VelociCoaster review …

By now, you’ve heard the reviews from the enthusiasts, from the theme park correspondents and the many vloggers and bloggers – just like I have. They all said the ride is great. Some said it’s a top 10 attraction period …. an absolute stunner. My expectations and excitement level were very high for this.

VelociCoaster exceeded them. Pretty much blew them away.

The ride is thrilling from start to finish. From the slow buildup right out of the station as the raptor cages are rumbling all around you, to the zigging and zagging around before you hit that second launch.

That second launch is incredible! During all of the construction and ride rumors, I thought the coaster would be stopping there for some kind of show element. But when we found out that it would just keep going and fire you into the top hat element, I was kind of disappointed. Wouldn’t the rider need some time to breathe? Would it feel too rushed to just keep going? Aren’t they missing an opportunity there?

Nope.

It turns out the top hat itself – the climb to 155 feet in the air – is the perfect break in the ride! You spend the first half zipping around so many tight corners and then suddenly you are launched nearly straight up and have a few seconds to crest that hill and admire the view. It’s the perfect break.

Then the ride gets FASTER.

But here’s the thing … it’s never “crazy.” All of the elements in the second half are the stars of the show and they’re all given good time to breathe. I found myself yelling WHOA! a lot on the ride. Like “WHOA I’ve never felt that quite like that before.” That final barrel roll that you hit at 50mph is one of the best finishes on a ride ever. If not THE best. And it’s over the water. Just spectacular.

Many of you have asked me about the restraints on the ride. There are no over-the-shoulder harnesses on this coaster – and yes, it does go upside down. Other new coasters that go upside down only have lap restraints. The Rocky Mountain Construction coasters like Goliath and Steel Vengeance are a few good examples. However, those rides also feature seat belts and some shin restraints. VelociCoaster is pretty much all one lap bar. I never felt unsafe or unsecure on the ride and I love the free feeling it gives you.

Bottom line – this is one of my favorite roller coasters I have ever been on. I’ve still only been on it ONE time, so it’s hard to say it’s at the top of my list, but it’s easily in the top three.

I would love to hear what you think about the ride. You can let me know on my social media accounts:

Facebook.com/MarcusLeshock
Twitter.com/MarcusLeshock
Instagram.com/MarcusLeshock

Congratulations to the entire team at Universal Orlando for creating some a unique and unforgettable attraction. I can’t wait to get back down and ride it again.

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