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PODCAST

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast

The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast Reviews. News. Tips. Opinions. Rollercoasters - Parks - Rides Parkcast is a UK based theme park podcast bringing you all the latest news from theme parks across the globe, interviews with influential people in the theme park industry along with money saving tips, tricks and suggestions to enhance your day out. Join us, it"ll be quite a ride!

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All Episodes

61:34

S3 Ep29: Building the Magic - Theme Park Project...

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/07/25

Our guest on this week’s episode is the brilliant Benedikt Schikora from BSK Projects. He’s got years of experience in the theme park and themed attractions world, and spent years at Merlin, but you’ve probably never heard his name before. Benedikt is one of those people quietly in the background pulling all the strings to get the attractions we know and love off the ground. A master plan maker and visionary - he’s telling us exactly what goes on behind the scenes.You can find out more about BSK

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55:59

S3 Ep28: Universal UK - The SDO Update

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/07/18

It’s all getting VERY exciting in Bedford. As you may have heard, Universal have submitted their SDO (special development order) for permission to build Universal UK. Lawrence from Universally Bedford is back for this episode where we look at what we’ve found out from the documents submitted and what it could mean for the UK’s most eagerly anticipated theme park….

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47:29

S3 Ep27: Merlin - are things really that bad?

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/07/11

When Merlin announced a £492 million loss in their latest annual report theme park enthusiasts everywhere were quick to ponder what that meant for our theme parks.In this weeks episode we are joined by Ross, a financial analyst for a FTSE 100 company who explains what we are actually looking at and why things are not actually all that they seem…..

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53:27

S3 Ep26: Fastracks - Yay or Nay?

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/07/04

Fastracks are definitely a divisive issue amongst theme park fans. In this episode we talk about the pros and cons and debate whether Fastracks have become a necessary evil part of ensuring a great theme park day out. We also look at examples of parks where Fastracks simply aren’t an option, and where they are almost essential. Thank you to all the Parkcast listeners who also contributed their thoughts for this episode!

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70:28

S3 Ep25: Epic USA Theme Park Road Trips: Part 1

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/06/27

This week we are doing something most theme park enthusiasts dream of doing - planning a USA theme park road trip! With the help of our friend Mark Rosenzweig from 3DX scenic, we’re looking at potential itineraries that make sense logistically and will tick off some bucket list coasters and parks without leaving you exhausted! Mark has carefully planned several potential trips drawing on years of enthusiasm and park visits. Whether they remain on the bucket list or get achieved one day, it’s a

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52:14

S3 Ep24: Theme Park VIP experiences - are they worth it?

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/06/20

2025 seems to be the year of the theme park VIP experience. We’ve seen more and more on offer and often they give us theme park nerds exciting unprecedented access to our favourite attractions. But are they really worth the cost and are “VIP” elements at theme parks going too far?Kip Hakes is fresh from the Chessington Tomb Blaster experience so in this episode we find out what he thought of it, and was it worth it?!

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51:47

S3 Ep23: Should these parks be left in the past?

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/06/13

After the shock closure of Oakwood earlier this year we’ve been on edge about the future of some other UK theme parks. But recently there has been talk that the park could be saved by a mysterious local who promises they have the backing to bring it back to its former glory. There’s also been an odd job advert for a park ops manager to help reopen another “much loved park”.In this episode we’re joined by Danni from Off The Tracks as we chat about whether this is really the good news we’ve been

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57:04

S3 Ep22: What a year for theme park fans

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/06/06

2025 has seen huge announcement after announcement in the theme park world. It’s an exciting time to be a theme park fan so who better to join us than writer of “Theme Park Fan: The Musical” himself - Nick Hutson.You’ll have heard Nick’s work at Chessington or during the Oakwood fireworks but he also famously wrote and recorded a full musical about being a theme park fan. In this episode we talk about that and the biggest announcements of the year so far….

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38:41

S3 Ep21: Everybody’s talking about….Paultons Park

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/05/30

It’s official - everyone is talking about Paultons Park. This family theme park has grown from strength to strength over the last decade and just a couple of weeks ago they announced they had no plans to stop.This week I’m joined by Kip Hakes who went to the Super Fans event and got all the details about their new Ghostly Manor attraction and their future investments. We discuss why enthusiasts are getting so excited about this park, and exactly why it is becoming so highly regarded.

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72:11

S3 Ep20: Creating 5 Star Experiences with Mark Shaw

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/05/23

This week we’re joined by industry veteran turned consultant Mark Shaw. Having cut his teeth at Thorpe and Chessington alongside legends like John Wardley and Glenn Earlam, Mark headed down under to turn around Adventure World in Perth. He took a park that was consistently scoring low on guest satisfaction to become the highest rated in Australia.In this episode he tells us how he did it, and why creating fantastic customer experiences is vital to running a successful theme park.

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82:10

S3 Ep19: An Epic Adventure

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/05/16

Strap in park fans because this is a long one!This week I’m dissecting my trip to Universal’s newest theme park Epic Universe! Having booked an impulsive 5 day trip to go and check it out, was it worth it? We’ll go through the portals discussing the highlights of each area of the park, and anything to note along the way. And how does visiting make me feel about Universal coming to the UK?!

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51:23

S3 Ep18: A USA Catch Up

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/05/09

It’s about time for another trip across the pond! We’re joined by our favourite US-based enthusiast and industry insider Mark Rosenzweig, and there’s a lot to talk about! From Epic Universe previews, to Top Thrill 2 finally reopening, a Canadian coaster to get really excited about and just a general look at how parks in the US are holding up - we’re doing it all in this episode!

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71:15

S3 Ep17: Universal UK - The Deep Dive

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/05/02

A few weeks ago UK theme park fans got the news we had all been waiting for - Universal are going to be building a park here! Set to open in 2031 it could be a game changer for the UK industry and will undoubtedly bring a world class park experience to our shores.There was only one person we could get back on to dissect what we know so far - our friend Lawrence from Universally Bedford. In this episode we look at absolutely everything we know so far, the strong predictions and what will happen

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39:21

S3 Ep16: Francis Jackson on Operating Theme Parks Pt 2

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/04/25

In this episode we continue our chat with former Alton Towers Resort Operations Director and General Manager Francis Jackson. Francis talks to us about how building cohesive teams hugely impacts ride operations, why we see staggered openings and we find out what his “Just Gotta Ride it” rollercoaster is.

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44:14

S3 Ep15: Francis Jackson on Operating Theme Parks

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/04/18

We’re delighted to bring a theme park legend back to the UK for this episode! Francis Jackson was both Operations Director and General Manager at Alton Towers from 2016 - 2023 and his personable style and viral social media videos gave him renowned status amongst enthusiasts and the general public. Now living back in his native Australia and working globally as an attractions industry consultant, we’re delighted to have him on Parkcast to explain the realities behind some of our theme park

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45:57

S3 Ep14: Vampire at 35 with John Wardley

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/04/11

35 years ago on the 11th April 1990 Vampire opened at Chessington World of Adventures. Along with the much acclaimed Bubbleworks, the rides were the focus of Transylvania, the first truly themed area at a theme park in the UK. In this episode we celebrate both rides by chatting to the creative genius who brought them to life and made them the special attractions we have known and loved - John Wardley. John takes us through the history of the rides, the problems he faced along the way and shares

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28:58

S3 Ep13: Unpopular Theme Park opinions

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/04/04

We’ve all got one…..This week it’s been over to you as we ask - what are your unpopular theme park opinions? From SLC’s to POV’s - we’re covering off the unpopular opinions you sent in; and whether we agree or not…. We’ll be revisiting this topic so if you have your own please send it over!

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52:43

S3 Ep12: Do we care about Theme Parks too much?

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/03/28

As theme parks have started to reopen for the 2025 season, things haven’t all been plain sailing. As theme park enthusiasts we often get called overly critical, so do we care too much? Do we notice things and get worked up over things your average park guest wouldn’t? Or are we right to push for higher standards for everyone? In this episode we talk about the Alton Towers 2025 opening day which didn’t go as well as hoped and try and work out if we were right to be upset by it.

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45:08

S3 Ep11: Making a splash - Water Rides in the UK

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/03/21

Despite our climate we’ve always had a strong line up of water rides in the UK, but are we starting to fall out of love with them? Especially the classic log flume?! In this episode we look at some of our favourite water attractions - past and present - and discuss what we think the future of water-based rides could look like.

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61:20

S3 Ep10: Oakwood: What went wrong?

Parkcast - The UK’s Original Theme Park Podcast ·

2025/03/14

The UK theme park enthusiast community has been left reeling from the shock announcement of the closure of Oakwood Theme Park in Wales. This week we’re joined by RCCGB Chairman Andy Hine to look back at the park over the years and try and work out what went wrong? Is there any chance Megafobia can be saved and what does the future hold for the park once held in such high regard by enthusiasts and the public?

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