Adventures With Parker

18/06/2024

Greetings from California! 🎠
I’ve been having a fantastic time here at my first ever CoasterCon. The park is beautiful and has some amazing rides, and it’s been awesome hanging out with my Canadian ACE Fam. Not only that, but I’ve been able to meet some lovely new thoosie friends. I’m excited for what the next few days will bring 😁

15/06/2024

Less than 48 hours until I’m in California… WOOOOOO!!! 🌞🎢

14/06/2024

The past few days have been a whirlwind of cute kitties, thrilling coasters, talented musicians, and good eating!

We started in Philadelphia where we visited Le Cat Cafe, where you can enjoy a caffeinated beverage with some adorable rescue cats - all of whom are adoptable! It was a very calming experience and we were sooo close to coming home with a new friend (our only hesitation was crossing the border and not having a guarantee that our cats at home would be cool with a new pal).

We then walked around the Museum of Art for a bit before grabbing dinner at Jim’s on South. We wanted to try an “authentic” Philly Cheesesteak, and this place was recommended by some locals (thanks Scream Queens Discord!).

After, it was time to do what we came to Philadelphia to do in the first place… we saw Baby Queen at The Foundry! Mike and I looove Baby Queen so we were really excited to see perform. The show was amazing! We also loved the opener, Meg Smith, so we’ve been diving into her discography now too.

The next day, we went back to one of my favourite theme parks in existence Hersheypark! Mike went with me in 2022 for Dark Nights, but we only did two rides that visit, so this was really his first time experiencing the park in all its glory. We finished off the night with dinner at The Chocolatier. We decided to splurge and get some steaks, which ended up being justified when our hotel gave us a free night due to a complication with our reservation.

We started back home on Thursday, but made a put stop at Knoebels Amusement Resort. We did all the coasters, as well as Haunted Mansion and the Carousel (we did not get the brass ring lol). We finished off the trip with some alligator bites and a dessert called The Antonio.

Six hours of driving and a car issue that needed a quick call to Central Pennsylvania AAA later, we were back home. We are still exhausted af, but it was an awesome trip overall. I always love my visits to PA, and you know it won’t be long until I’m back again 😊

10/06/2024

🍷 NEW VIDEO!
🧀 https://youtu.be/KpcTy0ZcrC0?si=E4Z42MWCFhLdI1rS

Join me as I check out the first day of Canada's Wonderland’s new Food & Wine Festival! The event offered guests a wide variety of Ontario and International wines, savoury charcuterie boards, cooking demonstrations, and live musicians and entertainers.

In addition to checking out everything the festival had to offer, I got to ride my favourite (and not so favourite) roller coasters, grab lunch the new Grand World Eatery, check out some of the new updates around the park, and brave some very capricious weather.

09/06/2024

Anyone who tries to tell you little woodies can’t be fun has never been on Kentucky Flyer 🪵👍

🎢 Kentucky Flyer
⚙️ Gravity Group (2019)
🎡
📍 Louisville, KY
📆 August 13, 2023

09/06/2024

Yesterday was the first day of Canada's Wonderland’s first ever Food & Wine Festival! It was a great event overall, and it brought a welcome atmosphere and energy to the park.

They had a great selection of local Ontario wines and international wines. I ended up getting the Bollini Pinot Grigio (an Italian white wine with pear and cantaloupe flavours and hints of nuts, fig, and pastry) and an Inniskillin Vidal Icewine (an Ontario crafted ice wine with floral, mango, chanterelles, herbs, and golden raisin flavours). Both were excellent with a very pleasant flavour, but they were rather expensive at $4.29 for a 2oz sample.

For food, they had five different charcuterie spreads available. I opted for the Flight of Spreads, which included whipped yuzu, pimento cheese, and olive tapenade with some flatbreads. Again, it was very good, but cost me $10.99. I was also expecting more diversity in the food lineup than just fondue and charcuterie. To me, a food festival should include some unique and creative culinary offerings representing many different types of food.

The highlight of the festival for me, however, was the entertainment. They had stilt walkers, jugglers, string quartets, dueling pianos… I kept coming back to the festival area just to see the different acts, and all of it just added so much vibrancy to the park.

It makes me so happy to see the park experiment with new events, so I hope we see more stuff like this in the future.

08/06/2024

🍫 NEW VIDEO!
🎢 https://youtu.be/6DxRikTadVc?si=diZ0X3-rIK3W3cyw

It's the start of a new Coaster Road Trip, and this time, Tyler Burke, Mitch, and I checking out some parks in the Northeast United States! We're kicking things off with Hersheypark, where we get to enjoy some of our favourite coasters like Wildcat's Revenge, SkyRush, Storm Runner, and Fahrenheit. We also explore Hershey's Chocolate World and the Hershey Chocolate Factory Tour, take a spin on Cocoa Cruiser, and enjoy one of the park's famous kings-sized shakes.

07/06/2024

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Vortex is the superior Arrow coaster that the world has to offer (sorry The Bat fans).

🎢 Vortex
⚙️ Arrow Dynamics (1991)
🎡 Canada's Wonderland
📍 Vaughan, ON
📆 June 7, 2024

05/06/2024

New Patreon series coming soooon 👀

04/06/2024

🎠 NEW VIDEO!
🇺🇸 https://youtu.be/r9VLhxei0Ac

It's the final day of my Midwest Coaster Road Trip, and I'm visiting Six Flags Great America! Although I wasn't able to spend a full day here, I still got to ride some of the park's best roller coasters, like Maxx Force - the world's fastest accelerating coaster, X-Flight - one of America's first wing coasters, American Eagle - the park's classic woodie, and Goliath - a fantastic ground-up Topper Track coaster from RMC. I also got to experience the park's double decker carousel, and the now defunct Huss Frisbee Revolution: The Ride.

Despite a few operational challenges, I thought that Six Flags Great America was a great park with some awesome rides, and visiting this park was the perfect way to cap off the road trip.

02/06/2024

Hitting that floater airtime got me feeling like…

🎢 Leviathan
⚙️ Bolliger & Mabillatd (2012)
🎡 Canada's Wonderland
📍 Vaughan, ON
📆 April 20, 2024
📸 iPhone 13 Pro - Adventures With Parker

01/06/2024

HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE!!! 🏳️‍🌈
Pride is always a very special time of year because it is both a celebration and a protest. We celebrate our unique identities as 2sLGBTQ+ people, and we reflect on our history and marvel at how far we’ve come in fighting for our rights, gaining visibility, and creating safe communities. And we protest because there is still MUCH work to do. It feels like this year more than ever we need to hold firm to the vision that everyone deserves to be safe and included. In any case, this is a month where love conquerors all hate. It’s a month where we make the bold statement that everyone is deserving of love, respect, dignity, and safety.

This Pride season, I especially want to name and uplift the transgender and nonbinary community, the q***r BIPOC community, people on the asexual/aromantic/demisexual spectrum, and two-spirited indigenous individuals. This is your Pride Month too!

Shoutout to our amazing friends and allies as well! We appreciate you 🥰 And so, whoever you are, whatever your identity may be, know that you are deserving of love and that you are wonderful and amazing just for being you. Happy Pride y’all 🌈🌈🌈

29/05/2024

🎅🏻 NEW VIDEO!
🎃 https://youtu.be/TtwEZ6J646s

On the third day of our Midwest Coaster Road Trip, and Scott and I are visiting his home park - Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari! This park is so charming and unique, and is characterized by four themed lands based on the holidays of Christmas, Halloween, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving.

In this adventure, Scott and I brave the park’s signature roller coasters - Voyage, Legend, Raven, and Thunderbird, round up some turkeys on Gobbler Getaway, meet some of the adorable mascots, try some blue ice cream (which is in fact better than Kings Island’s), and enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dinner from Plymouth Rock Cafe. We also get a sneak peek at the construction for Good Gravy!, the Vekoma family boomerang coaster that opened in May 2024.

28/05/2024

When you visit a theme park, do you only focus on the rides, or do you also try to experience some of the other attractions - things like shows, petting zoos, shops, walkthrough attractions, craftsmen’s demonstrations…

I think the addition of these kinds of things within a theme park are necessary for a full park experience, and their presence in a park makes the difference between a “good” theme park and an “exceptional” one. Yes, I love the thrill of a coaster, but I also appreciate the quieter things that foster your curiosity through artistic expression and/or education.

🛍️ Maples Tolematic
🎡 Silver Dollar City
📍 Branson, MO
📆 July 17, 2023
📸 iPhone 13 Pro - Adventures With Parker

27/05/2024

I just found out about the passing of Richard M.
Sherman. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, he and his brother Robert (aka The Sherman Brothers) created some of Disney's most beloved songs, including works for both the films and the parks.

Some of my favourite pieces that Richard had a hand in creating include the soundtracks for Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Carousel of Progress, the Enchanted Tiki Room, The Parent Trap (1962), The Aristocats, and Journey Into Imagination... but his full portfolio was quite extensive.

Thanks for blessing our ears Richard ❤️🎶

June 12, 1928 - March 25, 2024

27/05/2024

🐎 NEW VIDEO!
🌩️ https://youtu.be/NQ-X-EANwgQ

It’s Day 2 of our Midwest Coaster Road Trip, and this time, Scott and I are visiting Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, KY! Highlights of this visit include getting my 200th coaster credit on Lightning Run, trying some delicious cinnamon bread from the Bluegrass Cafe, riding fun coasters like Kentucky Flyer, Thunder Run, and Storm Chaser, and sacrificing my pride to get the Roller Skater credit 😜

Kentucky Kingdom has a very storied history, and is a gem amongst the local community. Although it wasn’t a perfect park, I was very happy to experience it for myself. Scott was also a fantastic guide, and we definitely had a fun time here.

27/05/2024

Going on a ⚡️Lightning Run⚡️, want me to pick something up for you?

Lightning Run is currently the only Chance Hyper GTX coaster in the world (at least until Mattel Adventure World opens), and it’s absolutely incredible. It rides similar to an RMC, but because it’s all steel, feels ever so slightly smoother. It’s a great ride, and I’m excited that more of these coasters will be opening at other parks soon.

🎢 Lightning Run
⚙️ Chance Rides (2014)
🎡 Kentucky Kingdom
📍 Louisville, KY
📆 August 12, 2023
📸 iPhone 13 Pro - Adventures With Parker

25/05/2024

Racing into the weekend like 🎢🎢 Which would you rather ride today- Orion or The Racer?

24/05/2024

“bUt PeAnUtS iSn’T a ReLaVaNt FrAnChIsE AnYmO-“ NOOO! Stop.

Let me tell you why you’re wrong.

First of all, I think kids are still exposed to the old cartoons because of their parents. I don’t know about Gen Alpha, but most Gen Z I know have at least seen the Christmas Special and The Great Pumpkin growing up. They were always on TV around the holidays, so there were plenty of opportunities to watch them. I imagine it’s the same for the younger generations.

Second, characters can have a life outside of the media they originated in. Think about the popularity of characters like Figment, Stitch, The Minions, or Winnie the Pooh. People fall in love with them even if they haven’t seen the films or experienced the attractions they came from. They’re just cute! And sometimes that’s enough.

And think that’s especially true of the Peanuts’ role in the parks. I’ve grown to love and appreciate the Peanuts more than ever because of the Cedar Fair parks. To me, the parks ARE the modern lifeblood of that franchise. In turn, the parks have inspired me to check out the original comics and dive into the lore. It’s a cyclical phenomenon that keeps the brand alive.

So yeah, even if you haven’t seen the comics or watched the cartoons, everyone knows and loves Snoopy, and the parks create unique opportunities to connect with these characters in a new way.

24/05/2024

Good Morning! “I want what any princess wants; to live happily ever after with the ogre I married.”

23/05/2024

⛵️ NEW VIDEO!
👻 https://youtu.be/2WzW-p-ZuJo

It’s the first day of our MIDWEST COASTER ROAD TRIP, and my best friend Scott and I are visiting Kings Island! The biggest highlights of our visit were Adventure Port - home of rides like Sol Spin, Cargo Loco, a completely refreshed Adventure Express, and a Mexican restaurant called Enrique’s Cantina; and getting to watch the Phantom Theatre: Encore show - a hilarious musical comedy that used live singing, dancing, and acrobatics to bring the defunct Kings Island attraction to life once again, but this time, on stage.

We also enjoy breathtaking views of the park from the top of the Eiffel Tower, take a legendary night ride on The Beast, and ride our favourite rides and coasters like Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Orion, and more!

23/05/2024

She may be a parking lot coaster, but we still love her 😍🐉 What’s your favourite element on Leviathan?

🎢 Leviathan
⚙️ Bolliger & Mabillard (2012)
🎡 Canada's Wonderland
📍 Vaughan, ON
📆 April 20, 2024
📸 iPhone 13 Pro - Adventures With Parker

21/05/2024

19/05/2024

Good grief! Snoopy, get us out of here!
Have you had a chance to ride Snoopy’s Racing Railway now that the child-only policy has been lifted?

🎢 Snoopy’s Racing Railway
⚙️ (2023)
🎡
📍 Vaughan, ON
📆 April 20, 2024

18/05/2024

💽 NEW VIDEO!!!
🎷 https://youtu.be/rBUbu4iplHc?si=BABmLvjPtIyIv38s

Come See About Me was a Broadway style jukebox musical that played at the Jack Aldrich Theatre in Cedar Point... and is by far the best show I've ever seen in a theme park! The show focuses on a young man named Moses, the son of a record-shop owner who never quite had the guts to step out of his comfort zone and follow his passions. However, that all changes when he meets Olive, the frontwoman of a soul band called "Ollie & The Gang". Along with some other friends who call themselves the Saturday Mornings, Moses learns how to be vulnerable and pursue his passion for music.

With a fun story, music inspired by classic and modern Soul/R&B/Motown artists, live instrumentation, high quality vocals and dancing, and a beautifully diverse cast, Come See About Me was a wonderful show and a must-see at Cedar Point. The show ended its run after the 2023 season, and has since been replaced by Class of '99.

18/05/2024

Adventures With Parker presents…
VLOGS FROM THE VAULT!

This Patreon exclusive series will dive deep into the AWP Vault to bring to light the vlogs that just never came to be, now with the benefit of retrospect… and vastly improved editing skills 🤪

The first episode drops tomorrow, and will be available to everyone FOR FREE (i.e. you can still watch it even if you aren't a Patreon supporter).

"Victoria Day Firew... Oh." recounts a rainy day at Canada's Wonderland on Victoria Day Weekend, and it was supposed to be released back in 2017. However, it entered the vault due to a video rendering issue. Seven years later, you'll be able to watch it for the very first time.

16/05/2024

Yukie really said “criss cross applesauce.”
Which roller coaster has the best helix in your opinion?

🎢 Yukon Striker
⚙️ Bolliger & Mabillard (2019)
🎡
📍 Vaughan, ON
📆 April 20, 2024

16/05/2024

🍁 NEW VIDEO!
🎢 https://youtu.be/6NzEgxnAm5c

CANADA’S WONDERLAND S NOW OPEN FOR THE 2024 SEASON!!! This year, I was invited by Canada's Wonderland to preview the park before the official start to the season on Media Day. Joined by my good friends Emrys-Rae and Steve from Adventurous Fox, I got to spend the day exploring the park, taking my first rides of the season on my favourite rides and coasters (including Leviathan, Yukon Striker, and Behemoth), and checking out everything that’s new for this season.

Highlights of the day included a catered Media Day Lunch where we got to sample new dishes coming to the park’s restaurants 🌮, seeing early signs of construction for a potential new coaster project that could open as early as 2025 🤫, riding Snoopy’s Racing Railway (which no longer requires adults to be accompanied by a child) 🏕️, and even riding roller coasters in the snow (... it was kind of cold that day) ❄️.