Do you all have any YouTube channels or videos you would like to share?

...Because I do. I watch a lot of YouTube. I have had a premium subscription with no ads for years now. Of course, there are the YouTube channels where someone visits a park and maybe talks about something interesting, like mine, but I'm not here to talk about my channel right now.

I want to share with you all the YouTube stuff that stands out in the amusement park genre.

I've been wanting to mention Hey Brickey! here for a while now. Brickey is a designer who lives near Disneyland. He makes about three videos a week, and serves a very small niche. He covers the design, history, and future of all the Disney parks in the U.S. He seems to love Disneyland on a different level than other Disney Bloggers. Right now, it is my favorite YouTube channel.

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Papa Meat isn't an amusement park guy. He makes hilarious, gross NSFW cartoons on his other channel. He recently started a channel in which he does the normal sitting at a desk with a microphone thing. He's just a really funny guy. His most recent video, and the video that made me start this topic, is about the deadliest carnival rides. He sometimes laughs inappropriately, but quickly apologizes and explains why he is laughing. Another video he made a few months ago is about the deadliest amusement park rides. You might like the other stuff on his channel, and his (non-amusement park) cartoons on Meatcanyon channel. They are disturbing and hilarious.

I do want to ask, are these two videos fair to the amusement and fair ride industry? Are his excuses for inappropriately laughing okay?

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Thirdly, I've been following the construction of Epic Universe on Theme Park Stop. Alicia Stella shares her excitement in a professional way, which makes the videos fun, yet informative. Perfect for my tastes. She also occasionally covers other Orlando parks.

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CoasterBuzz discussion has been slow over the last few years. Let's keep our community alive... These are my stand-out favorite YouTube channels about theme parks. They do their homework before pressing record. Do any of you have any topical, high-quality YouTube channels to share?

I am also very interested in quality coaster channels!

The Usual:

• ElToroRyan: Like most people, I fell in love with this channel via the Problematic Roller Coasters. But I watched his Coaster Idiots series and kind of fell in love with him and his friends. Now I never miss a video. Ryan obviously has a deem love for coasters and at least some insider information. But he is also very careful to say what is based on fact and what is based on speculation and what his informed and uninformed opinion is. I think these are key for channels.
• CoasterBot: CoasterBot does great explainer videos, especially if someone is new to coasters and the technicalities. If you're a big time enthusiast, you may not learn a ton from his videos like you would from ElToroRyan, but I love that he approaches parks from the European experience. He also runs VoteCoasters which uses a similar polling methodology as Mitch Hawker back in the day. You should go vote in it!
• Defunctland: Simply put, the best documentarians focusing on theme parks. All of his videos are well researched, engaging, and so much fun. I cannot believe I watched a 2-hour video on Disney's skip-the-line program, but there I was.
• Expedition Theme Park: Another park/ride history channel. I think he hits the right level of detail vs. duration of the video. Plus, like CoasterBot, he focuses on coasters from other countries.

Smaller channels:

• Mid Course Blues: New channel to me, but these are cinematic view of the park. I don't know what it is, but the creator makes parks that are incredibly familiar to me look magical. He doesn't have many followers yet, but you should watch a few videos.
• Coaster College: Okay, so obviously coasters are safe, but accidents do happen. This guy explains what goes wrong when accidents do happen.
• OkayCoasters: One of my favorite smaller channels. The guy doesn't update as much as he used to, but I think he is one of the most level-headed enthusiasts out there. Whereas channels like Airtime Thrills seems to make a living off of complaining every chance he can, OkayCoasters always tries to find the best in a coaster or a park. But he also admits when something just isn't good.

Oddly enough, with very few exceptions, all my YouTube subscriptions are for channels related to music, automotive, and comedy. I'll watch a coaster POV every once in a while, but I typically don't watch coaster/park related channels and haven't subscribed to a single one.

I watch no amusement or theme park stuff. Although two channels above used video I shot ago without permission, until we talked.

I watch a lot of science and maker stuff, mostly. Late night TV clips when in season. There are outliers like Rick Beato (music), Potato Jet (video gear), Event Lighting (MA3 lighting programming), Emma Cruises (cruises).

I just find the coaster stuff completely boring, and it doesn't help that so much of it isn't originally shot. That's not unique to the subject, as there are a lot of things that are just people talking over video they didn't have any part in making. And POV was never interesting to me.

Jeff:

There are outliers like Rick Beato

Definitely one of the better music related channels around. Really top notch content, especially the interviews.

Jeff:

it doesn't help that so much of it isn't originally shot

Jeff is 100% spot on.

I honestly don't get how there are soooo many "creators" with 50-100k+ subscribers that simply round up other people's footage, lay down a narration track, and then make money off of someone else's work. I know this doesn't happen, but if a channel is using footage that wasn't shot by them and is monetizing the video, the person who originally shot the footage (and actually was kind enough to give said channel permission to use it) should get a cut of their earnings, even if it is a small percentage. I guess it's just supposed to be an honor to be featured elsewhere. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can honestly say that not once in the 14 years that I've had my crappy YT channel have I ever used someone else's footage. I guess that's why it took that long to get to 5k subscribers. Well, that and the fact that most of my videos are of county fairs... ;)

RayP1970:

I guess it's just supposed to be an honor to be featured elsewhere. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, in the same way I always heard it was supposed to be an honor to play certain venues for free when I was trying to make it in the music industry. No thanks.

The two coaster channels I watch the most are Coaster Studios and Airtime Thrills.

Why? Simply because I happened to bump into them both at KK's Keys To The Kingdom event back in 2020, and they're both friendly, personable guys. Started checking out their videos afterwards, and enjoyed the content.
Of special note are the "Save My Park" documentary on KK that Coaster Studios did, and the nerdy deep-dives of Airtime Thrills' "Prime Ride Time" pieces.

Vater:

Jeff:

There are outliers like Rick Beato

Definitely one of the better music related channels around. Really top notch content, especially the interviews.

Another guy I like (and also tends to focus on my preferred wheelhouse of late 70's / early 80's stuff) is Professor Of Rock. I like that he does pieces on the one-hit-wonders as well as the bigger bands.

Later,
EV

RayP1970:

I guess it's just supposed to be an honor to be featured elsewhere.

I don't know if it's an honor so much as it's just a way to help someone out. No one is getting rich off a 3 second clip of Blue Streak I recorded in 1982.

^ Oh I get that. I have helped people out on occasion as well (Theme Park Crazy was one that comes to mind). But it does seem that there are quite a few channels out there that have an over abundance of videos featuring other people’s content. And to me, that just seems lazy!

I get videos from some channel that seems to be ripping off Robb Alvey. There is a saving grace in that the audio is turned down or altered but I swear there’s a trace of “loopty loooop” and “oh HO!”
I watch a lot of coaster videos but no particular creators.
However I do have a lot of ASMR creators and slot machine players that I watch on the regular.
And as for coasters/parks, everything is available and it’s all the same. In other words the rides themselves don’t change. When a new ride opens there’s no end of everyone and his brother posting on-boards. If I see one more Wildcat Revenge or Iron Gwazi…
The biggest turn off and what will make me leave immediately is when the cameraperson turns to show their friends on the rides. Ugh. I’m hear for the ride not the homies. I also don’t care for those that ignore park recommendations to not have cameras on board.
This is a good end-o-season topic. Love ya, Trav.