Carousel of Theme Parks Podcast

Zack Back
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Places & Travel
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Zack Back’s Carousel of Theme Parks Podcast. Most carousels just go around and around without getting anywhere, but on this one, we will be talking Theme Parks! On this show, Zack explores the histories and stories behind some of your favorite theme parks from around the world and discusses the experiences when visiting them.

  1. Feb 19

    2.6 PARK HISTORY - Efteling

    It's time to explore Efteling. This episode has a lot of love built in because this park is truly inspiring and I still wish I was there right now. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode and that you enjoyed the small ‘Efteling Fairy Tale’ episode I released last week. I have at least one more of those short fairy tale episodes up my sleeve soon (haha!) but enjoy this full Park History episode.  Please forgive me in advance for any and all bad pronunciations of Dutch words!!! Thanks for listening to 2 (!!) seasons of my podcast. It has been a real treat to bring you these episodes so far. I have more on the way, but Season 3 will be slightly delayed, as I am planning to take a short hiatus as I work on another big project (coming soon!). I also plan to change the way I record these episodes in order to make it easier to release them, so that is also part of the reason for the short hiatus. Thanks for being here for me and enjoy this episode! Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efteling https://translate.google.com/?sl=de&tl=en&text=erstling&op=translate https://www.efteling.com/en/about-efteling/history Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes. Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    1h 6m

  2. Feb 13 ·  Bonus

    2.5.1 - BONUS - Efteling Fairy Tales 1 - The Six Servants

    As I continue my research on Efteling for my upcoming episode, I wanted to share some of the Efteling-specific fairy tales that decorate the park's Sprookjesbos (Fairytale Forest). This story is titled 'The Six Servants' and is where 'Langnek (Long Neck)' is featured, which serves as one of the iconic pieces of the Sprookjesbos and Efteling marketing. Enjoy me reading it dramatically (i hope) and stay tuned for maybe a few others in the coming weeks! Source: Efteling Book of Fairy Tales (ISBN 978 90 216 6983 0) with text by Gerrie van Dongen and Ad Grooten and illustrations by Anton Pieck

    14 min

  3. Feb 5

    2.5 PARK HISTORY - Six Flags Over Texas

    Hello everyone and welcome to this week’ episode 2.5: Six Flags Over Texas. This one is a bit lengthy as this park has been around since 1961 and has over 65 years of history! With lots of ride changes, ride name changes and some shuffling, this park has a lot to cover. Please excuse poor pronunciation of some of the Spanish words in this one, as some of these were tongue twisters for me! Stay tuned for my next episode and the finale to Season 2! Sources: https://guidetosfot.com/parkinfo/history/ https://www.sfotsource.com/history-timeline/#1960s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Star_Carousel Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes. Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    1h 3m

  4. Jan 20

    2.4 PARK HISTORY - Disneyland

    I’m back! It's been a long time coming, but welcome to this episode on the history of Disneyland. After several rewrites, I have finally finished this episode. It has been a true passion project to research this park since it hearkens back to one of my personal heroes, Walt Disney. I hope you enjoy this episode and the stories it tells. On the heels of the upcoming documentary, Disneyland Handcrafted, this is truly the era of Disneyland. Thank you for your patience in getting this episode out. I have been spending every extra moment I had to make it happen, and I finally finished it after a busy holiday season for me. Please continue to have patience for the next episodes, but I should be back on somewhat of a schedule by the next episode. Stay tuned for the next park we will discover! Sources: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/disneyland https://youtu.be/QpM9-zkK4OM?si=_cy-JWRkYlYA-9Ld Remembering Walt - Favorite Memories of Walt Disney by Amy Boothe Green and Howard E. Green (ISBN 0-7868-6348-X) Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Disney’s Magical Mid-Century by Don Hahn (ISBN 978-148473764-4), Pages 40-41 Walt Disney Imagineering - A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real by The Imagineers (ISBN 0-7868-8372-3), Page 15 Walt’s Revolution! By the Numbers by Harrison “Buzz” Price (ISBN 1-893951-06-5), Pages 26-27 https://www.disneyhistory101.com/disneyland/2022/1/23/blllw5g4liwzbfix3bt7clfnn4kn8t https://youtu.be/itcrhPh_Pzc?si=arWM2xAumnG8vRTI LIFE Magazine: Inside the Disney Parks: The Happiest Places on Earth, Volume 18, No 7, 2018, Pages 24 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0561265/?ref_=ttfc_ov_bk LIFE Magazine: Walt Disney: From Mickey to the Magic Kingdom, Volume 16, No. 7, 2016, Page 73-75 Walt’s Apprentice - Keeping the Disney Dream Alive by Dick Nunis (ISBN 978-1-368-07804-7), Pages 45-48 https://youtu.be/1uc_29Qwyx4?si=66c9rMccwYQbpH1i https://mickeyvisit.com/opening-day-at-disneyland/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOUyv7tUTDI Dream It, Do It: My Half Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms by Marty Sklar, Pages 6 and 7 http://www.kpolsson.com/disland/dl1966.htm http://www.kpolsson.com/disland/dl1975.htm http://www.kpolsson.com/disland/dl1985.htm http://www.kpolsson.com/disland/dl1990.htm http://www.kpolsson.com/disland/dl2000.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland https://youtu.be/FBZe2kbkCGU?si=kHXpDK9xWBO_SMw8 http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2013/5/31/as-long-as-there-is-imagination-left-in-the-world-putting-th.html Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes. Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    52 min

  5. 12/18/2025 ·  Bonus

    CHIT CHAT - Holidays in the Orlando Theme Parks

    Welcome to this special edition CHIT CHAT on the Holidays at Orlando Theme Parks. In this episode I chat about many of the holiday offerings available at parks from around the Orlando area. Happy Holidays from me to you and I will see you on the next ride around the carousel for our next episode, Disneyland, somewhere in the new year. Thanks for being a listener of mine and I love you. Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes. Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! Please rate and review the podcast wherever you get your podcast, too! ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    51 min

  6. 12/13/2025

    2.3 PARK HISTORY - Busch Gardens Williamsburg

    Welcome to this week’s (delayed) episode on Busch Gardens Williamsburg! I worked hard to get this one out on time, but alas, I did not. It in fact had a bit more research required than what I expected (oops) but here it is! Enjoy the episode as well as the chat after the history, where I discuss my trip this past summer to the park for the first time and how much I truly loved it (I need to be on Apollo’s Chariot again ASAP)  The next episode of my Park History series will release in a few weeks after a brief holiday pause and will be about the first Disney park, Disneyland! I have a lot to research by then so please be with me as I really don’t know when I will release that episode. In the meantime, this next episode will be a simple Chit-Chat episode to keep the conversation going, so lookout for that one in the coming week or so. Have a fantastic listen! Sources: Back to Williamsburg - Kerry A. O'Brien - Google Books Busch Gardens History « BGW Memories Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Wikipedia Roman Rapids - Wikipedia  Escape from Pompeii - Coasterpedia - The Amusement Ride Wiki Alpengeist - Wikipedia Story of Curse of Dark Kastle - YouTube Curse of DarKastle - Wikipedia Griffon - Coasterpedia - The Amusement Ride Wiki Verbolten - Wikipedia DarKoaster: Escape The Storm - Wikipedia Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge - Wikipedia Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes. Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! Please rate and review the podcast wherever you get your podcast, too, as I really appreciate it. ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    54 min

  7. 12/05/2025

    2.2 PARK HISTORY - SeaWorld San Diego

    Welcome to this week’s episode where I chat about SeaWorld San Diego! This episode what a complicated one to research, as there is really not a lot of information out there about the park. I also made the decision to include a bit about the controversy that SeaWorld has been included in over the years, but tried to keep it as neutral as possible. Thank you for your understanding, and please excuse me rambling on about nothing at the end. Regardless, enjoy the episode and thank you for those who alerted me that I MADE YOUR SPOTIFY WRAPPED! That is so amazing and wild since this is such a new podcast. I love you all and thank you for supporting this little dream of mine! Sources: https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201307/3552/ https://www.biographies.net/people/en/george_millay https://www.gmtoday.com/travel/timeline-how-seaworld-grew-from-a-22-acre-park-to-a-nearly-200-acre-tourist/article_34f54172-fb3b-11ee-99e5-c323ebadc427.html https://www.themeparkinsider.com/art/news/seaworld-sd-1960s.jpg https://behindthethrills.com/2019/03/seaworld-san-diego-from-1964-to-2019/ https://allthatsinteresting.com/shamu https://populartimelines.com/timeline/SeaWorld-San-Diego/full https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaWorld_SkyTower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Bermuda_Triangle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Arctic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_Atlantis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_(SeaWorld_San_Diego) https://theconversation.com/blackfish-how-captive-killer-whale-documentary-ended-seaworlds-orca-breeding-programme-161775 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Eel_(roller_coaster) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_(roller_coaster) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaWorld_San_Diego Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes. Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    53 min

  8. 11/27/2025

    2.1 PARK HISTORY - Knott's Berry Farm

    Hello everyone! I am back with this week’s episode on Knott’s Berry Farm. In this episode I discuss the history of this iconic park and the history of the boysenberry. So sit back and listen to this week’s stories! Thank you for hanging on while I have been away at Dollywood (as usual) and I will have plenty more episodes coming up soon as we dive deep for the second season of my podcast and the next lap around the carousel of theme parks.  Sources: Knott’s Preserved by Christopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler (ISBN-13: 978-1-99-1-883318-97-0) Knott's Berry Farm - Wikipedia Please subscribe to the podcast on whatever your favorite platform is in order to keep up to date on the latest episodes! Also subscribe to our podcast social channels! ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠  ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X /Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Find PDF files of all of my episodes, complete with citations and footnotes, as applicable through my GoogleDrive folder HERE. Please note: Episodes 1.1-1.3 do not have footnotes. They were created before I decided to share my notes with the world. Citations are listed, as normal, but exact quotations are unknown from these sources. Episodes 1.4 and beyond include footnotes following each segment of cited text.

    1h 6m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
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About

Welcome to Zack Back’s Carousel of Theme Parks Podcast. Most carousels just go around and around without getting anywhere, but on this one, we will be talking Theme Parks! On this show, Zack explores the histories and stories behind some of your favorite theme parks from around the world and discusses the experiences when visiting them.

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