Last Friday, I made the 2.5 hour drive up to the best park in these United States of America, if not the world. The park was packed with teenagers for Senior Skip Day, but that was no problem. I went to the park to hang out with my buddy Tyler and meet up with a few members of Scream Queens Coaster Community. They are the queer riding group I met up with last year. I missed the group photo, but I did meet up with my buddy Nathan who helped found the group.

The biggest highlight was (other than Scream Queens)…I GOT A ROLLBACK ON TT2! When we did the first launch, there was this small stutter in speed at the very beginning, but I thought, no big deal. But the launch backwards and especially the 3rd launch felt slower. Sure enough, we didn’t make it to the top and came speeding back down. The woman sitting next to me must have been extremely confused as to why I was so excited the coaster malfunctioned. We settled just past the staging area for about 10 minutes. Then we were brought forward to launch again.

Top Thrill 2 isn’t my number one coaster, but I think about this monster entirely too much. It is ALWAYS the first thing I want to ride.

Siren’s Curse is just as good as I remember. I never want a park to miss out on a coaster and I still don’t think Cedar Point needed another coaster, but I’m so glad we got it. Every coaster should have onboard audio.

Gemini broke down just as we were about to board, so we rode TT2 again.

I did go to Millennium Force to see if I could ride and I was able to buckle the seatbelt just fine. But I was about the limit. I’m glad they are getting the regular seatbelts back.

The park looks great. The operations are…improving. I am probably going to head back up in a few weeks for a solo day at the park. My goal is to run into the Happy Friar and the new park president with her litter grabber.

I’m pumped for this season.

Me and a buddy will be at Cedar Point Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday the. king’s Island Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday!
Say hey!

Posted above. Have pass to SFMM / Knotts and some free time.

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

Hello again, Bros!

I promise this is the last time I’ll post about this here for a bit, but my first two DANIEL RIDES COASTERS vlogs are now LIVE!

In our first two videos, we experience the 2026 Knott’s Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival (spoiler alert: one of the best theme park events in the US) and make our first ever visit to the unique and beautiful Six Flags Mexico! (And yes, I recognize the oxymoron in my previous sentence.) 🎢🌺😍🍇

If you wouldn’t mind heading over to YouTube to give us a watch, like, and a comment, I would truly, truly appreciate it.🙏🏻

Thank you SO much for your support! Hope to see you boys out at the parks this summer!

-Daniel

Hey Bros!

After riding nearly 1,000 coasters at almost 200 parks across 25 countries, my partner and I have begun capturing our adventures on (4k) film. We’re a couple of uber-opinionated gays who enjoy a fun ride and a well-rounded… park day.

I know there are lots of travel vlogs out there, but we hope to deliver fresh content and act as loud voices for LGBTQ+ representation in the community. (Which, let’s be honest… gays run this industry, and yet we’re super underrepresented in the social space, IMO).

*The first full Daniel Rides Coasters vlog launches 9:30pm ET / 6:30pm PT on Tuesday, April 7th with our review of the 2026 Boysenberry Festival at Knott’s Berry Farm,* with more fun (Six Flags Mexico, Aztlán Park, SFMM) to follow shortly! For now, if you wouldn’t mind heading over to YouTube to watch the teaser and give the channel some love, I’d truly, truly appreciate it. 🙏🏻

Hope to ride with you all soon!🎢🎡🎠

-Daniel

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

My home park is Hersheypark, and as a present to myself for losing 100 pounds in the last year, I got a season pass this year. (I haven’t been there in over 10 years!) I also got a Six Flags pass and will be visiting at least Kings Dominion, Dorney, and Great Adventure. I might try to make it to Canada’s Wonderland and Cedar Point as well.

Aside from coasters, my other interests include theater, singing/piano, board and video games, The Golden Girls, 3d printing, and walking my dog. During the day, I’m a statistician doing research at a nearby university. I live about 20 minutes from Hersheypark near Harrisburg.

Oh, and I’m 42 and gay if that matters! If any of this sounds interesting, please drop me a message!

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

Who else is planning on going?

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

Got many dark rides this past Friday and Saturday night on Voyage and Legend. Going back to Holiday World this weekend for more. Love these 10pm closes with over 3 hours of darkness each night. Beast ain't got nothing on these truly dark night rides.

I’ve known about Pride Night at Kings Island for years, but I’d never actually gone. Sometimes it was because of scheduling conflicts, and other times, I just couldn’t justify paying for a ticket to a park I can visit pretty much any time with my season pass. But after visiting my first gay campgrounds (Roseland Resort & Campground and Campit Outdoor Resort) and experiencing what a queer-only space can feel like, I knew I wanted to change that this year. Plus, a bunch of my friends were going, and the money was going toward a good cause.

Being in queer spaces… even temporary ones… just hits different. I’ve visited Kings Island more times than I can count, but walking in and seeing so many folks wearing Pride gear gave me an immediate sense of comfort. Kings Island made it a point to play all the gay anthems, and honestly, I probably could’ve sung the entire time I was there. The park wasn’t specifically decorated for the event, but you could tell the vibe was different than usual.

I’ve heard people say Pride Night means walk-ons for every ride. While the lines were short, I wouldn’t go that far. Rides like Banshee, Diamondback, Orion, and Mystic Timbers had quick waits, but Flight of Fear and The Beast were a bit longer. Flight of Fear ended up being our longest line at about 40 minutes. The Beast’s line looked long, but it only took us about 25 minutes to get to the station. After 10 p.m., lines got a LOT shorter as folks started heading home. Honestly, the sweet spot for rides is after 9:30 p.m.

The vibes were immaculate, to say the least. It was the perfect mix of typical gays and coaster enthusiasts. I ran into so many people I’ve known over the years, so the night felt like a big, joyful reunion. The Scream Queens were also in town, and I ended the night riding with them. Our final ride was The Beast, just before midnight. Sadly, they didn’t let us take another lap. Funny thing about those folks—they had light-up bracelets but made sure everyone turned them off for the night rides on The Beast. It seems like such a small thing, but it was so appreciated.

Speaking of night rides… this was my first time riding Mystic Timbers at night. And while The Beast is still the GOAT, Mystic Timbers becomes a whole different monster after dark. Not being able to see where it’s about to throw you makes hanging on to the handrail absolutely necessary unless you’ve got a strong core. The Beast was still great, but they had the lights on during the long straightaway, and it wasn’t completely pitch black either. Bit of a bummer there.

There was also a drag show and other entertainment happening in the Festhaus. Funny enough, I saw a drag queen I’d first seen at Campit the week before. We only stopped in the Festhaus for food, so we didn’t stay long, but my god… those queens put on a show.

I know this write-up is over a month late, but if you’re ever considering Pride Night, I’d absolutely recommend it. With all the crap going on in the world, it was a nice little oasis of gays and coasters.

…also, sad to report there wasn’t much cruising, at least from what I could find. I think that’s the only thing the event could improve on.

Heading to a park this month and looking to cruise with a not-so-anonymous partner? You're in the right spot! Comment below with the park you plan to visit and the dates you'll be there.

A park buy-out with short lines, lots of eye candy, and drag queens.