Combining Theme Park Visits and Roller Coaster Rides with Cultural Experiences Around the World!
About The Writer
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Hey there!
My name is Gary Taylor. I graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in Middle Grade Education, which led to my becoming a middle school social studies teacher in Eastern North Carolina. Since then, I lived in the Orlando area for a few years where I worked for Walt Disney World, until I decided to return to my original home in the Pacific Northwest. Ever since high school, I've had a love for traveling to different places. I took various social studies classes with passionate teachers and professors throughout high school and college, which led to my own love of history, geography and culture. I became incredibly fascinated by the stories that have come about from our past. I enjoyed learning about how people from different parts of the world interact with one another, and about how their customs compare to ours. I am always in awe of being in a place of historical significance and reflecting on how the events that took place there shaped the world we live in. When I was a kid, I also developed a love of visiting theme parks and riding roller coasters. While I had been to a few parks when I was younger, I truly became a fan when my family and I first visited Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio back in 1996. It was after taking my first ride on the inverted roller coaster, Raptor, that I became hooked! This love for theme parks would lead a variety of experiences in life from traveling for visiting them to working in the industry between two summers during college at Cedar Point and three years as a Walt Disney World Cast Member. Both visiting theme parks and working in them have provided with many opportunities to meet a lot of people with similar passions and interests, and many of them are among my closest and dearest friends! Places Gary has visited:
* - Only in Austria when riding through by bus, so I don't count it as a country visited, but have physically been in the country for a short time.
** - While Hong Kong is a part of China, I count it like it's a separate place because of it's Special Administrative Region status.
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Mexico City, 2018
Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, 2015
My mom and I on one of my first rides, at Enchanted Village (Federal Way, WA) in 1988
Ridding the Little Dipper at Quassy Amusement Park in Connecticut, USA, 2011
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About Coasting with culture
The Pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico, 2013
Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2014
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After graduating from college, most of my travels would come in the form of road trips up and down the East Coast of the United States, and an occasional theme park group tour. Upon moving to Orlando, I had about a year off from traveling in part because of adjusting to a new home, but mainly from falling into a state of contentment, as I was pretty happy with just going to the local theme parks when I wasn't working and joining friends for an occasional evening out.
Then one day at EPCOT, a friend of mine and I were watching Reflections of China, and one thought crossed my mind in the middle of it..."I need to start traveling again!" My love of history and culture had been sparked seeing the incredible landscape, vibrant cities and incredible monuments featured in the film, leaving me wanting to see more. When I joined Theme Park Review's 2013 Mexico Tour and 2014 Scandinavia Tour, these would greatly influence my future travels, as both of them would include several amazing cultural experiences, either as part of the tour itself or in spending free time outside of the organized times to explore and sight-see. Since that time, while some trips are primarily about the different amusement parks, I have made more of an effort to include more cultural experiences in my adventures, especially as I add more countries to my list of places visited. Taking such trips that combine my love of theme parks and roller coasters with my fascination for history and culture has served as inspiration for the creation of Coasting with Culture. With this site, I'll share with you my experiences as well as ideas or suggestions of places that may be of interest that I hope will inspire your future travels. |
Guest Appearances/Contributions
Along with Coasting with Culture, I've had the opportunity to contribute to other websites and make appearances on podcasts to discuss a range of topics, from coverage of attractions in a particular area, to discussing theme parks and amusement parks in general. Below are some of the guest contributions and appearances over the past few years.
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Disney Hacks> Podcast Episode 12: Disneyland Reopening Rumors & What It’s Like Being A Jungle Cruise Skipper!
September 7th, 2020 Disney World has been open for quite some time, but finally we are starting to see some rumors and news regarding the Disneyland reopening. We’ll talk about that plus the good/bad Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway news for the left coast. Then we have a big treat for you. Gary Taylor from Coasting with Culture joined us for this show. He is a former Walt Disney World cast member, Pirates of the Caribbean wader and Jungle Cruise skipper! You’ll want to hear what he has to say about Disney World and his time sailing through the jungles of Magic Kingdom. He talks about some of the good and bad parts of being a cast member and a lot more. > Podcast Episode 22: Annual Pass Arbitrage, Super Nintendo World & Skipper Gary Talks Jungle Cruise Updates February 8th, 2021 On this week’s show we talk annual pass fun. Specifically how Shawn is utilizing a loophole to try to get an annual pass, but it isn’t quite that simple. Hopefully Disney will come through. Plus we discuss Seaworld annual pass arbitrage and how you can save money by buying your pass outside of Florida. Skipper Gary from Coasting with Culture also joined us for this show as we discuss the first looks at Super Nintendo World in Japan and what will be the differences when it comes to Hollywood and Florida. Plus Gary will share his perspective on the recently announced changes to the Jungle Cruise as a former skipper. |
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pARK jOURNEY> New Rides Coming to Enchanted Village
July 19th, 2016 Today we've got a great update from the Pacific Northwest and Wild Waves and Enchanted Village where they are making some great changes this season with a couple of new rides and general improvements. > Coasting with Culture: Adrenaline Peak at Oaks Park April 8th, 2018 Over the weekend our partner in crime Gary from Coasting with Culture headed out to Oaks Park to check out their newest addition, Adrenaline Peak. Gary got over 50 rides on this new beast throughout his visit, so you know that has to be a good sign. > Seattle Space Needle is Getting a Spacelift May 7th, 2018 Even in the middle of "new ride season" it's always nice to take a break from the extreme and check out a bit of culture. Although some of you may find this pretty extreme. Gary from Coasting with Culture is back with another amazing update from the Pacific Northwest, this time less coaster and more culture. |
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Theme Park ERT> Enthusiast Round Table | Podcast Ep: 005 | Coaster101, Coasting with Culture & The Coaster Crew!
April 15, 2020 Episode 5 is ALIVE! Join us for our very first Round Table with a theme: Coaster Enthusiast Websites! Andrew Stilwell & Eric Wooley from Coaster101.com, Gary Taylor from CoastingwithCulture.com, and Tim Holloran from Coastercrew.net are true gentlemen, scholars and overall rad homies. |
Contact
If you would like to get in touch, you can either send a message through the Coasting with Culture Social Media profiles, or send an email to coastingwithculture@gmail.com
