2023: A Year in Review
As the old adage goes, “the days go slow, but the years go fast”; that saying has never felt more appropriate than it does as we look back on the past year. 2023 was hands down one of the best years of our lives - with more travel, more adventure and more new experiences than any year prior. And although all 365 days seemed to fly by, we can honestly say that we made every single moment count! When all was said and done, we'd traveled 34,016.3 miles across nine states and two countries, all while somehow managing to squeeze in our first-ever helicopter ride, a heart-pounding skyjump from an 855-ft tower, and an absurd number of late nights fueled by caffeine and questionable life choices.
We started the year with a series of vlogs from our holiday vacation to the island paradise of O’ahu, chronicling our extended stay at Disney’s Aulani Resort and our adventures with led by the teams at Kualoa Ranch and Rainbow Helicopters. As part of the same trip, we were able to soften the blow of our return to the mainland by carving out a few days celebrating the Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure and Christmastime at the Disneyland Resort. By the time we made it home, we had enough vlog content to last us for weeks, if not months on a weekly release schedule - but of course, we had no intention of slowing down!
By February, we were ready to get back out into the world again, and we were delighted to make a new haunt connection with Laurel’s House of Horror for their inaugural ‘Love is Blind’ event in Laurel, MD. The team put on an incredible show - and one which was particularly nostalgic for me as someone who was originally raised in Laurel and saw classic Disney films on the screens of the very same movie theatre that now hosts the haunt. We were also able to revisit our friends at Field of Screams for both their Valentine’s Day and their St. Patrick’s Day events, adding some festive fright to our calendar. And by late March, it was time to jump on a plane and head back to the Orlando, FL area for a different kind of fun.
Theme and amusement parks have long been a cornerstone of our content and our day-to-day lives, and in 2023, we hit 16 different parks and conquered 69 new roller coasters, each offering its own blend of thrills, airtime and adrenaline. Our spring visit to central Florida saw our return to the four east-coast Disney parks for some old favorites, but it also saw us log our first full day at Seaworld Orlando, our first visit to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in years, and our first-ever MegaCon Orlando event! That’s right, folks; we do conventions, too! This year, we found ourselves at four major conventions - MonsterMania 54, MegaCon Orlando, the inaugural Contropolis PA event, and Star Trek Las Vegas - each one a whirlwind of cosplays, autographs, and impulse purchases that we absolutely, definitely needed (no regrets). Along the way, we met some absolute legends, including Tara Strong, Grey DeLisle, and Robyn Lively, all of whom were just as wonderful as we’d hoped. And those were just the celebrities that cameo’d in our vlogs!
Above: Among other celebrities we encountered at conventions over the course of 2023, we got a chance to meet 'Farscape' star Gigi Edgley at the inaugural Contropolis Pennsylvania!
By the time we returned to our base in the Baltimore area, we were looking ahead to a summer of new and exciting coasters closer to home. Wildcat’s Revenge at Hersheypark stood out as an instant favorite, proving that RMC can take an aging classic and turn it into something truly wild. Meanwhile, the long-awaited Darkoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg gave us a reason to brave the summer heat, and a quick first trip to Carowinds reminded us just how much we still have to explore on the East Coast. But our biggest theme park adventure took us far beyond the familiar—straight to the Netherlands, where we spent a few days at Efteling, soaked in the fairytale magic of the Efteling Hotel, and ventured to Toverland, proving that European parks do immersion like no other. It’s still somewhat amazing to think that we found the time to make our first visit to Las Vegas after a summer so busy and packed with travel as 2023’s, but nonetheless, we found a way to round out the season with a short (hot) visit to the West Coast for thrills, chills, escape games and razzle dazzle.
Above: Katie takes a flying leap off of an 855-ft building in Las Vegas at the STRAT Skyjump, the world's tallest vertical zipline!
Those of you who have been following our YouTube channel for some time should know by now that when we weren’t chasing coaster credits, we are chasing monsters - or, more accurately, getting chased by monsters. Spooky season remains our favorite time of year, and in 2023, we immersed ourselves in 14 different haunted attractions; screaming, laughing, and occasionally questioning our life choices. Some haunts held special significance for us this year - not just for the scares or because of the first-time visits, but also because they invited us out as hosted media, giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the passion and artistry that make these nightmares a reality. Field of Screams, Laurel’s House of Horror, Fright Farm, and Markoff’s Haunted Forest each delivered unforgettable experiences, and we’re so grateful to have been given a peek “behind the screams” so that we could bring more of the incredible worlds within the industry back to you as viewers.
And, although we’re usually dog tired by the end of haunt season and the beginning of the holiday season, that doesn’t mean that we are done running around for the year! In addition to more traditional holiday events at Hersheypark’s Christmas Candylane and Busch Gardens’ Christmas Town, we were also invited to do some scare acting at Laurel’s House of Horror for their Christmas Nightmare event - a first for Tim, and the birth of a new and demented character in ‘Twinkle Coldstone’. Looking back, it’s almost impossible to believe how much we packed into just twelve months. But that's the thing about travel - it never feels like enough. There’s always another ride to conquer, another haunt to survive and another city to explore waiting just beyond the horizon. So, here’s to another year of fun, fright and frolicking around the world. Whatever 2024 brings, we’ll be ready….because when you ride with us, every day truly is a new adventure.
