2016 GIFT GUIDE FOR ROLLER COASTER FANS

The 2016 holiday shopping season is upon us and if you’re on the hunt for that special gift for a friend or family member who happens to be a roller coaster fanatic, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve organized our gift ideas into several sub-categories of books, games, toys, and more.

ROLLER COASTER COMPUTER GAMES

• Roller Coaster Tycoon World — the long-await sequel to 2004’s Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 — is now available. The game is touted as the “newest installment in the legendary RCT franchise” with “fan-favorite features as well as incredible new advancements! Buy Roller Coaster Tycoon World online for $19.24 (as of this posting).
• Or you can get the classic RollerCoaster Tycoon Triple Thrill Pack instant download for just $9.99, my personal favorite!
• Planet Coaster has brought the roller coaster and theme park simulator genre roaring back to life. The game has received rave reviews, and was made by the developers of Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Like RCT3, Planet Coaster allows players to design and manage their dream theme park, as well as ride their roller coaster creations — and share them with other players. Planet Coaster isavailable for purchase on Steam for $44.99 (as of this posting).

ROLLER COASTER BOOKS

• Coasters 101: An Engineer’s Guide to Roller Coaster Design. Learn how roller coaster designers spend hundreds of hours creating, tweaking, and re-imagining ride paths to push the exhilaration envelope while carefully maintaining the highest safety standards. Features design example problems real roller coaster engineers face in the field today as well as career advice for any aspiring roller coaster engineers.
  
• 50 Groundbreaking Roller Coasters: The Most Important Scream Machines Ever Built by Nick Weisenberger is a comprehensive list of the most influential scream machines that drove the evolution of the modern roller coaster. It’s a new and interesting look at roller coaster history. What makes a majority of the roller coasters listed in this book even more impressive is the fact that they were designed using pencil and paper rather than computers.
• Theme Park Design and the Art of Themed Entertainment is the most thorough book on theme park design available. David Younger’s book is literally a textbook on every single aspect of theme parks you could think of, with quotes from real designers with priceless knowledge. Reading Theme Park Design is like taking a college course on the subject, and your professors are Walt Disney Imagineers. I recommend if you want to go from RollerCoaster Tycoon to real life theme park designer!
  
• American Coasters 2 by photographer Thomas Crymes. The pictures are large and crisp. The colors are vivid. The book’s simple design places more emphasis on the photographs. Nothing beats seeing pictures of roller coasters printed on a physical page (sorry, internet). The book is available on Amazon for $30.36 (as of this posting).
  

ROLLER COASTER TOYS AND MODELS

• Lego Disney Castle. Launch the fireworks and let the magic begin! The Disney Castle measures over 29” (74cm) high, 18.8” (48cm) wide and 12” (31cm) deep. This set includes over 4,000 LEGO® pieces. Be sure to buy directly from LEGO where the set is only $349 (not $479 like on Amazon).
  
• LEGO Creator Expert 10247 Ferris Wheel Building Kit – Build the iconic Ferris Wheel, featuring 12 colorful suspended gondolas with opening doors, ice cream stall, kiosk, 10 minifigures and more.
• CoasterDynamix Nancoasters – Stainless steel coaster models that are pretty affordable, though non-working. Great gift to display on your desk or in your home.
• K’NEX Space Mountain Roller Coaster. I loved playing with K’Nex as a kid and I’m glad they’re still around with more roller coaster sets to choose from than ever before. Recreate the excitement of the popular Disney Parks attraction. Includes 2 roller coaster cars and 25 ft of track that glows in the dark!

TECH, GADGETS, AND MORE

• Google Cardboard – Want to see those virtual reality coaster videos parks are now creating to market and preview their new rides? Get a Google Cardboard. Take a spin on Lightning Rod or Valravn. Google Cardboard is described as Virtual Reality (VR) on a budget. Gives you a taste of the capabilities of the Oculus Rift at a fraction of the cost. Though be warned it may cause motion sickness if the app you’re looking at doesn’t perfectly track your head movement. It’s fun to assemble and play with.
• Catalyst: A Rogue One Story by James Luceno. If you’re a Star Wars fan like I am you’re probably anxiously awaiting Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie on December 16th. This book will wet your appetite before the new movie comes out. The story takes place during the Clone Wars and the formation of the Empire. Not required reading for the movie, but will give you some additional background information on the characters.
  
• Laptop Privacy Screen Protector. Whenever I visit a customer I always take my privacy screen protector for my Dell laptop. It keeps your personal or confidential information safe from prying eyes as you’ll see the information on your display while people on either side only see a darkened screen. If you’re ever on an airplane or in a coffee shop and feel like your neighbor is constantly looking over your shoulder at your screen then you need to get one of these today!
• Amazon Prime Membership. If you haven’t joined Amazon Prime yet, why not? I do almost all my shopping online and I get free two-day shipping on nearly everything. You can also borrow books, watch movies, and stream music. Click here to start your 30-day free Amazon Prime trial membership.

GET A GIFT AND CONTRIBUTE TO A GOOD CAUSE

The Coaster101 2017 Roller Coaster Calendar is the perfect gift for any thrill seeker. The photographs featured were all taken by members of the Coaster101 team. And best of all, they’re donating 50% of net proceeds to Give Kids The World Village in Florida. Each calendar costs only$15 and includes free shipping in the United States! Purchase your calendar(s) here!

What gifts are you getting your coaster enthusiast friends? Which coaster gifts are you hoping to find under the tree this year? Discuss in the comments section below.

Top 50 Legendary Roller Coasters - Corkscrew

If you could resurrect any deceased roller coaster which one would it be? I'm starting a new series examining what I believe to be the top 50 legendary roller coasters that no longer exist. We start with number 50:

50. CORKSCREW

Known for: First double-inverting roller coaster in Europe

Location: Alton Towers, England

Type/Category: Steel, Sitdown Looping

Opened: 1980 / Closed: 2008 / Dismantled: 2008

Age when closed: 28

Replaced by: Thirteen

Designer/Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics/Vekoma

Height: 75ft (22.86m) / Drop: 68ft (20.73m)

Speed: 44mph (13.41kph)

Length: 2,400ft (731.52m)

Inversions: 2

Alton Towers, located in Staffordshire, England, is an amusement park with a unique history. It started out as a nobleman’s estate, and then became a garden and tourist attraction. Throughout the 1970’s, the park was built up into a modern theme park, and in 1980, Alton Towers got its first rollercoaster—the Corkscrew. The Corkscrew was exactly what Alton Towers needed to complete the transformation from quiet country estate to thrilling amusement park. A steel rollercoaster, featuring one of the first double-loop inversions in Europe, the Corkscrew reached speeds of 44 mph. There was nothing else like the Corkscrew anywhere in the UK, and it was an instant success. On its opening weekend, guests at the park waited up to nine hours for the chance to ride the Corkscrew, and months later park-goers were still waiting in line for hours to ride this new rollercoaster. Park attendance doubled from 1979 to 1980.

However, as the years passed, the Corkscrew’s appeal faded. While its inversions had once been new, now there were other rollercoasters with similar, or more extreme, elements. And while 44 mph had once seemed incredibly fast, compared to newer rollercoasters, it was tame. By 2008, the Corkscrew was an old rollercoaster with a rough, bumpy ride. Still, on the ride’s last day in November 2008, thousands turned out for one last ride on the Corkscrew. The ride was torn down, but parts of the track were saved and are now on display at the entrance to Alton Towers, reminding guests of the rollercoaster that launched the park into the successful theme park it is today.

50 Legendary Roller Coasters That No Longer Exist is the latest book by Nick Weisenberger and you can download the Kindle version for free between 4/21/16 - 4/25/16.

2015 Gift Guide for Theme Park Lovers

The holiday shopping season is upon us once again and if you’re on the hunt for that special gift for a friend or family member who happens to be a roller coaster enthusiast, you’ve come to the right place! The obvious gift is to buy a season pass to your local amusement park, zoo, or aquarium but if you want to give something a little bit different this time then check out our list below.

Coasters 101: An Engineer’s Guide to Roller Coaster Design. Learn how roller coaster designers spend hundreds of hours creating, tweaking, and re-imagining ride paths to push the exhilaration envelope while carefully maintaining the highest safety standards. Features design example problems real roller coaster engineers face in the field today as well as career advice for any aspiring roller coaster engineers. For 25% off, enter discount code: UY8WJQMM when purchasing directly from: https://www.createspace.com/3737443

Theme Park Design by Steve Alcorn. Take a peek behind the scenes, with a theme park engineer – a must read for all aspiring theme park designers! For more information readour review and interview features with Steve.

Creating My Own Nemesis by John Wardley. The story follows John’s professional career beginning with how he got out of the boring family business and into the crazy world of theme parks. If by any degree you’re into magic, illusions, theater production, theme park design, or roller coasters I highly recommend you read this thoroughly entertaining book.Read our full review here.

RollerCoaster Tycoon Triple Thrill Pack Instant Download.  This compilation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 and expansion packs Time Twister and Wacky Worlds brings together all the rides, building tools, as well as five real-world Six Flags amusement parks and 25 of their signature coasters.

Want to bring a little piece of Walt Disney World into your home? Looking for an alternative to putting a train around your Christmas tree? Then check out the Walt Disney World Monorail Playset. This working monorail is inspired by the real thing and has sound and light effects.

The carnival is coming to town with this super cool new Fairground Mixer LEGO set. A portable spinning ride and several carnival games can be built with the more than 1,700 pieces.

Google Cardboard - Want to see those virtual reality coaster videos parks are now creating to market and preview their new rides? Get a Google Cardboard. Take a spin on Lightning Rod or Valravn. Google Cardboard is described as Virtual Reality (VR) on a budget. Gives you a taste of the capabilities of the Oculus Rift at a fraction of the cost. Though be warned it may cause motion sickness if the app you’re looking at doesn’t perfectly track your head movement. It’s fun to assemble and play with.

Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. If you’re a Star Wars fan like I am you’re probably anxiously awaiting The Force Awakens movie on December 18th as well as the additions of Star Wars Land to Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. This book will wet your appetite before the new movie comes out. The story takes place during the original trilogy but offers a new perspective in which the main characters don’t really know anything about The Force, the Jedi, the Dark Side, etc. which I think is a theme that will carry over into The Force Awakens. The story also ends about a year or two after The Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi and does contain the Battle of Jakku and how at least one of those Star Destroyers ends up smashed on the desert planet. If you’re only going to read one Star Wars related book, this is the one.

What gifts are you getting your coaster enthusiast friends? Which coaster gifts are you hoping to find under the tree this year? Discuss in the comments section below.

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters - Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

I'm starting a new series examining what I believe to be the top 50 most terrifying roller coasters ever built. We start with number 50:

50. HOLLYWOOD RIP RIDE ROCKIT

Known for: World’s first track elements

Park: Universal Studios Florida

Location: United States

Type: Steel

Opened: 2009

Designer/Manufacturer: Maurer Söhne

Height (ft.): 167

Speed (mph): 65

Video: http://youtu.be/JjI2a8wRe34

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is a radically innovative steel coaster that includes one-of-a-kind track elements, cutting-edge technology, and an interactive audio element. Sprawling across a large section of the park, the skyline of Universal Studios Florida was changed forever when the Rockit began thrilling in August of 2009. Riders board a train consisting of two six passenger cars before ascending the 167 foot tall vertical lift hill. After reaching a speed of 65 miles per hour the ride soars into a mammoth non-inverting loop (a loop that twists at the top so the vehicles never turn upside down). This crazy maneuver is followed by the Treble Clef, where guests burst through a building façade on track shaped like the music symbol; and later followed by the Jump Cut, a spiraling, negative-gravity move. If nothing else, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is surely one of the coolest looking coasters around, especially at night when the lights on the vehicles are lit up.

The most unique aspect of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the ability to choose your own song to rock out to. That is if you can hear it over your own screaming. The music selection is broken up into 30 songs in five categories; Classic Rock/Heavy Metal, Club/Electronica, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, and Pop Music/Disco. In addition to these 30 songs, Universal has also included a number of “hidden” tracks that are accessible via entering secret codes into the ride’s touchpads before your journey begins. A personalized take-home music video is also available for purchase for those wanting to remember and share their terrifying ordeal with their friends.