Special Features: ThrillNetwork debuts 2007 Gift Guide for the Enthusiast

Posted at 8:53 AM EST (1353 GMT)

Nov. 21st, 2007 -- Soon chestnuts will be roasting on an open fire, well at least in the song anyway. Soon it will be that time of the year when many of us celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.

Since you are reading this article on a website called ThrillNetwork, there is a good chance that you’re at least a bit into roller coasters and all things thrilling.

ThrillNetwork brings you our first ever “Gift Guide for the Enthusiast”.

Maybe you have a parent or boyfriend/girlfriend that just has no idea what you’d like this year and we’re here to help!

What follows is a list hopefully Santa himself would be proud of:

Season Passes –

The regional park operators seem to be in the mood for giving this season and they are offering deals on season passes.

Six Flags

Buy a Six Flags 2008 season pass online by December 31 and receive one free 32-ounce, Limited-Edition Sport Bottle per order. Get free refills your first day at the park plus 99¢ refills all season long. The fine print: You must process and use your pass before May 26, 2008 to take advantage of this deal.

Five free tickets for friends – For 2008, the Season Pass Value Book contains five free tickets for friends to use on select days. The Season Pass Value Book also includes over $300 in discounts on food, games, souvenirs and more.

One lucky Six Flags Season Passholder will win an all-expenses paid trip for four to attend the 2008 American Music Awards®. Purchase and process your Season Pass by July 31, 2008 to be automatically entered to win.

Cedar Fair

The “playing” field seems to be a bit more inconsistent over at rival Cedar Fair, operator of such parks as Cedar Point and Canada’s Wonderland. Some of the Cedar Fair parks (especially the former Paramount Parks) are offering free parking if you buy a 2008 season pass.

Following in the example of some operators like Busch, some of the Cedar Fair parks are offering deferred payment on passes until March 2008!

Offers and freebies vary by park, as an example: Carowinds is offering free parking for 2008 and free Scarowinds (Halloween event) admission as opposed to Dorney park which is offering neither free parking or any other perks on their site. As you can see, it would probably be best to check out your local park’s website for all the details by visiting Cedar Fair or you can link to your park by visiting ThrillNetwork’s database.

Those of course only cover the big two regional operators in the industry, check out ThrillNetwork’s database (link at the top of this page) and search for your favorite park if you want to check out your local park’s season pass deals for 2008.

Taking a traditional route, your gift-giver may want to think about one of the ten or so roller coaster DVDs available on Amazon.com While most of them are more than 3 years old, they are still a good watch and offer some professional footage of your favorite coasters.

Theme Park Review (TPR) also has their own DVDs for sale on their site and they have their own unique look at parks and roller coasters. Most of the DVDs include the normal park footage as well as on-ride footage as well. TPR is featuring their latest DVD “Roller Coasters in the RAW!”. I can only imagine what goes on in that DVD! TPR also has their own line of clothing for sale as well.

One of the latest gift ideas to come out the past few years is coaster models and coaster train models.

CoasterDynamix offers scale models of full-circuit coasters as well as amazingly detailed models of trains from many of the newest roller coasters on the planet.

If you’ve always wanted to build your own coaster, but don’t have the backyard to do it in, then CoasterDynamix coaster models are the way to go. The models range from $200 to $500 with expansion packs, trains and other accessories available as well. At least you won’t have your neighbors ready to run you out of town for building a coaster in your back yard!

The model trains are only being sold at the respective parks at this time. Busch Gardens Europe and Dorney Park are both offering their models for sale online at their respective websites.

Magnetix iCoaster

If you are looking for a purely fun toy to play with this holiday season, then the Magnetix iCoaster may be the way to go. Retailing for around $70, the iCoaster is a build-your-own-coaster modeling kit. You can build up to 10 different designs and hook your MP3 player as well! Check your local toy store or retailer for the iCoaster.

I would be remiss not to mention the one obvious store that you should check out, ThrillNetwork!

ThrillNetwork offers an online store full of all kinds of t-shirts, mouse pads, cups, mugs, caps, bags and many items designed by our very own ThrillNetwork members! Visit our Store by clicking the link at the top of this page.

From all of us at ThrillNetwork, we wish you and your family the happiest holiday season. Be safe and keep checking back with ThrillNetwork for all your amusement park and roller coaster news!

Know of another great gift idea? Send it to wes@thrillnetwork.com! You just may see yours added to this story!

For more information visit these websites:

Six Flags
Cedar Fair
Amazon.com
ThemeParkReview
CoasterDynamix
Busch Gardens Europe
Dorney Park
ThrillNetwork Store

ThrillNetwork brings you news and information about amusement parks, theme parks, roller coasters and thrill rides. Here you will find up-to-date news and travel discounts on your favorite parks including, Six Flags, Cedar Point, Cedar Fair, Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and Paramount Parks.