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. Like last year, we’ve organized our gift ideas into several sub-categories.

Theme Park Books

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 read our review and interview features with Steve.

Things to Do in Theme Park Queues by Scott Wegener is an entertaining book that can make your visit to a theme park even more enjoyable. Filled with tips, activities, and trivia, this book will make standing in those long lines fun and something to look forward to. To learn more check out our awesome interview with the author, Scott Wegener.

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.

In Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman a boy goes to an amusement park and wins an invitation to another scary amusement park. There he has to survive seven rides before dawn or he will become part of the scenery. Can he do it and save his big brother? One of the better amusement park fiction books.

Roller Coaster Books

American Coasters: A Thrilling Photographic Ride is a relatively new book 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). See a few of the pictures and read our review from earlier this year.

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.

Disney Books

Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making More Magic Real. Simply one of the best Disney books out there. Contained within this deluxe coffee table book are rough drawings, conceptual models, and behind-the-scenes stories showcasing Disney’s newest attractions and innovations from the inside out.

The Disney Mountains: Imagineering at its Peak will tell you that and more–not only about the current Disney mountain range and its show enhancements, but about mountains unclimbed and mountains yet to be

Roller Coaster Video Games

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum RCT3 Platinum combines the excitement and roller coaster, theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild! Now enjoy more options than ever. Build your own water slide or create your own safari with real animals. Watch guest reactions to your ultimate theme park.

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.

Roller Coaster Toys and Models

K’nex Rippin Rocket Coaster. Loaded with over 500 KNEX pieces including classic parts, this model boasts over 20 feet of twists, turns, and daring loops. A special motorized blaster launches the coaster car into its exciting journey around the track.

Coaster Dynamix Models. The most realistic working roller coaster models currently available. Choose from Wooden coasters, steel coasters, Tumble Bugs, and Lego coaster sets.

Other Gift Suggestions

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, or Universal Orlando? Then you might want to seriously consider buying a subscription to Touring Plans. You’ll learn the best times to visit to save you time and money. Well worth the investment!

Cincy Amusement Park Shirts. From the early days of Chester Park to Americana and Kings Island, these vintage shirts will be a nice stroll down memory lane. This shop not only sells The Bat shirts, but also a few other defunct Kings Island coasters, including Son of Beast, Phantom Theater, and King Cobra!

Roller Coaster Posters from CoasterImage.com make great gifts for yourself and others. The code “HOLIDAYCOUNT” gets you 60% off posters and up to 50% off other items.

American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) publishes an annual calendar featuring outstanding full-color coaster photographs by their members and park photographers. The calendar typically features coasters that recently opened, those celebrating significant anniversaries, or coasters at parks hosting upcoming or recent ACE events. The 2014 ACE calendar includes Untamed at Canobie Lake Park, Hullámvasút at Vidámpark, Gold Striker at California’s Great America, and more!

Lost Coasters 2014 Calendar featuring 12 months and 38 images of roller coasters that are currently destroyed, removed, standing unused or otherwise defunct in some capacity. Available in multiple sizes.

What’s on your wish list this holiday season?