RoCo

Wow. Those are amazing. MK's Space Mountain is still one of my favorite structures in the world. Gives me the chills to see it in all its glory like that.

^^^ My first thought was dilithium crystals.

My plan was to wait until Xmas to open my box, but seems we're all opening them upon receipt and I couldn't wait anymore anyway. My Santa wrote a very nice note to go with all gifts and I was encouraged to make a roller coaster model with the crafts items. Haven't done that since my early days with Lincoln Logs! This is now on top of my post-holiday To-Do list. Also, as a Tetris maniac from way back, I was very psyched to see the party-game version. Last, the animal jokes calendar is a gift that will keep on giving all year long. AWESOME! Thanks so much, Secret Santa! And thanks again, Brandy, for the top-shelf helper-elf work on this! It's really helped to make the holiday extra-special for me this year! I open my box and see two presents AND a stocking with more stuff. SWEET! Check it all out! I am a total slut for jokes, good and bad, so this calendar is going to be very handy throughout 2012. I had to skip ahead and check some out - this one made me LOL the hardest. So far.

^I learned something new today: HDR, high dynamic range imaging - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging I've always wondered how that effect was created. Very, very cool.

If this is planned for the top of the lift hill, then it is FULL OF GODLIKE WIN.

^^ and ^ Agreed. Ride quality always trumps aesthetics. Also, once I saw the TLs in action on the awesome Grona Lund Twister videos, I was sold. Looking forward to the first rider reports of the High Five element!

I heartily and fully endorse this idea.

Seconded. So many of these are just gorgeous; it's inspiring to look at your work. I may have already said this, but if you're not a pro, you should be. Do you use any particular Photoshop filters in your editing?

^ADORABLE! So, my Secret Santa box arrived this weekend, not opened yet, but will soon; THANKS SANTA!

Um... yeah...

*Slaps forehead hard* Of course... I've only ridden SD's JoA once, and I'd totally forgotten about it. Yeah, the elevator lift is the best part of that ride!

^Agreed; these updates are aces. Thanks!

As a recent convert to these ginormous spinny things (MaXair brought me to the dark side), I'm really jazzed that this is what's replacing Pitt Fall. And I'm no fan of big, nasty spiders (or as Steven King once called them, "hairy basketballs with legs"), but I kind of love the new name and logo.

You know, RoCo...when I read THAT comment I have to admit that your avatar was choosen perfectly Thank you, sir. Agreed. This one has snuck up on me as "one to watch" for next year. Cost-effectiveness aside, I'd love to see this lift system used in a dark ride/coaster, too.

Totally. Also, I like bow-legged women, so this shot in particular was a pleasure to look at.

This is already a super-freaking mega-awesome thread/event. Can't wait to see more "look what I got!" photos, but I warn that I'm not opening any gifts until Xmas day. Thanks again, Brandy, for pulling this all together! EDIT: Forgot to add: WELL DONE, first Secret Santa to have his gifts displayed! (In my world, "Twilight" is the digitial equivalent of coal in the stocking. )

Okay, so I just need to vent for a minute: I use UPS and USPS a lot at work, the latter much more lately, per a company mandate. And the USPS website EFFING BLOWS! OMG, it is one of the MOST ANNOYINGLY DESIGNED, NON-USER-FRIENDLY SITES EVER! And their service doesn't even compare to UPS, in my experience... Oy. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. That does make sense, now that I'm remembering... but I'm still leaving my name off the return address...

That shot of the restored Pretzel car is SUPER-FREAKING MEGA-AWESOME.

Got my giftee info; thanks! Been wondering this myself; haven't done a "Secret Santa" group effort in so long. Do we keep our identity secret from the giftee forever and ever? I kind of like that idea. Was planning on not putting my name on the return address, making sure the gift offered no clues to I am, etc. You know, keep it all "Dark Knight" and mysterious and stuff and let them wonder.

My sorrow at the loss of BBW is nearly gone. Wait.. there goes the last of it. PSYCHED!

^A Blitz coaster would be swell, but I'm praying for AQUATRAX, baby!

Any park that is the "Knoebels of [iNSERT PLACE NAME HERE]" is an automatic must-do. Plus,Tornado sounds so killer. America, would you please get some of these? Thanks.

AMEN. Not a flat ride person usually, but this ride is TEH AWESOME times, like, a million. And followed closely by SkyHawk, too, as others have mentioned above.

Capacity issues aside, WOW. Yeah, the potential applications for an Avatar attraction are incredible. Or a rebirth of Kong at Universal.

There's something about Intamin double-spine track that makes me... um... "very happy in a romantic way." That turn does indeed look like it's going to be blistering, especially in the inside wing seat. Hersheypark is becoming one of the world's most awesome Intamin showcases.