Coaster Magazines - CoasterBuzz

I was wondering if anybody knew of any good roller coaster magazines.

http://www.themeparksmagazine.com/

This is probably one of the best out right now if you don't want to join a club.

-D

You can get Timber Tales by joining the Wood Coaster Fan Club. An excellent 20-24 page quarterly publication for a paltry $20/year.

ACE puts out two great publications: ACE News and Roller Coaster! magazine. ACE News is bi-monthly, RC! is quarterly.

The ECC puts out First Drop 5 or 6 times a year- that is one hell of a fine publication too. It covers lots of U.S. stuff as well as European and Asian rides that American publications don't cover. A wise choice if you want a lot of everything.

Of course, I'm partial to Timber Tales for obvious reasons ;)

Rob - what a shameless plug!!! ;)

First Drop is great - can't fault it at all!

-Jim

Anyone wanting high quality color photos, ride reviews, and current news and rumors from around the world would be best served by the ECC and First Drop.

Theme Parks Online is a great read and looks stunning but it is feature/destination driven. I don't think you'll find much news there...I could be wrong. I plan on getting a subscription at their booth at PPP.

ACE is definitely improving the design of their publications but their content, especially news, is rather dated compared to that in First Drop.

Timber Tales is an excellent B&W newsletter/magazine and a steal at $20/year. But, if someone is looking for well-rounded content covering all kinds of coasters this isn't for them. If you love wooden coasters you CANNOT go wrong with the Wood Coaster Fan Club and Timber Tales. Each issue has been better and better and this club and its publication are only going to improve.

NAPHA puts out a newsletter but, sadly, I cannot recommend it at this time. I understand they are an all-volunteer organization but they are so far behind I just got the newletter than had the Dragster announcement!

Coaster Zombies also puts out a club newsletter. I haven't seen it in a while so I can't comment on the quality.

DAFE [Dark Ride and FunHouse Enthusiasts] has a newsletter as well, an excellent source if you're a dark ride fan.

I've been wondering about the NAPHA newsletter. I jsut got both the July and August newsletters (at the same time) and I recently received 3 issues of NAPHA NEWS all at once. 2 of them were from 2003 and 1 was from 2002. Aside from that little annoyance, they do have some interesting in depth articles on old rides and parks.

Timer Tales huh? I'm beginning to like the sound of that. I'm sure that one would never be late. ;)

Millrace - my biggest issue [if you'll pardon the pun] with NAPHA's publications isn't that they're WAY behind schedule not is it the context. Its that they just look bad and rather amateurish. Really, they need just stop, redesign, and begin from scratch. I'd be happier and I bet most of their membership would be, too.

mOOSH

Interestingly, the July issue of Napha NewsFlash mentioned that they are looking for volunteers to assist with the publication. *hint*hint* :)

I have to agree with mOOSH about NAPHA's Magazines. I love the historical value of the publication, but the photo and printing quality is the problem. I've been involved with NAPHA for several years now and I still love the organization. They just need to update the look of their magazine.

I'm also very partial towards Timber Tales. It's awesome if you like wood coasters and definitely the best publication about wood coasters out there. Rob does an outstanding job with our publication!

Kadoos buddy!!!

Wood Coaster Fan Club - "Sharing a Passion for the Classics"

You guys are making me blush with all these Timber Tales compliments. Keep 'em coming, I'm not complaining :)

Timber Tales aside, Moosh is right... if you want nice photos and a wide variety of ride reviews, First Drop (ECC) is the one to beat. The combination of ACE News and Roller Coaster magazine is a VERY close second (with ACE News being my favorite).

It has been a while since I've been a NAPHA member but I have heard numerous complaints about their publication recently. Too bad... there are a lot of people in that club that could probably write a bunch of interesting articles... perhaps that will happen if NAPHA News is given an overhaul and some direction? Speaking of NAPHA, Jim Futrell (who has been involved with the club for a LONG time) is the author of "Amusement Parks of PA" and "Amusement Parks of NJ". Both are outstanding books and are worth reading because of the wealth of information contained within. They are like magazines with a bunch of feature articles!

I didn't mention DAFE and Barrel 'O Fun because that's not really coasters, but if you're into darkrides you might want to consider a DAFE membership. The last issue of Barrel 'O Fun was ALL Kennywood and was terrific. Rick Davis does a great job with that organization.

Rob Ascough said:The ECC puts out First Drop 5 or 6 times a year- that is one hell of a fine publication too. It covers lots of U.S. stuff as well as European and Asian rides that American publications don't cover. A wise choice if you want a lot of everything.

First Drop used to deliver 6 times a year and I think they still claim that when you subscribe, but that hasn't been my experience as of the last couple of years. In 2003 they published issues in April, July and November and that was all; half of what was promised. This year I have issues from March and June and nothing more. I suspect there will be another one in time for IAAPA.

Yes, when it finally arrives it does have the latest news, and a lot of good coverage, but there is no publication schedule, Justin just slaps a date on the magazine whenever it's ready to go. I also find the writing and editing to be somewhat substandard.

Of course I'm partial to ACE News and RollerCoaster! and although we occasionally fall behind, we always publish 6 issues of ACE News and 4 issues of RollerCoaster! each year.

With the Internet it's all old news by the time it comes out in any magazine. With local fans posting photos at every park, nothing is ever missed.

Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

True, but there is a lot more to most publications than just news.

Whatever happened to Amusement Park Journal?