The year 2005 was pretty good for theme parks across the world. We saw the premiere of record breaking attractions, new high tech thrill rides and traditional forms of amusement park entertainment.

We'll take a look back at the highs and lows of 2005 with Arthur Levine from about.com. We'll talk about the attractions that were big hits and some of the ones that missed the mark. We'll also preview what could be big in 2006.

We'll also talk with Ian Clark from ozcoaster.net. He was one of the very first people to ride Superman Escape, the new Intamin Launch Coaster at Warner Brother's Movie World. He'll give us a review of this new attraction that opens this week.

After the show, join us in our forums to talk about your opinions. You can also record your thoughts on the CoasterRadio.com Voicemail Line at 206-339-RIDE (206-339-7433). Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at feedback@coasterradio.com.

We'd like to wish each of you Happy Holidays and a successful 2006.

When we started the show back in April, we had no idea what the reaction would be to a bunch of unknowns talking about theme parks and roller coasters. We figured that a couple hundred people would listen each week at best. But now, here we are eight months later, and a couple thousand of you are listening to the show each week. That totally exceeded our expectations.

As cheesy as it sounds, we're really honored that you invite us into your lives (iPods, computers) each week. Like we've said on the show, we're not theme park or coaster experts. Most of you out there know more about this stuff than we do. But the people who truly "get" the show understand that CoasterRadio.com is simply a show celebrating the fun that we all have when we visit the parks. That's all it is and all it ever will be.

We appreciate the e-mails we get every day and the many posts on the forums. We appreciate the people who have added themselves to the Frappr map and the people who have left messages on our voice mail line. But we also appreciate all of the people who listen each week that we have NEVER heard from personally. Hopefully we'll get to meet some of you this year.

2006 should be fun and we're glad you're along for the ride.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday with your family and friends.

If you've every spent any time watching ESPN, you've probably seen a program called "Pardon The Interruption" (PTI). It's a daily show where Washington Post columnists Tony Kornhsiser and Michael Wilbon debate the the biggest stories in sports for exactly one minute at a time.

In these days of short attention spans, it's the perfect format. So, we decided to follow the homage "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" and do a direct rip-off of PTI. So, that's why this week's show is called "Pardon The Ripoff".

We'll discuss 5 different topics for exactly two minutes each. Once the buzzer sounds at the end of the two minutes, we have to move on or else EB will throw a fit. It's the fastest theme park talk out there.

After the show, join us in our forums to talk about your opinions. You can also record your thoughts on the CoasterRadio.com Voicemail Line at 206-339-RIDE (206-339-7433).

Also, don't forget to check out our CoasterRadio.com Holiday Gift Guide. It's filled with ideas to find the perfect gift for the theme park enthusiast in your life. We've searched the internet for the most interesting toys, gadgets, DVDs, books, calendars, posters and other gifts that are made specifically for a fan of theme parks. We'll also found some outrageously expensive stuff that you can buy to bring the theme park experience into your home.

Thanks for listening to the show. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at feedback@coasterradio.com.

This year, Hades, the monstrous wooden roller coaster that opened at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin won the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride in 2005.

Riders were amazed by it's steep drop (140-feet at a 65-degree angle), two underground tunnels (one of which was the longest underground tunnel on a roller coaster ever), and the extreme 90-degree banked turn. The ride was designed by The Gravity Group.

One of the most anticipated rides for 2006 is The Voyage at Holiday World and Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. This wooden coaster will thrill park-goers with a 154-foot drop at 66-degrees, five underground tunnels, three 90-degree banked turns and a total of 24.2 seconds of airtime. This ride was also designed by The Gravity Group.

So, it goes without saying that the designers at this young company are pushing the evolution of wooden roller coasters. We're happy to welcome GG designers Korey Kiepert and Chad Miller to CoasterRadio.com this week.

We'll talk to the guys about their design philosophies and how they are trying to take the development and technology of the wooden roller coaster to new heights. We'll also talk about the pressures of designing a roller coaster in the age of the internet, where hype knows no bounds. Korey and Chad will also tell us some behind-the-scenes stories about Hades, The Voyage and other projects that they have worked on during their careers. After the show, join us in our forums to talk about your opinions. You can also record your thoughts on the CoasterRadio.com Voicemail Line at 206-339-RIDE (206-339-7433).

Also, don't forget to check out our CoasterRadio.com Holiday Gift Guide. It's filled with ideas to find the perfect gift for the theme park enthusiast in your life. We've searched the internet for the most interesting toys, gadgets, DVDs, books, calendars, posters and other gifts that are made specifically for a fan of theme parks. We'll also found some outrageously expensive stuff that you can buy to bring the theme park experience into your home.

Thanks for listening to the show. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at feedback@coasterradio.com.

This week, we hit soft-of a milestone and podcast our 30th episode.

To help celebrate, we'll play highlights from some of our favorite interviews that we have done over the past seven months. We'll play clips from Disney Imagineers Eric Jacobson and Joe Rohde, Holiday World's Will Koch, Curse of DarKastle designer Brent Young, travel author Kelly Monoghan, backyard coaster designer Jeremy Reid and many more. We'll also share a few behind the scene stories about each of the interviews.

Also, don't forget to check out our CoasterRadio.com Holiday Gift Guide. It's filled with ideas to find the perfect gift for the theme park enthusiast in your life. We've searched the internet for the most interesting toys, gadgets, DVDs, books, calendars, posters and other gifts that are made specifically for a fan of theme parks. We'll also found some outrageously expensive stuff that you can buy to bring the theme park experience into your home.

After the show, join us in our forums to talk about your opinions. You can also record your thoughts on the CoasterRadio.com Voicemail Line at 206-339-RIDE (206-339-7433).

Thanks for listening to the show. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at feedback@coasterradio.com.