After checking in Saturday evening, East Meets ACE officially kicked off with our trip Sunday morning, September 23 to Tobu Zoo Park in Minami, Saitama, Japan. We had three hours that morning including an hour of ERT on Kawasemi and Regina. Operating since 1981, it is owned by Tobu Railway Co., Ltd. and managed by Tobu Leisure Planning Co., Ltd.
It is a large, spread out park with lots of animals and is divided into themed lands: Wakuwaku Street, Honobono Street, Libertyland, Pleasure Land, Dokidoki Street, Africa Sabanna and Heartful Land.
Kawasemi (Intamin , Mega-Lite, 2008) Named for a type of small bird known for its fast speed, it was built where Mount Rocky Coaster (Tappusu, Steel Sit Down, 1989-2003) formerly sat.
This was my second Intamin Mega-Lite and it is a shame more of these have not been built.
They are basically a smaller version of a hyper coaster but have a lot of the same great elements. It was running a little sluggish when we rode compared to the other one I have ridden, but it still gave a great ride. Limited time and crowds prevented me getting another ride – 1 ride during ERT.
Regina (Intamin, Wood [not pre-fab], 2000) Meaning Queen in Italian, this was the first wood coaster of our trip.
While it was somewhat rough, it has a great layout, some really good airtime and was overall very enjoyable.
I was glad for this to be my first wood coaster in Japan. Even on the axle seat the ride was enjoyable, though a little rougher than the non-axle seat – 2 rides, 1 during ERT.
Tentomushi (Zierer, Tivoli Medium Family, 1998) Japanese for Ladybug, it gave a good ride – 1 ride.
Diggy & Daggy’s Tram Coaster (Hoei Sangyo Co., Ltd., Powered Family, 2014) It gave a good ride – 1 ride.
Galaxy Walkers – This was an interesting mirror maze with a long maze before and a game to play at the end – 1 walkthrough.
Airline Flight Skyfish Express –
This suspended monorail between Liberty Land and Heartful Land gives a good tour of the park -1 ride.
God Swinger Orue – This Wave Swinger is very well themed – 1 ride.
With limited time we did not get to many of their other rides including: UFO Dome (Inagawa Junji’s Ghost Story 3D Mirror Monster 3D), which was not operating this day; Stove’s Adventure Cart, a car ride; Boat, swan boats; Sky Cycle, a pedal monorail; Animaru Boobooo, a shuttle bus with two stops in the park; The Grace of the Sun Railway Park Line, a locomotive running from East Gate Station to Liberty Land Station and to Heartfulland Station; Carousel Water Lily, an Italian merry-go-round set over water; Emma’s Cheese Windmill, a Ferris Wheel; Margaret’s Flower Cup, Tea Cups; Music Express; and Astrofighter. They also have10 children’s rides.
Defunct roller coasters include Crazy Mouse (Togo, Looping Mouse, 1981-2009), which had one inversion; and Mount Rocky Coaster (Tappusu, Steel Sit Down, 1989-2003).
The park was quite crowded this day as it was a holiday weekend, but thanks to our ERT, we got all the coasters in and got in a few other rides.
This was a nice park to begin our Japanese adventure.
We were supposed to visit Hanayashiki / 浅草花やしきin Taito, Tokyo, Japan, but it was dropped from our schedule a few weeks earlier as its one coaster, Roller Coaster (Togo, Steel Sit Down, 1953), was closed due to construction at the park. This was disappointing as it is the oldest operating coaster in Japan, but it could not be helped. The park has been in operation since 1853, having opened as a flower park before becoming an amusement park in 1949 operated by Togo Company. Following Togo’s bankruptcy and reorganization in 2004, the park was sold to a subsidiary of Bandai, a Japanese toy company. We got to see the park from outside during sightseeing later in the trip. I look forward to visiting this park on a future visit and hope the coaster and the park will still be in operation.
East Meets ACE – A Journey to the Land of the Rising Sun
East Meets ACE – Prologue: Tokyo
When I first joined ACE in 2003 I was fascinated by the article in Roller Coaster about ACE’s European Coaster Odyssey in 2002. I thought how interesting it would be to go on an international trip with ACE. But in 2005 when ACE joined ECC for a trip to Japan, I never even considered going. I had only been out of the country once and I did not know many people yet. Later, as I read the reports of that trip I wished I had been able to go. I jumped at the chance for an international trip when ACE went to Spain in 2009 and have been on every ACE international trip since. When I learned ACE was going to Japan, I was excited, but also a little concerned about such a long flight. I studied up on Japan and the parks we would visit. I knew it would be the trip of a lifetime. And I was right.
On Thursday, September 20, 2018, I headed for Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the 12+ hour nonstop Delta flight to Tokyo. I met up with my friend Richard Bostic at the airport. Our flight left around 11:30 Thursday morning, and when we arrived over 12 hours later it was 3:30 Friday afternoon. The sun had been up the whole time. We flew north over Canada and across the northern shores of Alaska, giving us great views of the Arctic Ocean.
In Tokyo as we landed it was raining, which unfortunately would be a theme of this trip. Once in Narita International Airport we met up with David Lipnicky and made our way to our hotel by limousine bus, passing by Tokyo Disneyland along the way, which we would visit in a few days. Traffic was unbelievably heavy on this Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend – it was Autumnal Equinox Day on Monday. After a more than two hour bus ride we finally made it to the Keio Plaza Hotel where we would stay for the next week. By the time we checked in Vanessa Thomas had arrived, so our group of four who had planned sightseeing and other activities together before and after the ACE trip was complete.
Our original plan was to venture out from the hotel a bit this night, perhaps to nearby East Shinjuku, the nightlife center of Tokyo, or maybe even a short subway ride to Shibuya, party town for Tokyo’s youth where the latest in fashion, food, music and gadgets could be found, but due to our late arrival and how tired we were from the flight, we decided to stay closer to the hotel and find something in West Shinjuku. Just a couple of blocks away we found a street with many small restaurants, so we scouted out a place that would satisfy our diverse tastes. With two sushi lovers and two who will not eat sushi (including me as I refuse to eat uncooked meat), and with various limitations regarding meat and fried food, finding something we could all agree on would become perhaps the biggest challenge of this trip. We settled on a small Japanese place and had a somewhat light meal to start our trip, but it was good. We returned to the hotel to get ready for a full day of sightseeing the next day just ahead of the ACE Trip.
On Saturday, September 22 we got an early start on our sightseeing. Although we would enjoy good breakfasts at the Keio Plaza Hotel throughout the week, breakfast was not included with this day as our stay the previous night was on our own, not part of the ACE trip. After a quick stop at the hotel market for some food items, we were off to Tochomaeo Station for a short subway ride to Yoyogi Station. From here we walked a few blocks to the entrance to Meiji Shrine. Located in Yoyogi Park, this is considered the most important Shinto shrine in Tokyo. Here Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his wife are enshrined. The Park is quite large and fairly heavily wooded, so it provides great tranquility from the bustle of the city around it. We walked in and admired the many buildings, especially in the area of the Inner Shrine. We explored various pathways and saw many interesting sights.
We headed back to Yoyogi Station and took the subway to Daimon Station where we changed lines to travel to Asakusa Station. We arrived at Asakusa Station and made the short walk to catch the Sumida River Cruise. This covered boat ride with a glass top travels along the main river in Tokyo and gives great views of the buildings along the waterfront while passing under 12 bridges, each painted a different color. Although we had only dealt with light off-and-on rain that morning, it was raining some now, making it hard to take good pictures through the glass roof. We enjoyed the journey anyway as we got to see a good bit of this side of Tokyo. Some 35 minutes later we arrived at our stop, Hama-rikyu Station where we disembarked.
We now got to tour Hama-rikyu Garden, a 62 acre garden dating back to 1654 when it was a retreat for shoguns. Nakajima Teahouse, which President Teddy Roosevelt once visited, has been faithfully rebuilt following World War II bombings that destroyed it and much of the gardens. The gardens are beautiful, like a country oasis in the heart of the city; it was nice to feel so secluded in such a large metropolis. We wandered the winding pathways past shrines, pavilions, statues and even a few cats (which I took pictures of for my cats Waggles and Sonny). It was here that we saw the first squat toilet that we encountered. Fortunately our hotels were equipped with state of the art toilets!
We headed out of the park for the Shiodome Station. It is here that we would divide up. Vanessa is an avid baseball fan and wanted to go to a game in Tokyo. We had all considered going until we could not find a game that would work with our schedule and not take away an afternoon of sightseeing. So Vanessa headed to Tokyo Dome to see the Giants vs. the Swallows, while Richard, David and I continued our sightseeing journey.
We arrived at Ryogoku Station and walked to the Japanese Sword Museum.
While the museum is rather small, it had a good display of Japanese sword craftsmanship, some dating back to the 12th century. It was fascinating to learn more about how swords are made and to see the intricate artwork involved.
From here we admired the attached garden
and headed backto Ryogoku Station and took the subway to Ueno-okachimachi Station near Ueno Park.
Our plan was to have a quick lunch, visit the Shitamachi Museum, which showcases the history of Shitamachi, the low city of Edo, as Tokyo was once known, and walk through a bit of Ueno Park. Realizing that this might be our best opportunity for a Japanese beef meal, we opted for a sit-down meal. We chose a place where you could grill your food at your table. I was quickly accused of hogging the grill, but my thought was to get everything cooked as quickly as possible and then be able to eat. Apparently you are supposed to cook some and eat it and then cook more, but in an effort to ensure that raw never touches cooked, as I will point out the health code dictates, I took a little more than my share of the grill. Despite that it was a good meal, with several types and cuts of beef. I am not certain what some of it was, but I will leave it at that. We had been a little behind our schedule when we arrived and the meal took a while, so we realized we would have to skip seeing Ueno Park and the Shitamachi Museum. We headed to Ueno-okachimachi Station and took the subway to Kasuga Station.
We walked to Koishikawa Korakuen Garden.
One of Tokyo’s best traditional stroll gardens, it dates back to 1629.
Covering 20 acres in the heart of the city,
it is especially known for its noteworthy bridges
and it is filled with picturesque vistas.
It was a little more formally landscaped than the Hama-rikyu Garden we visited earlier, but both are beautiful in different ways.
It was also has more changes in elevation, which adds to its beauty.
It is located right next to Tokyo Dome, so we could hear fans cheering at the baseball game where Vanessa was
as well as see Thunder Dolphin(Intamin, Hyper, 2003) that we would be riding the next day. We headed out to Korakuen Station, transferred lines at Otemachi Station, and arrived at Sendagi Station.
From here we began a long walking tour of the Yanaka District, a quiet area of the city that survived the 1923 earthquake and World War II bombings.
It provides the look and feel of old Shitamachi with tightly packed houses on narrow alleys and traditional shops, restaurants and food stalls. This would have been an excellent place to have dinner, but we had to be back to check in for the ACE trip and meet up with Vanessa. As we walked along it began to get dark as the sun sets in Tokyo around 5:30 that time of year. With such early sunset comes early sunrises in the Land of the Rising Sun. We walked past the Tenoji Temple and the Yanaka Cemetery, which is huge. We walked and walked and yet the cemetery still remained on our left. After a while we made our way to Ueno Park, the large city park with many statues, temples, shrines and museums, finally getting a chance to see it after having to skip it earlier in the day. It was quite active this night, with concerts and various activities taking place.
We made our way to Ueno-okachimachi Station and took the subway to Tochomaeo Station, headed back to the hotel. Back at Keio Plaza Hotel, we met up with Vanessa just as the check-in time for East Meets ACE was getting underway. After seeing with many of our friends and catching up, we joined Vanessa’s parents Dan and Judy Thomas for dinner.
We went to a complex across from the hotel and found a good Spanish restaurant upon which we could all agree. After a long, tiring but rewarding day, we headed back to Keio Plaza Hotel to get some rest before an early start to our roller coaster adventure the next day.
ACE Coaster Con 41 – Maryland & Virginia: Epilogue – Ocean City, MD On Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24 the ACE Mid-Atlantic Region held Ocean Fest at the parks of Ocean City, MD. We left the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg Saturday morning headed for Ocean City. We arrived around noon for the first day which would be at Jolly Rogers at the Pier and Jolly Rogers Amusement Park.
Jolly Roger’s at the Pier
This park extends out over the water. I had been here before in 2010. While we did not have ERT, we were given tickets for all rides at both parks. We started at the Pier.
Looping Star (Pinfari, Zyklon ZL42, 1996) Like each of these I have ridden it has rough transitions, but it was not as painful as the one at Brighton Pier – 1 ride.
Morbid Manor: On my previous visit we did not get to ride this as the park closed early due to rain, so I was looking forward to it. When we first walked up they were having a problem with it which took a while to fix, but they eventually got it open. It is fairly good as such seaside darkrides go, with some good stunts along the way. It has an outside portion with a bit of a drop – 2 rides.
Hurricane: Music Express – 1 ride.
Giant Ferris Wheel: Good views – 1 ride.
Double Decker Venetian Carousel: I rode on the upper level – 1 ride.
Bumper Cars: Fairly small – 1 ride.
Other rides include Kraken, Power Surge, Tornado and Slingshot (for an additional charge). The Pier has 4 kiddie rides.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not Mirror Maze: This is outside the park, but pretty good – 1 walkthrough.
Jolly Rogers Amusement Park
This park is located away from the water. Our evening meal was provided here and our wristbands were good until 6:00.
Wildcat (Schwarzkopf, Wildcat-65m, 1970/1979/1999/2002/2015) Relocated from Cedar Point as Wildcat, Valleyfair! as Rails, and Jolly Roger Amusement Park as Wildcat, it was then on the fair circuit before returning here. It is a replacement for Wildcat (Schwarzkopf, Wildcat-54m, 1974/ 2008-2014), which I rode in 2010 and later was named Avalanche, which had been relocated from Bell’s Amusement Park as Wildcat and was later sold to a park in Lima Peru It gives a great ride. With the rails wet and the car full, it was almost hard for the brakes to work! – 7 rides.
Wacky Worm (Fajume, Wacky Worm Family Coaster, 2005 or earlier) Interestingly the train is tighter than the other two in Ocean City – 1 ride.
Sea Serpent (Miler Manufacturing, Kiddie Coaster, 1985/2015) Having operated on the fair circuit, this coaster was added since my last visit. This was a replacement for Sea Serpent (Miler Manufacturing, Kiddie Coaster, 2014/2015) that was relocated to Adventure Park USA as Tumbleweed (See Prologue) which was not here on my previous visit – 1 ride.
Mardi Gras: Funhouse – 1 walkthrough.
Iron Horse Train: This gave a good tour around the park – 1 ride.
Spyder: I love these and this had pretty good spinning – 1 ride.
Carousel: Small carousel – 1 ride.
Giant Ferris Wheel: Good views – 1 ride.
Flying Dutchman: Music Express – 1 ride.
I did not ride Bumper Cars, Swings, Heart Flip, Monkey Mayhem and Fun Slide or do Treasure Golf or Jungle Golf. The park has 12 additional children’s rides. Since my last visit Nightmare Castle, one of the weakest darkrides I have been on, and Glass House have been removed. They provided a nice meal that evening.
That night we returned to the Pier to get some rides in at Trimper’s due to limited time the next day.
I paid to do a standalone Haunted House that evening, which was good – 1 walkthrough.
Baja Amusements
The next morning we stopped by Baja Amusements, a family entertainment center.
They also have Bumper Boats, Baja Mini Golf and Go Carts along with two children’s rides.
Trimper’s Rides
We then headed to Trimper’s Rides, a park that has been in the same family for 128 years. The park owner, Brooks Trimper, talked to us and told us about the history of the park. They were presented a recognition by the National Amusement Park Historic Association. We were provided with a five hour wristband, but due to a long drive Richard and I would have to leave in two hours, and so would David and Vanessa in order for him to make his flight.
Tidal Wave (Vekoma, Boomerang Shuttle Coaster, 1986) What is neat about this coaster is that they have put Endeavor in-between the elements, so that adds to the ride – 1 ride.
Wacky Worm (Fajume, Wacky Worm Family, 2006) Another Wacky Worm, our third – 1 ride.
Spinning Coaster: (SBF Visa Group, Family Spinning Coaster, 2015) – 3 rides.
Sooper Jet (Wisdom Rides, Powered Kiddie Coaster, year unknown) Adults are not allowed to ride, but we were this day. It was a pretty tight fit, so as David said as we got off, just because you are allowed to ride doesn’t necessarily mean you should! – 1 ride.
Haunted House: This two story darkride was designed by the legendary Bill Tracy and has classic stunts throughout. The ride vehicles are coffins which take you through a 6 minute ride. This is excellent and to me one of the best classic ride through haunted house – 2 rides.
Pirates Cove: I missed this funhouse on my previous visit and it has a lot of classic funhouse stunts with an interesting theme – 2 walkthroughs.
Mirror Maze: I missed this in my last visit so I was glad to get to do it – 1 walkthrough.
Big Merry-Go-Round: (Herschell-Spillman, Classic Wood Carousel – 3 rows (12 Jumping Horses, 11 Standing Horses, 25 Menagerie Animals (1 Camel, 2 Cats, 1 Deer, 2 Dogs, 1 Dragon, 2 Frogs, 2 Giraffes, 1 Goat, 1 Lion, 2 Mules, 2 Ostriches, 2 Pigs, 2 Roosters, 1 Stork, 1 Tiger, 2 Zebras), 4 chariots), 1912) Trimper’s Rides & Amusements, Ocean City, MD (1912-present). What a classic ride, and it is in its original location – 1 ride.
Endeavor: These modern versions of an Enterprise are fun and its placement between the elements of Tidal Wave made it really fun – 1 ride.
Rock O’Plane: These are so much fun – 1 ride.
I did not ride Big Dodgem; Freakout; Himalaya; Merry Mixer, a Scrambler; Pirate Ship; Rock & Roll Matterhorn; Tilt-A-Whirl and Zipper. In addition the park has 24 children’s rides. Unfortunately Aladdin’s Lamp, a funhouse, was removed since my last visit, and I didn’t get to do it then as the park closed early due to rain. This is a nice park squeezed into a tight space. I did not get to do it justice in the short time here, but I did get more done than on my last visit.
After a quick meal on the midway, Richard and I left about 2:00 for our long drive back to his house in South Carolina. We arrived around midnight, and I was back on the road at 5:30 to make it to work on time. I was tired, but it had been a great trip, celebrating ACE’s 40th anniversary at some great parks. It was time to get ready for the next big trip – Japan – East Meets ACE in September.
On Thursday Coaster Con 41 moved to the location of Coaster Con 1, some 40 years earlier. Back then there were four coasters. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is an absolutely beautiful park; it is easy to see why it has been voted the most beautiful theme park so many years. It is filled with beautiful flowers, well maintained landscaping, picturesque waterfalls and its centerpiece, the Rhine River, a lake that borders all of the parks ‘countries’ and most of its coasters. As a theme park should, it effectively immerses the visitor into each section of the park, each of which represents different European countries and Canada, through architecture, ride theming, shows, food and shops. In my mind Busch ranks just behind Disney and Universal in theming; Six Flags and Cedar Fair could take note. I will present this trip report by country.
England – Banbury Cross
This well themed entry section has lots of shops and services along with restaurants including Squire’sGrill.
England Skyride: We took the Skyride to France twice and arrived from Germany – 2 rides.
The show at Globe Theater, Britmania, did not open until June 29.
England – Sesame Street Forest of Fun
This children’s area has five children’s attractions plus a coaster.
Grover’s Alpine Express: (Zierer, Family Coaster, 2009) This is a good kid’s coaster – 1 ride.
The children’s show here is Sunny Days Celebration.
Scotland – Heatherdowns
This section is home to the oldest coaster in the park, which was brand new at CoasterCon 1.
Loch Ness Monster: (Arrow, Looper, 1978)
Also celebrating its 40th anniversary this year,
it was fascinating to imagine when this coaster was new and ACE was just beginning,
particularly since several of those original attendees/members
were present
for this event. The coaster itself has held up well over these many years.
The best parts of this ride are the enclosed triple downward helix and the interlocking loops. This is definitely one of the best Arrow loopers.
I got to go on a tour of the maintenance area underneath the station,
which was quite interesting,
considering how much technology of coasters has changed over the last 40 years, and our tour also included a ride. This ride is still thrilling and fun – 6 rides, 5 during ERT.
Scotland Train Station: The park has an excellent transportation system with three train stations and three skyride stations serving six of the park’s ten sections – 2 rides.
This section has one kid’s ride and an animal encounter Highland Stables – Clydesdale Horses.
Ireland
This section is especially well themed.
O’Tator’s and Grogan’s Pub complete the atmosphere.
Battle for Erie: Formerly Corkscrew Hill and Flying Over Europe, this is their new ride for this year. It was fun and ties in with Ireland nicely – 1 ride.
Abbey Stone Theater: Celtic Fyre: This show is always good. It has a good story line and is fast paced with lots of dancing. We had a special seating – 1 show.
They are currently not using Castle O’Sullivan, another theater.
Wolf Valley: They have several wolves that you can view – 1 viewing.
Eagles Ridge: They have a fascinating display of bald eagles – 1 viewing.
Lorikeet Glen: This aviary is nice with some beautiful birds – 1 viewing.
Shenanigans Theatre: More…Pet Shenanigans: This was good and it is particularly neat that the animals here have been rescued – 1 show.
I was trying to see all the shows but did not get toHowl To Coexist in Wolf Haven.
France – Aquitaine
Another well themed section, the architecture immerses you into France.
Griffon: (Bollinger & Mabillard, Dive Coaster, 2007) – This mythological creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, is not French in origin, but apparently was well known in France and other northern European countries, so the theme fits, particularly with the French spelling of the name with an ‘o’. This ride certainly soars like an eagle and has the strength of a lion.
With no floor and 10 seats across, most riders are beyond the track, creating a truly unique experience. It is an excellent ride – 4 rides during ERT.
France Skyride: I took the Skyride in from England, which gave great views of Loch Ness Monster and Griffon. I got in a couple of rides from France to Germany, a truly unique experience as you go right through Griffon and Alpengeist – 2 rides.
There were no shows in the Royal Palace Theater, an amphitheater, during our visit.
France – New France
Departing from the Europe theme slightly, this area represents the French colony in Canada, so everything is rustic. One of our meals had smokehouse specialties, so I didn’t make it to TrappersSmokehouse on this visit. I enjoyed looking at the wares of the various artisans here.
InvadR: (GCI-Jeff Pike, Wood, 2017)
This is a great addition to the park, its first wood coaster. While not overly large, it packs in a lot and was truly amazing during our night ERT – 15 rides, 11 during ERT.
Le Scoot Log Flume: This is a very fun older Arrow log flume with 2 good drops. Of note, theming is good, its supports are well hidden and it interacts well with the landscape. – 1 ride.
Caribou Train Station: I took the train in from Festa Italia and at another time took the train back to Festa Italia through Scotland. – 2 rides.
Le Catapult: Older Scrambler that gives a fairly good ride – 1 ride during ERT.
Germany – Rhinefeld
One of the most immersive countries is Germany. It also includes a children’s area, Land of the Dragons, which has six children’s attractions.
Alpengeist:(Bollinger & Mabillard, Inverted, 1997) This inverted coaster takes its theme from a ski lift gone crazy, attacked by an abominable snowman type creature. The on ride theming for this ‘Ghost of the Alps’ is excellent; it could not make better use of terrain, landscaping and structures.
It is nearly impossible to see what is coming up next and it is extremely well paced. Theming of snow in the tunnels and trenches made the ride even more effective. It is a little rough in some seats, but this is one of the best inverted coasters I have ridden – 6 rides, 4 during ERT.
Rhine River Cruise: This boat ride takes you on a tour of the Rhine River along the banks of Germany and Italy and gives great views of Verbolton and Apollo’s Chariot – 1 ride.
German Skyride: We took the Skyride to England as well as arriving from France – 1 ride.
Kinder Karussel: (Allan Herschell, Classic Wood Carouse – 3 rows (36 Jumping Horses, 2 chariots), 1919) Traveled 50 years, abandoned, found in 1973 in Dallas. Busch Gardens Williamsburg (1973-present). This smaller antique carousel is, fully restored – 1 ride.
Germany – Oktoberfest
Perhaps the heart of the park, it contains DasFesthaus where we ate the first night. There are also three kid’s rides.
Verbolten: (Zierer, LSM Launch, 2012) This ride replaced The Big Bad Wolf, but it is great in its own way. With launches and an inside portion with three different shows, it is a lot of fun. With the shows of Wolf, Storm and Spirit, along with a reference on one train’s tag, this ride pays homage to its predecessor – 6 rides, 4 during ERT.
Mach Tower: This drop ride is good – 1 ride during ERT.
Bumper Cars: Good bumper cars – 1 ride.
Der Wirbelwind: This Wave Swinger gives a good ride – 1 ride.
Das Festhaus: Octoberzest: This German show in Das Festhaus was entertaining and helped immerse the viewer in the German experience – 1 show.
Ironically, the German sections of the park were once home to every coaster that has been removed from this park. In addition to The Big Bad Wolf (Arrow, Suspended, 1984-2009), perhaps Arrow’s best suspended coaster, this spot was once home to Die Wildkatze (Schwarzkopf, Wildcat-54m, 1976-1983), which after a number of relocations now operates at Adventure Park USA as Wildcat, which we rode prior to the beginning of Coaster Con 41. This section was also once home to the legendary yet troubled Drachen Fire (Arrow, Looper, 1992-1998) that I never had an opportunity to ride.
Also in this section NewKastle is the name for the building that housed Curse of DarKastle, an excellently themed darkride/ 4-D experience with great special effects and backstory, but now used as an events facility. That same spot was once the location of Glissade(Schwarzkopf, Jet Star 3, 1975-1985) which currently is at Selva Mágica as Tornado (we did not get to ride last year due to it being down) and later Wild Maus (Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, Wild Mouse, 1996-2003), now operating at Busch Gardens Tampa as Sand Serpent. The other coaster that was present at Coaster Con 1, also in this section, was Das Kätzchen (Allan Herschell Company, Kiddie/Little Dipper, 1976-1984). Over the years 8 coasters and an exquisite darkride have called Octoberfest or Germany/Rhineland home, yet of these only two coasters remain. These sections are still among the best in the park, but what losses these two sections have sustained!
Italy – San Marco
This is a well-themed section.
Marco Polo’s Marketplace is hereas well as two kid’s rides.
Escape From Pompeii: This is a very good version of a shoot-the-chutes ride as it contains a darkride/ special effects portion depicting the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii. It has a good drop that doesn’t get you completely soaked. It was closed most of our visit and opened just before we left on Friday, so I got it in – 1 ride.
The Battering Ram: Good swinging ship – 1 ride.
Da Vinci’s Cradle: Good flying carpet ride with intense forces – 1 ride.
The Flying Machine: Somewhat tame spinning ride – 1 ride.
Il Teatro Di San Marco: Mix it Up: Funny musical about cooking – 1 show.
Italy – Festa Italia
This Festival themed area has a nice feeling. LaCucina pizza is here along with one 1 kid’s ride.
Apollo’s Chariot: (Bollinger & Mabillard, Hyper Coaster, 1999) This being the first of the B&M hypers, it is amazing it is so well executed.
It didn’t take any trial and error to get this right. Of particular note is the ascending double helix at the turnaround and the final drop to the ground near the station. It gives an excellent ride – 12 rides, 11 during ERT.
Tempesto: (Premier Rides, LSM Launch, 2015)
This gives an intense ride – 1 ride.
Roman Rapids: Fun rapids ride with lots of waterfalls & water cannons–a pretty wet ride – 1 ride.
The Trade Wind: Good Himalaya ride – 1 ride.
Turkish Delight: I always enjoy teacups and these spin good – 1 ride.
Festa Train Station: I took the train to Caribou Station & also arrived via this station – 1 ride.
This is an amazing, first class park.
They treated us well, providing a delicious meal featuring smokehouse favorites.
They talked to us a little about the coasters at the park, particularly the older ones and some no longer there. The three ERT sessions were great in spite of threatened rain, and we got almost all of it in. They were having their Food and Wine Festival, so Friday we had lunch by trying samples at food stands from various countries and regions. I had five items from Virginia, Caribbean, Hawaii, French Quarter and Ireland, and everything I had was delicious. I have visited this park many times since I first went in 2008 and I cannot wait to go back.
That evening we had our ACE Banquet at the Great Wolf Lodge. The meal was delicious and the evening was very nice.
But the highlight of the night was the keynote address
by ACE’s co-founder and first president Richard Munch.
Hearing him talk of the Coaster Marathon,
the idea of starting a club
and of his adventures of trying to make that happen with cofounders Paul Greenwald and Roy Brashears, really helped me better understand what it took to get this club started. The evening also included the Spirit of ACE Award/ PTC Manufacturer’s Award, which went to Elizabeth Ringas, Regional Rep for the Mid-Atlantic Region, which was well deserved.
I thoroughly enjoyed this night and it was a good way to end Coaster Con 41. But we would have one more adventure to undertake the next morning.
On Tuesday, June 19 ACE Coaster Con 41 moved to Kings Dominion in Doswell, VA, beginning our trek to return to the roots of ACE. It was here at an event to publicize the 1977 movie Roller Coaster that ACE founders Roy Brashears, Paul Greenwald and Richard Munch would meet and come up with the idea that would become ACE. At that time the park had 4 coasters, 2 of which are gone including Galaxi (S.D.C., Zyklon / Galaxi, 1975-1983) moved to Myrtle Beach Pavilion as Galaxi and now defunct, and King Kobra (Schwarzkopf, Shuttle Loop, 1977-1986), after several relocations now operating at Hopi Hari as Katapul. Kings Dominion has grown and changed much in the ensuing years, but still retains much of its original charm. The most picturesque section is the Old Virginia section which has lots of trees and quite a bit of character. International Street is well themed and very similar to Kings Island. Safari Village has some good theming as well. Candy Apple Grove looks like a traditional American theme park midway, no doubt patterned after Coney Island in Cincinnati. We spent two days at the park including four ERT sessions. I will present this by themed section.
International Street
With architecture representing different countries and an Eifel Tower at the end of the street, this entrance section has a true international flair. It looks much like its counterparts at the other two Taft built parks, Kings Island and Canada’s Wonderland.
Dominator: (Bollinger & Mabillard, Floorless, 2000, 2008) I first rode this coaster as Batman Knight Flight at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (later Dominator at Geauga Lake). This is a good coaster – 3 rides during ERT.
Eiffel Tower: I always enjoy observation towers at parks because it lets you get really great views of the park – 1 ride.
Berserker: This looping ship is thrilling and brings back good memories of Looping Starship at SFOG – 1 ride.
Safari Village
This section, for a while known as Congo, has returned to its original theming as it was connected to the park’s original attached, now long since defunct, Lion Country Safari.
Intimidator 305: (Intamin AG, Giga Coaster, 2010) While this is a great coaster, it does not rank as high to me as many hypers or gigas as its extreme intensity is bit much. I still enjoyed my rides, but I have to limit them – 5 rides, 3 during ERT.
Avalanche: (Mack, Bobsled, 1988) The only Mack Bobsled in North America, it gives a very good ride. Like Intamin bobsleds, this is a fun ride that I enjoy riding over and over – 8 rides during ERT.
Flight of Fear: (Premier, Enclosed LIM Looper, 1996) Like its sister at KI, and outdoor versions at SFA and SFFT, it gives a great ride – 2 rides, 1 during ERT.
Anaconda: (Arrow, Looper, 1991) This coaster has one place that is very rough, but otherwise it gives a good ride. I like the tunnel under the water – 1 ride.
Backlot Stunt Coaster: (Premier, LIM Coaster, 2006) This gives a very good ride although some of the special effects no longer work – 1 ride.
Scrambler: Good ride – 1 ride.
I did not ride The Crypt, an outdoor highly themed Top Spin over water, as I decided not to spin that much. Unfortunately Volcano, the Blast Coaster (Intamin AG, suspended catapult coaster, 1998) was down during our visit as it has been most of this season, awaiting a part or perhaps more. This was a shame as I had looked forward to a good many rides on it as it is my favorite ride in the park. It is such a great ride: the launch is immediate and flying out through the volcano is a great effect. It doesn’t let up after that, providing a well-paced ride that interacts with the volcano structure which was originally used for several other rides. The theming is very well done. I hope they get it operating again soon as I look forward to many future rides on it. [Unfortunately it was later announced it would not reopen and has since been torn down.]
Richard and I had a good meal at Outer Hanks Wednesday while David and Vanessa were at a regional rep meeting.
Candy Apple Grove
This iconic American midway look has returned to its origins recently after being known as just The Grove for many years. We enjoyed the Singing Mushrooms, and all of the apple theming is nice.
Twisted Timbers: (Rocky Mountain Construction, Steel Hybrid, 2018) This is a renovation of Hurler (International Coasters, Inc., Wood Twister, 1994-2017) that just opened this year. Although I always hate to lose wood coasters, like most such conversions this was an improvement over what was at best a mediocre wood coaster. It is now quite thrilling with some great elements. My only complaint is that the airtime is so extreme that it can be really hard on the thighs against the restraints, particularly near the front, but it is still a very good ride. The apple orchard theming is great and fits in with this section nicely. We were hoping for more rides in ERT Wednesday night, but the rain had other plans – 4 rides during ERT.
Racer 75: (PTC – John Allen, Wood Racing Coaster, 1975) Formerly named Rebel Yell, this was the coaster used for the marathon from which the idea to form ACE would come. They have done a good bit of work on this and it was running great. Still, I couldn’t imagine riding it for 50 hours straight as Richard Munch did in 1978, let alone for 101 hours as the three guys who won the marathon did. Of course the coaster was much newer then and they were all much younger then than I am now! – 2 rides, 1 on each side.
Apple Zapple: (Mack, Wild Mouse, 2002) Formerly Ricochet, this model has the lift hill extended out from the ride and a large drop and return before the hairpin turns. It gives a good ride – 1 ride.
Drop Tower: This has a 300 foot drop and is very thrilling. The rotation and tilting of Acrophobia are better to me than the added height, but I prefer these seats – 2 rides.
Dodgem Bumper Cars – These gave a pretty good ride – 2 rides.
Carousel: (PTC # 44, Classic Wood Carousel, 4 Row (50 Jumping Horses, 16 Standing Horses, 2 chariots), 1917) Riverside Park, Springfield, MA, (1917-1938); Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI, (1938-1973); Kings Dominion, Doswell, VA, (1973-present). This classic antique carousel is well restored and gives a good ride – 2 rides.
Delirium: This is a great addition to the park – 1 ride.
Windseeker: This gives good views – 1 ride.
Wave Swinger: Good ride – 1 ride.
Bad Apple: Formerly Triple Spin, Troikas are always fun – 1 ride during ERT.
Americana: This Ferris Wheel from Geauga Lake gives great views – 1 ride.
I did not ride Xtreme Sky Flyer, an additional charge Skycoaster. We had dinner the first night at The Mac Bowl where you could add whatever toppings you wanted to a bowl of macaroni and cheese, a neat idea, which was very good. Notable rides that have been removed from this section include Shockwave (Togo, Stand Up Coaster, 1986-2015), HyperSonic XLC (S&S, Thrust Air Coaster, 2001-2007), which I unfortunately never got to ride, and El Dorado, a nicely themed Rainbow style ride from Geauga Lake.
Old Virginia
This picturesque section is beautiful with its lush trees, and evokes the feel of the Old Dominion. This is my favorite section of the park because it has a number of good rides that are partially hidden such that you really cannot see what they have to offer until you ride them.
Grizzly: (Kings Entertainment Company, Wood Twister, 1982) This remake of the Coney Island, Cincinnati Wildcat has essentially the same layout as the one at California’s Great America, but that is where the similarities end. The latter is a somewhat boring ride; the former is a well-paced ride that doesn’t let up. Certainly the fact that this one flies through the woods and its PTC trains help it against its less landscaped and Morgan trained sister, but there is no way the construction of the track can be identical. This one is truly one of the best rides in the park. Our night rides were amazing. I am glad we rode it several times the first night as the rain washed out our ERT the second night – 5 rides, 4 at night.
Shenandoah Lumber Company: This gives a good ride through the woods – 1 ride.
Blue Ridge Tollway: This is one of the most picturesque car rides I have been on. I hope they leave this here as it adds to the beauty of the park – 1 ride.
Flying Eagles: Good flyers – 1 ride.
Whitewater Canyon: Just as we were riding the rain began and we got soaked! This has a nice wooded course, totally hidden from the rest of the park. It also has a nice tunnel – 1 ride.
I did not ride Grand Prix Raceway, the additional charge go-carts.
Kings Dominion Theater: Origins: A Cirque Experience: This was an amazing show with some great performances. We had special seating – 1 show. Also in this theater we were shown a “Pop-Up” version of the movie Roller Coaster with interesting facts added in. This was really significant considering that without this movie ACE would likely not have been formed – 1 movie. In addition we had our ACE business meeting, election platform speeches and video contest in this theater. We also had a President’s Panel where six of the nine living ACE presidents answered questions about their time as president. Present were Richard Munch (1978-1982), Randy Geisler (1986-1990), Bill Linkenheimer (1998-2002), Mark Cole (2006-2010), Dave Altman (2010-2014) and Jerry Willard (2015-present). This was fascinating as I love history, and I also enjoyed talking with each of the presidents at various times throughout the week. While she could not be at this forum, Carol Sanderson (2002-2006) joined us by the end of the week. The late Ray Ueberroth (1990-1994) was remembered fondly. Jan Kiser (1994-1998), who still attends, could not make it this year, and I understand Lucy Ambrosini (1982-1986) is older and no longer active in ACE.
Planet Snoopy
Formerly Kidzville and Nickelodeon Central, this section has 16 kid’s rides plus the following:
Woodstock Express: (PTC John Allen, Wood Junior, 1974) Formerly Scooby Doo’s Ghoster Coaster and Ghoster Coaster, this is a fun ride and a great introduction to coasters for kids – 2 rides, 1 during ERT.
Great Pumpkin Coaster: (E&F Miler Industries, Kiddie Coaster, 1997) Formerly Taxi Jam, adults are normally not allowed to ride without a child, but ACE was allowed at certain times – 1 ride.
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill: Formerly themed to Scooby Doo, this is a pretty good interactive darkrides – 2 rides.
Flying Ace: Formerly Space Surfer, it gives a good ride – 1 ride.
Soak City
The waterpark is included with admission. ACE held our Rubber Duck Regatta in the lazy river as a fundraiser for the Preservation Fund, but otherwise I did not visit the waterpark. Attractions include: Aqua Blast, an enclosed slide; Baja Bends, a body slide; Big Wave Bay, a wave pool; FreeStylin’, a tube slide; Hurricane Heights, three enclosed slides; Lazy Rider, the lazy river; Paradise Plunge, three trapdoor slides; Pipeline Peak, four enclosed slides; Thunder Falls; twin tube slides; Tidal Wave Bay, a water activity area; Zoom Flume, a family raft; and children’s attractions: Lil’ Barefoot Beach; Soak City Splash House; and Splash Island.
The park provided two delicious meals, a lunch of braised chicken and pulled pork sandwiches, and a dinner featuring prime rib and fried chicken. This is a really good park with a unique collection of coasters. Along with my two favorites, Volcano and Grizzly, they now have Intimidator 305 and Twisted Timbers. With a custom Arrow, the only Mack Bobsled in North America, a great floorless coaster, and several versions of popular coasters at other parks, this is a quite a solid group of coasters. We had four scheduled ERT sessions and although the last was rained out, we had a great time. The park did an amazing job welcoming us back to a place that is at the heart of why ACE exists. We drove on to Williamsburg that night to our Con hotel, Great Wolf Lodge, to get ready for the final park of Coaster Con 41.
ACE Coaster Con 41 – Maryland & Virginia: Prologue – Adventure Park USA
This year ACE is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and it decided to return to its roots. ACE was born out of Coaster Convention 1 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The idea of this convention and of a club itself was born from a coaster marathon at Kings Dominion in the summer of 1977 as publicity for the movie Roller Coaster. Now 40 years after that first convention and 41 years after the genesis of an idea for a coaster enthusiast organization, ACE returned to those two parks. But the convention would start at Six Flags America.
Adventure Park USA
Prior to Coaster Con 41 ACE Mid-Atlantic held a regional event at Adventure Park USA in Monrovia, MD I left work a little early on Friday, June 15 and drove to Maryland, stopping to pick up Richard Bostic in South Carolina along the way. We made it most of the way up, stopping for the night and completing our journey Saturday morning, June 16, arriving around 8:30. We met up with Vanessa Thomas and David Lipnicky, with whom we would spend the rest of the trip. We also met up with Kevin Knapp and Jackie Lara with whom we would spend a good bit of time over the next week. Operating since 2005, this small park has a nice collection of relocated coasters. I previously visited in 2016.
Wildcat: (Schwarzkopf, Wildcat-54m, 1976/1984/1994/2001/2007) Relocated from Busch Gardens Williamsburg as Die Wildkatze, Playland Park as Wild Cat, Steel Pier as Wildcat and Williams Grove Amusement Park as Wildcat, where I first rode it, it was significant that this well-travelled coaster started its life at the park that we would celebrate ACE’s 40th anniversary later in the trip, particularly since it was present there at Coaster Con 1. Due to a fire where the other train was stored, they are currently only running one train. In spite of a bit of a wait each time, we still got to ride a good bit. I love Wildcats and this one runs very well – 7 rides, 1 during ERT.
Wild West Express: (Zamperla, Windstorm, 1997/2015) Relocated from Old Town as Windstorm, where I first rode it, this gave a good ride. Richard and David got to walk up the lift hill during a tour – 2 rides, 1 during ERT.
Tumbleweed: (Miler Manufacturing, Kiddie Coaster, 2014/2015) Relocated from Jolly Roger Amusement Park as Sea Serpent, it gives a good ride – 1 ride during ERT.
Blazing Trail Go-Karts: These were good – 1 ride.
West World Laser Tag: This is a two story laser tag maze – 1 game.
Other attractions include Skyrace, Crater Lake Bumper Boats, Road Runner, Mini Golf, Hologate Virtual Reality, and Spin Zone Bumper Cars. The park provided a good meal of hamburgers and hot dogs. We had a fun time, and this is a nice, small park for families to enjoy. Around 2:00 we headed out with Richard, David and Vanessa going to a concert in Baltimore, while I went to Six Flags America with John Allen (the coaster enthusiast, not the late coaster designer). The next day would be registration and the beginning of Coaster Con 41.
While the rest of my group was going to a concert Saturday evening, July 16, I decided to get in a little extra time at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, MD, where Coaster Con 41 would start the next day, joining John Allen for dinner and a few rides. I have visited this park on three separate occasions, but I have always had limited time, so I wanted a little extra time here. On Sunday after registration at our host hotel, we headed to the park in the afternoon and then returned Monday for most of the day. We also met up with Vanessa’s parents, Judy and Dan Thomas with whom we spent a good bit of time over the next week. I will review the park by themed section combining my time over three days.
Main Street 1776
This nice looking entrance section is made to look like America at its beginning with colonial architecture. It is mostly shops and restaurants and services but it has one ride. Flying Carousel: Wave Swinger – 1 ride.
Also here is the Grand Theater where we were welcomed and heard from Adam Sandy, Chief Business Development Officer of Ride Entertainment, which was interesting.
Chesapeake
Named after the bay around Maryland and Virginia, this is the Park’s largest concentration of rides.
Roar: (GCI-Mike Boodley, Wood Twister, 1998)
One of GCI’s earliest designs,
this has a few rough spots but gives a pretty good ride – 3 rides, 2 during ERT.
Relocated from Six Flags Great America as Iron Wolf, this was the first of B&M’s stand ups as well as their first coaster.
While somewhat rough,
I rode it defensively for a decent ride – 1 ride during ERT.
Shipwreck Falls: This shoot-the-chutes gets you pretty wet – 1 ride.
Capital Railways: This train around the park takes you past the picnic area – 1 ride.
Great Race Antique Cars: This is a nice course over several bridges – 1 ride.
Carousel: An unusual, fanciful carousel, it gave a good ride – 1 ride. Cyclone: This Scrambler was fun – 1 ride. Tea Cups: This gave pretty good spinning – 1 ride. High Seas: This pirate ship had fairly good airtime – 1 ride. Pirate’s Flight: These flying ships were a nice way to cool off – 1 ride. Richard and I had lunch at Chop Six on Sunday, which I liked because you can use your dining pass for Chinese food, which you cannot do at Six Flags parks that still have Panda Express. The food was very good.
Mardi Gras
This festively themed section evokes the spirit of New Orleans.
The Wild One: (John Miller/ PTC-Herbert Schmeck/ Charles Dinn, Wood Out & Bank Coaster, 1917/1932/1986)
This is one of 4 golden age coasters that consistently rank among my top 25 or so wood coasters (the others are Comet at Great Escape, Cyclone at Luna Park, and Phoenix at Knoebels).
This John Miller coaster, modified by Herbert Schmeck after a fire and relocated by Charles Dinn, is a true classic. It is filled with airtime and has an exciting helix finale. It was running very good and our night ERT session was truly amazing.
We presented a plaque to the park recognizing Wild One as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark – 11 rides, 8 during ERT. Ragin’ Cajun: (Zamperla, Wild Mouse, 2004/2014) Relocated from Six Flags Great America as Ragin’ Cajun, it gave some spinning – 1 ride during ERT. Voodoo Drop: This 140’ Drop Tower gives good views and a good ride – 1 ride. Bourbon Street Fireball: This Larson Loop had quite a few inversions – 1 ride. French Quarter Flyers: Good new flyers – 1 ride. Zydeco Zinger: I always enjoy Rainbow type rides – 1 ride. I did not ride Big Easy Speedway, their additional charge Go-Carts.
Coyote Creek
This western themed section is well done. Mind Eraser: (Vekoma, SLC, 1995) It gave the expected ride – 1 ride during ERT. Renegade Rapids: Very nice course with a long tunnel, and it gets you fairly wet – 1 ride. Coyote Creek Crazy Cars: Standard Bumper Cars – 1 ride. Rodeo: It gave a good ride without being too intense – 1 ride.
Stunt Show Theater: A Race for Riches – A Ghost Town Story: This comedy stunt show was fun and well done, a nice change of pace from the regular such comedy shows – 1 show. Crazy Horse Saloon: Rock the Country: Not quite to theme park show standards – 1 show. John Allen and I had a good dinner at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Coyote Creek Saturday night.
Gotham City
Usually one of the busiest sections of any Six Flags park, this Gotham City was no exception thanks to a very good and thrilling collection of rides.
Superman Ride of Steel: (Intamin AG, Hyper Coaster, 2000)
While I do not like this one quite as much as its cousin in MA,
this is a very good ride
and a lot of fun – 4 rides, 2 during ERT.
Joker’s Jinx: (Premier Rides, LIM Coaster, 1999) I have always liked this ride as it has so much packed into such a tight space – 2 rides, 1 during ERT.
Batwing: (Vekoma, Flying, 2001) While I am not a big fan of this particular model of coaster, it was running fairly well – 1 ride during ERT. THE PENGUIN’s Blizzard River: This Spinning Rapids Ride is good and gets your feet surprisingly wet – 1 ride.
WONDER WOMAN Lasso of Truth: This 240’ Sky Screamer gives great views – 1 ride. Since I am not a big fan of Round Ups, I decided to skip Riddle Me This. I did not ride Dare Devil Dive, the additional charge Skycoaster.
We had Midway Olympics in Gotham City Monday and our team of Richard, David, Kitty and Doug Wintemute and myself tied for third – amazing!
Looney Tunes Movie Town
Themed to Bugs Bunny and his friends this children’s section has 7 kid’s attractions plus a coaster.
Great Chase: (Zamperla, Family, 1999) This is a good starter coaster – 1 ride.
Whistlestop Park
This train themed area, once Thomas Town, has 8 kid’s attractions.
Huricane Harbor
Their nicely themed waterpark is included with admission. We had our welcome meal in the water park Sunday evening with a delicious menu that included crab cakes and fried chicken.
Wahoo River: New in 2018, this was a rebuild and large addition to their lazy river, and it is very nicely done – 3 rides during ERT.
We also had ERT on Bonzai Pipelines, a Trapdoor Chute; and Tornado, a Funnel Chute, but with limited time I spent it all on the lazy river. Other attractions include: Bahama Blast, a family raft ride; Halfpipe;Hurricane Bay, a wave pool; Paradise Plunge/Reef Runner, slides; Shark Attack Hammerhead, a straight, enclosed slide; Shark Attack Mako, a body slide; Vortex/ Riptide, slides; and ZoomAzon Falls; body slides. Kid’s attractions include Bamboo Chutes, Buccaneer Beach, Calypso Cannonballs and Splashwater Falls, an interactive play area.
One former ride worth noting is Skull Mountain, a highly themed flume ride that included dark ride portions. I got to ride it on one occasion. I am sorry it is gone.
We got to view portions of it that are left during our walking tour around Apocalypse, Roarand Superman Ride of Steel. I was amazed to see how busy this park was, particularly the waterpark on Saturday and Sunday. This is not one of Six Flags’ higher profile parks and I sometimes worry about what may become of their smaller parks, but if this weekend is any indication, this may just be a “cash cow” that really helps the company. It is well themed, has a good selection of coasters and has a great number of flat rides.
The park treated us to a Mardi Gras themed lunch on Monday,
which was very good, and our two ERT sessions were a tremendous amount of fun. They also provided the Crazy Horse Saloon on Monday as an ACE lounge to cool off, which was of great use in the stifling heat.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the park, finally getting long enough to fully experience it. I look forward to a return visit someday. We left about 4:30 stopping for an Asian Dinner nearby to practice our chopstick skills in anticipation of our Japan trip this Fall.
The ACE Spring Conference 2018 was held at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO on Friday, May 4 through Sunday, May 6. I decided to drive, so I left after work on Thursday. I spent the night in Arkansas just west of Memphis before completing the journey, arriving Friday morning around 11:30. I met up with Richard Bostic, Vanessa Thomas, David Lipnicky, and Judy and Dan Thomas. We had three ERT sessions over three days. I have been to this park twice before, for Coaster Con in 2009, and for a regional event in 2016. The park is very well themed to an 1880s Ozark village. I will review the park by its nine themed sections.
Entrance/ Main Street
This entrance section includes the park’s original attraction as well as lots of shops and restaurants. The park first opened as Marvel Cave, an impressive cave deep below the ground. We were given opportunities for a special tour of the cave, but because I had a 12 hour drive home, I decided to leave Sunday before the tour. Due to flooding, they were only able to do half of the tour and could not include the return from the bottom of the cave on an incline railway. On Saturday we had a delicious buffet lunch at the Mine Restaurant, which is made to look like a cave. We did not have time for any shows, but Gazebo Stage is a show venue.
Hugo’s Hill Street
Powder Keg – A Blast in the Wilderness: (Premier/ S&S Power, Launched Coaster, 1999/2005) This coaster started life as a Premier built water coaster named BuzzSaw Falls, but was significantly altered in 2005 by S&S Power as a launched coaster. You can tell where it changes from Premier track to S&S track along the ride. This is an excellent coaster with a thrilling launch, extreme airtime and great speed.
It had closed on Friday before I arrived and did not reopen, but fortunately it was running on Saturday – 4 rides, 4 during ERT.
B&M has only built 5 sitting, non-hyper coasters, which is a shame since they tend to be excellent. This is no exception.
Its 5 inversions are very well paced making for a very thrilling ride.
The views on the side of the mountain were great, one of the best views from a coaster – 4 rides, 1 during ERT.
Fire In The Hole: (unknown manufacturer, Powered Dark Ride/ Coaster, 1972) I love the version at Dollywood so it is interesting to look for the differences and similarities between them. The rides themselves are almost identical. The train is shorter on this one by one car, but it is obvious from the station design it used to be longer. The main differences are in the dark ride, with the hooded vandals who burn the town prominently displayed. Many effects were different, but the three drops are almost the same as at Dollywood. They still have the splash ending – 3 rides.
American Plunge: This log flume ride has a good course with a long tunnel section and good splashes that get you pretty wet – 1 ride.
This section has two show venues: The Opera House and the Silver Dollar Saloon.
Valley Road
Time Traveler (Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, Launched Spinning Coaster, 2018) Billed as the tallest, fastest and steepest drop spinning coaster, this is a truly amazing ride.
I had wondered if spinning through the inversions would be too intense, but the spinning is not extreme.
Instead it spins enough to constantly change your direction making every ride different. Some rides were absolutely amazing depending on how you hit certain elements, but all rides were fun.
It really pushes the limits and adds a great ride to the park’s superb collection of coasters.
I would think that Mack will get a lot of orders for this type of ride in the coming years if parks are willing to pay the high price tag. This one cost $26 million. During our Friday night ERT, we became the first people to ever ride this coaster in the dark, which was truly amazing. what a great ride! – 10 rides, 8 during ERT.
Thunderation: (Arrow, Mine Train, 1993) This mine train, one of only four Arrow built in the 1990s, is a really good ride. It has tremendous speed for a mine train, some great helixes and a tunnel. The only disappointment is that not much happens after the last lift hill, but it more than makes up for that with its speed before the first lift hill – 3 rides.
The Flooded Mine: This interactive water dark ride is a lot of fun and has very interesting old scenes of a flooded mine. The story is good, and like most of the Park’s rides, it is based on an actual event – 2 rides.
Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train: This Steam Train, like the one at Dollywood, takes guests outside the main part of the Park.
It includes a ‘robbery’, but we had a special ride without the robbery – 1 ride.
Also here is the Echo Hollow Amphitheater. On Friday evening they treated us to a sampler of many of their foods at stations set up along the midway. We got to try some really good items and finished with Time Traveler and Outlaw Run ice cream. On Saturday we were given a tour to get behind the scenes pictures of Time Traveler – 1 tour.
MidtownGrandfather’s Mansion: This tilt house was fun and had good effects – 1 walkthrough.
Hugo & Mary’s Carousel: This small carousel was fun – 1 ride.
This section also has a fun Swinging Bridge and Half Dollar Holler, a children’s area with Treetop Trail, a climbing structure, and Sand Play. We had lunch Friday at Percy’s Southwest Grill, which was good.
Wilson’s Farm & Western Outskirts
Outlaw Run:(Rocky Mountain Construction, Wood with Inversions, 2013)
This is an amazing coaster with great speed and tremendous airtime.
Its inversions are fun and not painful.
The only negative I can say is that I wish there were something more to hold on to,
but I like riding in the back seat of a car best where I could hold on to the seat in front.
Even with this, it is a tremendous ride – 7 rides, 3 during ERT.
The Giant Barn Swing: This large capacity Screaming Swing is good and not an up charge as in some parks – 1 ride.
On Saturday we were given a tour to get behind the scenes pictures of Outlaw Run – 1 tour.
Riverfront
We did not ride River Blast, the Splash Battle, or Lost River of the Ozarks, a rapids ride. Their waterslide ride, Waterboggon, that I rode back in 2009, was removed prior to my last visit. Theaters here include Boatworks Theater, Carousel Barn, Dockside Theater and Riverside Playhouse.
The Grand Exposition Magnificent Wave Carousel: This Wave Swinger was fun – 1 ride.
Royal Tea Party: We got good spinning on these teacups – 1 ride.
The Happy Frogs: Although a children’s ride, we had fun on this in 2009 and decided to ride it again – 1 ride.
As I already had the credit, I did not ride Grand Exposition Coaster (Zamperla, Family Gravity Coaster, 2006), which was a tight fit for me when I rode it. Also here is Electro Spin, a Disk-O; Racing Regatta, a spinning ship; Mighty Galleon, a swinging ship; Elephant March, an elephant ride and 2 additional kiddie rides.
This section also has Red Gold Heritage Hall, where we met
for the park to welcome us
Friday and to say goodbye on Sunday. We also had a barbeque brunch here Sunday, which was as delicious as it was unique.
Fireman’s Landing
This section is fairly new and is themed to firefighters.
FireFall: This 8 story bounce tower is good and well themed – 1 ride.
Fire Spotter: Balloons – Good ride – 1 ride.
This section also has 8 kiddie rides, all well themed.
Homestead Ridge
This section features historical recreations including McHaffie’s Homestead, Birdle’s Cabin,
Oak Trail School
and Wilderness Church. In addition there are stories, history lessons and service that take place regularly at the Homestead, the school and the church. I have wanted to take a look at these buildings on my previous visits, but time has always run out. I finally got to walk through. Some of the buildings are actual buildings that have been relocated while others have been recreated.
This area really helps you better understand life in the Ozarks in the 1880s – 1 walkthrough.
Silver Dollar City is a beautiful park that uses its hilly terrain
and lush landscape to immerse guests into a bygone era. The food is excellent and the theming of each section is superb. Most rides are tied to a story or legend from the Ozark Mountains.
The park treated us well throughout the event providing us with a t-shirt and other gifts.
This is a park I am always glad to visit.
Branson Mountain Adventure Park
Wanting to get in the 2 mountain coasters while in Branson, we headed to Branson Mountain Adventure Park as soon as ERT ended Friday evening. They had given us a free ride and a discount on rerides all weekend.
Runaway: (Aquatic Development Group, Alpine Coaster, 2016) At a length of 4,900 feet, it is much longer than the other one in town, and 3,000 feet of that is the downhill portion. The lighting at night is amazing as you start out over a creek and then go all the way to the top. This is perhaps the most intense such coaster I have ridden, and in terms of quality I would compare it only to the one at Glenwood Caverns. I could certainly argue that this might be the best one I have ridden. Interestingly, it was made by the company that is often considered inferior to Wiegand, but in Branson ADG has the much superior ride. We got another night reride and returned the next day for a ride in the daytime – 3 rides, including 2 at night.
The Branson Coaster
On Saturday afternoon we left the park in time to ride The Branson Coaster before our Showboat ride that evening.
The Branson Coaster: (Wiegand, Alpine Coaster, 2017) This 2,700 foot ride has 2 lift hills so you have two sections that you go down, which was fun. It is much milder than most of these I have ridden and certainly compared to its neighbor nearby. Still, I enjoyed it and thought it was fun – 1 ride.
Branson Belle Showboat
On Saturday evening we were given the option to go on the Branson Belle Showboat on Table Rock Lake, which is also owned by Herschend Family Entertainment.
We were treated to a nice reception on the top deck
and provided a preshow by a local high school band and a comedy show while we had a delicious dinner. Following intermission, when we could go back to the top deck and see where we were travelling, we returned for the main show, a very well done music and dance show featuring a lot of familiar songs and a wonderful movie montage complete with lots of costume changes. There was even some comedy and magic including our very own ACE member Marty Moltz, who got picked from the audience and provided great comedy relieve, much to the excitement of ACE members in the audience. This was a really nice experience and was a fun part of the weekend.
Back at Silver Dollar City, on Sunday morning following our ERT and brunch, I had to get on the road as I had a 12 hour drive before me. I arrived home just after midnight, quite tired, but very happy to spend such a fun weekend in a great park on excellent rides
and catching up with many friends, some I have not seen in quite a while. Now it was back to work, but it won’t be long until I’m off again to Coaster Con 41 in Maryland and Virginia in June.
Thanks for reading!
Hi, I’m Ronny Cook. I was born and raised in Georgia, growing up in the unincorporated farming community of Starrsville in Newton County, where I still live. As a child I loved amusement parks, and have great memories of Six Flags Over Georgia, Magic Kingdom and the beachside parks in Panama City Beach and Myrtle Beach. Daddy loved them, too, and he would ride anything with me. Although he has been gone for many years, and I am over 50, I still enjoy amusement parks and roller coasters. In my professional career, I work as a Controller at a bank.
Around the year 2000, I decided I should venture out beyond the parks near me and see what all is out there. I joined American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) in 2003 and have now ridden over 1,100 coasters in 14 countries. I like to share my travels with others in hopes that what I have learned can be helpful to someone else planning a trip. In addition to amusement parks, I love history and try to take the opportunity for historical sightseeing as much as possible when traveling, so I share some of that as well. If you have questions or comments, you can leave them on each post or email me at rhcookjr@mindspring.com. Thanks for reading!
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Ronny's Travels 