ACE Coaster Con Schedule?

I know the plans involve SFGAm, Mt. Olympus and Little A-Merrick-A over the 19-24th of June, but are there more concrete times/days than that?

I checked the ACE site and there didn't seem to be a flyer available nor any more detailed info.

Too soon for details or am I missing something?

My apologies for being ignorant to the whole ACE thing. :)

Apparently so, Gonch! Are you really going?

Maybe he's trying to plan around it.;)

LOL Pale Rider ;)

Heh, you actually hit the nail on the head, Pale Rider.

No disrespect meant, but if things stay as planned there is a chance of our midwest trip crossing paths with the whole Coaster Con thing and I'd prefer to 'avoid the crowd' so to speak.

Not because I don't love ACE folks or because I don't want to be seen with them, but due to the fact that I'm not partaking in Coaster Con in any way (hell, I'm not even an ACE member :) ) - and parks full of enthusiasts tend to mean lots of people trying to get coaster rides and such and generally crowding up my day.

Just wondering if exact dates were known by anyone.

I'm really not a recluse, I swear! (for the most part)

Gonch, you had me scared for a second. *Still Panting like a Scared Dog*

I'm with Gonch on this. As soon as set dates are announced for SFGAm, I will make sure to avoid Gurnee like the plague. :) *** Edited 3/23/2005 12:37:57 AM UTC by Chitown***

Yeah, I am planning a 2 hour trip to Great America and gonig to Mt. Olympus as well, so I'm on the same boat waiting for dates to be officially announced, so I can plan my trip no where near an ACE convention.

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Lord Gonchar said:
Heh, you actually hit the nail on the head, Pale Rider.

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Knowing what I know about you and your love of coaster events, that's what I thought.;) I believe that the tentative schedule being thrown around had the Con in Gurnee from Sunday night until Thursday morning and then in the Dells from Thursday evening until Saturday. Of course that is subject to change when the flyer comes out, which I would think would be soon.

Based on the lodging info provided at NoCoasterCon I would guess that Coaster Con will be at SFGAm from 19-23 and then onto the Dells on the 24th.

They have not released the actual schedule yet.

Cool. Thanks for the info, guys.

What exactly takes place at SFGAm for five days?

Looks like the paths will cross in the Dells. Maybe that day we can do "other stuff" - speaking of which, anyone know of a hotel in the dells that doesn't suck?

I've been looking into it a bit (no Marriott hotels :( ) - and found scathing reviews across the board. Seems like a lot of little 'dumps' up there and I'm hoping to avoid the 'it's a place to sleep' type hotel.

What exactly takes place at SFGAm for five days?

After three days of ERT any additional days would be gravy ;)

I think it is pretty sad that ACE cant have a schedule done yet!!!!!!!!!
While i have thought about attending, there inability to put out a schedule so one can plan/decide in a timely manner gives one a very bad impression regarding there ability to plan things. Some people plan vacations in advance but apparently that is of little concern to ACE leadership.

Why does it automatically have to be ACE's fault that the scheadule isn't available just yet? Sure, they have been late sometimes but there are many more factors that play a part of being late that I am sure a lot of people just don't understand.

Back when I used to be involved with ACE, I saw first hand the process that went into planning a large event such as Coaster Con. Sometimes parks went back and forth with the events director with last minute changes. Flyers had to be redone among many other things. I don't know exactly why the details about this upcoming convention is late, but I am willing to believe it could be something else than "just" ACE being late. Forgive me for having an open mind.

I don't plan on going to Coaster Con but I thought I would just share an opinion from someone that has some sort of idea what goes on as far as planning large events goes.

I am wondering if some of the same folks that "avoid" being around ACE events attend Coasterbuzz events and if they do, would be so kind to share what makes ACE events any different than a Coasterbuzz event. As far as I can tell (and I have attended events with both clubs) there is no difference. This isn't pointed in the direction of any particular person, but I know it has been a topic with a few people that for some reason can't stand to be around ACE events because they will catch cooties or something, yet have no problem attending a Coasterbuzz event. I find them both to be fun.

-Sean *** Edited 3/23/2005 5:07:13 AM UTC by Sean Flaharty***

See, I wasn't meaning to offend. I really hope I didn't come off that way.

I did do BeastBuzz last year and I plan on doing both CB events this year.

OTOH, as I said earlier I don't even belong to ACE.

The difference. I have no desire to be a part of a club. I basically joined CB Club to have access to the CB Games and I don't mind helping Jeff make a few bucks off of something I use on a daily basis. If ACE offered a place I enjoyed trading RCT files and a forum that I practically lived on I'd be glad to give them my money too. :)

The event attendance came basically because I am a member. I have the card, why not show up if it works for me.

I have no idea what an ACE event is like. I'm sure it's good fun. However, I do imagine there are a lot more people present for ACE events than for CB events. Maybe I'm way off? (just streching for something there :) )

I personally don't often feel the need to surround myself with coaster enthusiasts. My priority as an enthusiast is not to spend time with other enthusiasts, but rather to enjoy the parks with personal friends and family. Again, another reason I don't feel the need to be a part of ACE.

I have met a handful of people at parks and being as I have more coaster related conversation with the people here at CB than anywhere else in existence, it seemed like a cool idea to check out the CB event and maybe put some faces with the names. Looking forward to more this year.

Bottom line. I'm in this for me, not for companionship. If I happen to stumble across a few people I'd like to meet along the way, then I'll take that opportunity. Aside from that what do most coaster clubs offer? ERT? I can live without it. Special privledges like previews and commercial shoots and similar things? I can live without those too.

ACE just isn't something for me and my honest intentions in avoiding Coaster Con is avoiding crowds of people looking for coaster rides - because I'm doing the same thing myself and there's a big difference between me in line and me and a couple hundred ACE'rs in line. :)

*** Edited 3/23/2005 5:44:46 AM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

Gonchar,

You didn't offend. I fully understand your views and I actually share a similar view some of the time. I also don't go to events for ERT but I will admit is nice to see some old faces and hang around in a group, although I don't do that every time I am at a park. There are times when I like to travel alone and go to parks alone. Other times I really enjoy hanging out with a good group of people.

I think the point I was trying to make is there is no difference in ACE, Coasterbuzz, or any other club for that matter. Each club has people that are in it for different reasons, but a coaster enthusiast is a coaster enthusiasts. I have always found it humorous when I see posts from people that say they can't stand enthusiasts and would never become an enthusiasts, but at the same time they are posting to a site or board and talk about something they are enthusiastic about.

This hobby/lifestyle has really afforded me to meet some of the coolest people in the world. For that, I am grateful beyond words. I do believe that the main reason for some of these friendships is lost at times. People actually do forget to have fun. Like yourself, I don't do this for anyone else other than myself. I do this because it is fun. No other reason. I know there are others out there that do it for the social aspect, and I respect that, but for me, it's all about having a blast. If I meet some cool people along the way, then that makes it even cooler IMO, but I have moments where I don't want to be around anyone.

If you think about it, this really is a goofy hobby to be involved with. As goofy as it may be, I wouldn't change it for the world.

-Sean

In the case of this year's Con it is not ACE's fault that the flyer has not been released. Sorry I cannot comment further.

I have yet to attend either, but am planning on attending BeastBuzz this year. I lean towards CB events because I already "know" (in the online sense) many other people likely to be there, and I'd like to meet them in person. I "know" fewer ACErs (other than those who are also Buzzers.) Although, I do seem to be meeting more ACErs casually in parks as time goes on.

That said, I have considered attending one of the shorter ACE or ACE-regional events. For example, I was sorely tempted by the ACE/Florida Droppin-n-Rockin party, but the timing didn't work out. The week-long cons are too long for me to go to without my family, and my kiddos are too young/short to keep up with a Con schedule.

I'd rather go to parks with one or both of my kids; when I do, I don't ride anything without one of them, and I try to keep them relatively close to their "normal" bedtime schedule, which rules out most evening ERTs. So, events are a solo thing, and I'd really only consider one or two short ones in an entire season so that I can spend more time with my family.

Finally, I'm not (yet) a member of ACE, but am a member of CB, because the offerings of CB bring me more value for my dollar. That may change as my kids get older and can start participating in more ACE events.

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Mamoosh said:
In the case of this year's Con it is not ACE's fault that the flyer has not been released. Sorry I cannot comment further.

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Jeff said in another thread:
There's a damn good reason we're not doing anything at SFGAm this year, and it has nothing to do with the ACE Con being there.

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Huh. Anyone see a pattern forming there?

I can certainly understand wanting to avoid the Dells' parks while we are there. However we should have little effect on anyone's visit to SFGAm. 700 or 800 extra people during the day in a park that typically gets anywhere from 5,000 to 40,000 people is a drop in the bucket.

I'm hopeful the flyer will be out next week. I don't want to get into all the details. But this should give you an idea of what we have planned. As always, the schedule is tentative and subject to change without notice, so don't hold me responsible.

SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2005 Hotel and SFGAm.
Registration, opening reception and evening ERT.

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005 SFGAm.
Morning and evening ERTs and a lunch.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2005 SFGAm and Hotel.
Morning and evening ERTs and breakfast. Business meeting in the afternoon at the hotel.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005 SFGAm and Hotel.
Morning ERT, afternoon presentations in the hotel, banquet in the evening.

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2005 Little A-Merrick-A and Mt. Olympus.
Lunch at Little A-Merrick-A, dinner at Mt. Olympus. Evening ERT at Mt. Olympus

FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2005 at MT. Olympus.
Dinner and evening ERT.

I imagine a lot of attendees will hit some of the other parks in the area on Friday. Personally I plan to spend most of the day at Noah's Ark.