No Coaster Con 1-27-2007 (Long)
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Once again we were entertained with the fun loving Marty Moltz and his endless supply of bad jokes and puns.
Mark Cole, the new President of ACE welcomed us and spoke for a bit about things in the works. A meeting will be held next week after Eastcoaster for the Museum. ACE is once again in the middle of a management change. If you are waiting for your renewal letter, they are a little behind. Letters have not been sent out since October. They are planing on being caught up to January in a couple weeks. February's renewals should be out by the end of February. If you renewed online and have not recieves your membership card and renewal packet, they are coming. He had a local Library there briefly to ask for some help on research they are doing on Riverview Park. Mark then presented our immediate past president Carole Sanderson with an award. She then also spoke briefly and thanked everyone.
Mary Lou Rosemeyer from Kennywood was there and told us the long and hard year she has had personaly. It seems as though she is back on track and determined to have a great year. She told us about the "UFO's" over Kennywood. Apparently within 6 hours of having that information on their website she was getting calls from local media asking what was going on. They had reporters on site next to the cleared land saying that was the crater where the UFO crashed and that if you had any information, Kennywood wants you to call them. As many of you probably already know they are getting a Rockin Tug and a Mega Disco. The Rockin' Tug will be called the "S.S. Kenny" and the Mega Disco's will be called Cosmic Chaos. Mary Lou had several items to give away including, of course, pencils. Some of the children in the room were more than happy to help her out. They were rewarded for their hard work. Lastly, she auctioned off a Pictureframe/digital clock that was not available for purchace anywhere. Madonna Horcher was the high bidder at $110. Lastly Mary Lou talked about the Cable show called Cable Girls. It was a local program that occasionaly did shows directly from the park. Apparently with the new cable company in the area, the show was taken off the air. Mary Lou, had a Kennywood post card on everyones chair and asked us all to write in to the company to request the show be put back on the air.
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom sent Jim Kunau to tell us about the upcoming season. They of course are adding Deluge, the new Hydromagnetic Water Coaster. They are also adding Crocodile Isle, an interactive play area for kids. Also included will be new 20 foot umbrellas for some ever needed shade and personal VIP cabanas next to the wave pool. The cabanas will be equipped with misting fans and personal servers. They are also adding a Beachcombers merchandise shop and a Ben & Jerrys in the old Fountaine Ferry restaurant and in the former Blue Moose Cafe. They also had many items to give away, including a few of the Tubes from their water park.
Scott Holmes gave a very interesting and informative presentation on the History of Roller Coasters. He started back in the 1600's (i think) with the ice covered slides that Russians would ride down on Blocks of ice and worked his way back to today. Some of the very interesting pictures he showed included some of the first circular loop coasters which were not financialy successful due to the 12+ G's that riders experienced. They paid back thier initial investments but did not last long due to their reputation for injuries. Making the money was easier since they charged people to Watch as well as Ride. Other pictures included a Tripple Racing Coaster and a very old Steel monorail coaster which seemed to predate what we thought was the begining of tubular steel track. He covered so much information in such a short, I wished he could have done his presentation twice.
After a short break, Jim Taylor and Katie Goodale were there from Six Flags Great America. They talked about the transition within Six Flags Corporation and how they feel they are headed in the right direction. They also spoke about their upcoming season with the addition of Wiggle World and their new Stunt Show, "Opperation Spy Girl" Wiggles is being situated next to American Eagle. So, once again, American Eagle's queue will be changed. Great america had some stuff to give away. But, the big thing were the 8 park banners they donated. 2 are being kept for the museum and the other 6 were auctioned off throughout the night. The 6 banners auctioned off included, Wonder Woman, Flash, Batman, Robin, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny. The winning auction prices ranged from $65 to over $100. The highest prices were given to Batman and Bugs.
Next to speak was Bryan Edwards from Cedar Point. He talked about Maverick and awnsered everyone's questions. While he was speaking, he had the maverick videos playing in the backround. Which, from the reactions in the croud, many people obviously had not seen. He mentioned that they are finishing up on the Pull Through Test and that every thing is progressing well. A question that was brought up was Single Rider Lines. Bryan said that one for Maverick was still being considered. One of the things Bryan gave away was Admission for 4 with a VIP Tour of the park.
After a great lunch, Pete Owens was there to talk about Dollywood & Splashin Country. He spoke extensivly about Mystery Mine, and showed us videos. Apparently both Dollywood and Splash Counrty have seen record numbers the past 4 years in a row. Also, both parks are making record investments this year. Pete was probably asked more questions that night than anyone else. He mentioned that even though the grand opening will be in April on Friday the 13th, there would be test runs with park guests going on in March. But, so as not to spoil the suprise, there will be elements either turned off or missing. He said a lot of thought was giving to the seats and how accommodating they are. He said the most generously proportioned people on his staff have fit without a problem. For every person who asked a question, he gave them a Mystery Mine promotional CD and Sticker. The story with the stickers is this... Apparently he had some imagineeers working for him, and he got tired of seing the Disney Hard Hats. So, he made up these stickers to strategicly cover up logos. In addition to all the cd's he handed out, he also had other items and for the Grand Finale he auctioned off a Gift Pack. In it was, several items not the least of which included Overnight stay for 2 at the local hotel, (can't remember which. Raddison or Marriot maybe) 2 season passes to Dolly wood, and 2 invitations to the Mystery Mine Media Day. The entire package was valued at over $400. The bidding started very quickly at $100 and ended up selling for $400.
Next was Jeremy Wdowicki, who had a slide show presentation about the Santa's Village Auction. The pictures were taken on the day of the auction and showed how the park was left to decay. Everything was overgrown. Another ACE'r who was there, also happened to have gone to the auction and had with him the list of rides auctioned and how much they sold for.
Steve Wilson, who was to give a presentation of the History of Marriot's Great America in Illinios, was unable to attend due to another commitment. In his place were a couple people (whos names escape me right now) to do his presentation for him. They read a statement from Steve talking about his love for the park and his commitment to preserving it's history. They showed a video that he compiled from old footage, including 3 different vintage videos on the construction and introduction of American Eagle. This video can be downloaded for free at http://www.greatamericaparks.com
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Next to speak was Yvonne Janik, who gave us the latest details about Spring Con, and Coaster Con XXX.
Spring Con
May 4-6, 2007 Northern California.
May 4th - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. 7:30pm May 3rd and 7:30am May 4th registration at Best Western. Discount Parking can be purchaced for $10 and discount Six Flags Season Passes can be purchaced for $55.99 plus tax. Morning ERT on Medusa. Evening ERT on Roar. Lunch from 3-5.
May 5th - Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Noon-evening enjoy the park. Lunch and beach Volleyball. ERT for 2 Hours on Giant Dipper (ACE Exclusive!)
May 6th - Bonfante Gardens. Morning ERT on both Coasters. Parking $10. Circuc Trees. Lunch 2-3. Free parking at Great America if you have a California Cedar Fair Maxx Pass. Evening ERT on Top Gun, Demon and Invertigo. ERT for 15 minutes on Taxi Jam. Surprises!
Nut Tree Park Extra Offer. New park in Vacaville, CA about 25 miles from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. 1 free ride on the new junior Miler "Harvest Express Coaster" 10am-5pm Any day May3 to 6. Free Parking.
Costs: ACE Member pay by 4/18 $128 (under 12 pay $110)
Cedar Fair Season Maxx Pass gets $26 discount. Buy your California Cedar Fair Maxx Pass in advance online and bring E-Ticket to park. Process at Great America in the afternoon. If you already have your Vouchers from other parks, bring those. I asked what you should do if you already sent in the vouchers and she said she'd look into it. in all likelyhood, vouchers already sent in would be processed by then and you can just bring your Maxx Pass.
Six Flags season pass gets $16 discount. Six Flags Season Pass does not have to purchaced in advence. The discounted season pass can be purchaced at registration.
Lodging: Best Western Marine World in Vallejo, Carousel Motel in Santa Cruz, Comfort Suites in San Jose.
Other information: Registration will be available online. Fliers will be out in ACE News shortly. Vallejo is about 86 miles from Santa Cruz other parks are about 30 miles from one another. Great America is about 10 minutes from San Jose Airport.
Coaster Con XXX
June 17 to 23 Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky.
Sunday June 17 - Registration at Kings Island Resort, the Convention hotel, on Sunday June 17. Reception dinner at 6:30pm. ERT on The Italian Job: Stunt Track, The BEast, Vortex, and other rides. Free Parking. Suprises special tours and other fun at Con.
Monday June 18 - Kings Island morning ERT on coasters and rides in Nickelodian section. Continental Breakfast. Strickers Grove open just for Con Attendees 12pm to 5pm ERT on both wooden coasters and many other rides. Picnic lunch at Stricker's Grove. Back to Kings Island for Night ERT on The Racer, Flight of Fear and other rides.
Tuesday June 19 - Midway Olympics at Kings Island in the morning. ERT at Boomerang Bay. Continental Breakfast at the water park. ERT at night on Top Gun, Face/Off and other rides.
Wednesday June 20 - Kings Island Morning ERT on The Italian Job: Stunt Track, The Beast, Vortex and other rides. Kings Island Resort for ACE general store, presentations, ACE business meeting, contests, social/cocktail hour, and banquet. This year (at the request of some ACE'rs) the Banquet is optional. Limited Space and only $35. The banquet will be a ticketed event at the Kings Island Resort and include: Auctions, presentations, awards, prizes, the Gravity Group, our keynote speakers and a fabulous buffet of Prime Rid and Salmon. Served begining at 7:15.
Thursday June 21 - Holiday World walk back tour of The Raven and The Legend at 3pm. Diner at Kringle's Kafe. ERT on The Raven, The Legend and The Voyage from 8:30 to 11:00pm.
Friday June 22 - Holiday World morning ERT at Splashin' Safari. Continental Breakfast. Walkback Tour of The Voyage at 3pm. Dinner. ERT at night of The Raven, The Legend, and The Voyage.
Saturday June 23 - Beech Bend Park. All day at the park and dinner at 6:30pm. 3 hours of night ERT on Kentucky Rumbler. ERT on Looping Star, Wild Mouse and Dragon Coaster.
Costs: ACE members $259 (under 12 is $220) Holiday World Season Pass Discount of $39. Kings Island or Cedar Fair Maxx Pass discount of $60. Add $35 for Banquet. If both season passes + banquet $195.
Lodging: Convention Hotel is the Kings Island Resort & Confrence Center. 513-398-0115 by May 17. Full Service Hotel adjacent to kings Island. (I missed the lodging information for Holiday World and Beech Bend Park.)
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Next to speak was John Robinson. He is the PR rep for Indiana Beach, Lake Winnepesaukeh and Knights Action Park. Enthusiastic as usual, John was disapointed to hear that he was not allowed to Throw his prizes around this year. John Spoke about all his parks and was especialy pleased about the increasing number of people who had atteneded them as compared to last year. This was likely thanks to the free Passes he passed out last year. And guess what, we were blessed to have recieved them again this year. One free admission to each of the 3 parks. John who was trying to pump the croud up, refused to give anything away unless we made more noise, specificaly when he mentioned any coasters. He talked about the success of the ACE event last year "The Corw Flies at Midnight" at Indiana Beach. And mentioned there will be another event this year. While Marty helped him give out door prizes, John and his assistant ran around the room throwing candy at everyone and handed out the gift passes. He also gave away many Media Kits and overall had a real great time.
Then we had Charlotte Gonzalez, Stephanie Jones and Clay Jones from Beech Bend Park. Charlotte once again spoke from the heart about the risk they took in building Kentucky Rumbler. Saying that it represented both her parents retirement. But, once they had the construction tour with the suprise ride time, she knew they had a winner. She was again reassured at Media day that this coaster did in fact put them on the Map. She then went on to discuss 2007. She had bad news and good news. Without anyone knowing it, her dad had sold the Scat 2! <the croud gasped> She said something to the effect of, "DAD! What did you do? Those Coaster people love that thing." Anyway, they are getting a New Scat 2 this year. Maybe it won't squeak as much. They are also getting a new Moser Hip Hop Family Drop Ride, Stage Shows, a Tornado, and a Sizzler.
Charlotte also announced that they would be holding the 2nd Annual Rumblefest on Opening Day April 21st. The event will be $20. $10 for Pass Holders. $30 on site registration. Registration due by April 16th. $14 for a shirt if desiered and olny available if preordered by April 11th. Free parking. You must be a card carrying member of a coaster club or a guest of a card carrier. The event includes all day admission to the park, unlimited rides, Gold Rush Golf, a spin on the Naskart Go Cart Track, and a delicious buffet meal of hickory smoked barbecue, BBQ chicken, hot dogs, baked beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob, fresh baked brownies, and the best banana pudding you've ever eaten. Jeff Pike will give a personal walk-through tour inside the coaster. ERT on Kentucky Rumbler from 6:30 til midnight. ERT on Wild Mouse, Looping Star, and Dragon from 6:30 til 8:30. After Dinner Jeff Pike will host a Q&A session and you'll have a chance to win door prizes.
Then our good buddy from RCDB made an apperance. Duane Marden did a presentation on the coasters/parks that had closed last year, that are closing this year, that are opening this year, that are being relocated/reopened this year. He also was there as a representative of Little A-Merrick-A. He showed us pictures of the new coaster Meteor which has been years in the making but is finally on track to be opened sometime in 2007. He specifically showed us certain sections to beware of. Duane helped build the ride and he jokingly said you better hang on in that spot there and that spot there. He had some items to give away as door prizes and then had a special prize. He had a B&M to give away to anyone who could awnser the following: Why is Meteor being called Meteor. Several guesses insued. No one seemed to know. I jokingly said, "Because the park was hit by a Meteor?" This was of course wrong but did get a few laughs. Finally Yvonne Janik chimed in with the correct awnser of "The park plans to have another coaster called Comet." Yvonne was then rewared with her B&M Baked beans. Ha ha.
Next up was Brandon Stanley from Worlds of Fun. Brandon was promoted about a week ago and said he was a little nervous speaking in front of such a large croud. He was quickly accepted after a few jokes about Marty. :) He spoke about the fun we all had at Coaster Mayhem last year and that he looks forward to doing it again this year. He also talked about their Halloweekends event and some changes that will be made to it this year. In addition he mentioned the addition of a Panda Express being added to the Orient section of the park and the revamping of 2 more bathrooms. He showed us some video of Patriot and also Video from their Halloweekends event made by Jason Hazel. It included some time lapse of people getting their make-up put on.
We then had Tom Rebbie from PTC (Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters) who talked about his side of the business and how much he enjoys being involved in the industry. He talked about how he loves to hear from us as Coaster Enthusiasts because occasionaly he gets feedback that he is able to incoorporate into his trains to make them better. For example: Individual foot releases on the trains so that a T-Wrench isn't needed to release jsut one lap bar vs. opening All the lap bars and having to reset all of them again. You can see one example of these on the Voyage trains. He mentioned some other changes that have been also made over the years, such as putting a limit on how far the lap bars could ratchet down, and making improvements in the seat dividers. Both of these were to make the trains more comfortable. While Tom spoke, he had a slide show running in the backround showing his shop with the voyage trains being built. Tom was also promoting a Book (the title and author of which I can't remember) It is a book that has been years in the making and Tom had contributed a lot of information to it. Such as pictures and Plans of Coasters and other rides. These had just gone into print a week ago and the first 100 were made specificaly for No Con. By the time he came up to speak, about 80 of the books had been sold already at $19.95. As he went on he would gratuitously throw in a promotion for the book and we continued to get updates on the sales progress. At the end there were 9 left. He then made a pledge to buy 5 if someone would buy the other 4. He even offered a special gift to sweeten the deal. (while he said this he tugged at his shirt collar and gave a little smile. Yvonne Janik and Jim Jewell both quickly raised their hands. With Yvonne having hers up first, she bought 5 books. Tom had her come up as he unbuttoned his shirt and had her take it off him and put it on. Jim being left in the lerch said he'd buy the remainding 4 if he still had something to offer. Without hesitation, Tom proceeded to take off a second shirt. This time a T-Shirt and throwing it to Jim. Don't worry he sitll had one more shirt on underneath. :) For those who are interested, there will be another 100 for sale at Eastcoaster.
After a brief break, we were treated to the story and joke telling of Stan Checketts of S&S Power, Inc. He talked about how he loved to invent. He said he felt bad that many people probably don't get to ride his 4-D in the US and now with the 2nd one being in Japan, most people here won't get to ride that one either. He said there have been many improvements to the design of the ride and he hopes one day to bring one to the East Coast. One of his favorite rides he said is the Screaming Swing. He mentioned a new one being built somewhere in the Dells. He couldn't remember where. He said that for the people who have only ridden the Large capacity models, you need to ride one of the 4 seaters. He says they have more thrust and give you more of a thrill. Before leaving Stan had about 100 passes to ride "Sonic Boom." Standing 367 feet tall, it is the tallest drop ride on earth with no brakes, descending toward the ground at 90 miles per hour. He also offered a free go at his bungee jump.
Bob Prentki then had some information to interject. Even though they wern't on the schedule of events, Jeffery Seifert had sent giveaways for everyone. He had 250 Schlitterbahn Fanny packs, and 250 Complimentary Passes for admission to Schlitterbahn and for a First Ride of the Day on Master Blaster. He has a few other items as well that were given as door prizes. Jeffery also promised to be at No Coaster Con in 2008.
Finally we had Maureen Kaiser from Kings Island. She was also there to represent all the former Paramount parks. She spoke about the changes that were already happening and the changes we could expect to see. One change that actualy got media attention was what the media galled "Guys in Ties." A mother with her kids that was interviewed was asked what she thought about the guys in ties. She said, "They look hot." Her kids turned away in embarassment and she quickly said she meant hot, as in sweaty. "However" she went on to say, "it's nice to know we can come into the park and know exactly who to look for if you have a question." She can tell her kids, look for a Blue shirt or for one of the guys in ties. She also spoke of their new attraction (X-flight) only in the hypothedical, but It was more than I expected. I asked if their "hypothetical" ride (x-flight) and or Son of Beast would be open by Coaster Con and she said that the "hypothetical ride would definatly be open by then but she can't even speculate on SOB yet. Apparently they have narrowed down the manufacture of the SOB trains to 2 different companys but have still yet to decide. She said that final decisions on what would be done in place of the loop wouldn't be finalized until the train manufacture and concept are decided. She did say however that it would be open in the 2007 season.
I'm sure there is a lot that I forgot, but it has been a long weekend and it is now after 1am Monday morning. If you have any specific questions about the event or any park at the event, I'll try to awnser them as best I can.
884 Coasters, 34 States, 7 Countries
http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com My YouTube
Thanks very much for a fantastic read. Lots of interesting info, and it's great to hear that Mystery Mine (baring any delays) will be open when I visit in April.
884 Coasters, 34 States, 7 Countries
http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com My YouTube
884 Coasters, 34 States, 7 Countries
http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com My YouTube
Thanks also to all the parks attending/presenting...
I'll be seeing *whoever* at SpringCon...."Nut Tree Park" just seems to FIT me for some reason... ;)
The Con XXX flyers are still being finalized. They didn't say when they would be mailed. But, no one asked either. Maybe in the next News Letter.
884 Coasters, 34 States, 7 Countries
http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com My YouTube
We hope to have an extended version of the Halloweekends video that Brandon showed up on our site later this week.
Next was Jeremy Wdowicki, who had a slide show presentation about the Santa's Village Auction. The pictures were taken on the day of the auction and showed how the park was left to decay. Everything was overgrown. Another ACE'r who was there, also happened to have gone to the auction and had with him the list of rides auctioned and how much they sold for.
I was the one who ended up helping Jeremy with the auction prices (which I posted here on 10/27)...
Tom was also promoting a Book (the title and author of which I can't remember) It is a book that has been years in the making and Tom had contributed a lot of information to it. Such as pictures and Plans of Coasters and other rides. These had just gone into print a week ago and the first 100 were made specificaly for No Con. By the time he came up to speak, about 80 of the books had been sold already at $19.95. As he went on he would gratuitously throw in a promotion for the book and we continued to get updates on the sales progress. At the end there were 9 left. He then made a pledge to buy 5 if someone would buy the other 4. He even offered a special gift to sweeten the deal. (while he said this he tugged at his shirt collar and gave a little smile. Yvonne Janik and Jim Jewell both quickly raised their hands. With Yvonne having hers up first, she bought 5 books. Tom had her come up as he unbuttoned his shirt and had her take it off him and put it on. Jim being left in the lerch said he'd buy the remainding 4 if he still had something to offer. Without hesitation, Tom proceeded to take off a second shirt. This time a T-Shirt and throwing it to Jim. Don't worry he sitll had one more shirt on underneath. For those who are interested, there will be another 100 for sale at Eastcoaster.
i don't remember the exact title of the book but it is about Herb Schmeck written by Torrence Jenkins, Jr. I called Tom yesterday about a editing error in the book - they titled Tom's intro to the book as the "Forward" rather than "Foreword". He said he was calling Torrence right away in hopes of catching the error before too many more copies are produced...
--George H
I am going to Eastcoaster this coming weekend, so I am looking forward to even more surprises. :)
I am glad to see the ACE cons are still giving discounts to SF and CF passholders to their events. The Spring Con will be a freakin' STEAL! :)
-Tina
jive2 said:
The highlight was talking with Stan from S&S prior to his presentation. He really wants to sell the latest version of their 4D in the US.
Hey I was out in the hall too. I was the one of the three that presented the Steve Wilson video. It was weird cause all three of us were/are leads at Great America.
--George H
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