Why ACE has got to go, or changed radically
a) ACE opposses seat dividers. That's because many of them wouldn't fit otherwise. I'm sorry, but if you have to buy two seats on the plane, than us regular-sized people should have a seat divider. I don't enjoy getting bodychecked by a larger person, thank you. It's called a roller coaster, not a hockey game.
b) You can't find a double-XX shirt at the end of an ACE event . Well, no wonder. ACE members tend to do the walk-back, eat the fat-laden park meal, and then they leave for the day, because they think it makes them look cool that they did something no one else could do. I lost an inch off of my waist, but only lost two pounds while in Texas. In other words, I converted a lot of my fat to muscle. A lot of ACE members are in serious need of some excercise, and how sad that they could be doing something healthy for themselves by walking around the park all day, but they're choosing not to do so out of snobbery and arrogance.
c) In general, ACE is an organization for nerds, who are still nerds trying to be popular. Plenty of my friends are ACE members, but they're not nerds. I appreciate some of ACE's mission statements, such as coaster preservation etc.. Did you notice that Discovery Channel didn't have a single stereotypical ACE member on the other night? It's because it turns the public off, and it alienates viewers.
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Try the themepark diet now! Just walk vigorously around large parks for a week. "It really works!", says I-Fan who lost 1 inch off his waist in a week while in Texas.
Wow, what a negative post! It's all opinion, and I'll adress your opinions with some rebuttles defending ACE.
A) How did you determine that ACE opposes seat dividers? Did you just see some larger ACE members and just assume that was the reason? On ACE's webpage they define the criteria for an [url=http://www.aceonline.org/classics.htm]ACE Coaster Classic, which is clearly defined as being coasters that don't have seat dividers, fixed non ratcheting lap bars that allow for airtime (coasters you can't be stapled into), no head rests, and no assigned seating. It is for the ride experiance that is not availible on modern coasters. It has nothing to do with how much ACErs weigh. If you don't want to be squished by a large person on a coaster without seat dividers, either don't ride with a large person, or don't ride at all.
B) How many ACE events have you been to? Have you attempted to buy a XXL-shirt at one? Have you checked other shirt sizes (XL, L, M, S) to see if those ran out also?
C) You're complaining about an orginization of roughly 7000 members. You are making generalizations and stereotypes from one or two experiances you have had, and you are doing this all on a coaster website. Who's trying to be cool? The Discovery Channel did have typical ACE members on the other night. I have been to many tapings, and I was at both SFMM and KBF for the tapings of the Ultimate Guide to Roller Coasters, and I know that those are typical ACErs.
In conclusion you don't know what you're talking about. I would hazard a guess that the percentage of overweight ACErs is not far off from the national average of overweight people.
Of course this is all my opinion, but it is an honest one formed from actual experiances and not intent on calling one group of people fat.
-Ride_Op
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There's nothing like a woodie...
2) If you're obese, then of course you feel more squished in on a PTC train. How do you people fly? The bathrooms alone would never accomodate an obese person. Here's a list of rides that I've seen that obese riders have been forced off of:
a) any converted Premier launch coaster w/lapbars
b) Hypersonic XLC
c) Intamin Impulse
d) Huss Frisbee
e) any PTC train with ratcheting lapbars
f) any B&M without "Big Boy" seats
I could go on, but why? You have to understand that ride manufactures are going to keep making rides for the average male, who is 150lbs and 5"8', which is me exactly. So who has the problem, me or you? I get a lot of exercise both physically and aerobically in my job, and I excercise while at the park also by walking fast between rides. I also lift dumbells at home. If you want to see the dangers of being obese and getting on a ride, just look at Perilous Plunge death.
3) There are billions of people who like coasters, but there are only 7,000 members in ACE, which is something some members seem to be very proud of. Obviously, that tells you that there is something about ACE that rubs people the wrong way. Like I said, out of 12 members on the trip, 10 were ACE members.
4) Actually, I'm not a bigot at all. I want to see people get healthier. I can only imagine how humiliating it must be to be forced off of a ride because of your size. People aren't looking at me funny since I've gotten into shape. I'm getting lots of positive comments on my new body size, and both men and women are staring at me, and making passes at me. It's a nice way to feel. Why doesn't the average ACE member do anything after the walkback? Are they too cool to hang out with the parkgoers? Now that I think about it, they did the same thing at the Batwing walkback. You know how many people from out of town stayed until the ride opened at 5pm? One person from Florida. The rest of us were all locals, who waited in a bad thunderstorm, and were also forced to wait 20 cycles because of mechanical difficulties. Coaster Zombies motto is "We live to ride". What is ACE's "We live to ride one ride and leave the park? Come on.
5) ACE definitely has an unusual amount of morbidly obese people in their organization. There were only roughly 200 people there the other day, but I'd say 20% or more were severely overweight.
6) Lastly, my post wasn't negative at all. Get into shape, start feeling better about yourself, and you'll see that it was actually a very constructive, thought provoking post. Sometimes you need to put things out on the table that make people uncomfortable, but this is what people are saying behind your backs.
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Try the themepark diet now! Just walk vigorously around large parks for a week. "It really works!", says I-Fan who lost 1 inch off his waist in a week while in Texas.
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan on 6/3/2002. ***
Perhaps you're the perfect 'average male' physically, but your maturity and intelligence is well below average.
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WARNING: May be habit forming
Intamin Fan said:
the average male, who is 150lbs and 5"8', which is me exactly.
Actually, the average weight of a U.S. male is 180lbs. That makes you below average (which, for you, is probably not a new concept).
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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
*** This post was edited by Gemini on 6/3/2002. ***
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Hey man. Wanna buy some weed? Crack? Freepass on Millennium Force? I got the hook up...
Intamin Fan said:
1) Sam Marks, owner of Coaster Zombies (he did the Batwing narration the other night), is a large person, but he's not morbidly obese. He's also an ACE member. He confirmed you that you can't find an XXL shirt an the end of an ACE event.Did you happen to get to the riverwalk boat ride while you were in Texas? When I was there the boat operator mentioned that San Antonio was one of the "fattest" cities in the country. While ACE has it's share of overweight people, I'm sure that Sam can confirm that virtually the same percentage of "large" people exist within Coaster Zombies, in fact, why would Sam be looking for a XXL if he wasn't a larger person?
I know Sam says humorous things like
What are the 2 things coaster enthusiasts like are in no particular order......
1. ERT
2. EAT
I think you should thank God there are seat dividers, or one of us "chunkies" would be a squashing ya !
There's nothing "obviously" wrong with ACE. Most people who go to parks aren't aware of the coaster clubs. I've been riding coasters for years. It wasn't until recently that I joined. Since then I've met many other ACERs that have shared their knowledge, and time. Thanks to them we get more enjoyment from our trips to parks. Anyone who has attended an ACE (or other club) event knows about the high energy feeling when you're on a train filled with enthusiasts. It's addicting!
If a coaster enthusiast wishes to take the walkback then leave the park that's up to them. I don't see why that should be a big deal to anyone. It doesn't matter to me what you do at a park. I'll enjoy the park the way I want to.
Why you're so concerned about not being able to get a XXl T shirt is beyond me. Seems to me if you really want that XXL T shirt maybe you should buy it earlier in the day.
I wasn't going to comment on this post but the more I read it the more I felt I needed to. There's 6 ACE members in my family. By your generalizations most of us should be obese. But guess what? None of us are! Oh, but wait. I'm a computer programmer so I must be a nerd searching for popularity; so, I joined ACE. Darn, I guess you're right after all. :(
Your post has nothing to do with ACE and everything to do with the general health of the public. I'd bet if you looked at any given group of people (other than fitness groups) you'd find similar percentages of overweight and underweight people. Especially if you did it with your sweeping generalizations and lack of evidence. If you want to make statements like this, get some backing evidence. Talking to one person or seeing a few people at an event doesn't constitute valid evidence that this is the norm for any group of people.
Is your post "thought provoking"? Harldy. Is it insulting? Absolutely. Is it valid? Absolutely not.
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
Yeah, this topic is over. Let me explain why.
First off, I'm not interested in getting into the very tired stuff about what ACE needs to or should be. I frankly don't care to host a forum for the purpose of working that stuff out.
Second, I will not have people called out by name for any reason with regards to how they operate in the context of a club.
That's that.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"
Closed topic.
