No Coaster Con and ACE Event Rundown for February 2023

Winter and the off season for many parks may be upon us but the ACE events continue throughout the year.  Join us for a rundown of John’s visit to No Coaster Con, which was held on January 14, 2023 near the Chicago airport.  Though the event may not be held in a park, rest assured that like most ACE events, lunch was served and coaster enthusiasts gathered to enjoy each other’s company.

[01:00] John attended No Coaster Con for the first time!

[01:15]  Spoiler: no coasters were part of the event

[02:30]  Announcements from the event

[02:50]  Santa’s Village (East Dundee, IL) held a waterslide duck race

[03:40] VR sleigh

[03:58] New spinner coaster coming soon

[04:10] Knoebel’s announcements – retracking the helix on Twister

[04:45] Birthday party for various Knoebel’s rides

[05:11] Dollywood, (Pigeon Forge, TN) – Big Bear Mountain updates (last piece of track is in!!)

[06:00]  16,000 pumpkins at Dollywood’s Harvest Festival

[07:00] Raging Waves water park (Yorkville, IL) presented, no big announcement but a great intro to their park and their family

[08:30] King’s Island (Mason, OH shared highlights of the park’s 50th anniversary

[09:00] Phantom Theater (retired dark ride) became a theater show last season

[09:26] Adventure Port themed area construction is coming along

[09:30] What about the land where Vortex was?  No news.

[10:10] The Beast’s reprofiling – the Beast is back!!

[11:00] Holiday World Voyage retracking

[11:30] John droned on about drones at Holiday World and King’s Island

[12:11] Voyage’s retracking uses some prefabricated parts

[13:20] Adventureland (Altoona, IA) purchased by Palace Entertainment

[14:56] Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) do not think about Top Thrill Dragster

[15:57] Top Thrll Dragster reopening in 2024, no plans announced

[16:30] New mouse coaster at Cedar Point

[17:19] National Roller Coaster Museum (Plainview, TX) shared updates

[18:25] Construction continued through the COVID shutdown Larson donated construction time and labor 

[20:18] Six Flags parks had 4 presenters, Six Fiags Over Georgia (Austell, GA) announced a new family racing coaster

[21:16] Six Flags St Louis (Eureka, MO) teased a new family ride

[22:45] Deno’s Wonder Wheel (New York City, NY) announced a new coaster

[23:29] Lost Island (Waterloo, IA) – app that adds backstory to their dark ride, launch coaster opening this year

[25:00] Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, TX) is adding a waterpark and a skyline racer

[26:35] Gravity Group presented details of their updated, enhanced wood track 

[27:30] Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters owner and friend of ACE Tom Rebbe wrapped up the event

[30:00] Auction and ACE networking during and after the event

[34:57] ACE event rundown

Visit www.ridewithace.com to learn more about the non-profit organization American Coaster Enthusiasts.

Share your ideas and thoughts about this podcast via email: podcast@aceonline.org

 

Volunteer with ACE!  If you enjoy ACE content, ACE events or just love coasters, there’s a place for you to share your talents.  https://www.aceonline.org/group/Volunteer

 

Thanks to the Ride with Us podcast team

Producer: Derek Perry

Editor: Bob Randolph

Show Notes: Liz Tan