originally posted on 7/29/2022
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It was a celebration of everything roller coasters! World Roller Coaster Appreciation Month, celebrated in June each year, offers ACE an opportunity to celebrate why it loves coasters and to support the industry in recognizing the engineering, education and memories these marvelous machines bring to everyone’s lives.
Riders scream for the camera on El Toro.
Photo: Courtesy of Six Flags Great Adventure. View full-sized image.
To enhance the celebration in 2022, parks across North America joined together for the first time to dispatch the World’s Largest Ride. This offered a moment on June 16 to celebrate the anniversary of the opening of the first modern roller coaster, LaMarcus Thompson’s Switchback Railway at Coney Island. At 2 p.m. EDT, 26 parks dispatched at least one coaster train taking over 400 riders on the first ever World’s Largest Ride. Many parks invited ACE members to join the ride with special benefits such as free admission for the day, while others offered a seat on the train to those who happened to be visiting the park.
Check out the celebration:
Smaller events occurred across the country throughout June including informal meetups that offered members a chance to gather or grab a ride together.
Digital events welcomed members to gather virtually for many more activities including a live trivia night hosted and prepared by Jes Niemiec and Jeff Niemiec, a Google street map scavenger hunt prepared by David Rager, a No Limits 5 Hours of Power competition, a Zoom event with Hunter Lawrence of The Gravity Group plus social media giveaways with prizes from No Limits and Vekoma Rides Manufacturing.
Many regions took the opportunity to recognize the coasters of their area on their regional social media platforms. Gratitude is extended to all who participated and helped to orchestrate the festivities.
Photo: Courtesy of Six Flags Fiesta Texas. View full-sized image.
Photo: Courtesy of Six Flags Magic Mountain. View full-sized image.
Thanks go to all properties that participated in the first ever World’s Largest Ride: all Six Flags parks across North America, The Funplex Myrtle Beach, The Funplex Mt. Laurel, Lake Compounce, Lakemont Park, Alabama Adventure and Splash Adventure, Fun Land of Fredericksburg, Knoebels, Fun Spot America (Kissimmee, Orlando and Atlanta), Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Legoland New York, Adventureland, DelGrosso’s Park and Laguna Splash, Hersheypark and ZDT’s Amusement Park. ACE looks forward to making it even larger next year. Mark your calendar now to join the ride at 2 p.m. EDT June 16, 2023.
— Elizabeth Ringas, ACE Communications Director
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