originally posted on 2/17/2023
Photo: Randy Geisler. View full-sized image.
On January 14, 2023, 132 enthusiasts (including 22 presenters), hailing from 11 states, savored more than 10 hours of coastering and amusement industry celebrations at the 42nd No Coaster Con, ACE Western Great Lakes’ midwinter gathering, held at the Hyatt Place Chicago/O'Hare hotel.
This year, the annual event was offered live and in-person, after the previous two years of presenting virtually via Zoom owing to the pandemic. It proved wonderful to be able to gather together again live, to shake hands, hug and shoot-the-coastering breeze with fellow enthusiasts throughout the day — plus shop at the sales tables, benefit from all the swag handed out by the presenters, eat lunch together, participate in live auctions of cool coaster and park stuff and just bask in each others’ fine festive company.
After opening remarks by event organizer and overseer ACE Western Great Lakes Regional Rep Jeffrey Peters, along with a welcome by perennial master-of-ceremonies and jokemeister Marty Moltz, attendees were treated to prerecorded greetings from ACE President Elizabeth Ringas.
Marty Moltz.
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Jeffrey Peters.
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The day kicked into high gear with “ACE Updates” by ACE Immediate Past President Robert Ulrich, who wasted little time in updating attendees on what many consider the highlight of the day, awarding honorary membership to Marty Moltz.
First up for park presenters was Bryan Kopeck, assistant general manager of Santa’s Village Amusement and Water Park in Dundee, Illinois. Kopeck remarked that the park enjoyed an active 2022, hosting many events, such as Kid’s Fest, a Duck Race supporting local boys’ and girls’ clubs, a Spooktacular drive-thru and much more. 2023 will see two new restaurants and a remodeled Gingerbread Ice Cream Shop, new Bumper Cars, a new fire engine for the Fire Truck ride, replacement of the Sea Dragon ride with a Pirate’s Revenge, a new Spearmint Twist body slide in Santa’s Springs (their water park) and the opportunity to restore the North Pole Expedition ride (which has been in storage for 22 years). And there’ll be a new coaster, the Farmers Fling, an SBF-Visa Group spinning family steelie (which joins the park’s two other coasters, the Super Cyclone (an Interpark Zyklon) and Wacky Worm (made by Fajume).
Brian Kopeck of Santa's Village talks about the new coaster for 2023: Farmers Fling, a spinning family steelie.
Photo: Kennedy Welch. View full-sized image.
Rick Knoebel of Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, Pennsylvania) spoke to the group next (Zooming in from Pennsylvania). Work is being done on Twister, replacing 900 feet of track within the helix, returning this section to its original specs. Turn two on Phoenix is seeing in-house reprofiling. The Phoenix queue area will be updated to include more history. Knoebels will be adding a new classic ride this year, a Bayern Kurve, of which only two are known to still exist. The version for Knoebels was acquired from Fun Spot in Indiana.
Don Helbig presented for Kings Island (Mason, Ohio) next. At Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket awards, Kings Island was named the 2022 Park of the Year. New for 2023, Adventure Port, a retheming of an area, will include two new rides: the Sol Spin (an Enterprise-style ride by Zamperla) and the Cargo Loco (spinning barrel ride). Plus there will be some enhanced theming on the Adventure Express mine train coaster. Diamondback will be repainted, and there will be more track work on The Racer (1,000 feet on the red side).
Don Helbig presented on the retheming of the Adventure Port area.
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Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari’s Leah Koch-Blumhardt (director of communications and fourth-generation owner) noted that the park will be going cashless in 2023 and will open new team member dorm housing in May 2023. Most important, she made the (you-heard-it-first-here) announcement of “The Wooden Coaster Project.” The Gravity Group will be retracking more than 1,600 feet on The Voyage, or over 25 percent of the ride — from the first drop through the top of the second hill, the “peek-a-boo” tunnel area and the last turn and brake run. Plus, they’ll be doing about 300 feet on The Raven.
Leah Koch-Blumhardt of Holiday World announces "The Wooden Coaster Project" with Gravity Group retracking more than 1,600 feet on The Voyage woodie this year.
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Wes Ramey, public relations director for Dollywood, noted that in 2022 the park was cited as one of America’s Best Midsize Employers (and that Dollywood now will pay 100 percent of college tuition for all employees who wish to pursue a higher education). But the big news for 2023 will be the debut of its newest coaster: Big Bear Mountain. The ride will be Dollywood's largest attraction to date, and, of course, Dollywood will be cohosting ACE’s Coaster Con 45.
Wes Ramey, Dollywood.
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David Lipnicky.
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ACEer David Lipnicky spoke next about ACE Cares and Give Kids The World and mentioned the Coasting for Kids events coming up this year. Lipnicky announced that Kris Leach will be a co-lead with him, working with Steven Amos at Give Kids The World. In 2023 there will be at least 12 events throughout the country during which ACE will be able to participate or help. Look to ridewithace.com for more details in order to participate or make donations.
Adventureland Resort (just outside Des Moines in Altoona, Iowa) was up next. Alex Payne, regional public relations manager for Palace Entertainment (Palace Entertainment purchased Adventureland in 2021), who is also an ACE member, noted that the park added nine new rides in 2022 (most were flat rides made by Zamperla), made many park improvements, created a new Halloween event (Phantom Fall Fest) and held an ACE Day in September 2022 with first-ever (for the park) ERT. In 2023, Adventureland will feature two new major attractions: Draken Falls, a Viking boat-themed log flume, and Flying Viking, a family steel coaster that offers a 50-foot height and 1,312 feet of track, plus a pretty cool train design for vehicle theming, both from Zamperla. Plus, the two rides will intertwine. Of extra note, 2023 will bring a Potato Patch eatery to Adventureland (famous from sister Palace Park Kennywood).
Adventureland will be adding two new attractions in 2023: Draken Falls (a Viking-themed flume) and Flying Viking (a coaster from Zamperla).
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Payne also spoke about another Palace Entertainment property, Noah’s Ark (Wisconsin Dells), the nation’s largest waterpark. For 2023, the park is taking one of its older slides and giving it new life. It is adding lights and sounds to the Flying Gecko family in-the-dark raft ride and will be renaming the attraction. It will be an experience unlike anything else at the Dells, Payne noted. Also, water slides at Wet ‘n Wild in Greensboro, North Carolina (another Palace property), will undergo a similar transformation into full sensory experiences with the installation of new light and sound systems.
Tony Clark from Cedar Point spotlights the 2023 season.
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With his lively presentation style and humor, Tony Clark of Cedar Point delighted the crowd next. Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio) will be debuting a whole new park section: The Boardwalk, which will feature a collection of family rides and a new coaster, a Zamperla spinning-car Wild Mouse. The ride features six mouse-themed cars and one cheese-themed vehicle. Looking to 2024, Cedar Point will bring “a new formula for thrills.” Its standing-but-not-operating (closed since August 2021) Top Thrill Dragster will be redone, bringing a new and reimagined ride experience. The park will say nothing else about this, though Clark added that notably for coaster enthusiasts “just to be clear, you will be getting a coaster in 2023 [the aforementioned Wild Mouse] and one in 2024 [the whatever-it-will-become redone former Top Thrill Dragster].”
Representing the NRCMA, Kris Rowberry shows off the Buzz Bar event space.
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The always animated Kris Rowberry talked about the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives’ (NRCMA) 20,000-square-foot facility in Plainview, Texas, housing over 75 ride vehicles and priceless artifacts, the largest collection in the world today. Some of the goodies already stored at the NRCMA include Texas Cyclone track and Philadelphia Toboggan Company cars; cars from the original Texas Giant, Mantis, Rollo Coaster and Big Bad Wolf; and Matterhorn Bobsleds vehicle and track (donated by Disney). The NRCMA recently acquired the Eurosat (Mack) vehicle from Europa-Park, the front and rear car and signage from Montezooma’s Revenge from Knotts Berry Farm and the Canobie Lake Corkscrew. Also, the Schwarzkopf “badge” (emblem/logo) is back. This piece of history has been branded back to every Schwarzkopf coaster in Texas and Oklahoma, so far. The NRCMA now offers a special events area, featuring the “Buzz Bar,” a sit-around drinkery composed of stool seats topped by Rocky Mountain Construction coaster wheels, with the bar structure using wood from Colossus and steel and wood from Mean Streak. Rowberry pointed out that since the museum hasn’t opened to the public (and won’t for some time yet), ACEers could attend the West Texas Roundup event each year or look for other opportunities for open houses at the NRCMA or events held there.
Representatives from Six Flags spotlighted three parks.
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Six Flags “Central Region” parks offered a triple threat presentation, with representatives from Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois), Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, Missouri) and Six Flags Over Georgia (Austell). Rachel Kendziora, communications specialist at Great America, began by pointing out that the park has a new park president, John Krajnak, as of February 2022, who is also president of the St. Louis park as of November 2022. When asked, Kathy Tomson, director of operations for Six Flags Great America, stated there are no current plans to change the operation of the American Eagle woodie.
Katy Enrique, regional marketing director for all three parks, discussed Six Flags Over Georgia. For 2023, the park will gain a new coaster — a Skyline Attractions single-rail racing family coaster — which will feature an innovative LED track lighting package and dual track design with numerous crossovers. White Water (Marietta, Georgia) will offer a new water aqua play structure with 25 interactive elements.
Photo: Kennedy Welch. View full-sized image.
Six Flags St. Louis will complete its Grand Ole Carousel refurbishment project, with the intent to reopen it by National Carousel Day, July 25. Also original in 2023 will be a new attraction that will go where the go-kart track used to be, and it’ll be for families with small kids. Beyond that, they can say no more for now, but look for updates later.
Jeffrey Filicko from Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio) stepped up next. He began by mentioning that Six Flags Over Texas’ long-awaited Aquaman: Power Wave water coaster will finally open. It features 15-story twin towers, and boats are launched forward and backward.
For 2023, Six Flags Fiesta Texas will offer the world’s first-of-its-kind single-rail family racing roller coaster — and Texas’ only racing roller coaster. Created by Skyline Attractions, this coaster runs two trains on dueling tracks, simultaneously allowing guests to compete and race to the finish. Like Georgia’s installation, an immersive LED lighting panel display is integrated into the track. 2023 will also bring a new waterpark kids’ area with 11 individual waterslides and raft rides. Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster will receive upgraded trains; other upgrades include an all-new operating system. Iron Rattler has received a third train. The advantage of this addition is that the attraction can operate with multiple trains during refurbishments. And finally, Boomerang’s upgraded trains will feature soft harness restraints for a better rider experience. The attraction will also undergo upgrades to its braking system.
Jeff Filicko, Fiesta Texas.
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Deno Vourderis, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.
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Deno Vourderis of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park (Brooklyn, New York) was next. The Coney Island park is located next to the larger Luna Park, and though it is a smaller venue, Deno’s boasts the 150-foot-tall, 103-year-old iconic Wonder Wheel. Deno very humorously described the difficulties faced when his park decided to build a new roller coaster — its first. They had to find a way to squeeze it into a confined space. They needed land surveys, AutoCAD and permits from the city; they had very limited space for the coaster station and the ride’s electrical room. Then when they had to build the track and construct the ride, they learned one of their contractors messed up and measured things wrong. Deno’s had to fix things themselves; then oversee the pouring of the foundations; then, at last, have the coaster track pieces shipped to them; and then see Ride Entertainment step in and help with the installation. On July 21, 2021, Deno’s proudly opened its new Vekoma suspended family coaster, Phoenix. Deno concluded by philosophizing on why they work so hard at things (like building a new coaster) and feeling so passionately about it. “Why we do what we do: to try and make the world a better place and give some people some happiness.” Deno’s will be cohosting ACE’s Preservation Conference in August 2023.
Randy Witt, Dawn Witt and Ryan Finley spoke affectionately about their water park, Raging Waters in Yorkville, Illinois (about 45 minutes west of Chicago), the state’s largest water park. Randy humorously talked about some of the hassles and mostly the benefits of running a water park, remarking, “Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s a business.” The park will be opening a new attraction, but not until 2024, and though construction will start this summer, no one is saying what the new goodie will be. Raging Waters will hold another event with ACE this year; stay tuned for further details.
Randy Witt, Dawn Witt and Ryan Finley, Raging Waters.
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Kate Konkler, Lost Island Theme Park.
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Lost Island Theme Park in Waterloo, Iowa, which just opened last year, is the newest theme park in the United States. Kate Konkler, the attractions manager for the park, noted the park opened with 22 rides and has three more on the way for 2023 — a carousel, a log flume and a new coaster: Matugani, an Intamin launch coaster that was purchased from Liseberg (Gothenburg, Sweden), where it was known as Kanonen. The park offers two other coasters: Lokola, an SBF Visa kiddie Wacky Worm, and Nopuko Air Coaster, a Vekoma suspended looping coaster (which used to be at Ratanga Junction, where it was known as Cobra). Lost Island’s interactive dark ride (by Sally Dark Rides) is considered its crown jewel: Volkanu: Quest for the Golden Idol, which received an IAAPA Brass Ring and Amusement Today Golden Ticket award for Best New Family Attraction. Konkler teased attendees at the end of her presentation by noting that Lost Island is planning to add a major new coaster in 2025.
The Gravity Group designed Leviathan wooden twister for Sea World in Queensland, Australia, which just opened in December 2022.
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Michael Graham of The Gravity Group proudly touted the company’s new woodie: Leviathan at Sea World Gold Coast in Australia (Queensland). It was built by Martin & Vleminckx and opened on December 2. The Timberliner trains have a backward-facing car on the end. In 2022, The Gravity Group finished retracking Tonnerre 2 Zeus at Parc Astérix in France and added Timberliner trains (with one car also facing backward). The company worked on The Beast at Kings Island, as well as The Racer. Graham also discussed Gravity Group’s engineered precut track projects, which feature track that is laid vertically rather than horizontally, making it stronger. He stood on a short example of each track segment for a live demonstration. For 2023, the company is working on Grizzly at Kings Dominion. And of course, The Gravity Group is retracking much of The Voyage at Holiday World in 2023 and will be working on other woodies as well, totaling 6,000 feet of track work, but they can’t say where all the projects are at this time.
Michael Graham of The Gravity Group demonstrates the greater strength of their precut track when the boards are lined up vertically on the ledgers rather than horizontally.
Photo: Randy Geisler. View full-sized image.
As the day’s traditional finale, “the closer” Tom Rebbie, of Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Inc. (PTCI) and an ACE Honorary Member, brought the day to a nice finale with his always fascinating discussion of stuff PTCI is doing, plus sharing things that he sees in the world and finds of interest. Rebbie, an admitted “Star Trek” superfan, began his talk by saying he found it amusing that if you highlight the initials for No Coaster Con 2023 (as in NCC2023) you come up with the call letters for the USS Challenger, a battleship commissioned in the 23rd and 24th centuries, though he changed it to the USS Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, led by, of course, Admiral Thomas D. Rebbie.
“Admiral” Tom Rebbie notes that the initials for No Coaster Con 2023 also match the registry letters for the “Star Trek” starship NCC2023.
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Tom Rebbie details the coaster train projects Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Inc. is working on.
Photo: Kennedy Welch. View full-sized image.
Rebbie recently celebrated his 45th year at PTCI in 2022. As for 2023 projects, the company has been working on coaster trains from Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Over Georgia, Wild One and Roar at Six Flags America, Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun, Blue Streak at Cedar Point, Racer at Kennywood, Excalibur at Funtown Splashtown U.S.A., Outlaw at Adventureland and Rollo Coaster at Idlewild & SoakZone.
Rebbie next highlighted “Things I See,” such as a sign that threatens a $500 fine if you eat a can of beans. One thing he saw that had a personal impact was his car being crushed in the PTCI parking lot. He played a video showing a large semi-truck entering the PTCI lot, turning a corner too tightly and scraping his car, which was parked in the lot, and then crushing its front side under its wheels. No one was injured, and the truck driver was very apologetic.
Following all presentations, Moltz stepped up to offer closing remarks and remind everyone that next year’s No Coaster Con will be Saturday, January 13, 2024.
No Coaster Con was attended by Marcus Leshock, a TV reporter for WGN TV, Channel 9 in Chicago. Leshock is also a coaster enthusiast and an ACE member. Here’s the link to his media coverage of the event: https://wgntv.com/podcasts/coastin-the-country/no-coaster-con-whats-new-at-amusement-parks-in-2023/
For a successful No Coaster Con this year, attendees were grateful to Jeffrey Peters, Marty Moltz, Scott and Bonnie Heck, Renee and Perry Haugen, Jackie Hodge, Ty Hodge, Stacey Seacord-Peters, Bob Prentki and Kennedy Welch — plus the many presenters.
— Randy Geisler
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