originally posted on 11/3/2023
All Photos: Tom Nickerson. View full-sized image.
On the day of the eclipse of the sun, there was an eerie feeling to be had, as 37 ACE members embarked on a fall adventure. With a chill in the air and clouds in the sky, October 14 was sure to be a day that they never forgot.
In addition to ACE, Adventureland was also hosting its second year of Phantom Fall Fest.
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Many of them drove through the night through heavy rain and winds to make sure they arrived on time at Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. As registration began at 11:30, attendees were able to look up for just a brief second to see the annular eclipse of the sun before a strange cloud rolled in and caused it to disappear. Was it all an illusion, a dream or a sign of the strange things yet to come?
The day began with an hour of ERT on Monster before the park opened to the public.
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After everyone checked in, a group photo was taken at the entrance to the park, and then it was off to a full hour of ERT on Adventureland’s most frightful coaster, Monster. As attendees made their way to the ride, they could see what Palace Entertainment had in store for everyone. The 2023 season represented the second year of ownership of Adventureland for Palace and the second it hosted Phantom Fall Fest. The amount of time and energy the park is receiving from its owners is evident everywhere, and attendees enjoyed being able to see the changes the park had undergone between its first and second seasons.
During ERT, chants of “Monster, Monster, Monster” could be heard. With a modest group size, it was very easy to get in plenty of rides on the 2016 Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. It is believed the record was 15 (and possibly more) rides during ERT. Since an hour can be a little much for some people, many ACEers took the opportunity to get some photos of the coaster.
Adventureland’s Halloween additions included the Alice in Wonderland-based Malice Haunt, of which attendees had the rare treat of experiencing during the day.
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After ERT, the park treated attendees to a lights-on tour of its Malice Haunt, which follows the story of Alice in Wonderland. Being built entirely outdoors, it was fun to not only be able to go through it during the day, but also speak with the park staff about how an outdoor attraction like it handles the challenge of the outdoor elements.
Lunch was next, and it provided a great opportunity to sit down, relax and share stories of travels over the past year. With the season concluding at the end of October, the event was the last scheduled by ACE North Central for 2023. Following lunch, attendees prepared for a behind-the-scenes tour and tower walk.
Attendees were split into two groups and taken behind Tornado for some unique photo opportunities of the park’s largest wood coaster.
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On the tour the group split into two, and both got the chance to walk alongside Tornado. This offered a rare opportunity to get up-close photos with the first and second drops of the 1978 Bill Cobb wood out and back. The tour led participants into the park’s maintenance shed where some Outlaw coaster cars and one of Monster’s trains were being worked on.
Adventureland’s maintenance shed contained Outlaw cars and a Monster train undergoing offseason refurbishments.
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One group was in the maintenance shed while the other was treated to an aerial view (the groups later swapped positions so both could see the same things). The park was going to allow a lift hill climb on Outlaw, but it was canceled owing to the wood being wet from days of rain. Instead, park officials walked attendees through the closed and empty water park and to the top of the tallest tower it had to offer. This allowed ACEers to take some aerial shots of the park, including a very rare one of Tornado’s turnaround and drops, and to view almost the entirety of Adventureland.
A trek to the top of the park’s tallest (and closed for the season) water slide allowed fantastic photo opportunities of Adventureland.
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At 5:30 a strange fog surrounded the park, a warning horn sounded and the frights of the night began. Phantom Fall Fest featured four scare zones and four haunted walkthrough attractions. Many of the ACEers in attendance partook in the specialty cocktails, blood bags and themed drinks the park had to offer before a 6:30 informal meetup at one of the haunted walkthroughs. The rest of the night was spent exploring the park, getting scared and riding everyone’s favorite rides in the dark.
ACE North Central extended gratitude to Adventureland for its hospitality during the ACE event. Palace Entertainment and ACE look forward to working together again for the ACE Preservation Conference next summer.
— Tom Nickerson, ACE North Central Regional Representative
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