originally posted on 2/12/2024
The No Coaster Con 2024 master of ceremonies and ACE Honorary Member Marty Moltz.
Photo: Randy Geisler. View full-sized image.
The 43rd annual No Coaster Con — the lead-off ACE event every new year — was held at the Hyatt Place Hotel conference center in Rosemont, Illinois (i.e., Chicagoland) on January 14, with attendees braving 14 inches of snow and blizzardy conditions (causing many to remark the day should’ve been titled sNOw COASTER CON), all in order to savor a glorious day of mingling with fellow enthusiasts and many amusement industry friends. The day kicked off with welcoming remarks by event coordinator ACE Western Great Lakes Regional Representative Jeffrey Peters, followed by the day’s genial master-of-ceremonies and jokemeister Marty Moltz.
The calendar year kicked off with ACE members gathering at the Hyatt Place Hotel for No Coaster Con 2024.
Photo: Randy Geisler. View full-sized image.
ACE Update
The lead-off presenter was ACE’s Communications Director Derek Perry, who provided an update on the organization’s doings. Perry led off with a “hi and hello” video from ACE President Elizabeth Ringas. He then commented on ACE’s 2023 events, noting that in addition to the three national events, members enjoyed 85 regional events and 18 digital events.
Perry mentioned ACE’s documentary team’s work on two features, “Legacy of Schwarzkopf,” which comes out in November 2024, and also the “Connected by Coasters” documentary, perhaps to be released in 2025.
ACE Communications Director Derek Perry encourages members to volunteer for the organization.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
Perry then highlighted ACE’s four national events in 2024: Coaster Con 46, the ACE Journey to Central Europe International Trip, the Preservation Conference and the Spring Conference at Kings Island (Mason, Ohio), which No Coaster Con attendees were the first to learn about. ACE members are encouraged to check https://www.aceonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=calendar to see all the 2024 events.
Silver Dollar City
The first park representative to present was Dalton Fischer, communications manager at Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri), who mentioned he’s been a member of ACE since he was 12 years old.
Fischer gave attendees a look at the park’s $30 million reimaging of Fire In The Hole. This classic dark ride lasted for 51 years, and more than 25 million people rode it.
Dalton Fischer of Silver Dollar City updated attendees on the construction of the new Fire In The Hole indoor coaster/dark ride.
Photo: Mike Bare. View full-sized image.
Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) was brought in to custom engineer and manufacture the new Fire In The Hole. “We're doing everything we can to ensure that the charm from the original ride is incorporated into the all-new Fire,” said Fischer. Located in the Fire District section within Silver Dollar City, Fire In The Hole is expected to debut in the spring.
National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives (NRCMA)
Kris Rowberry brought news from the NRCMA in Plainfield, Texas (and also set up a sales table with some cool NRCMA stuff). He noted the recent donation of a fully restored 1911 ride vehicle that operated on Derby Racer at Lakeside Park in Denver, Colorado. Restored by ACE member Randy Duffer, it is now the oldest vehicle in the museum’s collection.
Kris Rowberry discusses the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives.
Photo: Mike Bare. View full-sized image.
Rowberry reminded everyone of the NRCMA’s important mission to discover, preserve, interpret and share the historical heritage of the roller coaster for present and future generations. To help with this mission, something new for 2024 will be an open house opportunity, Back to the Museum. The NRCMA has also debuted a new website: https://rollercoastermuseum.org, which allows the museum’s collection to be viewed and parties to donate directly to the museum.
ACE Cares
David Lipnicky, assistant coordinator for ACE Cares, spoke about the club’s philanthropic and charitable work partnering with amusement industry leaders to support its charitable activities. The biggest focus has been Give Kids The World, whose Village in Kissimmee, Florida, provides week-long, cost-free wish vacations to critically ill children and their families. If interested in learning more about how to help the Village, go to www.gktw.org.
David Lipnicky talks about ACE Cares.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
The Give Kids The World 2024 Gingerbread Run 5K (Valentine's Edition) will be held on February 10, during which people can participate at the Village itself or virtually at their convenience. Those interested can register at https://www.aceonline.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1756766.
Coasting for Kids is one of the premier fundraising events for the Village. ACE has been involved since 2011 and has raised $154,987. Participating parks have not been announced yet for 2024 but look for information on social media and in ACE email blasts.
Cedar Point
Tony Clark, director of communications for Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio), mentioned all of the events at the park in 2024, including Total Eclipse of the Point on April 8 (when there actually will be an eclipse of the sun); a Top Thrill 2 season pass holder preview period from April 30 to May 2; and later this year, Coastermania, Boardwalk Nights and HalloWeekends.
Cedar Point's Tony Clark shows off the park’s new strata triple launch coaster, Top Thrill 2.
Photo: David Lipnicky. View full-sized image.
Clark publicized the Point’s new Top Thrill 2 coaster opening this year — a reworking of 2003’s Top Thrill Dragster courtesy of Zamperla. The attraction will become the world's tallest and fastest triple launch strata coaster. The launch system will change to linear synchronous motors “which are more reliable and quieter and will hopefully allow more of our guests to be able to ride it,” added Clark.
Lost Island Amusement Park
Eric Bertch, co-owner and general manager at Lost Island Amusement Park in Waterloo, Iowa, spoke about the new theme park (opened in 2022), which has quickly established itself as a hidden gem with a multilayered, interactive backstory for guests to engage in across five immersive detailed-themed lands. For 2024, the park is making its interactive treasure hunt game easier to navigate and is adding an Angry Birds-style puzzle game, which offers a promotional connection for merchandise items available at the park.
Lost Island will finally be able to open its carousel this year, which will feature at least 36 characters, many of them unique. There will also be a variety of shows throughout the park. Bertch hinted there’s “something hot” coming to the park in 2025 and stated that an announcement will be made as part of the ACE Preservation Conference when ACE visits Lost Island.
Theme Parks by Don
Formerly of Kings Island, Don Helbig is now with Theme Parks by Don — his newest venture. Helbig walked attendees through his career in the industry and how he got interested in amusements, including the details of the summer when he finally amassed more than 2,000 rides on Racer.
Don Helbig recalls when he was setting the world record for the number of rides on a coaster on Kings Island’s Racer, eventually achieving more than 12,000.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
Helbig recalled many other highlights from his years at Kings Island, such as bringing back the Brady Bunch actors in 2008 (who had first visited the park to film an episode in 1973) and hosting Evil Knievel and Carmen Electra. He also mentioned that Diamondback was the first big ride he was able to be involved with from its beginning, and actually got to suggest the name for the ride.
Theme Parks by Don is “a platform just covering the latest news, historical features, just other engaging content. I'm going to create a Daily Industry News roundup, weekly readers and mailbag, and I want to cover ACE news and events.”
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari
Eric Snow, vice president and chief marketing officer of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, pointed out that though it's snowy in Santa Claus, Indiana, it is also cloudy over Holiday World with a chance of good gravy.
“Good Gravy is a Vekoma family Boomerang,” said Snow. “What we're really excited about is that the height requirement is only 38 inches, so it fills the gap that we've had in our portfolio, so kids as young as three years old will be able to ride.”
Snow mentioned Holiday World’s woodies, including some minor track work on The Raven and 280 feet of track on The Legend’s lift hill getting replaced. However, The Voyage is getting the most love, with the addition of more prefab track from The Gravity Group for the straightaway sections on the third and fourth hills and on the turns in the spaghetti bowl section.
Adventureland
Alex Payne, regional public relations manager for Palace Entertainment, commented on Adventureland (Altoona, Iowa) celebrating 50 years in 2024. The park worked with Zamperla to put in two new rides in 2023: The Dragon Falls log flume intertwined with Flying Viking, a family coaster. Adventureland worked with ACE to have members be the first riders on the new coaster during its grand opening last summer.
For the 2024 season, the park is making improvements to its indoor wood coaster/dark ride, The Underground. “It'll be a completely different experience — we'll have new characters throughout the attraction, and we’re excited to really amplify the storyline,” said Payne. “In addition, we're working with Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. to rebuild the train, and we've already done some track work and replaced other pieces throughout.”
The park is excited to be co-hosting ACE’s Preservation Conference in August — its first time co-hosting a national ACE event.
Dollywood
Josh Sauer, digital content specialist for The Dollywood Company, highlighted Dollywood’s (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) successful 2023 season. In addition to debuting Big Bear Mountain and co-hosting ACE’s 2023 Coaster Con, the park celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Dolly Parton-penned song “I Will Always Love You.” In addition to a number of festivals, Dollywood also hosted Amusement Today’s Golden Tickets awards ceremony in 2023.
For the 2024 season, Dollywood is installing a new high-speed chain lift on Lightning Rod to alleviate reliability issues.
Photo: Mike Bare. View full-sized image.
For 2024, Dollywood is making changes to Lightning Rod. “With full transparency, this ride has operated at a 68 percent or less up-time for three years, so we’re going to solve that problem,” said Sauer. Instead of a launch up the hill, riders will arrive via a high-speed chain lift.
A new Dolly Parton Experience section of the park will be created, telling the story of Dolly and her family. Park events in 2024 will include the I Will Always Love You Music Festival, Flower & Food Festival, Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration, Harvest Festival, Thrills in the Hills and Smoky Mountain Christmas later in the year.
Zamperla
Roller Coaster Sales & Marketing Director for Zamperla Adam Sandy highlighted changes in the company in recent years, noting bigger coasters and a decade of development. Beginning with Thunderbolt at Luna Park (Brooklyn, New York) in 2014, “where we had to design track columns, structure, vehicles, everything,” Sandy commented on Zamperla’s evolution that led to its installation of Wild Mouse at Cedar Point for the 2023 season. According to Sandy, Zamperla’s goal is to be “much more competitive with Gerstlauer, Mauer and Mack.”
This led to the company’s selection to transform Top Thrill Dragster into Top Thrill 2. “We spent a lot of time and effort both on the engineering . . . and the large wheels on the ‘Lightning’ trains.”
Sandy went on to discuss Zamperla’s future plans, which include lots of interesting coaster layouts. Ideas also exist for a family mine-train, a coaster with spike design, new flat rides, flumes, and integrated ride packages such as the flume and coaster combination installed at Adventureland.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom’s Events and Group Sales and Private Events Supervisor Jordan Bishop suggested that “some of you might be thinking I look a little familiar, and that is because I have been an ACE member since 2004 and have been attending Coaster Con every year since 2014.” He recounted the park’s evolution from Redwood City’s Marine World/Africa USA in 1968 to the relocation to Vallejo and finally to its acquisition by Premier Parks and growth into a Six Flags property.
Jordan Bishop of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom explains what the park offers guests.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
Bishop told a story about the park’s Cobra from Zierer, which had been a favorite of the late ACE regional rep Emi Pearce. Discovery Kingdom added a tribute memorial to her in the course’s layout. One of the boxes near the operator panel has a tribute printed out in her memory, which riders can see leaving the station.
“We are so profoundly excited to be part of the ACE Coaster Con this year,” said Bishop. “The day that we're hosting is going to be something that our entire team is really looking forward to.”
Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park
Deno Vourderis presented on behalf of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park (Brooklyn, New York). Deno’s was co-host of ACE’s Preservation Conference in 2023, and Vourderis commented on the complexities of maintaining a park with aging rides: “We've been printing parts since 2016 because we had a lot of rides for which the manufacturer no longer exists. We would go to a machine shop, or we have a small machine shop that would fabricate things, but when 3D printing came around, we figured maybe we can do something with [it]. And that's basically what we did.”
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois) was represented by Communications Specialist Rachel Kendziora and Operations Manager Kevin Shaw, who made a great comedic team as they jokingly walked attendees through what’s happening at the park. They reviewed their park’s events for 2023, noting in particular that portions of ACE’s “Legacy of Schwarzkopf” were filmed to cover its Whizzer Custom Speedracer. Great America also hosted Give Kids The World in June and Coaster Challenge in September.
Rachel Kendziora and Kevin Shaw of Six Flags Great America announce the park will host a Coaster Challenge in September.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
This year’s events will include Pride Celebration in June, Summer Nights Spectacular in July and Coaster Challenge again in September to benefit Special Olympics Illinois. Fright Fest and Oktoberfest will follow in September.
And as for 2024, Six Flags Great America is closing its Mardi Gras Hangover ride to make way for some-as-yet-unnamed future development. Also, Revolution (a Huss Frisbee) was removed, to make way for the park’s newest attraction, Sky Striker — a giant pendulum swing ride made by Zamperla that will swing an astounding 17 stories and will run at 75 mph.
Shaw concentrated on attraction updates for 2024, noting control system updates for Joker and Whizzer, retracking a good portion of Viper and replacing American Eagle’s lift chain.
Kings Island
Chad Showalter, communications director at Kings Island, introduced himself as a local with a life-long love of the park. He expressed excitement about the upcoming ACE Spring Conference being hosted by the park, with May 19 being the 45th anniversary of The Beast Walk Back. Showalter mentioned the park will be looking to commemorate the anniversary before remarking on 2023’s reworking of its Adventure Port section.
“Two new rides — Sol Spin and Cargo Loco — anchor the area,” said Showalter. “You are probably aware of Adventure Express and the ability we had to retheme and enhance and refresh it as well.”
Kings Island’s Chad Showalter discusses the park’s new roller coaster, Snoopy’s Soapbox Racers.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
In 2024, the park will debut Camp Snoopy — an expansion of the park’s Planet Snoopy kids’ area — that will feature Snoopy’s Soapbox Racers, a new family roller coaster that races both forward and backward (a Vekoma Family Boomerang expected to open in late spring), and Beagle Scout Acres, a new play area.
As for 2024 ride anniversaries, The Beast is celebrating 45 years, Invertigo 25, Diamondback reaches 15 years and Banshee will be 10. In addition, the park is retracking the rest of Racer and completing the repaint of Diamondback that began this time last year.
The Gravity Group
Immediately prior to its presentation, Moltz announced that ACE’s Executive Committee granted honorary membership to The Gravity Group. Michael Graham, engineer and principal, and Hunter Lawrence, engineer, stepped up as Graham declared 2024 to be the “Year of the Cat.”
The Gravity Group's Heather Lawrence and Michael Graham proudly show off the ACE Honorary Membership bestowed upon the company.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
The first cat is Wildcat at Lake Compounce (Bristol, Connecticut), built in 1927 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and then rebuilt in 1986 by Charlie Dinn. Lawrence noted that of all the Wildcat roller coasters designed by Herbert Schmeck, Lake Compounce’s ride is the last of the breed.
After reminding attendees of the work the company performed in 2023 on Grizzly at Kings Dominion (Doswell, Virginia), Graham mentioned working on another coaster yet to be announced. “[It] is the next cat. We don't know the name of it yet, so I just I don't know what the species of cat is yet. It is a cat though, we promise.”
Graham also discussed how The Gravity Group’s Engineered Precut Track (now patented) minimizes field labor, since the track is precut at The Gravity Group facility by precision CNC equipment to the exact shape determined by the ride design. The company recently performed a huge amount of track work on Shivering Timbers, Wolverine Wildcat, Boardwalk Bullet, The Voyage, Megafobia, New Mexico Rattler and Excalibur and already has nine projects lined up for 2024.
The Gravity Group presented their new Bobcat being added to Six Flags Great Escape in 2024.
Photo: David Lipnicky. View full-sized image.
Drawing attention to another cat, Lawrence expressed excitement about the company’s Bobcat being constructed at Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, New York. “This will be the first ground up ride for me at The Gravity Group since I started about three years ago. It’s a small package, but it's still very fierce, just like a real bobcat.”
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Jeff Filicko, marketing manager at Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio), remarked that from 2013 to 2023, Fiesta Texas has led with 18 new rides and attractions including six new roller coasters and five prototype rides. As for 2024, he noted, “the E6ix Gaming site is a high-tech state-of-the-art gaming center right in the heart of the park.”
Jeff Filicko of Six Flags Fiesta Texas boasts of his park's decade of thrills accomplishments.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
Filicko continued by mentioning six new family water slides to Hurricane Harbor and 2024’s reimaging of the D.C. Universe section by introducing three new rides: Cyborg Cyber Revolution (a Zamperla NebulaZ), Shazam Tower of Eternity (a family drop tower) and Metropolis Transit Authority (a monorail 17 feet above the midway).
Six Flags Fiesta Texas prides itself on its events like Mardi Gras Festival and Total Eclipse, and Filicko noted that the park will be in full (not limited) operation. “We're going to do fireworks and a drone show in the complete darkness of the eclipse, and it's going to be pretty wild.” Also on the calendar are Fourth of July fireworks to be shot from 62 locations throughout the park and the comprehensive Roller Coaster Rodeo event June 7-9.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. (PTCI)
Tom Rebbie, president/CEO, and Janine Matscherz, PTCI administrator, along with an appearance by ACE Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Representative Mike Matscherz, offered the final presentation of No Coaster Con 2024. Rebbie commented on the company’s “super-secret” project — the new Hersheypark Comet trains announced at the IAAPA Expo 2023 in November, with Janine Rebbie adding that the ride’s old Hailey train assumed residence at PTCI. The company also worked on Kemah Boardwalk’s (Kemah, Texas) Boardwalk Bullet train this last summer.
Thomas D. Rebbie, Admiral of the Starship Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, trekking via NCC 2024 with his sidekick (and daughter) Janine Matscherz.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. shows off its sparkly Hersheypark Comet train car at IAAPA.
Photo: Jeremy Wdowicki. View full-sized image.
Also for 2024, Rebbie noted performing overhauls on trains for Six Flags Over Georgia’s (Austell) The Great American Scream Machine, Six Flags America’s (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) Wild One and Roar, Arnolds Park’s (Arnolds Park, Iowa) Legend, Dorney Park’s (Allentown, Pennsylvania) Thunderhawk, Cedar Point’s Blue Streak, Stricker Grove’s (Ross, Ohio) Tornado and Adventureland’s Tornado and The Underground.
Chicago TV's WGN Channel 9's Marcus Leshock interviews No Coaster Con 2024's coordinator Jeffrey Peters.
Photo: Mike Bare. View full-sized image.
Thus ended 12 (!) hours of informative presentations with loads of freebies provided by the presenters, with silent auction items offered, a buffet lunch and tons of fun. It was a wonderful time enjoyed with fellow enthusiasts and dear friends.
ACE Eastern Great Lakes extended thanks to the No Coaster Con crew who made it all happen: Peters, Moltz, Audiovisual Coordinator Scott Heck, Renee and Perry Haugen, Bonnie Heck and Jackie Hodge who oversaw registration.
— Randy Geisler
P.S. Marcus LeShock, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and television celebrity for WGN Channel 9 in Chicago (who is also an ACE member), broadcast two different news features covering No Coaster Con, and giving media attention to ACE.
https://wgntv.com/podcasts/coastin-the-country/coaster-con-chatter-includes-new-thrill-ride-at-six-flags-great-america/.
In Leshock’s second broadcast covering No Coaster Con, he spoke to Josh Sauer from Dollywood to discuss that great theme park and Ms. Parton.
https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-weekend-morning-news/weekend-break/weekend-break-no-coaster-con-2024/.
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