originally posted on 9/9/2022 1:52:00 AM
Photo: Todd Andrus. View full-sized image.
On July 9, 2022, ACE members and their guests joined the
Florida Region for the third annual ACE Summer Cool Down event at the Island
H2O Live! water park in Kissimmee. As on any other hot Florida day in July, a
trip to this high-tech water park was the perfect way to cool down. This annual
event has become more popular as the years move along. In 2020, 19 attendees
joined us. In 2021, that number grew to 36. This year saw an outstanding
turnout of 57 attendees.
Breakfast is served!
Photo: Michael Christopher. View full-sized image.
After the morning check-in and group photo, breakfast was
served and a one-hour ERT session began. Everyone could select their choice of
fruit, muffins, juice and coffee, then enjoy the park’s water coaster and tube
slides for an hour. ERT included the main water slide tower with three awesome
attractions to choose from. Follow Me Falls, being the highlight of the tower,
is a Blasterango water coaster model from WhiteWater West, which includes a
face-first drop then an uphill water blast, followed by another drop into a
half-pipe wall element, then a surprise hump into the splashdown. The
Downloader is a Super Bowl model tube water slide that is mostly enclosed and
ends with a couple of spins around a bowl element. Riders can use their Island
H2O Live! phone app to choose different music experiences with The Downloader.
Finally, Reload Rapids is another tube slide with high-speed constrictor
elements and a rattler element finale.
Photo: Thomas Heeden. View full-sized image.
ERT concluded as the park opened to the public for the day.
While enjoying free time at the park, attendees could refill their souvenir
drink cups with free soft drinks all day. Lunch was served at the semi-private
pavilion, following which General Manager Jim Kunau spoke to guests about the
latest and greatest news for the park. He even hinted at some amazing new
things coming to the park.
The event also included a lot of prizes for attendees. Items
were raffled off just after lunch, and then two competitions started. The first
was a photo scavenger hunt during which attendees searched throughout the park
to find the locations of 10 photos. Everyone who completed the scavenger hunt
received a free Island H2O Live! keychain. The second competition was a points
competition using the Island H2O Live! phone app. At entry, all guests received
a radio-frequency identification armband that could be scanned at ride
entrances and other locations scattered throughout the park. When scanned,
points are awarded and stored in the phone app. Normally, points are redeemed
for prizes and food, but the competition was to see who could collect the
greatest number of points before time ran out. The top five winners each
received a special edition gold ACE pin from the Florida region. The top winner
was Ryan Rosen with 3280 points. This is very impressive, considering each ride
earns about 100 points.
The evening concluded with guests enjoying the sunset, as
the park closed for the night at 9 p.m. Attendees thank Island H2O Live! and its
staff for hosting this amazing event and look forward to another Cool Down
event in 2023.
— Michael Christopher, ACE Florida Regional Representative
Photo: Thomas Heeden. View full-sized image.
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