originally posted on 9/30/2022 1:20:00 AM
All Photos: Tom Nickerson. View full-sized image.
When the forecast calls for 90 percent chance of rain all day, what do you do? You head to the amusement park to hang out with your ACE friends and family. That is exactly what 29 ACE members and 10 guests did on Saturday, September 10. The weather in
Iowa in September can be hard to predict. All week before and all week after, the forecast showed no rain. But there was no getting around it; it was going to rain during ACE Goes on an Adventure. It was just a matter of when and how much.
The group arrived at Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa, before the park opened and was let in for ERT on Monster, a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster that opened in 2016. This ERT session was special — it was the first-ever ERT session for ACE at Adventureland.
With the park under new management (Palace Entertainment), ACE North Central has worked hard to reestablish a great club-to-park relationship. The other thing that made this ERT special was the race to beat the rain. With a capacity of eight per train
and two trains running, most attendees were able to get close to 10 rides in the hour. The rain held off for the first 10 minutes. Then it was a light sprinkle, transitioning to a steady rain and finally a full downpour. Yes, riding in the rain can
hurt, but, boy, it sure is fun.
Attendees gathered for the first-ever ERT at Adventureland.
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ACEers beat the rain with a few rides on Monster.
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After ERT, the park treated attendees to an unscheduled behind-the-scenes tour of Dragon Slayer, the S&S 4D Free Spin coaster that opened in 2021. Everyone got a chance to get out of the rain and go into the maintenance bay. Inside, Director of
Maintenance Brandon Geier was on hand to answer any questions the group had. The highlight here was to see the giant magnets that create the flips, as well as to go underneath the train chassis and get up close and personal with these fun rides. Dragon Slayer is the smaller model offered by S&S. It is the opinion of many that this model gives a better ride than the larger counterparts because the magnets are closer together and the valleys don’t create a low (breath-catching) moment. Geier did say that
there is one more magnet fin on one side, to try to give a wilder ride.
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Attendees explored Dragon Slayer’s maintenance bay.
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“We have tried different combinations of magnets and placements, but in the end, you are still going to get a wild random ride based on weight distribution, wind and a bunch of other uncontrollable factors,” he said.
When everyone was finished exploring, attendees took time to gather for the group photo in the maintenance bay.
A few rainy rides on the coasters that the park could open resulted in group takeovers of The Underground and Outlaw.
Riding in the rain causes one to work up an appetite. Lunchtime came at noon with BBQ pulled pork sandwiches provided, inside away from the rain. The real highlight of lunch was an open-and-honest Q&A session with the new general manager, Bill Lentz.
As the end of his first season at Adventureland was drawing closer, it was a real treat to ask him questions on the season, his vision for the future and the amount of love Palace Entertainment is putting into this park. Palace is making a strong
commitment to reinvesting in the park and the resort property and is bringing back fan favorite events like Oktoberfest and adding new events like Phantom Fest. A new roller coaster (Flying Viking) and the return of a log flume ride (Draken
Falls) will also happen next year.
Director of Maintenance Brandon Geier answered questions.
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Rob Tinson took home a cool prize.
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Before the meal was over, the park had made the unfortunate decision to close for the day, owing to the rain not letting up. But there were still a few surprises left. Everyone received a rain check ticket to be used any time during 2022 or 2023. Lentz
also held a special raffle drawing. The prize was one of the last remaining wheels of the Dragon roller coaster that was removed in 2019. Congratulations to Rob Tinson on winning the prize.
Attendees thanked Adventureland for making a rainy day a great one.
— Tom Nickerson, ACE North Central Regional Representative
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