originally posted on 9/9/2022 1:19:00 AM
All Photos: Tom Nickerson. View full-sized image.
ACE North Central gathered at
Valleyfair (Shakopee, Minnesota) for a day full of thrills, food and monster
trucks. Valleyfair is one of the smaller Cedar Fair parks, but it has a solid
collection of coasters, rides, entertainment and food.
ACEers started the day with a
behind-the-scenes look at Renegade, Valleyfair’s Great Coasters
International, Inc. roller coaster. They were invited to check under the brake
run, the transfer track where the technical parts of the coaster are located
and into the shed that houses the lift hill motor. The 29 attendees got some
wonderful, unique pictures of the experience. Some even took selfies with their
heads popped through the track of the coaster. Those in attendance were able to
ask questions of the maintenance staff, which added to the appreciation of this
great team. It was clear that the department does a lot more to keep this ride
running well than most people know.
Attendees were able to get up close to Renegade.
View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
After the tour of Renegade, attendees
scored the first rides of the day on the monster trucks during the limited time
event, Monster Jam: Thunder Alley, which was included in park admission. The
front midway of the park had real monster trucks and interactive displays
available, as well as two real monster trucks that guests could ride. The area
once occupied by Dinosaurs Alive was transformed into a course for the monster
trucks to run through. While the experience is not as extreme as riding during
a real monster truck event, this was a unique experience.
Monster trucks were an interesting addition to the event.
View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
Next, event attendees made their way
to Valleyfair’s Carousel, built in 1925 by Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC).
To make this carousel ride different and special, there was a PTC logo
tournament held. On the carousel are places where “Philadelphia Toboggan
Company” is shown either as a symbol or spelled out in words. Whoever got the
correct answer for how many places the name or abbreviation appeared won a
prize. The participants only received one ride and then one walk around after
the ride to hunt for the words. The final count was five. (Next time you ride a
PTC carousel, see how many you can find.)
The rest of the day consisted of a
delicious meal of fried chicken from the Valleyfair catering team and informal
takeovers of various rides and coasters. The day ended on a high note with 30
minutes of ERT on Renegade at night. Renegade is fantastic during
the day, but a night ride is a completely different experience. There aren’t
many lights, so the many twists and turns that riders rapidly pass through
aren’t as easily seen.
ERT on Renegade capped off the night.
View full-sized image.
The event was a success. ACE North
Central is proud to have Valleyfair in its region, and members are excited to
see what Valleyfair will do in the future to continue to provide an excellent
experience for all guests, and, of course, ACE.
— Calvin Duane
#ACENews