originally posted on Monday, June 16, 2025
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Spring digital meetup season began this
year with the Spectrum Meetup on April 10, hosted by ACE volunteer Hunter
Mattern. Attendees shared the coasters they were most excited about riding this
year. The roller coasters mentioned ranged from classics to new coasters that
are opening in 2025. The conversation then moved to the spectrum survey and
then quickly shifted to ACE events attendees were looking forward to joining
this year. Advice was shared regarding upcoming visits planned by some, and a
T-shirt show-off followed.
A question by an attendee sparked a
discussion about which park in the United States has the brightest future. The
answers were varied and included parks in different geographic regions, those
aimed toward specific age brackets and parks with different coaster counts.
The second pre-Con meetup of 2025 was held
on April 15: Coaster Con Explained, hosted by Dan Jones, ACE’s events director;
Bill Linkenheimer, first-time orientation originator; and
Adam Napotnik,
Events Committee member and first-time orientation co-originator. This event
was geared toward those who haven’t attended a Coaster Con and are interested
in having their questions answered prior to the opening of registration.
The discussion started with attendees
sharing how long they have been members of ACE and then went right into the
Coaster Con discussion. There was talk of the schedule, expectations related to
the event and timeline associated with the event, including the schedule
release expectation as well as the discussion on when the registration would
open.
Other questions related to the cost of the
event and the pre- and post-Con events bookmarking Coaster Con. Many attendees
were attending their first convention, but some had been before and wanted more
information about Coaster Con 47 specifically.
Following the Coaster Con Explained event,
the next meetup on the slate was Solo-to-Con on April 17. This was hosted by
ACE volunteer Lauryn Heller, who began by introducing herself and then launching
right into her tips and tricks related to making friends and getting more
involved in the ACE family.
Attendees shared their regions and what
they are looking forward to this summer. Many spoke about their excitement to
be at the informal meetups and the ACE events they will attend. The meeting
ended with the caveat that the group was no longer attending events solo, as
they are all friends now.
The next meetup was geared toward young
adults, the Young Adult Pre-Con Meetup on April 23. Hosted by ACE volunteers Madi Partington and
Adam Napotnik,
this event featured some great discussions about which coasters are generating
the most excitement.
The Pride Pre-Con Meetup on May 6 was
hosted by ACE volunteers Daniel Scott and Matthew Woods. There were discussions
about coasters and parks that will be lost this year and the intention to
experience them before they leave for the theme park in the sky.
Attendees were showing off their coaster tees
and speaking about the exciting new parks opening. There were some references
to previews and media days and questions for those who have attended parks that
weren’t yet open to the general public.
Just a few days later, on May 8, the Teen/Tween
ACE Meetup was hosted by Hannah Lee of the president’s Youth Advisory
Committee. She asked attendees what they were excited to ride at the upcoming
Coaster Con and the resounding response was Wrath of Rakshasa. What
followed were discussions about the videos and stats of the ride and how
enjoyable actually experiencing it will be.
The final pre-Con meetup was geared toward
Coaster Con 47 volunteers, Con Volunteers Meetup, on June 3. The discussion
ranged from volunteer duties attendees have had in the past to some new
opportunities that are open during this year’s convention. Questions and
stories were shared, and some new volunteers got into the mix.
The pre-Con digital event series happens
every year in the two months leading up to Coaster Con. Digital meetups are
open to all ACE members, with some geared toward certain groups but still open
to all.
— Jes Niemiec, Digital Events Coordinator