Do you ever find yourself putting something off that you want to do? I’m not talking about something that involves a ton of labor, such as painting the bedroom or planting a garden. I’m talking about something that would take little to no effort on your part. Well, I do! For over a decade now I have found myself interested in joining the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), but just never did.
I’ve been “into” roller coasters since I was a kid, back when my Aunt Cheryl tricked me into getting on the Comet at Hersheypark. I wanted nothing to do with getting on such a “big” roller coaster at the time. Once I found out what we were in line for, however, my only other option was to wait by the exit. She was going to ride with or without me. Since I was young, I was more scared of not being with her in such a big park with so many people for a few minutes. I took a deep breath and sat my butt down for a ride I’ll never forget – the ride that made me love roller coasters.
Meeting My First ACE Member
About 20 years later, between 2002-05, I worked at a local newspaper called The Avenue News. I was hired on as a photographer, but quickly began writing, taking on ad work, and finally, became the paper’s arts & entertainment editor. With control over a whole section focused on entertainment, I naturally ended up writing a piece about roller coasters. That’s when I discovered ACE.
Looking for someone with local ties to assist me with my article, I reached out to ACE to see if any of their members would be interested. They found a few members in our paper’s circulation area and luckily for me, one was willing to meet up and talk coasters for my piece. A week or two later, that article was the cover story for the paper’s arts & entertainment section, which was called The Relaxer.
Since opening this site, I have wanted to find that article on one of my many CD Rom back ups and republish it here. What’s been keeping me from doing it? The fact that my current PC doesn’t have a disk drive and I also have a bunch of CDs on spindles to look through. I need to get off my butt and do it. Add it to the list of things that I really want to do, but haven’t… like joining ACE!
Early Encouragement in My Enthusiasm for Coasters
Working on that article really lit a fire under my butt to visit the parks closest to where I live. I had been to all of them before, but sometimes it I would sometimes go years between visits. Those parks included: Hersheypark, Six Flags America (SFA), Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv), and Dorney Park. In 2010, however, things climbed to the next level. That was the year I visited Cedar Point for the first time with James. After getting on Maverick, Magnum XL-200, Raptor, and Millennium Force, it was game on! Not so much with Mean Streak though, well, at least for James.
In the immediate years that followed, I visited Kennywood, Six Flags New England (SFNE), Luna Park, Knoebels, Kings Island, Dollywood, and Carowinds all for the first time – mostly all with James. From there I also began looking up and visiting a few smaller parks like Lakemont Park, Conneaut Lake Park, and Waldameer. There was no doubt that I was hooked! When you stop at three small parks in a single day, you are no longer just a fan – you’re a full-fledged enthusiast.
It was around that same time that I began tracking my credits. I researched sites like Roller Coaster Database (RCDB) and traced what coasters I rode during some of my adventures as a kid. Every summer I was always at a beach town riding all kinds of boardwalk coasters with my parents, grand parents, and Aunt Cheryl. I added those to my credit list. James and I also kept our trip game strong visiting places like Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT), Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT), and ZDT’s Amusement Park. Still, while all this happened, I was still not an ACE member.
Befriending an ACE Member in July
Jump ahead a few more years to the end of July 2020. Sam and I went out for dinner one evening and decided to go to the other side of town. We tried a place we’ve never been to before, which ended up having great food. What was even better, however, was our server. We struck up a conversation because I was wearing a Kings Island Beast mask. He complimented me on it and said he loves roller coasters.
Nerd talk ensued and Sam and I made ourselves a new friend. That server was Greg and he has been adding to his credit list with us ever since, hitting parks with not only Sam and myself, but Renee and Chris as well. It was only natural to welcome him on as one of the site’s Flight Crew.
Not only is Greg an enthusiast, but he is also an ACE member as well. He always speaks highly of the group during our conversations, I always find myself saying, “Yeah, I need to become a member,” and then forgetting about it later. Well, until today…
A Facebook Post for Phoenix Phall Phunfest
Earlier today, someone shared a post on Facebook advertising the ACE Eastern PA group’s “Phoenix Phall Phunfest” at Knoebels. Low and behold, it’s on October 10. Why is that important? Well, Sam, Greg, and I will be at the park that day too. I also know that Greg has been itching to attend an ACE event with 2020 being such a down year for everyone. I sent him a message about it and we talked for a while.
I told him we could change our plans and go up early for him, if he wanted to attend. Ultimately, however, he said he wanted to stick to our plans. If you’ve been keeping track, the October 10 Knoebels trip has been planned out by the three of us to hopefully ensure that Sam gets her 50th credit, and Greg, his 75th on Phoenix. In order to do this, we also need to stop at Adventure Park USA on the way to pad Greg’s credits a tad. Read the blog, “Sam & Greg to Get Credits 50 & 75 on Phoenix?” for more information on our plans that day.
Although Greg was fine with missing out on the ACE event, the more and more I thought about it after our conversation, the more and more I found myself interested in it. Via the ACE membership, tickets can be purchased for $35 that includes the following:
- All day ride plan
- 2 Slices of Cesari’s Pizza
- Drink
- Game Ticket
- Haunted Mansion Ticket
An Early Christmas Gift for Sam
Not only did I sign myself up, but I treated Sam to an early Christmas gift and signed her up as well. She was so happy to know that she is now an ACE member. We can’t wait to dig into what that all entails. Even just the networking aspect alone sounds promising. After all, that’s how I met Chris in 2019. It was through the Facebook group, Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS).
In the days and weeks to come, I plan on looking through ACE’s site and talking with some members about what their experiences are like. I’m also interested in seeing if they need any photo or writing submissions for their publications. I think I could assist in those departments, if they’re looking for help. Time will tell! And speaking of time, it’s about time I went and found that newspaper article I wrote almost 15 years ago…
