Winter and the off season for many parks may be upon us but the ACE events continue throughout the year.  Join us for a rundown of John’s visit to No Coaster Con, which was held on January 14, 2023 near the Chicago airport.  Though the event may not be held in a park, rest assured that like most ACE events, lunch was served and coaster enthusiasts gathered to enjoy each other’s company.

[01:00] John attended No Coaster Con for the first time!

[01:15]  Spoiler: no coasters were part of the event

[02:30]  Announcements from the event

[02:50]  Santa’s Village (East Dundee, IL) held a waterslide duck race

[03:40] VR sleigh

[03:58] New spinner coaster coming soon

[04:10] Knoebel’s announcements – retracking the helix on Twister

[04:45] Birthday party for various Knoebel’s rides

[05:11] Dollywood, (Pigeon Forge, TN) – Big Bear Mountain updates (last piece of track is in!!)

[06:00]  16,000 pumpkins at Dollywood’s Harvest Festival

[07:00] Raging Waves water park (Yorkville, IL) presented, no big announcement but a great intro to their park and their family

[08:30] King’s Island (Mason, OH shared highlights of the park’s 50th anniversary

[09:00] Phantom Theater (retired dark ride) became a theater show last season

[09:26] Adventure Port themed area construction is coming along

[09:30] What about the land where Vortex was?  No news.

[10:10] The Beast’s reprofiling – the Beast is back!!

[11:00] Holiday World Voyage retracking

[11:30] John droned on about drones at Holiday World and King’s Island

[12:11] Voyage’s retracking uses some prefabricated parts

[13:20] Adventureland (Altoona, IA) purchased by Palace Entertainment

[14:56] Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) do not think about Top Thrill Dragster

[15:57] Top Thrll Dragster reopening in 2024, no plans announced

[16:30] New mouse coaster at Cedar Point

[17:19] National Roller Coaster Museum (Plainview, TX) shared updates

[18:25] Construction continued through the COVID shutdown Larson donated construction time and labor 

[20:18] Six Flags parks had 4 presenters, Six Fiags Over Georgia (Austell, GA) announced a new family racing coaster

[21:16] Six Flags St Louis (Eureka, MO) teased a new family ride

[22:45] Deno’s Wonder Wheel (New York City, NY) announced a new coaster

[23:29] Lost Island (Waterloo, IA) – app that adds backstory to their dark ride, launch coaster opening this year

[25:00] Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, TX) is adding a waterpark and a skyline racer

[26:35] Gravity Group presented details of their updated, enhanced wood track 

[27:30] Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters owner and friend of ACE Tom Rebbe wrapped up the event

[30:00] Auction and ACE networking during and after the event

[34:57] ACE event rundown

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Thanks to the Ride with Us podcast team

Producer: Derek Perry

Editor: Bob Randolph

Show Notes: Liz Tan