American Coaster Enthusiasts' 36th National Convention set for Six Flags New England, Canobie Lake Park, Palace Playland and Funtown Splashtown USA
By amusementtoday | June 15, 2013
American Coaster Enthusiasts to ride one of the nation’s highest ranked coasters and award Landmark Coaster status to a historic wood coaster.
NEW ENGLAND — Nearly 400 roller coaster enthusiasts from across the U.S., three Canadian provinces, plus France and Australia will descend on Six Flags New England, Canobie Lake Park, Palace Playland and Funtown Splashtown USA to celebrate Coaster Con XXXVI. A six-day celebration of all things roller coaster, the 36th annual convention of American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) will include hours and hours of roller coaster riding exclusively for attendees before and after the park is open to the public.
Steel coaster aficionados in attendance are eager to get their fill of hair-raising inversions, radically banked turns and exhilarating surges of speed during the exclusive ride time (ERT) sessions on the visually stunning Goliath and the highly ranked Bizarro at Six Flags New England, plus the spine-tingling Untamed at Canobie Lake Park and Galaxi at Palace Playland. Wood coaster fans attending ACE’s largest annual event are looking forward to experiencing the weightless “airtime” sensations during ERT sessions on legendary Cyclone (celebrating its 30th anniversary) and Thunderbolt (an ACE Landmark Coaster) at Six Flags New England, the historic Yankee Cannonball at Canobie Lake Park and the rollicking Excalibur at Funtown Splashtown USA.
Attendees will enjoy camaraderie with like-minded people and share stories of coasters ridden in all corners of the world, as many ACE members have traveled to Europe, Central America, Australia and Asia. Anywhere there is a coaster, you will find an ACEer. Attendees will also enjoy picnics, contests, new activities for younger children and teens, surprises and a General Store featuring club-related merchandise. The Six Flags New England portion of Coaster Con XXXVI contains a banquet at the convention hotel, featuring John Odum, Senior Vice President, Park Operations East Coast for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, as the keynote speaker.
A highlight of the event will take place the morning of June 20, when ACE will present a monument plaque to Canobie Lake Park designating the park’s iconic wood coaster, Yankee Cannonball, as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark. Engineered by Philadelphia Toboggan Company’s legendary designer Herbert P. Schmeck and builder Frank Hoover, Yankee Cannonball is one of a small number of surviving wood roller coasters to be relocated from another state. As New Hampshire’s oldest operating roller coaster, ACE applauds Canobie Lake Park for continued excellence in maintaining and preserving Yankee Cannonball, a historic cultural treasure that still delights its multigenerational fan base. The ACE Landmark Coaster designation is a rare and coveted award, as only a small number of coasters have earned this status denoting their position in the amusement industry as historically significant.
