Written by Randy Dewberry

ACE Winter Warm-Up – The Pre-Show for the Season

Getting coaster enthusiasts through the long cold offseason isn't easy if you don't live in California or Florida. Local amusement parks are still weeks away from opening for the new season, and new attractions may be weeks after that. Fortunately, ACE has found ways to bring fans back together with their winter meet-ups, where they give parks a chance to provide updates on their upcoming plans, and occasionally reveal new information. The Southeast Region's event, Winter Warm-Up, returned to the Crystal Pistol Music Hall at Six Flags Over Georgia for 2018 to get a look at the park's upcoming new toy, Twisted Cyclone, and learn about other parks in the region. Thanks to the representatives on hand, who took that "new information" item to heart, the attendees got more teases than an 80s hair-band video.
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The first tease came about 12 hours before the event, when Six Flags told its Twitter followers to pay attention to its feed Monday morning for a major announcement. As Six Flags officials welcomed the guests to the event, they brought up the tweet again. Turning the intrigue meter up to eleven, park officials said they would spill the beans to attendees, but asked them to not share it until after they themselves revealed it. (Author's note – you'll read it here too, which means if you actually are reading this, the embargo has been lifted and we have permission to share it.)

Regional Updates

Instead of sending staffers, a number of area attractions sent ACE video updates and presentations to share with the guests. Carowinds gave us a status update of Camp Snoopy, its renovated children's area, and talked about two of their coasters – Lucy's Crabby Cabbie and Flying Ace Aerial Chase – receiving new names, Wilderness Run and Kiddy Hawk, respectively. Kings Dominion shared a recap of the 2017 season and a status report on its RMC makeover coaster, Twisted Timbers (the former Hurler), which included a reveal of the ride's second green train, which will run alongside the already-introduced blue train. Fan-favorite Holiday World introduced its new kiddie slide complex and talked about some off-season track work going on at Voyage.

Lastly, various attractions in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area provided updates of their own, including Anakeesta (the complex is open, but the single-rail mountain coaster is still being fabricated), Mountain Mile (a new shopping/entertainment center with a Stan Checketts-designed tower thrill ride and an adjacent mountain coaster) and Pigeon Forge Snow (an indoor snow-tubing attraction operated by the team that runs the popular Goats On The Roof).

Alabama Splash Adventure – The little park that could

Six Flags and Alabama Splash entered into a friendly wager on the college football National Championship Game (played just down the road from the Flags at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium). So, Byron Hughes, the park's marketing honcho, took this opportunity to gloat about Six Flags' other new coaster, Alabama Scorcher. Good-natured fun aside, attendees were treated to a series of videos from park managers Dan and Pat Koch as they introduced a number of new additions to the dry side of the park. Guests to the rapidly-growing Birmingham park will get to enjoy four new family rides – Scrambler, Yo-Yo, Tilt-A-Whirl and Rockin' Tug – while their kids will have fun on a new train attraction and a waterslide complex similar to the one its Indiana sister park is receiving. Everyone will get to enjoy a new high-dive show being constructed near the park's former log flume.

Before concluding, Byron revealed that Amusement Today has selected Alabama Splash Adventure as ​the host park for the 2021 Golden Ticket Awards. Aside from the fact that the park continues to grow and gain respect in the area, Byron alluded to another reason why they’ll host the awards then … a big new attraction is on the horizon. While not saying it was a roller coaster, Byron didn’t say it wasn’t, either. ;)

Dollywood – There are showstoppers, then there are SHOWSTOPPERS!

Pete Owens “flew” down to Six Flags for the day (he drove, but at a rate that suggests a pretty good flight plan) to talk up the Pigeon Forge park’s 2018 event-heavy season. Dollywood will be open a remarkable 264 days this coming season, and just about every one of them will have some special event or festival adding to the fun. The season begins with the long-running Festival of Nations and new-for-2018 Spring Mix concert series. In summer, food and fun go hand in hand with the Barbecue and Bluegrass festival, followed by Dollywood’s Summer Celebration, featuring tons of fireworks and superb limited-time shows. As the leaves change in the fall, the Dollywood Harvest Festival returns with award-winning gospel music, and Great Pumpkin LumiNights returns with even more family-friendly Halloween decorations, expanding from Mystery Mine all the way around to Craftsman’s Valley. Last but certainly not least, Smoky Mountain Christmas covers the park in millions of lights that must be seen in person to truly be appreciated.
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One of the focal points for these festivals will be the new Plaza area, currently under construction on the former site of River Battle, in the Wilderness Pass section of the park. Dollywood is converting the site into a new open space that will change with the seasons, just as the park itself does. In the spring and summer, an animated fountain will keep things cool. For LumiNights in the fall, guests can take in a new animated pumpkin tree, with a giant LCD Christmas tree helping to transform the area in December to Glacier Ridge.

Pete Owens then talked about the park’s BPOD – the big pile of dirt – occupying a rather large chunk of land behind Thunderhead. Pete confirmed what it was, a big pile of dirt, and that it was a rather nice pile of dirt, at that. Pete also said that the BPOD was part of the largest capital expenditure in Dollywood history, and that details would arrive sooner (rather than later) this year. During a Q&A session prior to lunch, an ACEr asked about the Lightning Rod Run event and if it would return for 2018. ACE officials said there were no plans to run the event in 2018, but Pete noted that it might be better to have it in 2019, anyway. <wink wink> <nudge nudge>

Six Flags Fiesta Texas – Girl power

After a catered lunch provided by Atlanta’s legendary Varsity Drive-In, communications manager Sydne Purvis took the stage to give attendees a status update of their RMC Raptor coaster, Wonder Woman Golden Lasso. Sydne shared new renderings of the Greco-Roman theming being applied to the queue line and station building, which will suggest Diana’s home island of Themyscira. The first of three trains will arrive this week so they can begin testing in advance of a planned early March opening. One astute attendee did bring up just how long Fiesta Texas will be able to claim the superlatives attached to the coaster with its sister ride (RailBlazer at California’s Great America) hot on its heels. Sydne admitted they were indeed in a race to get the ride open … safely of course.

Other guests inquired about the ride’s loading procedures and potential capacity. Each train will hold a grand total of eight riders, and with three trains … well, do the math. The ride will utilize a “magic-
carpet” loading system, where the trains never stop moving. In advance of this, the park has been testing various loading procedures with its year-round employees in order to find the best fit for the attraction. Unfortunately, no information was available about how these procedures would be adapted for guests with disabilities.

Speaking out of the realm of coasters, Sydne expanded on the park’s popular Mardi Gras festival, which debuted in the spring of 2017. Guests seem to love the parade and the authentically-designed floats, so much so that two new floats were being added to the parade this year, along with a nighttime run. Foodies will enjoy New Orleans-style cuisine during the festival, too! In the summer, the Summer Nights Spectacular will return with more fireworks and effects projected onto the park’s quarry walls.

Sydne concluded her presentation with a reminder that the park’s Scooby-Doo interactive dark ride was retired and would be replaced by a new dark ride experience that would open up later in the season, but did not provide any new details.

Six Flags Over Georgia – Surprises everywhere

Park president Dale Kaetzel introduced their presentation with a warm round of thanks to the enthusiast community for their support and their constructive criticism that keeps them improving the product. Dale handed off hosting duties to communications manager Gene Petriello, who provided a status update on Twisted Cyclone, the RMC conversion of Georgia Cyclone. About 25% of the track had been

installed, with construction on schedule for a Memorial Day weekend opening. The coaster would be the centerpiece of the new Coastal section of the park, replacing the British theme with a more island/beach theme reminiscent of the Georgia barrier islands. The adjacent Johnny Rockets restaurant would also receive a more beachside theme to match the coaster itself. In similar news, the park’s French section (home to honestly nothing that’s French) will be renamed Piedmont, in honor of the north Georgia mountains.
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As if that surprise wasn’t enough, it was now time to pay off the tease from before. Visitors put their phones away as the park unveiled a special surprise for the season kickoff – in honor of its 45th anniversary, the venerable Great American Scream Machine would run backwards for a limited time! After a very positive reception, Gene provided more details on the planned conversion. The old trains from the Georgia Cyclone would be used to travel the Scream Machine’s course in reverse; since both sets of trains carry 24 passengers each, capacity should remain basically the same. Gene and Dale both reiterated the “limited time” for the conversion, but there right now is no definitive ending date. They also would not rule out the ride remaining in reverse the entire season, but just the same, they did advise against procrastinating. And again, park officials exclaimed “but wait, there’s more!” as each attendee received a piece of the removed Georgia Cyclone structure, tagged in a limited 1000-unit edition.

After a short Q&A session, the highlight of the day arrived: a tour of the Twisted Cyclone site. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas, with frequent rainshowers turning much of the site into a soggy bog. Nevertheless, the hard-hat-clad attendees headed into the park and down to the site, where they got some of the first in-park pictures of the new steelwork and the other changes coming to the Coastal area of the park.

Big thanks to ACE Southeast Region, Six Flags Over Georgia, Dollywood, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Alabama Splash Adventure and all the other parks that made Winter Warm-Up an exceptional coaster event!

For more details on Great American Scream Machine Backwards, be sure to check out the full press release here. 

The park is celebrating the completion of track for HangTime ... or that other thing. =) 

The track is completed, and other than the station and lift hill there isn't a straight piece of track on this entire ride!! 

Twisty McTwistyFace 

Wish the Sky Cabin was open right about now. =) 

A peek behind the wall. You can see they are starting work on the station. 

This ride is going to be so photogenic. 

Wheeeee!! 

Really can't wait for this to open 

Another peek behind the wall, not as much to see in this one. 

One last look. This would be a really great spot for pics if it weren't for the games. 

Thanks for checking out our update, we hope you enjoyed. 

We should start seeing more ground work done in the next few weeks. Trains don't appear to be onsite yet so don't expect testing to begin in the next week or two. 

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Welcome to Knott's on a glorious January Saturday. 

Some really great merchandise for this event 

As well as some great decorations 

The kite tree has been laying havoc to Knott's Berry Farm 

We didn't get a brownie, instead ... 

As you can see, it was a very busy day at the park, but everybody seemed to be having a great time 

For the first time ever you can meet Pig-Pen!! 

And some of his pals. It will be interesting to see how much these piggies grow through the duration of the event. If you've ever been around livestock you'll know they can grow quite a bit. 

Hey Pig-Pen!!! 

A cool trolly thing in The Boardwalk. We'll have an update on that thing behind it tomorrow. =) 

They've even decorated the construction walls!! 

Franklin was out for the horse races

Lots of fun activities in Town Square 

A peek at all of the great food available at the Knott's Peanuts Celebration 

An all new show, The Music goes 'Round and Around 

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a fan of theme park shows at all, we just aren't the audience for them. 

That being said, everybody seemed to enjoy this one. 

And anything that gives kids the appreciation for music is A-OK in our book!! 

The Grand Sierra Railroad has been transformed in to Beagle Bonanza for the Celebration 

Check out our POV of the ride below. 

Overall we had a fantastic day at the farm. How could we Knott. (get it)

Written by Renée Girard

​We’re on the bus to our first visit to Universal’s Volcano Bay water park! 

Learning how to use Tapu Tapu reservation system on the bus ride over to Volcano Bay.

Nice view of Aventura Hotel upon exiting the bus at Volcano Bay.

​Travel through a few tunnels and walkways to get to the Volcano Bay entrance.

We are here! Volcano Bay looks gorgeous so far!

Got my Tapu Tapu, time to go exploring and ride some slides! 

Here’s a map of Volcano Bay. It’s pretty easy to navigate, even if you can’t correctly pronounce the slide names.

​Kohola Reef is one of the park’s quick service food restaurants. Haven’t decided where to dine yet but this place looks really good!

​Stopping by one of Volcano Bay’s two full service bars, Dancing Dragons.

​Got the beer exclusive to the park, Volcano Blossom. Dancing Dragons bar also has the perfect view!

​We’re really not using Tapu Tapu at all to reserve rides because there’s no need to! Today is a perfect day to visit Volcano Bay!

Bambu Jungle Kitchen, another quick service restaurant at Volcano Bay.

​Bambu Jungle Kitchen, another quick service restaurant at Volcano Bay.

​Feasting Frog and Kunuku Boat Bar at Volcano Bay.

​No one is here today! It’s awesome!

The Krakatau aqua coaster is probably the most fun we’ve had ever on a water slide! 

​Taniwha Tubes is almost like a normal water slide except there are some pretty good g forces on the twists and turns!

Throughout Volcano Bay, you can use your Tapu Tapu to activate different things, like this fountain in the lazy river.

If you walk through the volcano, you’ll find even more fun stuff. This isn’t an ordinary fountain, it actually talks and interacts with you!

​It’s fun to find the things you can use your Tapu Tapu for. This one lit up one of the cave walls inside the volcano.

​Venturing inside the volcano also gives you some unique things to look at, as well as seeing how huge the structure is!

Seeing these Tapu Tapu stations near the rides made me curious to how the system works on a busy day, but I’d much rather be here on a day like today!!

​The wave pool is quite large, and we also enjoyed the smaller pool beside it that overlooks the area.

​We almost missed this slide since it’s tucked in the back, but we enjoyed the Ika Moana and Honu raft slides, especially Honu where you get some crazy height going up the wall.

​Kala & Tai Nui serpentine slides are intense! We climbed forever to the top of the volcano for these but wow was it worth it. The speed on these takes your breath away.

​Ohyah and Ohno slides were probably my least favorite slides in the park, but there’s honestly nothing wrong with them. We still liked it, and the drop off at the end is cool.

​Something unique at Volcano Bay is having your photo taken without the need of a photographer. Using the Tapu Tapu, you just stand in front of certain locations, and it takes your photo. On ride photos are automatically added too.

We had such an amazing day at Volcano Bay! Loved all of the attractions, and the park itself is beautiful. Forgot photos of the Fearless River, which was one of our favorites as well. I’m glad we waited till now to visit, it was worth it! 

​And we had to part with our Tapu Tapu friend before exiting the park. Thanks for a great day! 

We started our day with a quick stop at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. They are open year round, so January and February offer great alternatives to visiting in the midst of the summer crowds. 

Every major coaster was running today except for the boomerang (yes, even V2!). Joker was about a 3 train wait (one train operation), while the rest of the park was walk-on. I'd say it was a very stress-free visit!

Above you can see the ride closures for the day (it was a bit chilly, so naturally the water rides are going to be down). 

Also something to note- the park was in the middle of some minor construction for a "members-only" entrance. Hopefully this will cut down on the time it takes for passholders to get through the front gates on those really crowded days! 

I was able to take my first ride on Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth, the parks new-for-2017 ride. I am not a fan of heights, and this things went highhhhhh. It's safe to say I was sufficiently terrified. 

And that's all we have from Six Flags! 

No noticeable construction has occurred for their new-for-2018 Skywarp, Harley Quinn: Crazy Coaster. We'll make sure to check back as things start to get going on that!

Now to venture into the heart of Wine Country!

About a 30 minute drive northwest of Discovery Kingdom sits Sonoma Traintown Railroad, a charming family park that, yes, does include a coaster credit!

TrainTown has been on my radar to visit for a while now. Aside from their beatufil landscaping and eclectic collection of classic amusement rides, the park famously boasts an elaborate miniature train as its marque attraction. 

Admission to the park is free. The train ride costs 6.75 a go, while all the attractions are 2.75 each. For us, a ride on the train plus coaster ran us a whopping $9.50. 

The train ride takes you over bridges, through tight tunnels, past various frontier scenes, and into the park's heavily wooded areas. The trip is about four miles long and lasts about 20 minutes. It was really fun and unique!

For our hardcore amusement nerd readers, I would most liken it to a lengthier, more elaborate version of Knoebel's Pioneer Train.

Towards the end of your ride, the train stops at a miniature town called Lakeview, which includes a petting zoo, a fort-themed playground, and a few exhibits. This area is removed from the rest of the park and is only accessible by the train. 

Riders get about 10 minutes to stretch their legs and interact with the animals before it's time to jump back on the train and head back to the main park. I met a very friendly alpaca!

Aside from the train, the park has a carousel, ferris wheel, scrambler, some classic flyers, and the coaster. The rides area is situated around a small pond that the train also travels over and around. 

The coaster is manufactured by Miler and is dubbed Mine Train. The ride is set back in a wooden area and is a bit larger than your standard Miller kiddie credit. I didn't feel too dirty riding this one

​;-) 

To wrap up our day, we made the quick drive up to Petaluma to visit Lagunitas Brewing Company. We highly suggest visiting if you're a beer fan and find yourself in the area. They sport an amazing outdoor space, great limited release selections, and tasty locally grown food. 

Overall, we had a great day! If you ever visit Discovery Kingdom and find yourself with extra time, make sure to take the drive over to Sonoma TrainTown and Lagunitas. As a bonus, if you're heading back to San Francisco, the return drive will bring you across the Golden Gate Bridge!

Anyways, thanks for reading! Happy January and may your off-season be short!

Good Morning from Magic Mountain! 

Full Throttle is still running amazing, although we wouldn't be surprised to see it go down for a refurb in the very near future. 

Some amazing pics of Full Throttle in action 

Amazing shot Matt!! 

Speaking of refurbs, the Screampunk District just got a fresh coat of paint on the swirly clock thing on the ground. 

Twisted Colossus was back to running 3 trains as the blue train came back from refurb recently

Flash ... aaa'aaa. Oh wait, wrong Flash. 

Hey Batman!! 

Still one of our favorite inverts

Oh yeah, let's see what's going on in the new Boardwalk area. 

​Many of the games are now behind walls. 

Hey Metro!! 

Lots of ground clearing has been done

Sandblasters are now closed so unfortunately we can't go up and get pictures of the construction site now. 

​But we are super excited to see this get a nice refurb. 

Scrambler is also getting some work done

Hiyaa!! 

Some more awesome black and white pics 

Apparently the Jet Stream boats are in the process of getting a nice paint job, hopefully the flume gets some MUCH needed work done. It was leaking like crazy during our last visit. 

The New Revolution is still running without VR ... we hope it stays this way

Legacy of Arrow ... 

Alright everybody, that's it for today's update. We hope you enjoyed!!

Just a quick note, as you may have heard, YouTube has changed their monetization guidelines and it's going to impact a lot of smaller/medium sized sites like us. Basically unless you get a certain amount of views/subscribers you are no longer able to monetize your videos. 

SO if you wouldn't mind giving us a quick subscribe, that would be awesome. We EASILY meet the hours but for some reason the subscribers on your channel have never taken off. 

If we are no longer able to monetize on YouTube we have explored a few other options for our video content, including hosting it on the site. Stay tuned!! 

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