All photos: Jackie Edwards. View full-sized image.
There is a song that states it never rains in southern California. Well, it does from time to time, and when it does, it seems that anything having to do with the outdoors shuts down. The threat of rain for the weekend of West Coast ACEers had many on edge. Fortunately, that rain did not manifest, and 100 people attended ACE Pacific Southwest’s annual West Coast ACEers event at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Attendees came from the region as well as Florida, Texas and Virginia. The weather was perfect for the event with sunshine and no rain.
Check-in was where attendees could pick up their specially designed event T-shirts.
View full-sized image.
The check-in on April 11 started at park opening when attendees were given their ERT wristbands and tickets for lunch. Those who ordered T-shirts featuring an original event logo design by ACE Pacific Southwest Assistant Regional Rep Sean Torres could pick those up as well. Once in the park, the group scattered, with many going to X2 as their first ride, especially since this ride was temporarily not accepting Fast Lane passes. The park is installing a Fast Lane kiosk for this ride, and X2 has also been running with single-train operations for a while now.
At 1 p.m., attendees gathered in the picnic area for a meal. The food was plentiful, and it was great to get together. There hasn’t been a catered meal for this event for many years, so the region was happy to bring it back!
An extensive remodel of the kids area has been in progress, and, sadly, Magic Mountain has dismantled Magic Flyer. Luckily for the group, during lunch the park held a raffle and gave away wheels from this ride. A trivia contest by ACE Pacific Southwest Assistant Regional Rep David Vanecek that was hosted by ACE Ride With Us Podcast Coordinator Jessica Gardner was held for attendees with more Magic Flyer wheels given away.
The region's newest assistant regional rep, Luke Reynolds, was also introduced to everyone. Attendees had been hoping for either a tour of the new Looney Tunes Land or a progress report on its new coaster, but sadly not enough progress had been made on either to warrant it.
After the group photo, attendees staged an informal takeover of West Coast Racers.
View full-sized image.
The group picture was taken at 5 p.m. in front of West Coast Racers (the event’s namesake) and was immediately followed by an informal takeover of the ride.
Evening ERT was featured on Wonder Woman Flight of Courage and Twisted Colossus. Both rides were running great, with three-train operation on Twisted Colossus, and riders were treated with racing at least two out of three times! Much of the group did not want to stay until the wee hours of ERT, so those who remained had the luck of not having to leave their seats and could re-ride as long as they wanted or until ERT was over.
This year’s event welcomed several new ACEers in attendance, and the reps were so happy that West Coast ACEers was their first event! The management at Magic Mountain helped the reps put together an amazing event, so a big thanks was directed to the park management and staff for their efforts. The operations were great from start to finish. The region is looking forward to returning next year!
— Jackie Edwards, ACE Pacific Southwest Regional Representative, and Derek Perry, ACE Communications Director
#ACENews