Photo: Evangelos Ringas. View full-sized image.
The planets aligned for ACE’s Mid-Atlantic region as the 2026 Venus-Jupiter conjunction was taking place. The region had already planned and promoted an event on Saturday, June 6, at a different park when representatives from Kings Dominion (Doswell, Virginia) reached out about hosting an event as part of Rapterra’s birthday weekend on Sunday, June 7. This second event allowed many attendees to enjoy a full weekend of fun with fellow coaster enthusiasts.
Rapterra.
Photo: Mike Ball. View full-sized image.
As part of King Dominion’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2025, the park opened the world’s tallest and longest launched wing coaster, Rapterra. This Bolliger & Mabillard coaster’s theme honors the Jungle Hawk and was designed to be part of the Jungle X-Pedition section of the park, where it soars over various parts of the area at speeds up to 65 mph. The caldera found in the coaster queue pays tribute to The Lost World, the mountain that dominated the skyline from that location from 1979 to 2019 and was home to many different rides over the years, including the beloved Volcano: The Blast Coaster from 1998 to 2018.
The sunny Sunday morning started off with check-in, where the 295 registered members and guests from 22 states, the District of Columbia and Canada had the ability to purchase Mid-Atlantic and national ACE merchandise while waiting to enter the park. This was quite the event for the 39 people who were attending their first ACE event and the 35 people who were visiting Kings Dominion for the first time.
Pantherian.
Photo: Mike Ball. View full-sized image.
Flight of Fear.
Photo: Jeremy Burroughs. View full-sized image.
Once the gates opened, ACEers and their guests were able to head to Rapterra, Pantherian and Flight of Fear for an hour and a half of ERT. Besides riding Rapterra and celebrating its first birthday, attendees had a special treat when riding Flight of Fear, a Premier Rides indoor launch coaster, with its lights on. Being able to get re-rides on Pantherian was an added bonus.
Behind-the-scenes tours are one of the many perks of ACE events.
Photo: David Rager. View full-sized image.
Shortly after morning ERT, ACE members had an hour during which they could choose one or two behind-the-scenes tours. These tours allowed ACEers to walk in the restricted area between Pantherian and Racer 75 and/or the area around Twisted Timbers and Grizzly. Being able to take photos from these areas is always a special opportunity not to be taken for granted.
Evangelos Ringas and Will Baldwin were the winners in the midway game competition.
Photo: Evangelos Ringas collection. View full-sized image.
Children took part in the games competition as well.
Photo: Elizabeth Ringas. View full-sized image.
The Mid-Atlantic region hosted its midway game competition at Top-Glo shortly before lunch. Congratulations to Evangelos Ringas and Will Baldwin for coming in first and second place, respectively, in the water gun challenge. There were multiple group photos and informal takeover times throughout the day that attendees could join.
During lunch, attendees had a feast that consisted of BBQ brisket, pasta primavera, various sides and ice cream novelties. At this time they were able to begin bidding on some amazing silent auction items, including two wheels from the defunct Arrow looper Anaconda (the winning bid for these wheels was $585) and the front car panel of the Woodstock Express ($285), among other items. The total earned from the auction was more than $2,288. This was the first weekend the region ran the auction online using the website Give Butter. Participants could also purchase raffle tickets to win a replica of ACE’s commemorative bricks in front of the Kings Dominion Theater. The winners of the two replica bricks were Jennifer Brooks and Grace Nied.
Scott Clemmons, Jennifer Schofield and Brian Rath answer attendees’ questions in a Q&A session.
Photo: Elizabeth Hollingshead. View full-sized image.
All attendees were given an ACE-exclusive Rapterra anniversary poster.
Photo: Evangelos Ringas. View full-sized image.
Before nighttime ERT began, the park hosted an hour-long Q&A session with Park Manager Jennifer Schofield, Maintenance Director Brian Rath and Marketing Director Scott Clemmons. When attendees entered the Kings Dominion Theater, they were handed an ACE-exclusive Rapterra poster and could enjoy special snacks: Rapterra cookies and an assortment of ice cream novelties. Questions from ACE members pertained to park merchandise, fast lanes and future park developments, among other topics. The three park representatives’ answers were often insightful and at times humorous.
Twisted Timbers.
Photo: Mike Ball. View full-sized image.
Photo: Ethan Robertson. View full-sized image.
Grizzly.
Photo: Grace Nied. View full-sized image.
Once the session was over, the night ended with ERT on Twisted Timbers and Grizzly, where the coaster enthusiasts were able to enjoy multiple re-rides in that hour.
ACE was grateful to Kings Dominion for the invitation; to representatives Jennifer Schofield, Brian Rath, Scott Clemmons, Jalen Jones and all the park’s team members for their efforts; and to Mid-Atlantic Regional Rep Evangelos Ringas and all the region’s volunteers for their hard work helping with this amazing event.
— Melissa Buck
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