Welcome to the July 2009 edition of ACE NorCal News!
In this issue:
ACE Day at the California State Fair, 2009!
Terminator Salvation The Ride!
Keep ACE up to date!
Remembering Frontier Village, 2009
Remembering J's Amusements
California's Great America, July 2009 update
Gilroy Gardens, July 2009 update
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, July 2009 update
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, July 2009 update
-- Steven Wilson
Save the date: Tuesday, 25 August 2009!
Butler Amusements has generously offered to host our annual ACE Day at the California State Fair on Tuesday the 25th of August! This late-summer ACE NorCal tradition had always been hosted through the generosity of Ray Cammack Shows, for which we remain most appreciative. This year, there's a big change at the State Fair, with Butler Amusements operating the midway. We're pleased as punch that Butler Amusements will continue our traditional day of fun at the fair!
You may know Butler Amusements from the Alameda County Fair or the Marin County Fair, both of which are now open. If you can't wait until late August for a taste of some good old fun on midway amusement rides, why not check out either of these two fairs right now?
There is also a poignant twist to the Butler Amusements ride lineup. Butler Amusements acquired some rides from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. These Neverland rides will be in operation at the California State Fair.
For more information on Butler Amusements, check out their web site: http://www.butleramusements.com/
For more information on ACE Day at the California State Fair, stay tuned to your email in-box. We will be sending out full details once they are finalized.
--photo: Steven Wilson
At the recent ACE Day at Six Flags Magic Mountain, ACE members and their guests were treated to plentiful ERT on California's newest wooden roller coaster: Terminator Salvation The Ride. If you have not ridden it yet, get yourself to Six Flags Magic Mountain pronto. It's an outstanding ride! Yes, it has special effects and on-board audio, which definitely add to the experience. But even without those extras, this would still be a top-notch ride. Great job, Great Coasters International!
Special thanks go to ACE Southern California Regional Representative Steve Berto and his assistants for putting on such a great regional event. Special thanks, of course, also go to Six Flags Magic Mountain for their great hospitality!
-- photo: Steven Wilson
Don't miss out on ACE Northern California's email announcements. Be sure that ACE has your correct email address. Update your email address and other contact information here:
https://www.e-offinger.net/acedata/scriptcontent/indexprofile.cfm
Remember next year to save the last Saturday of June for the Frontier Village Amusement Park Reunion! This year's Frontier Village Amusement Park Reunion was held on June 27th at Edenvale Park in San Jose. The picnic featured gun fights by the Fall Guys, a display of park memorabilia, a now-and-then tour of Edenvale Park by former park manager, Pat Hanna, a coloring contest for kids, and a prize raffle. Also on display was the recently-found, formerly long-lost wooden Indian statue from the park.
Frontier Village opened its gates on October 21, 1961 in San José on part of the Hayes estate, The park had one powered Mack coaster, the Apache Whirlwind, which cost the park almost $600,000 in 1976. Another favorite ride was the Haunted Lost Dutchman Mine, a dark ride with miners, stalactites, and stalagmites. At Rainbow Falls Fishing kids could catch trout in a stocked pond. There were two car rides, the Antique Cars and Duster Turnpike. There was also a train ride as well as many other rides such as a Ferris wheel and tarantula. These all added to a full day of fun at the park. The park closed in 1980 because of rising land values and competition from nearby Marriott's Great America which opened in 1976.
Today Frontier Village fans actively share memories, photos, and memorabilia online. Be sure to check out
http://www.frontiervillage.net/ where you can read the full history of the park written by ACE member Elliott Fong. There you will find plenty of information on the park as well as a link to the Remembering Frontier Village group on facebook. Incidentally, all of this grew out of a short announcement in our ACE Northern California newsletter that Elliott was planning an informal get-together to commemorate the memory of the park. And the rest is more history.
-- Emi and Matthew Pearce; photos: Emi and Matthew Pearce
