Ride With Us!
Welcome to the August 2009 edition of ACE NorCal News!
In this issue:
Don’t Miss Chutes at the Beach!
ACE Day at the California State Fair, 2009!
Sacramento’s Funderland
California’s Great America, August 2009 update
Gilroy Gardens, August 2009 update
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, August 2009 update
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, August 2009 update
— Steven Wilson
Don’t miss the opportunity to see an amazing historic amusement park and roller coaster presentation at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach this weekend! Read more below…
Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, the non-profit Museum of Fun developed by ACE member Richard Tuck, is hosting a special event this weekend commemorating Chutes at the Beach, the original amusement park at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. Famed historian / author Jim Smith is going to be narrating a slide show of hundreds of rare photographs of the building of the original park with a special emphasis on the thrill rides. You can see the construction of the Figure 8 coaster, the conversion of the Figure 8 to the Big Dipper, the Bobs coaster (that had a bad accident in the 1920s), and amazing photos of all the other attractions at the beach — the Whirlpool, Ship of Joy, Noah’s Ark, Red Bug, etc. Shows are at 1:00 and 3:00 on Saturday, August 8th and at noon on Sunday, August 9th. All pinball machines, carnival games and other attractions will be open on Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and 10:00 AM to 1:30 on Sunday. Admission to Playland-Not-at-the-Beach is $15 for General Admission or $10 for kids and seniors. ACE members can save $5 by showing their membership card any day of operation.
For more information, see: http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org/ . For directions see: http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org/pnatb_map_01.html
— photo: Steven Wilson
Remember to save the date, August 25, for our 2009 ACE Day at the California State Fair! Our good friends at Butler Amusements are finalizing the details over the next week or so. We are going to be in for a real treat!
Stay tuned to your email inbox. As soon as the details are set, we’ll email the announcement.
— photo: Steven Wilson
Funderland Amusement Park, located in Sacramento’s William Land Park area, has a Wisdom Industries Flying Dragon roller coaster with a thrilling top speed of 8 mph and a drop of 8 feet. The seven-car train seats one or two guests per car. For $1.50/$1.75 per ride, this coaster is a bargain to add to your steel coaster count. Each ride requires one ticket and prices are $1.50 from Monday to Friday and $1.75 on weekends and holidays. Admission to Funderland is free.
Funderland’s other rides include a flume for young children, tea cups, antique buggy cars, train, merry-go-round, kiddie airplanes, and in the summer, pony rides. Other nearby thrills include the Sacramento Zoo and Fairy Tale Town.
Funderland is located at the corner of Sutterville Road and South land Park Drive between Highways 5 and 99. Directions are available on their web site: http://www.funderlandpark.com/ . Also be sure to visit the Funderland website to obtain a coupon for two free rides with the purchase of a book of 10 tickets. Click on Specials at the top of the web page for the coupon. Books of 10 cost $12.50 weekdays and $15.00 weekends and holidays. August hours are 11:00 — 5:00 weekdays, and 10:00 — 6:00 weekends. September, October, November, and December hours are Fridays 12:00 — 5:00 and weekends 10:00 — 5:00.
— Emi Pearce; photo: Emi and Matthew Pearce
¡Adiós, Diego!
Hit the road, Blues Clues! See your favorite Nickelodeon characters at California’s Great America for the last time during the remainder of the 2009 season. In 2010, Nickelodeon Central will be replaced with Planet Snoopy, featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts characters.
The park is open on weekends and on Labor Day Monday in September. Labor Day Monday is the last day of operation for Boomerang Bay in 2009.
California’s Great America lights up the skies with fireworks on Sunday night, 6 September. Park is open until 10:00 PM. Fireworks are at 9:45 PM.
For more information about California’s Great America, visit
the California’s Great America web site.
— photo: Steven Wilson
Enchanted Wings continue to flutter at Gilroy Gardens through August 16th. This special event includes the return of the “Friends of a Feather” bird show to the Lakeside Amphitheater. New this year is the addition of an animal training center near the amphitheater where children, under the supervision of animal handlers and trainers, can have a hands-on experience.
Starting August 22nd, children can enjoy the Creature Kingdom at Gilroy Gardens. This barnyard petting zoo will be at Gilroy Gardens through October 25th. Please note that hourly access to the petting zoo is limited. There is an additional charge for admission to Creature Kingdom. The funds collected go to the care of the animals.
For more information on planning your visit, go to
the Gilroy Gardens web site.
— photo: Steven Wilson
Free performances of Cirque Magnifique continue daily at the Boardwalk through August 20th. Two free shows are offered daily. Monday through Thursday, the shows are at noon and 3:00 PM. On Sundays, the shows are at noon and 6:00 PM. For more on Cirque Magnifique, see: http://www.beachboardwalk.com/cirque/
In August, the popular FREE Friday Night BANDS ON THE BEACH continues as well. For the lineup and schedule, see: FREE Friday Night BANDS ON THE BEACH.
Want to visit the Boardwalk and save? Two special offers will help you do just that, after 5:00 PM on weeknights:
1907 Nights are Mondays and Tuesdays through September 1. After 5:00 PM, all Boardwalk rides are just 75 cents each. You can also enjoy hot dogs, Pepsi, and cotton candy for 75 cents each.
Pepsi nights are Wednesdays and Thursdays through September 3. After 5:00 PM, bring an empty Pepsi can and you can purchase an unlimited rides wrist band for only $9.95.
For more information on the park, visit
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s web site.
— photo: Steven Wilson
It’s Shark Week at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom! Check out the special activities, including the opportunity to spend the night with Sharks in the Dark on Friday: Shark Week at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
Have you experienced the park’s new-for-2009 Odin’s Temple of the Tiger yet? Well, what are you waiting for? It’s open now and waiting for you.
For more information about Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, check out their web site.
photo: Steven Wilson
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