The Blog

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

Do you remember J’s Amusements in Guerneville? J’s closed in 2003, but the Allan Herschell Mad Mouse, a medium-sized wild mouse roller coaster, is still on the property. The coaster is standing, but not operating. The roller coaster and park sign are easily visible from Highway 116. Mike, the owner, lives next door to the park. He likes his privacy and has no plans to reopen the park.

Adjacent to J’s, next to the Russian River, is J’s Camp Outback, a tent camping retreat. Highly-recommended nearby is Pee Wee Mini Golf, across the highway. It offers two courses and unusual features, such as a huge dinosaur, cannibals cooking a stew, Yogi Bear, and the Grateful Dead Bears and Skull paintings.

— Matthew and Emi Pearce; photos: Matthew and Emi Pearce

Celebrate Independence Day at California’s Great America’s Americana Festival! From noon until 4:30 PM, you can enjoy all kinds of traditional summer contests such as watermelon seed spitting, pie eating, and water balloon. Kids can also participate in patriotic crafts. Those with an all-American appetite can purchase tickets for a special 4th of July Backyard BBQ. For more information, see: http://cagreatamerica.com/events/events.cfm

California’s Great America’s summer entertainment offerings continue in July. Be sure to catch All Wheels Extreme, Endless Summer on Ice, The Chipper Lowell Experience, and more. For details, see: http://cagreatamerica.com/attractions/category.cfm?ac_id=4

For more information about California’s Great America, visit
the California’s Great America web site.

— photo: Steven Wilson

Enjoy an old-fashioned all-you-can-eat barbecue picnic July 3, 4, and 5 at Gilroy Gardens’ Independence Day Weekend BBQ. For full details, see: http://gilroygardens.org/bbq.html

Enchanted Wings will flutter at Gilroy Gardens starting July 13th, running through August 16th. This special event includes the return of the “Friends of a Feather” bird show to the Lakeside Amphitheater. New this year will be 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.

For more information on planning your visit, go to
the Gilroy Gardens web site.

— photo: Steven Wilson

What could be better than enjoying a summer day at our favorite seaside amusement park? How about throwing in a terrific free circus, too? Starting July 12th and running through August 20th, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk presents free performances of Cirque Magnifique. Two free shows will be 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 photos and a preview video of Cirque Magnifique, see: http://www.beachboardwalk.com/cirque/

Also, the popular FREE Friday Night BANDS ON THE BEACH continues in July. For the lineup and schedule, see: FREE Friday Night BANDS ON THE BEACH.

For more information on the park, visit
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s web site.

— photo: Steven Wilson

Celebrate Independence Day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom! The park is offering an all-you-can-eat picnic and entertainment along with all your favorite rides and attractions. The day will end with a fireworks spectactular. The picnic will also be offered on the 3rd and 5th of July. See: http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/events/FourthofJuly.aspx

Don’t forget that the Starburst Summer Concert Series continues in July. For the July lineup, see: http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/events/StarburstSummerConcertSeries.aspx

For more information about Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, check out their web site.

photo: Steven Wilson

Welcome to the June 2009 edition of ACE NorCal News!

In this issue:
ACE Day at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Discover John’s Incredible Pizza — with coaster!
Discover Blackbeard’s Family Fun Center!
California’s Great America, June 2009 update
Gilroy Gardens, June 2009 update
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, June 2009 update
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, June 2009 update

— Steven Wilson

ACE Day at Six Flags Magic Mountain!

Don’t miss this great day at Six Flags Magic Mountain: 14 June 2009! The event includes the first ERT on the excellent new Terminator Salvation: The Coaster wooden coaster by Great Coasters International, Inc. For full details, get the event flier.

Act fast! The deadline for purchasing tickets is Friday, 5 June 2009.

— photo: Steven Wilson

Have you ridden Sacramento’s only indoor coaster yet? The Incredible Express roller coaster can be found inside John’s Incredible Pizza at 384 North Sunrise Avenue in Roseville. It is a Wisdom “Miner Mike” coaster with a tire-propelled lift. The coaster is located in the Fun World games area of this all-you-can-eat pizza-pasta-salad bar that is warehoused in a former Sam’s Club building. A meal purchase is required to gain entry to Fun World. The meal is currently priced at $9 for adults during the evenings. The salad bar is good with a nice selection of vegetables. Fun World also has bumper cars, a Wisdom twister ride, laser tag, and mini golf as well as ticket-redemption games.

For more information about visiting John’s Incredible Pizza, go to the web site of John’s Incredible Pizza Company.

— Emi Pearce, photo: Matthew Pearce

Discover Blackbeard’s Family Fun Center!

Although this small park is technically in the Southern California ACE Region, if you find yourself out Fresno way, be sure to stop by!

“Ahoy thar, matey.”

Blackbeard’s Family Fun Center at 4055 North Chestnut in Fresno, California has a children’s roller coaster that adults can ride. The roller coaster is located in Cap’n Kids Rideland which is open Saturday, Sundays, and Holidays from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The track was built by Carl Miler and the roller coaster train was built by Molina and Sons. Blackbeard’s also has bumper boats, a speedway, mini golf, paintball, and batting cages. Food, game, and mini golf coupons are available on their website.

For more information about visiting Blackbeard’s, go to Blackbeard’s Family Fun Center web site.

— Matthew Pearce, photos: Matthew Pearce