All posts by Steven

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo has improved! Now their rides include a roller coaster: the Pacific Fruit Express. The roller coaster is dedicated to a train that took fruit all over the Santa Clara Valley. Fruit labels decorate the side of the coaster and fruit trees are planted around the area. Roller coaster restrictions are 36″ escorted, 40″ unescorted.

From March 20th to May 28th, the park is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. From May 29th to September 6th the park is open until 7:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. If the ride’s line is exceptionally long, the roller coaster may close early at 4:00 PM. General admission is $12 for ages 2 through 69. Admission includes unlimited rides, puppet theater productions, playgrounds, upper and lower zoo experiences, and scheduled entertainment. Parking is $10 per car in the main parking lot and $6 per car in the lot behind History Park.

Keep yourself informed on all the latest happenings at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo by becoming a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Jose-CA/Happy-Hollow-Park-Zoo/132942835175

For more information on Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, visit their web site:
http://www.hhpz.org/

— Emi Pearce

— photos: Emi and Matthew Pearce

Planet Snoopy and the Peanuts characters have arrived at California’s Great America. There is even a new Planet Snoopy web site:
http://planetsnoopy.com/cagreatamerica/ There are plenty of changes. So come on out to California’s Great America to see for yourself.

California’s Great America is open weekends this month. It’s also open for spring break now through 11 April and also from 14 April through 18 April 2010.

Be in the know on all the latest happenings at California’s Great America. Become a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/cagreatamerica

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

— photos: Steven Wilson

Celebrate Gilroy Gardens’ Tenth Anniversary with special offers for children age ten and under from now though 31 May 2010. For more details, see:
http://www.gilroygardens.org/events2.html

The park is open for Spring Break from now through Sunday 11 April 2010 and Wednesday 14 April through Sunday 18 April 2010. After that, the park is open on Saturdays and Sundays for the rest of April.

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

— photo: Steven Wilson

The photo above shows crowds flocking to one of the sold-out showings of the documentary “Remembering Playland” at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco. The documentary will be released on DVD in the near future. It will be available for purchase at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach.

Playland-Not-at-the-Beach recently was featured in an hour-long program on KQED Radio. You can listen to it here:
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R201003191000

Stay up to date on happenings at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach. Become a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Cerrito-CA/Playland-Not-At-The-Beach/99162687027

Playland-Not-at-the-Beach nonprofit Museum of Fun, open to the public every Sat, Sun and school holiday. Open evenings for private events 365 days a year. 10979 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530 (510) 592-3002. http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org . Admission $10 for kids (to 13), $10 for seniors (55 and up), and $15 for general admission. Admission includes 34 free pinball machines, penny arcades, carnival games, treasure hunts, miniature dioramas, and surprises around every corner. ACE members receive a $5.00 discount on admission upon presentation of their ACE membership cards.

— Thanks go to Richard Tuck for contributing to this article.

— photo courtesy of Playland-Not-at-the-Beach

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is hosting Comcast Spring Break at the park through Friday, 9 April 2010. There’s entertainment and special activities. For more information, see:
http://comcastspringbreak.com/

On Saturday, 10 April 2010, present your Season Pass card at the Casino Arcade entrance from 9:00 AM — 11:00 AM to enjoy exclusive free play time in the Boardwalk’s Casino Arcade! Play all the video games and laser tag you want! (Excluding redemption games.)

The Boardwalk’s Free Friday Night Bands on the Beach summer concert series lineup will be announced Friday, April 16. Sign up for the Big Kahuna Club Newsletter to get the news, or visit http://www.beachboardwalk.com/

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s rides are now open daily. Some days have limited operation. See the park’s calendar for full details:
http://www.beachboardwalk.com/calendar/2010/april.html

Stay up to date, up to the minute, on what’s going on at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk by becoming a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SantaCruzBeachBoardwalk

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

— Thanks to Brigid Fuller of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for contributing to this article.

— photo: Steven Wilson

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom remains open daily through April 11th for Spring Break. After that, the park is open Friday through Sunday for the rest of April.

In this issue, also see:
MEDUSA’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration
Nicholas’ Excellent VIP Adventure at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Keep up with latest inside scoop on Six Flags — not just Discovery Kingdom — by following the new Six Flags blog:
http://www.sixflags.com/national/footerNav/sixflagsblog.aspx

To stay informed of what’s happening at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, become a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/discoverykingdom

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

photo: Steven Wilson

Welcome to the March 2010 edition of ACE NorCal News!

In this issue:
Photo report: SCBB Haunted Castle Construction
Highlights of the 2009 ACE Holiday Party
Give a day at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach. Get a Disney Day.
Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, March 2010 update
California’s Great America, March 2010 update
Gilroy Gardens, March 2010 update
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, March 2010 update
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, March 2010 update

Also, please see this reminder for the fast-approaching 2010 ACE Spring Preservation Conference from our previous issue:
2010 ACE Spring Preservation Conference

— Steven Wilson

Correspondent Nicholas Laschkewitsch sends in a photo report on the construction of the new Haunted Castle attraction at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk:

The previous Haunted Castle is seen here on its last day of operation: August 23rd, 2009.

The previous Haunted Castle is seen here during its demolition on September 11th, 2009.

The construction of the new Haunted Castle is seen here on March 2nd, 2010.

photos: Nicholas Laschkewitsch

Two of the youngest party goers at the 2009 ACE NorCal Holiday party were Margaret and Katherine Pearce. photo: Emi and Matthew Pearce

The 2009 ACE NorCal Holiday Party was the second one held at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach since it has become an operating museum that is open to the public. Many of the regulars were joined by several new faces to enjoy the annual event.

The official program started off with a fascinating slide presentation by author and area historian Jim Smith. He showed us rare views of the lost roller coasters of San Francisco. There were more of them that you might have expected.

Following the presentation, there were plenty of games, fun, and food that was enjoyed by all. Soon enough, it was time for our traditional gift exchange game. It played out with all the drama and excitement as usual.

The deserving winner of the ACE NorCal Spirit Award for 2009 was Richard Tuck. Richard was the first-ever recipient of the award when it was first established. At the 2009 party, he became the first-ever two-time recipient. In lieu of the customary complimentary ACE membership renewal, Richard opted instead for a contribution to Playland-Not-at-the-Beach for the equivalent amount.

With the abundance of terrific items on auction, a relatively small number of auction participants managed to raise $850.00 to benefit the ACE Preservation Fund. Winning bidders and their items were:

Asente, Paul J — SCBB Boardwalk wood w/Certificate of Authenticity, FLIGHT DECK (TOP GUN) wheel
Biafore, Frank — SCBB Legends Lunch
Fong, Elliott — V2: VERTICAL VELOCITY wheel
Laschkewitsch, Nicholas — INVERTIGO wheel
McAllister, Cody — MEDUSA brake pads
Nelson, Deborah — SCBB Boardwalk wood w/Certificate of Authenticity
Wilson, Steven — ROAR wood

Extra special thanks go to the parks for donating such great items — especially the highly-sought-after SCBB Legends Lunch and authentic wood from the Boardwalk!

Congratulations and thanks go to our award-winning host, Richard Tuck. Thanks go, too, to the Playland volunteers for making our annual holiday party possible. We would also like to thank Jim Smith for coming out to give us such a great presentation.

In February Matthew and I had a great time when we volunteered at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach (PNATB). We had intended to do this for years, especially when Richard was thinking about designing a roller coaster room, but we just never found the time. Matthew served the front desk greeter during the Wolf Man weekend so he had the opportunity to see many colorful visitors. So be sure to request to volunteer on a day that PNATB is hosting a themed party or event.

Best of all, PNATB is part of the Disney “Give a Volunteer Day, Get a Day at a Disney Park” program. So not only did we enjoy our day volunteering at PNATB, we get free admission to Disneyland. Just volunteering for eight hours qualifies you for a free day at the park. But you can also accumulate your eight hours by volunteering four days for two hours at a time.

To participate in the Disney program, you must pre-register at the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. web site. To find qualifying PNATB volunteer opportunities, enter “El Cerrito, CA” in the activity search box.

Tickets available under this program are limited and have been going at a phenomenal rate. Don’t wait too long to sign up!

For more information on volunteering at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, go to http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org/volunteers.htm Kendra is the Volunteer Coordinator for PNATB. She can help you select a volunteer opportunity that suits your personality.

— Emi Pearce