Concord’s Pixieland Amusement Park

  • September 2, 2009
  • Uncategorized

Pixieland's roller coaster

Have you ridden the Flying Dragon coaster at Pixieland Amusement Park yet? This traditional Wisdom coaster is located at 2740 East Olivera Road in Willow Pass Park in Concord. Rides on the roller coaster are two tickets, for a total of $3.00. Or you can purchase a book of 10 tickets for $14.00. Pixieland is open on weekends through December 6th as well as some Fridays and Labor Day. Other rides available are a train ride that goes outside of the amusement park and around a lake with ducks, antique cars, frog hopper, kiddie planes, and a carousel. For more information, see: http://www.pixieland.com/

— Emi Pearce; photo: Emi and Matthew Pearce

California’s Great America, September 2009 update

  • September 2, 2009
  • Uncategorized

Diego
¡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

Gilroy Gardens, September 2009 update

  • September 2, 2009
  • Uncategorized

Gilroy Gardens

Gilroy Gardens is open weekends and Labor Day Monday in September.

The Creature Kingdom at Gilroy Gardens continues in September. 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.

Quicksilver Express

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

— photo: Steven Wilson

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, September 2009 update

  • September 2, 2009
  • Uncategorized

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

The park is open on weekends and Labor Day Monday in September. Enjoy a Labor Day Weekend Celebration Picnic this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. See http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/events/LaborDayWeekendPicnic.aspx for all the details on this all-you-can-eat special.

See The White Tie Affair in concert at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on 26 September! The concert is free with admission, but requires a first-come, first-served wristband. Get all the details at http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/events/WhiteTieAffair.aspx .

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

photo: Steven Wilson

Don’t Miss Chutes at the Beach!

  • August 5, 2009
  • Uncategorized

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

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

ACE Day at the California State Fair, 2009!

  • August 5, 2009
  • Uncategorized

California State Fair

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

Sacramento’s Funderland

  • August 5, 2009
  • Uncategorized

Funderland's roller coaster

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

California’s Great America, August 2009 update

  • August 5, 2009
  • Uncategorized

Diego
¡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