Frequently Asked Questions about ACE

What is ACE?

Founded in 1978, American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization of nearly 7,000 members from all 50 US states and more than a dozen other countries. ACE members commonly refer to themselves as "ACEers."

What does ACE do?

ACE is the world’s largest ride enthusiast organization, and its members are the most educated, dedicated, and passionate amusement park guests. ACE’s activities are extensive and include award-winning publications, action-packed events, and exhaustive preservation efforts. ACE is highly visible in the mainstream media: local television stations and newspapers often consider ACE events in their area to be major news items; ACE officials are frequently on hand for the debut of major new roller coasters at amusement and theme parks; and ACE has been prominently featured on numerous shows made for cable networks such as The Discovery Channel. Ultimately, ACE’s mission is to promote and enjoy roller coasters everywhere, regardless of type or size.

What happens at ACE events?

ACE events, lasting from one to three days, are scheduled at amusement and theme parks throughout North America, and smaller more remote destinations are not overlooked. Often two or more parks in an area are visited during a single event. ACE has also organized extended tours at parks on other continents, including Europe and Asia. Undoubtedly, the most anticipated activity at an ACE event is ERT (Exclusive Ride Time), a concept pioneered by ACE wherein our host parks set aside a few hours, before they open and/or after they close, so that attendees may enjoy the rides without crowds.

Held the third week of each June, ACE’s annual convention, known as "Coaster Con," is the organization’s flagship event. Typically lasting six days, Coaster Con is far more than just riding roller coasters. Presentations, workshops, a photo contest and a video contest are just some of the activities one finds at a Coaster Con, an event known to be an exercise in sleep deprivation. A gala banquet, where luminaries from the amusement industry appear as featured keynote speakers, is one of the event’s highlights.

As many members quickly discover, ACE is not just about coasters—it’s just as much about the people who ride them. Lifelong friendships are born at ACE and some ACEers have even found true love, married, and started new generations of coaster enthusiasts.

What exactly does ACE publish?

ACE News is the organization’s bimonthly newsletter. Each 20-page issue is filled with articles offering detailed descriptions of new rides, accounts of ACE events, and other organization news, accompanied by dozens of photos. RollerCoaster! is ACE’s quarterly full-color magazine that features an extensive array of articles ranging in type from historical to technical to international, along with breathtaking photos. Both of these publications are included with membership.

Guide to Ride is a guide book series that is periodically updated. With detailed information, statistics, and photographs of every operating roller coaster in North America, a current edition of this ACE publication is a must-have for every roller coaster enthusiast. ACE also is responsible for an on-going series of books that chronicle notable roller coaster designers.

ACE is preserving roller coasters? Do roller coasters really need to be preserved?

While steel roller coasters seem to proliferate and a few new wooden roller coasters are built each year, the classic wooden roller coaster is still somewhat of an endangered species. While about 2,000 such rides existed in the US in the early 1920s, fewer than 125 exist today. Through the decades, hundreds of coasters were lost as parks closed due to numerous events ranging from the Great Depression in the 1920s to television becoming a new form of entertainment in the 1950s to rising commercial land value in the 1970s.

ACE believes that wooden roller coasters are an integral part of the fabric that is Americana. The organization represents the talents of the most ardent park enthusiasts, amassing a collective historical perspective unmatched by any other group, anywhere. It is ACE’s goal to save or relocate endangered coasters through education, awareness, and promotion.

ACE’s preservation efforts have been instrumental in rescuing classic wooden roller coasters, joining efforts to refurbish the 1925 Giant Dipper in San Diego and, most recently, Leap-the-Dips, the world’s oldest roller coaster, located at Lakemont Park, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This 1902 "coaster classic" is the last known example of a side-friction figure-eight roller coaster in the United States.

Another one of ACE’s projects, closely associated with preservation, is its ambition to develop, build, and operate a comprehensive roller coaster museum. In pursuit of this goal, ACE established a separate organization, the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives (NRCMA). ACE’s own archives and collections, consisting of tens of thousands of items, including over 20 unique roller coaster cars, will eventually have an appropriate place to be displayed.

How did ACE come to be?

When the motion picture "Rollercoaster" was released in 1977, Kings Dominion, an amusement park north of Richmond, Virginia, and where part of the movie was filmed, staged a coaster-riding marathon as a publicity stunt. Three participants in the marathon discovered a shared, life-long passion for roller coasters and the seed for what would become American Coaster Enthusiasts took hold. ACE officially became an organization when its first convention was held in 1978 at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.

What roller coaster does ACE rank as the best?

As an organization, ACE doesn’t rank roller coasters. Such a ranking doesn’t make sense for ACE as a group. One of ACE’s goals is to promote and protect the classic wooden coaster form—often embodied by older rides at smaller, less visible amusement parks. Classic roller coasters such as Leap-the-Dips might never qualify as a top ten thriller, but as the oldest existing roller coaster in the world, there’s no other ride that better signifies what ACE is all about.

Aw, c’mon, you must have a favorite!

Among ACEers, you’ll find as much discussion on this point as you can stand, but you won’t find much consensus. This is part of what makes ACE so much fun. With so many members, each with personal opinions of what makes a good roller coaster, you’re likely to find hundreds of different answers to such a question. Besides, given the technological advancements in the amusement industry, there are simply too many different types of roller coasters to make sweeping comparisons. Instead, it’s more useful to think of the different subgenera of coasters—wooden, steel, looping, etc. ACE appreciates all of them!

Okay, then what’s the scariest coaster?

Folks who don’t ride roller coasters as often as ACE members frequently think of them as terrifying things. Why would anybody desire to be frightened over and over again? Well, you see, we’re not scared. Oh sure, at first, everybody buys into the fear factor built into any good roller coaster; but with experience and exposure, there’s no reason to be afraid anymore, and once fear is gone, what’s left is sheer exhilaration. We experience these sensations as extremely pleasurable — and we’re not afraid to admit it!

How does one join ACE or find out more about it?

Refer to the Join ACE page for details on joining. Explore the rest of our site for more details about our club.