Renewing Memberships

Memberships can be renewed up to six months in advance of the expiration date. Click on Membership -> Manage My Profile. A red box at the top of the screen contains a link to renew your membership. If there is no red box, then it is too early to renew. Click on Membership and review your status on the next screen. The summary box will indicate when your membership expires.

If it is time to renew, click on the link Securely renew your membership now. You will be asked to review the information in your profile. Once everything is correct click on save changes. If you come back to the same screen, then a required field has been left blank. The red bullets will indicate which fields must be filled in before you can proceed. When every required field is filled in, click on save changes.

On the next screen select the membership type from the dropdown box. This is where you will have an opportunity to change your membership. If, for example, your family has grown then you might want to switch from an individual to a couple, or from a couple to a family. There are several choices so make certain you have selected the correct membership. If you have selected a family of six or more, the next boxes are for additional family members beyond six.

The next three boxes are for donations to ACE's special funds. After that are the add-on fees for foreign postage.

Scroll down and review your group membership. Continue scrolling to review billing information and continue with your payment either through PayPal or through ACE's secured credit card processor.

Membership cards are mailed twice a month after the 15th and after the end of the month.

You do not have to renew your membership online. If you prefer to write a check, make it payable to "American Coaster Enthusiasts" and mail it the ACE office:

American Coaster Enthusiasts
PO Box 540261
Grand Prairie TX 75054-0261.

If none of your membership information has changed, you can just send a check and make a note on the check that it is for your renewal. Please include your membership number. If any information has changed, or you wish to change your membership type, then please download a renewal form and mail that along with your check. If you have paid with a check in the past, then you will likely receive a paper renewal notice in the mail. You may return that renewal form with a check payment.

You can change your membership type any time during the renewal process. You can renew up to six months in advance of your expiration date. If you renew early you will still get the remainder of your existing membership as well as a full year's membership time added. Your yearly anniversary date does not change.

If your renewal is more than six months away, then your membership can only be changed by an administrator. Use the contact us form to reach the ACE Management Office.

Changing your contact information

1. Click on Membership -> Manage My Profile.
2. Locate "Edit Bio" under Information and Settings.
3. Under account information, you can edit your personal and professional information including your email, telephone number, and address. Note that ACE stores your mailing address under "professional information."

The primary account holder can control all of the sub-accounts by signing in as that person. You can sign in from the master account profile page.

1. Click on Membership -> Manage My Profile.
2. Click Additional Couple or Additional Family members. Your additional members will be listed under "Your Sub-accounts."
3. Click on the green arrow next that person's name. A popup window will ask if you want to sign in as that person.
4. Click on Membership -> Manage My Profile.
5. Locate "Edit Bio" under Information and Settings.
6. Under account information, you can edit the personal and professional information including email, telephone number, and address of the person you are signed in as. Note that ACE stores member mailing addresses under "professional information."

Change Notification Settings

1. Click on Membership -> Manage My Profile.
2. Locate "Preferences" under Information and Settings.
3. In order to avoid receiving too many emails, ACE recommends that you turn off (by unchecking) the following:
• Connections – Email me when one of my connections updates their profile.
• Groups – Email me when someone in one of my groups updates their profile.
• Groups – Email me when someone joins a group of which I am a member.
• Messaging – Email me when I have unread messages older than 30 days in my inbox.

Searching the membership directory

Click on Membership -> Community -> Member Search. In the search criteria box enter the last name (or both names) of the person you are searching for. While it is possible to search by group or by country, ACE discourages you from doing large searches, as you may not get the expected results. Once you have searched for a name, you may have more than one person listed in the results. Click on the name of the person for whom you want to see more information. You will be taken to that person's wall where you can see what groups that person belongs to as well as which events were attended. If you click on the Bio tab you will see the personal information for that member. The information will vary according to that individual's privacy preferences. If, for instance, you do not see a phone number, it is because that member choose to keep that information private.

Gift Membership

Please visit the Gift Membership page..

Printed Directory

In order to keep the membership information secure, ACE no longer offers a printed directory. Members may search for individuals using the member search functions on the website. The website is designed to make it difficult to do large searches or to try to print a directory from the website.

Groups Explained

Groups are used to provide a means to communicate with members who share a common interest or common locality. For example, ACE has groups for things like international trips, so members interested in that trip can communicate with each other. Other examples of groups include a group for collegiate chapters, a group to discuss the ACE Arrow documentary, a group to discuss podcasts, etc. Each region is also a group (see item below).

Groups are also used to allow or restrict certain areas of the website to just members. For example, to access member materials such as the minutes from executive committee and business meetings or annual budgets, a member must belong to the member-only downloads group. There are also groups for ACE's various committee members to communicate with each other such as the executive committee, archives committee, events committee or youth advisory committee.

ACE Regions Explained

ACE is divided into multiple geographical regions such as ACE New England, ACE South Central or ACE Northern California. Members are assigned to a particular region depending on where they live. This allows the regional representative of each region to send email updates to just members who live within that particular region. Regions also hold events that are likely to appeal to members in that region. Members may elect to receive email updates from other regions by joining that region (or group).

Joining special groups or other regions

Make sure you are signed in to the website. Click on the menu item Membership-> Manage My Profile. Scroll down to the Community section and click on Groups. On the group page you will first see the groups that you currently belong to. Then you will see your Primary Group Management. Please do not change your primary group as that is the group you are assigned to based upon where you live. The last section is titled Group Permissions. These are the other groups that you may join. ACE Member groups include international trips, documentary or downloads. Regions include the other regions that you may join if you wish to receive emails from that region. Staff groups are restricted and you will need permission to join those groups.

One of the benefits of ACE membership is the ability to attend events that are offered just to ACE members or enthusiast groups. Members have access to more than 75 events throughout the year. A full calendar listing of events is available by clicking Events on the menu bar above. With most events, the registration fee includes admission to the park. Sometimes a discount is given to members who own a season pass or a park membership.

ACE offers five different types of events:

• National Events: As the name implies, these events are organized by the ACE national Events Committee. Registration is completed on this website and handled by the ACE national office. In a typical year, ACE holds two weekend conferences and the annual Coaster Con. Conferences often start on Friday and end on Sunday and may involve more than one park. Coaster Con spans several days, includes multiple parks and may last up to a full week. Nonmember guests may attend with members for an additional fee.
• Regional Events: These events are organized with a more regional audience in mind. They are typically one-day events and appeal to members within a smaller geographic area. Registration is handled by the region and usually involves a third-party website. Most of the time, nonmember guests may attend with members for an additional fee. Almost all regional events are open to all ACE members. On rare occasions, there may be a park media day that is restricted to only members of a certain region.
• Park-sponsored Events: These events are organized directly by a park. Other enthusiast clubs may also be invited to attend. ACE will provide a link on this website, but the actual registration is handled by the park and is usually done on the park's website. Payment is made to the park itself. For most park-sponsored events every attendee must be a member. Nonmember guests are not allowed to register. Some parks place an attendance limit on these events, and some of them sell out — sometimes very quickly.
• International Events: ACE tries to organize an international trip every other year. These types of events are organized by the International Trips Committee and typically include admission to several parks, motorcoach transportation, hotels, breakfast and some other meals. The trip will begin in a designated city and may end in a different city. Airfare to and from the start and end of the trip is not included. Depending on the amount of travel, other forms of transportation during the trip, such as air, train or ship transportation may be included in the itinerary and trip price. International events are restricted to members only and often have an age restriction as well. There is a limit to the number of attendees who can attend. Registration is completed on this website and handled by the ACE national office. Registration is first-come, first-served, and once the maximum number is reached, registration closes.
• Online Events: Online events allow members from around the world to come together between visits to amusement parks. Typically, these events are designed around a small group of enthusiasts to share a common conversation topic within their love of roller coasters. Pre-registration may be required if the event is limited to members only, but there are no fees to attend. These events offer attendees the opportunity to develop a familiarity with fellow members, enjoy vibrant conversation and possibly gain more knowledge on the topic. These events may be hosted as national events for members around the world or for a specific region.
• Informal Meetups: An informal meetup offers a casual opportunity to meet at a local park or entertainment center and socialize with other ACE members. A meetup time and date are set, and attendees are welcome to stay as long as they want. There is no registration, and everyone is individually responsible for park admission and other costs. While there are no organized activities such as ERTs, meetups are also a great way for nonmembers to meet ACE members as all are welcome!

Registration is handled in different ways depending on the type of event (see types of events above).

For international and national events, registration is handled by the ACE national office on this website. There may or may not be an option to register by mail. Registration must be completed by the deadline and there is no on-site or day-of registration.

For regional events, registration may vary but it is almost always handled by a third-party website. Some regions will accept on-site or day-of registration. Check the region's website for specific information. When it is made available, ACE will provide a link to the website containing the region's event information as well as a link to the registration page.

Registration for park events is handled by the park. Some parks accept on-site or day-of registration but most have a strict deadline and the event may sell-out before that deadline. ACE will provide a link to the registration page as soon as it becomes available. However, a park may publish the registration page before contacting ACE, so registration may begin before it appears on the ACE website.

ACE publishes its award-winning magazine, RollerCoaster! four times per year. One copy of the magazine is mailed to each membership unit for Individual, Couple, Family and Corporate members. Associate members do not receive copies of RollerCoaster! The magazine is included as part of an ACE membership. A separate subscription to the magazine is not available.

ACE News is published online and available to members only. Because ACE News was printed at one time, it continues to be offered in a printable format six times a year. Since 2019, all of the issues for a past year are also available as a complete set. Members may download a PDF file of ACE News and print it on their own. For help downloading ACE News, visit the ACE News help page.

Back issues of RollerCoaster! are sold online. Some early issues are out of print and no longer available. Electronic versions of ACE News are available from 2012 to the current date. Click on the Download Past Issues button on the ACE News page or vist the ACE News Downloads page. There are no print copies of previous issues of ACE News.

Over the years, ACE has published four guide books and two books in its designer book series. The first of the ACE designer series books, Harry G. Traver: Legends of Terror was published in 1982. Written by founding member and ACE’s first president Richard Munch, the book covers Harry Traver’s life, the company he formed and his legendary machines. Traver’s roller coasters were known for their fiendishly outlandish twister designs, none of which exist today.

The book has been out of print for a number of years and has become quite a collectors’ item. It is no longer available through ACE, but can occasionally be found listed on eBay.

The second book of the ACE designer series, Herbert P. Schmeck The Forgotten Legacy was published in 2007. It was written by ACE member Torrence Jenkins, Jr. a notable historian and researcher. The book chronicles coaster designer Herbert P. Schmeck's life at PTC from 1923 to 1955. The book is currently available through the ACE online store.

ACE also published Roller Coaster Fever, Guide to Ride, Guide to Ride Update and Guide to Ride 2000. None of these are currently available.