I'll never become a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts, the world's largest association of roller coaster fans. Each time I seriously consider boarding one, another debilitating hangnail suddenly develops to sideline me until the moment passes.
But I sure like watching one soar and dip and flip and whirl, all the while hearing the adrenaline-stoked screams and howls.
Pesky hangnails certainly don't deter hundreds of thrill-seekers who belong to the 40-year-old group representing 35 states, D.C. and Canada, each addicted to the breathtaking flips, swerves, drops and speeds on roller coasters worldwide.
So just take a guess where that organization chose to hold its 40th anniversary last weekend. Yep, right up U.S. 65 North to Silver Dollar City, the magical 100-acre, 1880s experience in the Ozarks.
Four hundred and thirty-eight ACE members congregated for one of the largest annual conferences in ACE history to enjoy the theme park and board the $26 million Time Traveler, the steepest, tallest and fastest spinning coaster, which debuted this spring.
Among their comparisons, ACE members keep close track of the number of different coasters they ride. It's a bit like fishermen with their largest catches, or golfers tracking courses they've played. As you might imagine, it takes a lot to impress them after hundreds, sometimes a thousand, of these two- or three-minute adventures, so any new and innovative ride, especially a world-beater like Time Traveler, quickly gets added to a member's bucket list.
With that kind of experience, I wondered how this latest addition to Silver Dollar City ranks with other coasters in the estimation of such veterans. Time Traveler is one of six major coaster rides at the park, including the popular wooden Outlaw Run, whose 2013 opening launched the park as a national coaster destination, according to Lisa Rau, who spearheads publicity for the park.
"Time Traveler definitely got us," said Janine Rebbie Mascherz of Collegeville, Pa, who rode with husband Mike. "When we went down the drop backward and sideways, the experience was amazing."
Janine, who works for a coaster train manufacturer, said the couple met on an ACE trip. They reunited on another such outing six years later, then became engaged while riding a coaster. Time Traveler brought them to Branson (he's ridden 550 coasters). They agreed they were dazzled by well over 100 attractions, shows and restaurants within the park that will bring them back.
"The theming is outstanding, the attention to detail is immaculate and you feel you're in this great little town," Janine said.
David Lipnicky, an economist from Grand Prairie, Texas, and vice president of ACE, said he's also officially a Time Traveler fan. "I've ridden around a thousand coasters all over the world, but never anything like Time Traveler," he said. "It's one of the most unique coasters on the planet, and it's so much fun."
He's also "impressed with the attention to precise details in the design, construction and theming, as well as the environment of the queue line and station. It's all world-class."
"It's very innovative, the way the train makes you float," said Carole Sanderson, whose coaster count is over 1,000. She's a past president of ACE and CFO of a Cleveland architectural and engineering firm. "It's a great addition to the park."
Then there was Jeff King, a clinical researcher for a medical school in St. Louis with over 500 lifetime rides. King said, "It's really nice to see a large-scale Mack ride in the states. That's a really big deal in itself. Time Traveler is exciting and thrilling, but not intimidating."
ACE Events Director Steve Berto of Laguna Hills, Calif., claims 950 coaster rides. The director of client services for a global telecommunications company, Berto said the opportunity to ride the first spinning-type coaster, which features a 90-degree, 10-story drop out of its station, "makes me feel giddy. What's equally great is that every ride you take is different."
Tim Baldwin, communications director for ACE who has notched more than 1,000 rides on his belt, said the world's largest coaster enthusiast group chose Branson for its 40th annual spring conference because of Time Traveler. "Not only because it's a new coaster, but because it's so innovative. Silver Dollar City has true signature attractions. Every single coaster in the park is something you can't ride anywhere else because of the unique terrain."
Well, there you have it from some objective aficionados who certainly should know all there is to grasp about the ups and downs of riding roller coasters everywhere. Rau said the crowds have swarmed to experience Time Traveler since it officially opened two months ago.
Readers may recall I was there on that opening chilly day before the spinning coaster's grand opening to the public when the Herschend family rode in the initial cars. That also was the day I developed my crippling hangnail syndrome that kept me from boarding.
Incidentally, Rau's advice for those wanting to travel through time is to arrive at the park early and to be patient. But she also promised any wait will prove to be well worth it.
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Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.
Editorial on 05/08/2018