A Report from ACE Dives 2019

ACE Dives, an American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) Mid-Atlantic event, was held on June 1, 2019, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

ACE Dives group photo at Busch Gardens (Credit: Jill Ryan)

Wack-a-Hun competition (Credit: Jill Ryan)

I had an amazing day at this event. There were so many different people in attendance and so many things to do. This was one of the best days I have ever had, because everyone treated me so well. I am not an ACE member so I just went as a guest, but everyone treated me equal to everyone else. I believe the highlight of the day was the picnic in the Black Forest picnic area. There was a buffet with amazing food, and the door prizes included some stuff I would’ve done anything to have. I won a copy of the 40th anniversary documentary for the park. The highlight of the picnic was hearing Kevin Lembke, Busch Gardens park president, speak on different ideas the park has had and where the ideas come from.

Nighttime ERT on Griffon (Credit: Seth Angelilli)

The day included tons of different ITOTs (informal takeover times) on all 7 roller coasters, a Whack-A-Hun Tournament, and Griffon and Apollo’s Chariot ERT before and after the park was open. This event was something that I’m never going to forget and has made me realize just how amazing it would be to be an ACE member. Every person that I met was incredibly nice to me and is the kind of person I strive to be.

All I want to say is that I had an absolute blast at ACE Dives and I will come back every year.

– DJ Delk of Newport News, Virginia

ACE Dives is an annual event held by the Mid-Atlantic region, which welcomed 92 attendees from 8 states and DC this year.  We were honored that our members invited 14 guests to share in the fun of our event.  We hope that they will consider becoming ACE members themselves and that we will see them all back next year as members.

Cutback ERT group photo at Water Country USA (Credit: Becky Angelilli)