2019

2019 had some unexpected twists in my life, which also affected my coaster hobby. I had a steady job, so a stable income, but at least at the beginning of the year I didn’t own any season passes. I was accepted to speak at a conference in Louisville, so I was going to try to visit Kentucky Kingdom, Holiday World, and Kings Island. I’ll never know if I could have pulled off all three, because I ended up canceling that trip. In June, though, I changed jobs, which changed my travel schedule, and gave my income something of a boost. As a result, I bought a 2019 Cedar Fair pass in August, and when the Labor Day sales rolled around, I got 2020 passes for both Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which seems like a hard-core coaster enthusiast thing to do. I joined ACE as well, a birthday gift from Carole, and I was surprised at just how many discounts and opportunities ACE membership provides. So instead of making big, well-planned trips, my visits tended to be more along the lines of “well, I’m in the area” or “well, there’s an event.” So I ended up with some new experiences and some returns.