We've talked about the coaster crazies before. They're those park enthusiasts who love all-things-coasters to the point that they join a club.

...to the point that they go to meetings (and we're not talking about the 12-step type).

...to the point that they'll even wear silly clothes.

Enter Marty Moltz. He's one of our favorites.

Marty is a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts. He's also an attorney and, more recently, a judge.

He's also a snappy dresser. (If you like bright, clashing colors, that is.)

The year we opened The Legend, Marty arrived at the park delighted that he "matched" the flags (pink, purple and gold). And he did.

Marty has long been one of the coordinators of an ACE event called "No Coaster Con." That's right; no coasters. Just enthusiasts. And park reps who travel to Chicago on a cold, snowy day in January to talk about ... their coasters.

I noticed on this year's flyer that No Coaster Con 2010 was declared "Dress Like Marty Day."

Although I didn't have a Hawaiian shirt to wear, our department thought maybe we could find one for Holidog. Thanks to Sylvia in our office, Holidog was soon dressed for the trip.

And Marty was so pleased:

Okay, so it's more like a muumuu...but Holidog was a good sport.

...as were the enthusiasts, who were putty in my hands singing along with "We Will Ride The Voyage!" to the tune of Queen's "We Will Rock You." (During lunch, a section of the ballroom spontaneously burst into an encore as they pounded the table and clapped to the beat.)

A communications snafu prevented The Gravity Group fellows from joining us in Chicago to talk about our new TimberLiner trains for Voyage.

So they stayed in Cincinnati, but Chad and Mike joined us via Skype:

There they were, sitting proudly in a TimberLiner car. Mike did most of the talking and at one point grabbed the camera to give us a close-up look at the underside of the train.

They even put up with my request to "go bouncy, bouncy" on the seats, to demonstrate the comfort-enhancing suspension.

It was a fun event with loads of enthusiasts and other park folks (including Jeffrey from Schlitterbahn, who snapped the above photo).

A question, though, for the attendees. Do you still have an earworm from our little ditty?

   Ride it in the nighttime -- for Voyage that is flight-time
   Hands up in the air (yeah, I will someday)
   You'll have fear on your face (it's no disgrace)
   Flying through the tunnels at incredible pace, singing...
   We will ride The Voyage! We will ride The Voyage!

Posted on Holiblog :: 18 January 2010 - 4:01pm