ACE Profile: Robert Forto

Occupation: Dog Musher

Residence: Willow, Alaska. We are about an hour and a half north of Anchorage and at least a five hour flight to anywhere

ACE Region: Northwest

Track Record (Since 2015): Wood: 103 Steel: 262 Total: 365

Most difficult coaster to add to your track record: Time Traveler

Most sought after coaster to get to: Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point

What was the first coaster you rode: The Big Dipper at Camden Park in Huntington, WV. I rode this coaster when I was really young. It was in my home town and what got me hooked!

Personal top five wood coasters:

Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce

Cyclone at Coney Island

The Beast at Kings Island

The Voyage at Holiday World

Mystic Timbers at Kings Island

Personal top five steel coasters:

Banshee at Kings Island

Lochness Monster and Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Gatekeeper at Cedar Point

Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Personal top five hybrid coasters:

Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Lightning Rod at Dollywood

El Torro at Six Flags Great America

Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas

Three favorite parks: 

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Hershey Park

Holiday World and Kennywood (tie!)

Oldie’s but Goodies:

Jack Rabbit a Kennywood (1921)

Thunderbolt at Kennywood (1924)

Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Boardwalk (1924)

Thunderhawk at Dorney Park (1924)

Racer at Kennywood (1927)

Wildcat at Lake Compounce (1927)

Roller Coaster at Lagoon Park (1921)

The Big Dipper at Camden Park (1960s?)

Still to ride! Giant Dipper at Belmont Park, Jack Rabbit at Seabreeze in NY, Wild One at Six Flags America, Leap the Dips at Lakemont Park. Some of these will be tough to get to!



Other interests: 

Aside from coasters, favorite things to do in parks: I love the different theme elements at the parks and I always seek out unique food like the huge S’mores shake at Hershey Park.

Parks listed (since 2015): Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Coney Island, Kings Dominion, Six Flags St. Louis, Cedar Point, Hershey Park, Dorney Park, Lake Compounce, Six Flags Great America, Six Flags Great Adventure, Holiday World, Kennywood, Camden Park, Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Enchanted Forest, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Alabama Splash Adventure, Lake Winnie, Dollywood, Six Flags Over Georgia, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, California’s Great America, Silverwood, Lagoon Park, Elitch Gardens, Lakeside, Knott’s Berry Farms, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Sea World Orlando, Fun Spot Orlando, Story Land, Six Flags Great Escape, Six Flags New England, Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Indiana Beach, Michigan’s Adventure

Additional comments: The kids are grown and moved out of the house and now it is our turn to travel. Michele and I started our annual coaster tour in the summer of 2015 with visits to Busch Gardens, Coney Island and Kings Dominion. In the summer of 2016 we embarked on a coaster tour that took us from Colorado to Maine to Texas. We hit up almost every park along the way. In the summer of 2017 we continued our tour in California and along the Rocky Mountain region and made a quick stop in Georgia and Indiana too. The summer of 2018 is they traveled to the Northeast to be New England and New York. In the summer of 2019, Robert and Michele visited some of the parks in Florida including three days at Universal, and at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. In the fall they went on their annual pilgrimage to Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom.

Coaster Geeks Podcast Robert Forto

Robert and Michele are also proud to announce they have started a podcast, The Coaster Geeks where they give their thoughts on their visits to theme parks as they travel on their rock in roller coaster tours.

Check out our travels by searching on social media using the hashtag(s) #rocknroller16 #rocknroller17 #rocknroller18 #rocknroller19 and the category Coasters on this website.

 

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