by Canobie Coaster » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:15 pm
Indiana Beach
Indiana Beach has been a park on my bucket list for a long time. I love visiting these smaller parks as a change of pace from larger, corporate-feeling parks and this one was noteworthy for an awesome setting, a big collection of wooden roller coasters highlighted by Cornball Express, and some interesting non-coaster rides such as the haunted house. The park is really an American Grona Land with how well it utilizes space by building rides over the water or on top of each other.
Ultimately Indiana Beach was a very mixed bag. On one hand, the park has the potential to be one of the best parks in the country with its great ride lineup and location right on Lake Shafer. On the other hand, the park's operations were among the worst I have seen at any park. I had been warned that rides were prone to opening late or not at all. But the park completely blew away my already dampened expectations.
By the end of the night, 5 of the park's 6 coasters were closed. Tig'rr and the kiddie coaster were closed for my entire visit. Steel Hawg stalled on the mid-course brake run and riders were evacuated with a cherry picker, closing the ride for the night. Lost Coaster went down in the last half hour. And Cornball probably ran for a total of 30 minutes in the 3.5 hours. Hoosier Hurricane was the only coaster without any downtime and that crew was doing a really good job sending out trains. The closures weren't limited to the coasters either, as the Den of Lost Thieves dark ride, Double Shot, and Air Crow were all down as well.
Cornball Express- Wow! I heard this woodie was really intense despite its small size, but even knowing that, Cornball completely shattered my expectations. The layout is very unique how it intertwines with other attractions and dives over Lake Shafer. With only a seat-belt and buzz-bars, Cornball gave extreme ejector air on 6 different hills, highlighted by the third and fifth hills. This coaster is among the best I've ridden for airtime. Along with air, Cornball has some really strong laterals on that devilishly twisted first drop and helix. The track length is pretty short, but Cornball felt like it gave a really complete ride. The coaster is also pretty smooth as well. I was only able to get two rides, one in the front and one in the back. 10 out of 10
Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain- I present to you WTF- the Ride. Lost Coaster is the most random coaster I have ever ridden with the caged cars, elevator lift, and impossibly tight turns. I got one ride facing backwards at night. I didn't notice any theming in the mountain, but I loved the coaster's interaction with it and the surprise elements hidden within. The ride was incredibly aggressive and intense despite only having a top speed of 20 MPH. Thankfully the trains were well padded since the coaster really throws you around (in a good way). The most memorable element was a crazy double down with scary air-time that I couldn't see coming. Only downside with this coaster was the capacity. While everything else in the park was a 5 minute wait tops, Lost Coaster was an hour due to a single 8 car train. 9 out of 10
Steel Hawg- I now present WTF- the Ride, the Sequel. Steel Hawg was my first El Loco and delivered a funky and fun ride experience. The drop was different than I expected. I was expecting major air-time like on every other beyond vertical drop I've experienced. Instead this one gave some hang-time because of the brake at the start of the drop and really packs on the positive Gs at the bottom of the drop. The ride's air-time came on the steep climbs before the two mid-course brake runs. The outward banked turns were an odd experience and both inversions provided excellent hang-time. I'd love to see more El Locos pop up since this was a smooth and unique coaster. 8 out of 10
Hoosier Hurricane- Indiana Beach's original wood coaster is probably the worst at the park, but it's still a fun coaster. The ride's layout gives an excellent tour of the park and has some good drops over Lake Shafer. While an out-and-back layout, Hoosier Hurricane has 3 or so spots with strong laterals. The front had good air on the return leg while two of the drops on the outward leg provided good air in the back, particularly the drop that dives under the suspension bridge. The coaster shuffles a bit, but it definitely isn't rough. Because of the operational issues of the other coasters, I ended up riding the Hurricane the most of any ride in the park. 7 out of 10
I also experienced Dr. Frankenstein's Castle, the haunted walkthrough upcharge, and absolutely loved it. There are no live actors, but this house uses every single gag and cheesy effect in the book that will leave you smiling until the end. The second-to-last gag nearly caused me to poop my pants and that's something most haunted houses cannot do, so I applaud the park there.
I heard the park was in a much rougher state during the Morgan days and improved quite a bit last year, but the amount of ride closures on a Saturday night during my visit was definitely disappointing. I'd love to make a return visit to give this park another chance since it has a picturesque setting and I was deprived re-rides on several coasters due to the noted closures.
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- Greetings from Indiana Beach. The sign captured the overall feel of the park quite well.
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- Indiana Beach has about 44 rides, a quarter of which were closed for my entire visit.
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- Sorry folks the ride's closed, the crow out front should have told you.
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- Sorry folks the ride's closed, the crow out front should have told you.
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- Sorry folks the ride's closed, the crow out front should have told you. Ok this is getting old...
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- Sorry folks... that was almost true for Cornball. Thank goodness I was able to get 2 rides in the half hour it was open since this was a top 5 wooden coaster for me. The steep drops gave major ejector air, which was augmented by the buzz bars.
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- Cornball Express kept closing for issues with the trains. The maintenance guys were there most of the night.
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- Lost Coaster should really be named WTF the Ride.
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- Somehow the wood coaster with an elevator lift had the second highest uptime of the park's coasters.
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- Don't let the small size and 20 mph max speed fool you, this is an aggressive and awesome coaster.
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- The layout seems like something someone would make while drunk in Roller Coaster Tycoon. But it totally works here!
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- Steel Hawg, aka WTF- the Ride the Sequel.
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- I mean just look at that track.
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- The ride's placement in the corner was really odd though.
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- I really liked the coaster. It was smooth, had some great hang-time, and featured several unique elements. I would have loved to ride it more than once but...
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- The coaster stalled about 10-15 minutes after my ride and never reopened.
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- Hoosier Hurricane was the one coaster that ran all night. I really liked how the layout spanned the length of the park.
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- If Hoosier Hurricane's high speed tour is too fast, the park also has a Sky Ride. There also is a train, but it was (you guessed it) closed.
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- Of course the upcharge attractions were running all night.
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- I made sure to try this upcharge. This is an amazing walkthrough with every gag you can possibly think of. The second to last one almost scared me as much as this nation's president.
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- Is that Fascination I see?
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- Yes it is! This TPR favorite is in really good condition. I love this game even though I'm pretty awful at it.
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- Indiana Beach really is an American Grona Land. Rides are effortlessly woven around and over each other.
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- Several rides are also built over the water.
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- Ironically the one that'd be most perfect over the water is smack-dab in the middle of the park.
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- If I had more time I would have loved to try the swings over the water.
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- Look at that blur. I promise you the park runs it that fast and it's not just my camera struggling with night lighting.
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- You can also get up close and personal with many of the park's rides.
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- I love how the park had a custom layout for the flume despite being pressed for space.
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- I didn't go on firework night, but I was able to admire their wheel's fantastic lighting package.
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- I was expecting to see more stars in rural Indiana, but this was the only star I saw.
Top 5 Wood- Lightning Rod, Phoenix, Boulder Dash, Wildfire, Voyage
Top 5 Steel- Expedition GeForce, Iron Rattler, Fury 325, Twisted Colossus, Helix
Top 5 Parks- Knoebels, Europa Park, Cedar Point, Disneyland, Dollywood
