A Day at Indiana Beach

[BrownStreak]

Okay, so I had to go to Indianapolis for a competition last weekend and I had to arrive there Thursday night. Since it was my first time in Indiana (other than going across the top to get to/from Chicago) I decided to try and check out their often talked about parks. Holiday World was already "Weekend Only," so I settled on Indiana Beach. I had some problems getting there (from Cleveland, OH area) and spent most of the time west of Lorain, Ohio on County, State, and US Highways versus the Interstates which actually made for some unique scenery - but often made it hard to find a bathroom.

 

I had stopped for a quick bite to eat in Huntington, IN, which ended up taking a great deal longer than I anticiapted and then made a wrong turn as I neared Monticello which took up some more time. None of the area lodgings seemed to have overnight staffing, except for a Best Western that wanted $95 for the night despite an 11am check-out time and the fact it was already 2am. I ended up having to drive all the way over to I-65 to find a place to sleep and did not get to bed until after 3am.

 

I arrived at the park at around 10:30am and based upon the suggestions of many people on this site, I chose to park at the Bridge Entrance. The park looked exactly as it had in every PTR I have ever seen or books I have read. The sign at the entrance listed several rides as being closed. One of these ended up being opened (the train) and one ride was closed which wasn't listed (Air Crow). I casually walked across the entire park intending to start my day on Steel Hawg; however its operating crew did not show up until after 11am and said it would be awhile. I found some of the entrances hard to find and noticed that I wasn't the only one. The joint set of stairs that held the entrance to the Log Flume and the Hoosier Hurricane and the exits to both rides constantly had people trying to enter either ride from the exit.

 

The Hoosier Hurricane ended up being my first ride of the day and I found it to be highly enjoyable, but nothing too special. I still think that they should have called it Hoosier Daddy (say that out loud if you don't get why I say that...oh come on, the Ride Supervisor I said that too thought it was funny...yes, she was probably just trying to be nice...okay). I hit Steel Hawg next - I don't know much about the history of this park and would like to know why it is so far over to the side and why nothing has been added between it and the rest of the park. I found the ride to be fun for the most part; however there were one or two turns that hurt a little bit due to the restraints.

 

I will say that I love the layout of the park. It seemed like it was designed by an intermediate level player on RCT2- the way that the coaster stations for the two woodies are like four floors up and how other rides are on the water and so on. I walked across the long pathay that crosses over the Log Flume (which again seemed very RCT2-like) and headed over to ride Tig'R. I found this to be a fun little ride. AND THEN! I rode Cornball Express! I have not heard very much about this coaster; however, it has quickly become one of my favorite wooden coasters- probably around #5.

 

Next I rode Den of Lost Theives and got to have an interesting conversation with a mechanic on the history of the ride. I found it to be loads of fun and had it not been for the fact that it would soon have the longest line in the park, I probably would have ridden it again. I next rode the Galaxy Coaster which I found to be a "Tummy Tickler." I then rode my first ever Splash Batlle type ride. It was sort of boring, but then again I was the only person riding and there was no one of the Midway!

 

I then hit up the Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain. OMG! What a fun and totally random coaster this is! I rode backwards in the 2nd car and was surprised how long the ride seemed to be. I did not find it too rough and found it very quirky which added to its charm and fun. I had noticed a diving platform; however saw nothing indicating any shows anywhere. I took the Skyride back over to the other end of the park and rode Steel Hawg once again. Next I did the Log Ride and then I hit HH and CE again and was headed back to Lost Coaster when I noticed that a show was going on in the water which included the diving platform I had seen earlier. I only caught the end although they announced additional shows at 3pm and 5pm.

 

I had planned on leaving at 2pm; however decided to wait and see the 3pm show and leave after that. I took the train back to the other side and then rode Tig'R a 2nd time followed by a front row ride on CE- this ended up being my 3rd and 4th ride as they let us go through twice! I then rode the Sea Dragon and considered going into the Haunted Castle; however was told that it was not a Fun House, but a house of horrors and skipped it. I rode the Antinuq Cars and then I rode Lost Coaster again - this time facing forward in the front car.

 

I spent some time in the Boardwalk Gift Shop as I wanted a souvenir of this wonderful place AND I had forgotten to bring a coffee cup with me- so that is what I purchased. I wondered if the Crow on the cup had a name so I asked about 10 random employees to see if they knew and got four different answers which included "He doesn't have one," "I don't know," "IB Crow," and another name I don't remember.

 

I watched the show through and found it to be highly entertaining and then left the park, verbally thanking each employee that I passed. Overall, I found the staff to be very friendly and into their jobs- rare this late in the season.

 

If I had to complain about something (and anyone who reads my posts knows that I seem to have to), I would say that Steel Hawg was only running two cars and was not very good about matching up pairs to fill the cars; HH's last break is insane!; I didn't understand why Lost Coaster only had one train (they have a break in the mine scene and that odd uphill break at the end, it would seem like they could add a 2nd train); and the show was hard to view as it seemed as though you had to choose between having a good view of the Jet Skiiers/Russian Swing or the Diving part.

 

Overall, I found this part to be very friendly, packed with many fun rides, a good price, and well worth another visit!

[ilrider]

My family and I hit IB for the first time this summer also. Cornball was a great coaster. The mine train coaster was down, and I let my wife take the girls on Steel Hawg while I watched my son, so Cornball was my favorite. My only annoyance with the park was the wristband scanning on every ride. Walgreens Wednesday 2 for 1 deal makes it a good deal.