Photo TR: Mini New Hotness/East Coast Trip

[jonskinny12]

^I think the "must do" attractions at the park are the three woodies, Gobbler Getaway (I'm a fan of dark rides), Mammoth, and Wildebeest. The flat rides, at least to me, aren't all that exciting, but the water park is excellent (and often busy). I'd say one day is plenty.

 

But it all depends on what you want to do.

 

Thanks for the input! I don't get too excited by most flat rides so one day should be enough for me.

[SharkTums]

Those two water slides were the highlight of the trip! I can't believe how much fun we all had that night!

[hey...hey]

So I didn't know you had to be a certain height to ride the Smoking Area.

 

 

 

Wait a second...it says Holiday World is smoke free according to that banner.

[nannerdw]

^No, they're saying that smoking is free, just like soft drinks, parking, and sunscreen.

[hey...hey]

^No, they're saying that smoking is free, just like soft drinks, parking, and sunscreen.

 

Now I understand...Right...

[redfoot12]

"Next, we headed for "4th of July" land, the most patriotic place on Earth! If you're an American. Not if you're, say, Lithuanian."

 

I agree. While I was in that section of the park, the 1/8 part of me that is Lithuanian kept yelling at me to burn flags and type up a proposition to ban the "Pledge of Allegiance". ERT on Mammoth and Wildebeest put me back together again.

[supertrooper]

Those two water slides were the highlight of the trip! I can't believe how much fun we all had that night!

 

Definitely. Mammoth is better than 97% of the coasters I've ridden...by far my favorite ride of the trip. I was a bit disappointed when I realized how awesome it was right after I realized that it had a single rider line that I didn't take advantage of.

[ZeroGravity55]

Wait a second...it says Holiday World is smoke free according to that banner.

 

Technically, they are, but really they just have designated areas assigned where people can go smoke. So outside of those areas you're not allowed to smoke in the park.

[Rollertoaster]

Hilarious TR as usual, Chuck!

 

Liberty Launch looks like about the shortest S&S tower I've seen! It's as if someone just placed the base section in RCT!

[cfc]

^Holiday World's flat rides tend to be on the "tame" side, but I do like their Halloween-themed chair swings, and their turkey-themed Tilt-a-Whirl looks pretty cool.

 

I'm not a flat-ride person, though.

[Rollertoaster]

Same here about the flat rides. The most fun flats I've been on were a screamin' swing and a disk-o. And some people count disk-o as a credit.

 

Gotta get down to HW. So many great coasters.

[better_by_design]

Those two water slides were the highlight of the trip! I can't believe how much fun we all had that night!

 

We went to Holiwood Nights last year, and the ERT on the watercoasters was more fun than the wooden coasters... which was also awesome at night - which tells you how awesome watercoaster ERT is

 

Definitely. Mammoth is better than 97% of the coasters I've ridden...by far my favorite ride of the trip. I was a bit disappointed when I realized how awesome it was right after I realized that it had a single rider line that I didn't take advantage of.

 

This is absolutely true - the Holiday World coasters are awesome/inspiring, but the watercoasters are uniquely amazing - folks can legitimately debate where Voyage and Raven fit in the pantheon of woodies, debate their "Mt. Rushmores" of coasters, but I have yet to find anyone who debates that Mammoth and Wildebeest are the 2 best water slides in the world.

[cfc]

For all you Lithuanian patriots out there.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmMjDg8zNxA

[cfc]

Day 5: Indiana Beach, Home of Redneck Biscuits and Tacos

 

I last visited Indiana Beach in 2010 during TPR's Mid-America Trip. I enjoyed myself then, and I enjoyed myself this time--just not quite as much. I think it's largely the little things that have changed that have lessened the "Indiana Beach Experience" a bit, such as the Falling Star being moved from its original location on the boardwalk to some random space in the back on the asphalt. Why would you do something like that? The ride ran a great cycle and provided a great view at its original location. (Maybe there's a technical, engineering-type reason that I don't know about.)

 

That being said, the park treated us very well, with ERT on all the major coasters, except Hoosier Hurricane, which went down with a serious technical problem the week before. Cornball Express was running very well (it's still a damn good woodie), and I enjoyed Steel Hawg more than I did in 2010. The Lost Coaster of Superstitution Mountain (LOCO SUMO), one of my favorite weird coasters, was down to only one train, but wasn't nearly as brutal as it used to be. But what happened to the bear? Frankenstein's Castle, the park's walk-through haunted house, is still a lot of fun. And let's not forget the Fascination parlor.

 

Indiana Beach, like Knoebels, is also the home of some very tasty "park food." The deep-fried Redneck Biscuits were a sugar-fueled wonder (crisp outside, fluffy inside), and I finally sampled the tacos everybody talks about (they live up to the hype). The buffet lunch was also quite good, and a nice break from the straight diet of hot dogs and fired chicken previous parks had fed us.

 

Overall, it was a good day at Indiana Beach. Here's a look.

Backstage at Indiana Beach. It looks like a community of small homes and apartment houses back here.

It's so odd seeing Steel Hawg tucked away among all these cottages.

Water-filled dummies live for bondage and punishment.

As I said earlier, I enjoyed Steel Hawg more this year than in 2010 . . .

. . . even though the restraints look like they were designed by the Spanish Inquisition to force confessions from heretics.

Well, as long as they're all gluten free.

A special private ride on Cornball Express for Elissa and KT, who got quite a few credits this trip.

It's so weird to see a park like this in Indiana. It looks like it belongs on the East or West coast.

"Hmm--and what sort of 'entertainment' would that be, my good man? As you can tell from my stylish derby, I'm a 'duck of the world.'"

LOCO SUMO looks like a nightmare Knott's Berry Farm once had.

Absolutely, we will not smoke!

This has to be the most useless warning sign ever.

Well, I don't know about "world's best," but they're damn good tacos--particularly for Indiana.

I wonder if anyone has ever eaten then tried to return a taco? This sounds like a sensible policy.

"Taco, will you be my bride?"

Remember: Always take home a taco.

KT is much more daring than I was at her age.

Oh no! Those poor Redneck Biscuits never had a chance!

Question: In the U.S., aren't all biscuits "Redneck Biscuits"? This shop will add cheese to anything, too. More to come. (Be sure to check out the next page.)

Edited June 4, 2015 by cfc

[cfc]

If this is a beach, where are the palm trees? More from Indiana Beach.

"A-w-o-o-o-o! Hey kids! Count Floyd here with another Monster Chiller Horror Theater!"

"Ooo, I gotta a real scary movie for you today! Ooo, it scares me so much! Do you think you can handle . . .

. . . The Ghost of the Headless Diabetic? A-w-o-o-o-o-o-o!"

"Sell me your soul, and I'll teach you how to play guitar. Yeah, that was a great idea."

Well, no one will be whoring this today, I guess.

IB's crow is rockin' the stripes.

IB's version of Vegas.

Oh boy!

O-o-o-o-o . . . tools! Tools that aren't on the Internet!

If I win this, I'm gonna froth the hell outta some cappuccino!

Everybody wants that frother!

You meet the classiest people when you play Fascination. I'm sure Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack spent hours here.

If I owned an apartment complex, I'd have an El Loco in the parking lot.

I'd charge higher rents for apartments with a coaster view.

Cornball Express has held up really well.

Yep--every bit as good as it was in 2010.

Technically, isn't the Hurricane supposed to "thrill" us, not the other way around?

Well, time to head out--and snap the obligatory photo from the bridge to the parking lot.

"I have come for your children!"

Thanks for a great day, Indiana Beach--and keep frying up those biscuits.

[SharkTums]

For Indiana Tacos they really are Worlds Best quality!

[cfc]

It helps to fry fresh tortillas, rather than using taco shells--much tastier.

[SharkTums]

^And they use the good queso fresco instead of cheddar or jack cheese.

[nannerdw]

I don't know if IB is just not as popular as it used to be, but that place was dead when I went in July. It was mid-afternoon on a weekday, but still it was really bizarre to see most of the ride ops waiting around for even a single rider to show up.

 

Cornball and LOCO SUMO were both great rides. Also, their S&S tower is pretty ridiculous. The sudden jolt at the top feels like it's trying to kill you.

[Philrad71]

I also liked the different cheese that they put on the tacos versus cheddar jack...that combined with the hot sauce was pretty damned tasty.

 

The Pronto Pups on the other hand were not very good, but it's most likely because we got them at the end of the night and took them back to the hotel room with us. I think that they had sat in boiling water just a bit too long. If they were fresh, I'm sure that they would have been better.

 

Too bad Hoosier Hurricane wasn't open - that was my favorite coaster there last year...especially in the front seat.

 

^ Edit - yes, their shot tower is insane. Broke my Oakley's with that crazy clunk of ejector air at the top!

[SharkTums]

I don't know if IB is just not as popular as it used to be, but that place was dead when I went in July. It was mid-afternoon on a weekday, but still it was really bizarre to see most of the ride ops waiting around for even a single rider to show up.

 

They are certainly going through some issues. Lots of management/ownership changes, rides down, construction delays. The park looks like it could seriously use a good coat of paint and sprucing up. But at the same time they put in the awesome included ropes course and mini-playground that worked really well with the park. From what the management told us, give them a few years and hopefully they'll return to glory!

[Kyle Coleman]

Such a shame there are so few fascination parlors left in the us. Such a fun game and so easy to spend too much money if you aren't paying attention and are way too competitive like I am.

[Mrlittle]

I really enjoyed our visit to Indiana Beach. Even with spending half of the time playing FASCINATION!! I really liked the haunted walk through attraction. It was definitely a great day for my first visit to the park.

[PrismTx]

Looks like a nice place.

Edited September 17, 2014 by PrismTx

[redfoot12]

For all you Lithuanian patriots out there.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmMjDg8zNxA