Indiana Beach (IB) Discussion Thread

[Nrthwnd]

...If you like spook houses, the Haunted Castle is among the best I've ever been in. It is a $3.50 surcharge per person to walk through it (on top of park admission).

 

 

= Scare Actors in there? (I like to be somewhat prepared. Doesn't hurt my excitement/reactions for doing it.)

[ytterbiumanalyst]

There are no scare actors, but there are some great mechanical jumps! I highly recommend it. $3.50 is a great deal. I enjoyed it maybe more than any of the coasters there.

[slickpoetry]

Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain opened today!

 

 

 

Also, in much sadder news, a 10 year old boy died in the IB campground. A thunderstorm rolled in at 8 AM and broke a large tree branch off a tree above his tent.

[recentIBVisitor]

I visited Indiana Beach for the first time in over 12 years. I had heard of the mai tenence problems and the general state of the park by previous owners.

On our 6/15/2016 visit, I was shocked at how bad the park had deteriorated. There were only two antique cars that ran. Train did not run all day. Log ride closed. Bumper boats no longer there. Several kiddie rides not operating....and that is a list from my memory.

My adult son and I wanted to ride the smaller coaster by the kiddie rides (can't think of the name) Weare both tall and the girl said she couldnt let us ride unless three were in the car...and that could possibly happen.

 

Don't waste your mo ey. This park will take a few years to refurbish, which I understand the new owners do plan to try and improve...but for now I would call this place a cheap carnival with rides that are broken, and a skeleton staff. It was no surprise to see very few people there this day.

[slickpoetry]

The park is far, far better than it was even a year ago. It's on it's way back up, but you can't correct all the mistakes the previous owners made over the last decade immediately. The new owner only took possession last September and Indiana winters aren't always conducive to outdoor maintenance projects.

 

The log flume was refurbished over the off-season. It's not back together yet. They had a lot of offseason projects this year and I just think that one got put on the back burner. Unfortunate, stuff like that happens. People just run out of time. I'm sure it will be up soon.

 

The bumper boats are currently being installed. They did not have those before, they had a water ride which was dismantled this offseason.

 

You and your adult son tried to ride the kiddy coaster and were turned away? That's literally the dumbest complaint I've ever heard about a park. I've ridden that kiddy coaster (because I have a 4 year old son, mind you) and trust me that ride operator did you a favor.

 

Did you try to go on any of the actual adult coasters? Cornball, Hoosier Hurricane, Steel Hawg, Tig'rr?

[jynx242]

I'm kind of glad about the removal of the splash battle for the bumper boats. Although all of IB is rides stacked wherever they will fit, that Splash Battle always looked odd and never seemed to quite fit in.

[grsupercity]

So me and my wife have always gone to Chain parks. Mostly Cedar Fair and Six Flags with the random trip to Hershey, Dolly, and KK. Well Lately we have been trying to hit the smaller parks. Our next park this year is Indiana Beach. We have always passed it over. But after watching a couple videos I am now pumped to go. Looks like it has a lot of character. So im curious on the must rides and must eats of the park. Were staying at the parks campground

[DirkFunk]

So me and my wife have always gone to Chain parks. Mostly Cedar Fair and Six Flags with the random trip to Hershey, Dolly, and KK. Well Lately we have been trying to hit the smaller parks. Our next park this year is Indiana Beach. We have always passed it over. But after watching a couple videos I am now pumped to go. Looks like it has a lot of character. So im curious on the must rides and must eats of the park. Were staying at the parks campground

 

eats: Pronto Pups (above avg corn dogs) and the tacos. Obviously the tacos

 

must rides: pretty much everything that's running, honestly. Go to Lost Coaster first if they manage to have it up and running early on. Then mosey over to Den of Lost Thieves and Tig'rr. They're the lowest capacity things.

[jynx242]

Also - the chairswings. They are awesome. Trust me on this - they are on the water and are just great.

 

In my experiences, they run all the flats on pretty good programs as well.

[GCI Wooden]

Also - the chairswings. They are awesome. Trust me on this - they are on the water and are just great.

 

In my experiences, they run all the flats on pretty good programs as well.

Yep, and the paratrooper is fun being right over the water.

 

Also, DO NOT miss the drop tower tower. Don't let it's height fool you, it is one of the most intense drop towers I've been on.

[prozach626]

 

You and your adult son tried to ride the kiddy coaster and were turned away? That's literally the dumbest complaint I've ever heard about a park.

You obviously haven't read some of the comments on TPR'S facebook page.

[grsupercity]

As mentioned above going to IB for the first time. We have been to a lot of amusement park water parks this year, is there waterpark worth the time?

[DirkFunk]

As mentioned above going to IB for the first time. We have been to a lot of amusement park water parks this year, is there waterpark worth the time?

 

Not really, but I think it is included, so why not?

[Arthur_Seaton]

Trip report from Saturday 7/30.

 

I’ve had my eye on Indiana Beach for years as I’m a sucker for peculiar, out-of-the-way spots that walk the line between charismatic and disquieting. I wasn’t expecting anything stellar, and the place was sort of what I imagined it to be (a bit like the US version of Butlins), but after calling the evening prior to make sure all the coasters were operational before making the drive (“yes, they’re all running just fine”), I was disappointed to find that, in fact, all three woodies were down with Lost Coaster and Cornball both missing pieces of track. Several of the other rides were also broken, but it was the coasters I cared about the most. Hoosier Hurricane did end up opening (sort of — only part of the train was functioning on and off), but it was a discouraging start to my mini coaster tour. I was told by a park manager that Cornball might fire up later in the evening, but that Lost Coaster was down for some time. Although the park opened its gates at 11am, the maintenance guys didn’t start inspections until well after the park had opened, and so it took about an hour for the park to get to a functional level. Because of the broken rides and generally poor operations, I only stayed for a couple of hours. It was still worth it, but just be warned if you’re going out of your way to visit this place as basic operations are beyond sloppy.

 

Tigg'r (x1)

 

I dig old-school Schwarzkopfs but this one crawled around the track. City Jets and the various Jet Stars are great little designs with a surprising kick given their size, but this one was thrashed and struggled to make a full circuit. It was my first ride of the day and the maintenance guys were still oiling the wheels and taking test rides when I showed up. By 11:30, I was on board and on my way up the lift. I knocked Tigg’r out first as I suspected that the line would be nightmarish later because of two-car operations — and it was. Fun, nostalgic, and sort of classic but sluggish as hell. 6/10

 

Steel Hawg (x2)

 

I was intimidated by this; I expected the drop to be ejector-gnarly on a grand scale, but it was very tame. The trims grip the car enough to feel like you’re being gently lowered over the edge, and as soon as the car releases from the brake, you’re already leveling out. The rest of the ride, however, was great fun – like a good steel mouse with added hang time against pretty comfy restraints. Although not nearly as exciting as they appear, El Locos are well-designed budget coasters for smaller parks. Rode it twice before the crowds hit. 7/10

 

Den of Lost Thieves (x1)

 

I adore old, cheesy dark rides. I genuinely prefer them to modern video game-styled rides like Justice League and what not. This one conveyed a real sense of history and I appreciated the bizarre undulating layout that felt knocked together over a weekend or two. The guns really didn't work, and most of the tricks were 2D, but I relished it all the same. The ride is about 2.5 minutes long and slow operations made the queue a bit of a nightmare (you share the same sweaty space with about a million mosquitos). Also, each car can only haul a combined weight of 300lbs yet several guests were pushing that limit on their own. I saw three walks of shame in the 20 minutes it took me to get on board. 8/10

 

Falling Star (x1)

 

I expected nothing but was presented with great floater air on this. I usually find these kind of rides to be forceless and labored, but this was far more fun than anticipated. I don’t know if it ran a faster cycle than normal, or if it’s an unusual manufacturer or or something, but it made for a great ride. 8/10

 

Hoosier Hurricane (x2)

 

This opened a good 90 minutes late and continued to be temperamental for the time I was there. I was starting to think that my first visit to IB was cursed with all three woodies down, but they got it running, albeit with single train ops and only part of a train available (problems with the restraints it seemed). The line was a glacial, mosquito-filled 30 minutes as the result. Overall, I found it to be a fun-ish old-school kind of ride that reminded me a little of Blackpool's woodies. There was a weirdly awkward part on the second hill following the first drop, but it was decent overall. It’s about as rough, jarring ride as can be expected for a coaster that's so long in the tooth. Rode it again before leaving, but two rides were all I needed. 7/10

 

Frankenstein's Castle (x1)

 

A spectacularly tacky walkthrough on a grand scale, but hardly worth the $3.50 upcharge. My guess is the upcharge helps with crowd control as it's easy to get lost inside. I got stuck in the multi-door room for a few minutes and I had to use my phone's flashlight in a few other spots as well. Most of the tricks trigger after you've already past them, so be sure to keep looking back. There’s nothing scary in it, so it’s more of a maze than anything, but it’s a good one if dark mazes are your thing. Overall, a really cool, cheesy walkthrough that takes a good while to complete. 8/10

 

Paratrooper (x1)

 

It's a paratrooper over water – not much more to say. It actually made me feel a bit nauseous. I swear that the girl operating the ride wasn't a day older than twelve. 5/10

 

Chair Swings (x1)

 

Very fun, but slow operations. Lovely view and somehow better than the paratrooper's view. 7/10

 

I skipped the new carnival-style looper ride because I’m not a fan of being suspended upside down. Overall, I see the appeal of the park. It's quaint and charming, but not in a plastic facade kind of way. It’s pretty “backwoods” and there's definitely a “People of Walmart” vibe to the place: lots of throat tattoos, gold (plastic?) jewelry, stray children, and clothing worn many sizes too small. It's a great place to people watch and would make for an intriguing ethnographic survey, but with shoddy operations and ride closures producing long lines, I was happy to leave after just a few hours. This, however, worked out in my favor as I noticed that Cedar Point would be open until midnight so I bailed around 2:30pm at was on Millenium Force by 7pm.

 

FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World.

The entrance to the place is pretty great.

And the fact that the coasters are over the water is a nice touch too.

The place is basically a mess of tracks.

Tigg'r has seen better days.

But it's still a pretty cool little ride.

I don't know the history of this ride, but I can't help but thing that this final section of track was, at one point, indoors.

So much for "all rides are open and running fine"!

The view from the swinging chairs (I think).

The finale of Frankenstein's Castle.

It's hard to make out, but this image shows just how torn up the Lost Coaster track was.

At least they got Hoosier Hurricane to run one train, although several of the seats were rendered unavailable.

[Byoda1828]

Dose anyone know if I use my brothers season passes if we will get in trouble for not being mine

[Midwesterner]

Trip report from Saturday 7/30.

 

I’ve had my eye on Indiana Beach for years as I’m a sucker for peculiar, out-of-the-way spots that walk the line between charismatic and disquieting. I wasn’t expecting anything stellar, and the place was sort of what I imagined it to be (a bit like the US version of Butlins), but after calling the evening prior to make sure all the coasters were operational before making the drive (“yes, they’re all running just fine”), I was disappointed to find that, in fact, all three woodies were down with Lost Coaster and Cornball both missing pieces of track. Several of the other rides were also broken, but it was the coasters I cared about the most. Hoosier Hurricane did end up opening (sort of — only part of the train was functioning on and off), but it was a discouraging start to my mini coaster tour. I was told by a park manager that Cornball might fire up later in the evening, but that Lost Coaster was down for some time. Although the park opened its gates at 11am, the maintenance guys didn’t start inspections until well after the park had opened, and so it took about an hour for the park to get to a functional level. Because of the broken rides and generally poor operations, I only stayed for a couple of hours. It was still worth it, but just be warned if you’re going out of your way to visit this place as basic operations are beyond sloppy.

 

Tigg'r (x1)

 

I dig old-school Schwarzkopfs but this one crawled around the track. City Jets and the various Jet Stars are great little designs with a surprising kick given their size, but this one was thrashed and struggled to make a full circuit. It was my first ride of the day and the maintenance guys were still oiling the wheels and taking test rides when I showed up. By 11:30, I was on board and on my way up the lift. I knocked Tigg’r out first as I suspected that the line would be nightmarish later because of two-car operations — and it was. Fun, nostalgic, and sort of classic but sluggish as hell. 6/10

 

Steel Hawg (x2)

 

I was intimidated by this; I expected the drop to be ejector-gnarly on a grand scale, but it was very tame. The trims grip the car enough to feel like you’re being gently lowered over the edge, and as soon as the car releases from the brake, you’re already leveling out. The rest of the ride, however, was great fun – like a good steel mouse with added hang time against pretty comfy restraints. Although not nearly as exciting as they appear, El Locos are well-designed budget coasters for smaller parks. Rode it twice before the crowds hit. 7/10

 

Den of Lost Thieves (x1)

 

I adore old, cheesy dark rides. I genuinely prefer them to modern video game-styled rides like Justice League and what not. This one conveyed a real sense of history and I appreciated the bizarre undulating layout that felt knocked together over a weekend or two. The guns really didn't work, and most of the tricks were 2D, but I relished it all the same. The ride is about 2.5 minutes long and slow operations made the queue a bit of a nightmare (you share the same sweaty space with about a million mosquitos). Also, each car can only haul a combined weight of 300lbs yet several guests were pushing that limit on their own. I saw three walks of shame in the 20 minutes it took me to get on board. 8/10

 

Falling Star (x1)

 

I expected nothing but was presented with great floater air on this. I usually find these kind of rides to be forceless and labored, but this was far more fun than anticipated. I don’t know if it ran a faster cycle than normal, or if it’s an unusual manufacturer or or something, but it made for a great ride. 8/10

 

Hoosier Hurricane (x2)

 

This opened a good 90 minutes late and continued to be temperamental for the time I was there. I was starting to think that my first visit to IB was cursed with all three woodies down, but they got it running, albeit with single train ops and only part of a train available (problems with the restraints it seemed). The line was a glacial, mosquito-filled 30 minutes as the result. Overall, I found it to be a fun-ish old-school kind of ride that reminded me a little of Blackpool's woodies. There was a weirdly awkward part on the second hill following the first drop, but it was decent overall. It’s about as rough, jarring ride as can be expected for a coaster that's so long in the tooth. Rode it again before leaving, but two rides were all I needed. 7/10

 

Frankenstein's Castle (x1)

 

A spectacularly tacky walkthrough on a grand scale, but hardly worth the $3.50 upcharge. My guess is the upcharge helps with crowd control as it's easy to get lost inside. I got stuck in the multi-door room for a few minutes and I had to use my phone's flashlight in a few other spots as well. Most of the tricks trigger after you've already past them, so be sure to keep looking back. There’s nothing scary in it, so it’s more of a maze than anything, but it’s a good one if dark mazes are your thing. Overall, a really cool, cheesy walkthrough that takes a good while to complete. 8/10

 

Paratrooper (x1)

 

It's a paratrooper over water – not much more to say. It actually made me feel a bit nauseous. I swear that the girl operating the ride wasn't a day older than twelve. 5/10

 

Chair Swings (x1)

 

Very fun, but slow operations. Lovely view and somehow better than the paratrooper's view. 7/10

 

I skipped the new carnival-style looper ride because I’m not a fan of being suspended upside down. Overall, I see the appeal of the park. It's quaint and charming, but not in a plastic facade kind of way. It’s pretty “backwoods” and there's definitely a “People of Walmart” vibe to the place: lots of throat tattoos, gold (plastic?) jewelry, stray children, and clothing worn many sizes too small. It's a great place to people watch and would make for an intriguing ethnographic survey, but with shoddy operations and ride closures producing long lines, I was happy to leave after just a few hours. This, however, worked out in my favor as I noticed that Cedar Point would be open until midnight so I bailed around 2:30pm at was on Millenium Force by 7pm.

 

FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World.

 

Once again, loved the review. Indiana Beach is notorious for having below average operations and running 1 train on their two major woodies. Apex Parks purchased the park after the 2015 season, which it had been slowly destroyed by Morgan RV resorts over the previous 7 seasons. So the park is already a lot better in 2016 than it was in 2015.

Some notes on the coasters, as I know you were a little disappointed with what was open (and you have every right to be). Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain has been open next to none this year. It has been open at times, but I'd say no more than 20% of the time. Over the past decade it's definitely been the coaster that's down the most, so I'm hoping the parks new owners will give it some TLC in the offseason. It's a really cool, unique type of ride when working right.

As for Cornball Express, it's a shame you didn't get to ride it because it's their best coaster no doubt. Throw everything you now about coaster stats out the window before you ride because it because it's in a different league than it's stats suggest. I don't know what they were doing to the track but hopefully it won't be down for more than 2-3 days. Hoosier Hurricane is decent, glad you got to ride it even if it's single train was only partially operational. And Steel Hawg is a good fit for the park, not overwhelming by any means but a couple of inversions and now the second steepest drop in the US (curse you Cannibal) are nice. Tig'rr is just kind of there, but helps with the more old time feel to the park and got a much needed paint job during the off-season. Overall, I'd say come back in 2-3 years once the new ownership is well established and you should have a better time. Thanks for the report though!

[Arthur_Seaton]

Once again, loved the review. Indiana Beach is notorious for having below average operations and running 1 train on their two major woodies. Apex Parks purchased the park after the 2015 season, which it had been slowly destroyed by Morgan RV resorts over the previous 7 seasons. So the park is already a lot better in 2016 than it was in 2015.

Some notes on the coasters, as I know you were a little disappointed with what was open (and you have every right to be). Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain has been open next to none this year. It has been open at times, but I'd say no more than 20% of the time. Over the past decade it's definitely been the coaster that's down the most, so I'm hoping the parks new owners will give it some TLC in the offseason. It's a really cool, unique type of ride when working right.

As for Cornball Express, it's a shame you didn't get to ride it because it's their best coaster no doubt. Throw everything you now about coaster stats out the window before you ride because it because it's in a different league than it's stats suggest. I don't know what they were doing to the track but hopefully it won't be down for more than 2-3 days. Hoosier Hurricane is decent, glad you got to ride it even if it's single train was only partially operational. And Steel Hawg is a good fit for the park, not overwhelming by any means but a couple of inversions and now the second steepest drop in the US (curse you Cannibal) are nice. Tig'rr is just kind of there, but helps with the more old time feel to the park and got a much needed paint job during the off-season. Overall, I'd say come back in 2-3 years once the new ownership is well established and you should have a better time. Thanks for the report though!

I was more disappointed about not getting on Cornball than Lost Coaster. I love quirky, weird, home-grown type rides so Lost Coaster is right up my alley, but by studying the track, I could gauge what much of the ride would feel like. It wasn't the biggest loss as the result and I won't go out of my way to try and ride it in the future. Cornball, however, looked amazing. I could tell by the layout and the angle of the drops that the train would be making the circuit at a crazy speed. Not getting to ride that one sucked, but it was in pretty bad shape by the looks of it. To be honest, the place wasn't exactly out of my way so it wasn't a huge loss, but I am surprised that the person I spoke to the day prior told me that all three woodies were running fine when in fact two out of three were torn up.

 

I'd like to see the place at night as I can imagine that it looks very different. Given that it was the height of summer, I also wouldn't mind going a little off-season too to avoid the crowds.

[grsupercity]

So me and my wife mad our first trip to Indiana Beach. Pretty park on the water. The operations sucked. They would not allow people in the gates till everyone left the coaster. Then 24 or so people could enter the station and find a gate. Then the gates would open and people could enter the train. The workers would go through and check seat belts. After that they would release the lap bars and walk back to the front and walk back and check all the lap bars. This is the slowest process for loading and unloading a coaster I ever seen. Worst operations for a family park. Made six flags look good

 

First coaster of the day was the Hoosier Hurricane. Bottom of the first drop jack hammered and the rest of the ride was okay. The ride is screaming to be RMC'd. We rode it at 10:45 at night for a fireworks and night ride and it hurt worst. Was a fun ride regardless though

 

Next was the Cornball. Very fun little coaster. Besides the 10 minute dispatches it was a hoot. Rode it many times.

 

Steel Hawg is the star of the park. Its tucked back a little bit but can be seen throughout the park. Even though the first drop was a bit over trimmed it was a blast. The outerbanked turn was fun and the hang time and barrel role was silky smooth. More small parks need these rides.

 

It was a hot hot hot busy saturday and Tig'rr was running fast. The first turn and helix were kinda intense for an old jet star style coaster.

 

Zero G was extremely fun. Hearing the crowd scream every time it hung upside down. We were luckily enough to ride across from a young pudgy kid that was screaming for his life and it was a good time

Funny thing is the back of the ride still says fire ball while the front says zero g lmao

 

Falling star and sea dragon are solid rides even though the sea dragons cycle was short.

 

Waterpark was small but the slides are wicked fast and there lazy river is the craziest one I have ever been on. That thing shoots you across the turns.

 

 

For a Saturday in August they did a good job on pumping the people though the rides and keeping the lines short (coasters were horribly slow).

Was a fun day and will be added to future trips

[theredskull84]

Cornball is such an underrated coaster, IMO. Worth the visit alone.

[DILinator]

Cornball is such an underrated coaster, IMO. Worth the visit alone.

 

[grsupercity]

I found Cornball, Tigg'r and Steel Hawg all to be very fun. Steel hawg is the star of the park though!

[gilly_bob]

So this weekend I was in Indianapolis and I did what any park fan would do in a new area. I decided between Holiday World and Indiana Beach and clearly chose..... Indiana Beach..... I had a few hours and IB was only about an hour and forty minutes compared to the 3hours for Holiday World. I got to the park at 10:57am and left at !1:55pm. There was a slight overcast and chance of rain all day so crowds were minimal. I won't do a full trip report but I was able to ride Cornball, Hoosier, Tig'rr, and Steel Hawq. Lost Coaster was closed with maintenance hammering on the tracks.

 

My first impression of the park was that it wasn't as bad as all of the reviews I've read. The staff was friendly and it was much cleaner than I was expecting with a very fun atmosphere. My only complaint was that parking was extremely confusing and I'm pretty sure I accidentally parked in the "VIP" pay lot without actually paying.

 

The lake swings and flyers were closed and I didn't get to ride them, but I got to check out some other flats.

 

Overall it was a fun visit. Hoosier was pretty painful but all of the other coasters were fun.

 

I don't see myself in Indy anytime soon so that may have been my only visit.

[GCI Wooden]

I found Cornball, Tigg'r and Steel Hawg all to be very fun. Steel hawg is the star of the park though!

Steel Hawg is incredible coaster for it's size. An amazing drop, really strange inversions and the outward banking is just some added quirkiness. I think I rode that more than anything else in the park when we went.

 

That is an incredibly under-rated coaster in my opinion, probably because everyone gets on the Cornball hype train and overlooks it.

[CoasterRench]

Is it possible to do Indiana Beach in one day, or suggest scheduling more than a day?

[DILinator]

^ Oh, you can definitely do it all in one day! It's not that large of a park, even if you do the water park.