Indiana Beach (IB) Discussion Thread

[i305isdaddy]

Best news of the month!

[coneyislandchris]

I like the sound of that X. <3

[WolfBobs]

IF this park opens and IF it opens for 2020 I will definitely take the time to get there.

[sfkk]

Alright guys this one just might get saved. We really need to do a better job of talking these smaller parks up though. IB is not the place you can just credit stop once in your life for 2 hours. It’s about the boardwalk and a weird pirate themed sally dark ride and the thrill of getting to drive through cornfields and have an amusement park pop out of nowhere. It’s also the only park that has a bar directly below a sky ride loading station! These type of things cannot be plastered on a billboard using traditional advertising. Word of mouth is always what will make IB thrive.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I just hope it's operated better than my lone visit where 5/6 coasters closed or broke down and half the non-coasters were closed. But I loved the feel of the park. With great ops, it would have been one of my favorite parks.

[prozach626]

We really need to do a better job of talking these smaller parks up though.

I was going to start a discussion about how it's the park's responsibility to save it's reputation and not ours.

 

It’s also the only park that has a bar directly below a sky ride loading station!

 

Then, I read this. I concede.

[sfkk]

^ I just hope it's operated better than my lone visit where 5/6 coasters closed or broke down and half the non-coasters were closed. But I loved the feel of the park. With great ops, it would have been one of my favorite parks.

 

That's fair, I'm not going to pretend previous management did a great job. Ride uptime is usually just about the only thing that corporate procedures are really good at. I do think someone like Cedar Fair would just scrap lost coaster for being too unreliable though. Hopefully whoever buys the park isn't a corporate bean counter.

[WolfBobs]

I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that the Koch family is the team to buy and operate this park. To me, keeping it local Indiana management, creating value for a season pass that is good for both parks is the best path forward for this park to succeed.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Oooh, I really hope so. I first visited this place in 2016 expecting to just ride a couple of unique things and never go back. I fell in love with the place and will return as often as I can, even with it being two states away. It's like Knoebels West; it's hard to see on paper what makes it so great, but when you go, you feel it.

[adamico2]

That's a positive sign!

Looks more like a multiplication sign to me.

[jconsolmagno]

Saw some more action on the Indiana Beach twitter feed today hinting at opening. That's just great, glad to see some people are stepping up to do some outstanding things to get this park back up on it's feet. This will be tremendous for the great people of Indiana.

[JT325]

I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that the Koch family is the team to buy and operate this park. To me, keeping it local Indiana management, creating value for a season pass that is good for both parks is the best path forward for this park to succeed.

 

^YES! A bunch of people are hoping that. We need more Koch goodness in the industry. It's a shame they didn't get Kentucky Kingdom a few years ago, but this is a real possibility. The Koch operation would get the park back to it's awesome old self and then some.

[theredskull84]

from the IB Crow Twitter account...

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Crow is back! All right!

[boldikus]

 

CROP IS BUCK TELL A FRIEND

[Philrad71]

Great news...loved this park!

[coasterbill]

^^

Edited April 18, 2020 by coasterbill

[CoasterGuy06]

 

^YES! A bunch of people are hoping that. We need more Koch goodness in the industry. It's a shame they didn't get Kentucky Kingdom a few years ago, but this is a real possibility. The Koch operation would get the park back to it's awesome old self and then some.

 

Ehh they were basically going to gut the amusement park. Their original plan included reopening for 2013 with only a handful of rides and then :

 

“Pending a successful 2013,” the application says, additional rides will be refurbished, including the large Ferris wheel; The Roller Skater, a junior steel coaster; Thrill Park Theatre, an indoor movie venue; and Thunder Run, a wooden coaster."

 

That is from a news article in 2012. I think Ed Hart is the right guy for KK. I doubt we would have seen rides like Lightning Run or Storm Chaser with the Koch family, but I could be wrong.

 

I am very interested in seeing the park reopen. Never been there but the location/setting have always intrigued me. One of their former GMs was also my GM for a time too

[JT325]

^Anything to get more parks that operate like Holiday World is good in my book. They bring a quality of service that is rare in the industry. They do stuff slow, and they do it right.

[sfkk]

^Anything to get more parks that operate like Holiday World is good in my book. They bring a quality of service that is rare in the industry. They do stuff slow, and they do it right.

 

 

Holiday World just wanted Kentucky Kingdom to Geauga Lake it. It would have been water park only best case scenario. They do a good job, but they are not going to duplicate their costs and compete with themselves. They wouldn't battle themselves over the Indianapolis market with two parks. The only way I see it happening is if Dan and the General that went down to Alabama acquire it. They are not affiliated with the extension of the family that is currently running HW.

[CoasterGuy06]

^ It should be noted that they were also the ones behind Bluegrass Boardwalk. While it was reported with the "Holiday World" name it was really Dan, Pat, Natalie, and a few other family members. Will's wife/kids were not apart of the group IIRC, and after the legal battle over the control of HW the Dan/Pat group went to Alabama.

 

If it is Dan and Pat taking on IB I do worry about them spreading themselves really thin. They seem to really be hitting their stride at AA/SA after some early struggles there before the COVID-19 outbreak. They do now have a GM in place at AA that is the perfect fit there though.

[JT325]

^I have never been to Alabama Adventure, but I have heard (and seen pics/vids) of how they really fllipped the place and brought it up to the super-high quality like Holiday World.

[WolfBobs]

If this park is saved and we end up having some sort of 2020 season I think my plan this year is going to be support these smaller local/family owned parks. This, HW, KK, AA/SA. If my platinum pass is good through 2021 now I can hold off for Point and KI. Smaller parks are going to need the love more than the corporate parks.

 

Really looking forward to an official announcement.

[DBru]

^Love that idea! I’m hoping to do the same.

[prozach626]

Screw HW and their dry park. The live music and cool bar area made me actually tempted to go to IB. This totally looks like a cool boardwalk park to slam a couple cold beers and ride rides.