DerekRx Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Apparently August is the month where I decide to do some really strange things; last year it was 7 parks in 1 day in Chicagoland, this year its some of the smaller parks in Ohio and Indiana, not in 1 day, but 8 parks over 2 isn't bad either. The idea was the work of Heath, and the driving was done by Kim. The goal; Wyandot Lake, Fun Spot, Indiana Beach, Three Floyd's Brewing, Indianapolis Zoo, Coney Island, Stricker's Grove, Wonderpark, and PKI. Without Kim's awesome driving and ability to stay awake, we'd never gotten anywhere close to accomplishment. Day 1 Part 1: Wyandot Lake Since the park was sold out of the SF family, we knew we'd at least be able to ride it in the future seasons, but decided since its free, we may as well get there now. Saturday we got there at opening. Not too much to the park, 1 Jr coaster, a few old flatrides, a few kiddie rides, and a few waterslides and activity areas. Creepy 1980s water slides scare me And the crazy carts are always a hoot The park may not have too much to offer, but this classic carousel was a pleaser OMG, there's two new rides, next to each other! Whoa, looks like Six Flags may have actually added a new ride in the last 20 years! and a junior Turtle Other ancient rides at the park include this grandfather to the Wisdom Tornado and Weee! Others showed up and enjoy their ride on this classic junior woodie With no line we rode 3 times without getting off. BACT ERT rules! The return run A view from the lift Sea Dragon, the 50 year old Jr coaster is nicely built inside the lazy river This old Ferris Wheel is one of the first rides at the park, most of them themed to the ocean The parade of a pelican, some SF employees with flutes, and a random pirate parrot officially opens the park While waiting for the park to open, this kid got some ERT on the new for 2006 "Puddle: The Experience" We got there before opening, the American flag wasn't even out Here's Wyandot. A member of the Six Flags family...for now Arriving at the Columbus Airport, they show their sense of humor and their love for Ohio State Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Day 1 Part 2: Fun Spot After a 3 hour drive, we arrived in Angola, Indiana, home of Fun Spot. The park should be called Fun Speck, or Not Much Fun Spot because there really wasn't too much to do there. The park had really weird hours, closing at 6pm every night, and not being opened every day in the summer. At least I don't have to go back here until they add a woodie (which probably won't be for a REALLY long time!) But even Kim loved the butter burger! Heath and Kim never heard of Culvers before. Those newbies! I loves me a cheese curd I saw a sign on the Interstate for this, so we got a random bonus! Culver's is godness! Oh, BTW, this was our ride for the weekend. $14 a day from Hertz, sweet! Heath was all excited about the hoodie, until I pointed out it had mountains on it, and there ain't no mountains anywhere around the place! All the coasters are right next to each other, handy for credit whoring The flyers weren't too bad, probably the best thing at the park Dude, I'm SO glad we came here. I've been waiting to ride one of these scarce rides Fer Evah! 2nd Sea Dragon of the day! They had some cool rides though, like the Troika Troika Troika We were denied the kiddie coaster credit, but its ok because we weren't expecting to get it (Heath wanted me to flirt with the op, but I said "nay nay!") And its got OTSRs, fantastic Woohoo, a Zyklon! From the Afterburner you get a great view of....corn And this time its actually traversing the loop instead of being stuck in it! Behold, an Arrow shuttle coaster! There are paths, but they're smaller than Animal Kingdom's, so just walk thru the grass like everyone else This is where you buy your wristband for the day Fun Spot, you shall elude Heath and Kim no longer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottslover77 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Looks like you had alot of fun getting some credits! --Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Day 1 Part 3: Indiana Beach None of us needed any credits at Indiana Beach, but we love the park so much that we figured "we're like 2 hours away, lets go!" Though we could spend at least a full day at the place, we only had a few hours, but it was probably the most time we spent at any park the entire weekend. And so did I, but as my hand gesture shows, "I need beer" Heath and Kim had a great time at Indiana Beach on this visit Another shot of Splash Battle From the Skyride, you can see how booming and shoehorned this park is This Double Shot is seriously INSANE Its definitely still popular, and fun! Apparently GCI did some work to this ride in the offseason Lost Coaster also had too long of a line for us, sadly For all you freaks who love the bumper cars at Indiana Beach Frankenstein's Castle should not be missed. Its well worth the extra money 3rd Sea Dragon of the day! The Den of Lost Thieves had too long of a line for us today Indiana Beach is TPR approved This almost is classified as Coaster Porn From the start, Cornball ownz How's it going, Joe? Indianaian for "Filing Cabinet" Cornball is still airtime filled and loads of fun, even with only 1 train I finally got to ride the Air Crow. Not as great as Knoebels flyers, but the location is hard to beat! Somewhere in that mess is a Galaxi. This park took lessons from Blackpool Pleasure Beach on how to cram a lot into a little Best food at the park, and these people know it! The newest ride, Splash Battle, was more fun for the onlookers than it was for the riders Almost every ride is somehow over the water, which makes for some really neat visuals See how crowded the place was? The park was booming on a Saturday night, and Hoosier Hurricane was rocking with 2 trains A train full of riders want to know "Hoosier daddy!?" There's the park, tight in space, but packed with fun And we all had loads of fun even before we were IN the park! I took us to the South entrance since Kim and Heath had never been over the suspension bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvcoasterguy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Creepy 80's waterslides are always the best. They're usually really insane, fast, and forceful. Nice TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 LOL, looks like you guys had fun! Too intense credit whoring for me, though. I'm a 1-or-2-park-a-day kind of girl. But I would like to go to Indiana Beach some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Great TR so far. Looks like my cheap ass will have to wait about 30 years or so to go to Fun Spot. No sense paying now, when Grandparents get in for free on Thursdays! 2 Sets of flyers in one day. You suck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaman Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 2 notes: 1. Culver's frickin' OWNS 2. They have that same t-shirt at CP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhukka Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Omg, Indiana Beach looks so beautiful. I definitely have to include the place in my next US visit (if it will ever happen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 IB looks awesome. I hate I haven't gotten up there yet. I should have gone there instead of SFStl. lol ^ I'm so jealous. I have yet to ride one of these. I know it's an Arrow, but I still want to try one out before they are all gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Anxiously awaiting for the Three Floyd's report!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derwood Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 I want to see a POV of Kombo! Fun Spot was fun when I was 12 and it was called Holly's Follies. Great TR Derek....welcome to Indiana. d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Indiana Beach freaking rocks! I can't believe how crowded it was, I don't think I've ever seen it so packed.. Lost Coaster Weekend in just THREE days .. WOOOO! Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derwood Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Indiana Beach freaking rocks! I can't believe how crowded it was, I don't think I've ever seen it so packed.. Lost Coaster Weekend in just THREE days .. WOOOO! Cameron. If I didn't have family coming in for the damn state fair I would be there! d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 Day 2: After successfully finishing off 3 parks in 1 day and a stop at Three Floyds, we were ready to tackle an additional 5 parks and make it back to Columbus before our flights out at 8pm. A little tired from the 6 hours of sleep we got, we were up and out of our hotel by Indianapolis shortly before 9am and at the Indianapolis Zoo shortly after it opened. Luckily I figured arriving late wouldn't hurt, as the coaster didn't open until 10am, so we got a little bit more sleep and managed to check out a few of the animals before heading for the credit. What a great idea it is to incorporate rides into a zoo. It keeps things educational, but also includes a little bit more fun into the mix. Kombo is a standard giant Tivoli coaster from Zierer, great for the whole family, with a nice safari like theme. Finally, we head out, but not before pounding it. Dude! Ah! Look out, these hideous animals will steal your beer and whore your coasters Now the otters are climbing a tree Down in the water are some playful otters "Grrrr, why isn't anyone riding on me!?" says SharkTums' cousin Another ride at the zoo is the creepy carousel with giant bugs! Here's something familiar to our Aussie a$$hole friends. One's got a joey, (not the Jewish kind) This elephant is all "I wish I could fly, then I'd totally go to Disney World!" "I'm kinda like a donkey, but with stripes and stuff" And a whole bunch of white rhinos, just sitting around waiting for someone to try to steal their horns Afterwards we hit the savannah area. Here you see Steve Nuss and family The indoor desert pavilion was nicely themed and very personal with the animals These aren't meerly cats, they're meerkats! A whole sorority of them! The desert tortoise was on the move, how cute! After getting the credit, we had some time to see some animals. New is the desert (not the dessert) Always fun rides, never too rough. Probably some of the best starter coasters for the youngin's Cute little jeep themed trains And there it is, thru the grass. Credit! After I boot up the automatic ticket machine, I don't have to wait in line to purchase my ticket to ride. ($2) Kombo is all the way in the back corner of the park, away from most of the animals The giant tortoise has been trying to make it over to ride Kombo for a good 3 years now. By 2009 he should be there Something tells me this will actually see the light of day before Marineland's does Ah, the Indianapolis Zoo. So far thats 3 "nature" parks in 3 weeks for me, thanks to coasters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 Next on the agenda was Coney Island. What used to be the icon park for the Ohio area is now a shell of its former self. With very few rides, only 1 coaster, and a bad location for flooding on the Ohio River, the biggest draw is still the pool. Its always cool when a park likes to show off its history. Coney looks like it used to be amazing It must have made him a little loopy, as he decided to dance with a pig Heath braces for impact at the end of the ride. Cha ching! Ah, the Pepsi Python, a coaster I missed when it was at Wildwood The pool was really crowded No, that's not the Wildcat. Its a water slide that I guess Jeff could count, seeing how it looks like a woodie So in south Cincinnati you'll find Coney Island. Well known for the Wildcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottslover77 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 cool I love that waterslide! --Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 After our brief stop at Coney, it was finally time to get to the main reason for the entire trip, Stricker's Grove was opened to the public today! So back in the car we go and where we stop, there's wood coasters to ride! The Strickers staff knows how to grill, too bad we can't stay to eat, that corn looked good! Kim gets a little greedy with her free soft drink quota though Heath enjoys his cheap ice cream and free soda Too bad we ran out of time, these teacup sorta things looked fun and we can't forget about the flyers! And the return run A very familiar view from the lift While in line for Tornado, we ran into our old friend Batflame, now sporting Scooby theming from his earlier visit to PKI With a nice paint job and a fun out and back layout, Tornado was pretty cool Next up, Tornado. The adult woodie With a tight schedule, Heath even squeezes into the seat so he doesn't have to wait for another cycle A nice junior woodie as much fun for the little ones as us grown ups But the main draw for us was the coasters. Two woodies like the inhouse built Teddy Bear And a little Ferris Wheel located in the trees Classic rides like a Jr turtle Strickers is mainly a park bought out for company picnics and stuff, but they've got rides Tornado greets you as you find yourself in the middle of a field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 3 parks down, 2 to go. Next stop, the Cincinnati Mills Mall, home of the FEC, Wonderpark, and its Miler kiddie. So Heath and Kim pound it and off we went! Cha ching! Pacman dude in the helix says "if you wanna ride, you gotta pound it" And there's the coaster! No! There's a little FEC like Jeepers here! Why the heck did we stop at the mall on a coaster trip? Do we need a new camera or some film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 So far the trip was successful. Heath and Kim got all their needed credits, but there was still one missing for me, Italian Job at PKI. Since we all have passes, we figured "why not?" Beisdes, we had a great trip thus far, it should be entertaining if PKI ruins it for us! This one's for you, fellow BACTers, for a whoring weekend well done! We made it back to the airport in plenty of time. So I think I'll have a beer (cause I need a reason, I guess) Mission complete, now back to the airport! "Pound it!" After inhaling my 3 way, its time to enjoy the Skyline Chili Cheese dog Heath gets ready to scarf down his 5 way Watching them make our stuff right before our eyes Bonus food #2, Skyline Chili Surprisingly, PKI wasn't too bad, even for a Sunday! Next time I see this sign, the Paramount will probably be gone This one's for you, Super Scooby-Goliath Batflame. Now do the batoosie! Not quite sure why at PKI its a kiddie ride and at PGA its a thrill ride, but here's the new Disko coaster-type Avatar A new Zamperla kite flyer themed to Danny Phantom. Betcha guys wish you had your flying scooters instead! The newly themed kiddie area Son of Beast, its histerical! The Beast, its historic Two Jobs down, one to go! Credit whoring accomplished! Not quite as good as a vertical loop, but I loves me a water splash too Surprisingly the ride had 3 trains running, the line moved fast, and we were on and off in less than 40 minutes Must....get....to....credit! Always the whores, we head back to PKI, a park I loathe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexTitan01 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 What is it with you and beer? obviously I'm kidding Well it looks like you had a fun time whoring yourself all over the midwest. I've never done a whoring trip before, 'cept for when I went to Myrtle Beach JUST for Hurricane (bad idea...)I probably should try that sometime... Does that avatar ride thing consist of more than just a halfpipe? It looks like it has a little buny hill in it but I couldnt really tell. Either way, seeing PKI and Indiana Beach photos makes me that much more excited about the Mid-America '07 trip. --Tex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugged One Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Good time man, good times. Just think of this trip as practice for Labor Day weekend. Only we're going to replace the parks with beer and do a lot less driving.8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reon Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I love how as soon as I leave for college, everbody decides to take a trip to my home parks...I'm so sad and pathetic Oh well, glad you guys had fun, but I wish I could've atleast met you at Coney (ride op'd there this season) Oh, and Jared "and where is the Vortex love?" Becker PS: Skyline pwns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bush985 Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Ah. Some Skyline 5 Way sounds soo damn good right now. Stupid California!!! -RD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 A Steve Nuss joke AND Batflame?!? This trip report rules! Looks like you guys had fun, visiting a lot of parks I'll probalby never see. And Indiana Beach owns. I need to go back there eventually... dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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