Photo TR: Indiana Beach 6/3/10

I had been wanting to stop by Indiana Beach for quite some time but this was the first opportunity where I could really make it work. I spent about 7 hours in the park and had more than ample time to do everything. I had a fun time and might make this a more standard stop on the way down to Holiday World.

I had been driving down country roads for what seemed like forever, so I was quite happy to come across this finally.

The park was almost completely empty for the first two hours, but then filled in a little bit after noon.

I was greeted by Steel Hawg right at the front gate, but decided to bypass it and come back to it later.

I decided to head back to try out Cornball Express first.

I had heard very good things about this ride.

I thought it was an excellent ride, though potentially not quite as good as I was hoping for or expecting.

I'm not quite sure how I ended up with so few good pictures of it though.

After a ride on that I didn't need to go very far to get to Tig'rr.

It was a fun little Schwarzkopf.

As I walked up I wasn't even sure it was operational as there was no one to be seen anywhere near this ride.

But when the operators saw me walk up they put me through two quick back to back runs on it. Fun stuff.

I then walked up the waterfront to hit Lost Coaster Of Superstition Mountain.

Which just seems like it is a very unique and odd coaster.

But I will have to see for myself on another visit as it remained closed all day.

So I headed back down the waterfront in the opposite direction to get to Galaxi next.

I put in a single ride and moved on.

With two credits left to obtain on this visit I made my next stop at Hoosier Hurricane.

While Cornball seems to get most of the attention in this park, I think that Hoosier is at least just as good if not actually better.

It was slightly rough in spots, but over all I thought it ran real good, had good speed, and nice pops of air though out the ride.

And any coaster that runs a shoreline as nicely as this one does certainly earns extra credit in my book.

In fact the majority of the park actually does a real nice job of this.

Despite single train operations this remained a walk on through out the day.

Two future enthusiasts in training.

After a couple of rides I finally made my way back out to Steel Hawg.

This is actually where I encountered the longest waits of the day with waits in the ten to fifteen minute range.

The ride contains what is supposedly the worlds "steepest" drop, but when does a drop just become an actual invert?

It contained some real interesting elements though, including this outwardly banked turn.

It had two other inverts not counting the steep first drop.

I found this ride to be more fun than I expected it to be.

It was a very unique coaster.

If I had a category for favorite steel coaster under 100' this would probably be my number one.

It ran smooth, it was unique, and made interesting use of the inverts instead of just plugging them in there for the sake of having them as I feel many rides do.

While it was good, I don't think it is overly intense, which makes it an excellent family coaster.

With all my credits out of the way I gave some love to the flats. I rode several and photographed most of the rest.

I think IB has a real nice a varied collection of flats.

Scrambler was always number one in my book growing up.

I would love to visit this park at night with every thing all lit up.

Having so many of them lined up on the shore line is just awesome.

The whole park had a "worn" feel to it without ever seeming run down.

This is the kind of park I wish was closer and more realistic to take my kids to on a regular basis.

I've never snapped a flyer...

but these felt like I could have if I had tried. Being out over the water you caught wind like nothing else, which made some great rides. I rode 3 times before moving on.

Another flat I'm a sucker for is swing rides and this one was really good.

The park was very compact so moving from ride to ride was very easy.

Anyone else feel that these kind of rides lose much of their charm during the day time.

Not that the rides aren't fun during the day, but there is something about a lit up mid way that can't be beat.

The flume was fun and was nearly a walk on for the entirety of the day.

The Den Of Lost Thieves was their blaster/dark ride. I didn't score too high. I should of gone through twice, I was gonna come back to it but never ended up doing it.

IB is also one of my favorite parks. We are pretty lucky in Indiana.

-daron

Didn't mean to post yet as I wasn't finished. Think I just had a brain fart. Oh well on with the rest of the report.

I never once saw a line for the ride, but occasionally I would see someone walk up and get right on.

It had some amusing theming inside and out.

Frankensteins Castle was an additional charge of $3.50 but it was worth every penny.

It took about 20 to 30 minutes to walk through, but I took extra time at many of the stops to check things out. It even startled me once or twice along the way.

I also took the time to ride their ferry.

I was actually the only patron on the ride and found myself having an extended conversation here with first mate Lee who worked at Canobie park as a teenager.

The ferry offered some real nice views of the park.

And for my buddy Zach and other drop tower/double shot fans here is a picture of their double shot. I have to admit they are growing on me a bit.

I was very excited to come across this.

I had never eaten at the restaurant before, but Dog N Suds root beer used to be a favorite of mine growing up but I don't think I've seen it in fifteen years.

Finally leaving the park I saw this and got real excited. I knew what that had to mean...

And with a little searching I came across this beauty.

I love drive-ins almost as much as I love amusement parks.

Just a note for anyone passing through Indiana Beech, this one is located less than five minutes from the park. It was closed during the week though so I didn't get to visit.

I find it very interesting that you enjoyed Hoosier so much. To me it was just a large family coaster, whereas Cornball just throws you out of your seat, even more than Cyclops for me. Anyways, to each his own.

I had heard good things about Cornball and really looked forward to riding it. I just didn't find it as good as what I had heard. I rode it several times in the front, middle, and back. I thought it only had a couple good spots of air though. I thought the air on it was better overall than the air on Hoosier, but I felt like Hoosier had more. Maybe Cornball wasn't running good on the day I was there, because the air I experienced on it couldn't ever even begin to be described as comparable to Cyclops. I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just saying I didn't experience it at all.

This park has a nice flat collection. A lot of rides I remember riding when I was younger like Falling Star.

Thanks for the pictures. Indiana Beach is a gem of a park. My first visit was on the TPR Mid-West tour and I think I can speak for a lot of us in saying that we were completely blown away. I loved the "feeling" of the park. I am SO looking forward to re-visiting it this summer and getting to ride Steel Hawg. Looks like a blast.

David

I had heard good things about Cornball and really looked forward to riding it. I just didn't find it as good as what I had heard. I rode it several times in the front, middle, and back. I thought it only had a couple good spots of air though. I thought the air on it was better overall than the air on Hoosier, but I felt like Hoosier had more. Maybe Cornball wasn't running good on the day I was there, because the air I experienced on it couldn't ever even begin to be described as comparable to Cyclops. I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just saying I didn't experience it at all.

I'm really hoping that you somehow had a bad Cornball day. For my 2 visits to the park so far, its performed amazingly. Not as much air as Cyclops, but that might just be since last time I rode that thing I actually popped over the seat divider on the first drop, so its hard to compare to that. Cornball is definately one of my favorite wood coasters in terms of airtime, pacing, and a well placed layout. Indiana residents are extremely lucky to have that and Voyage so close by...

I love Indiana Beach, great report, has a unique feel to it. I agree with you so many of the rides look better at night and Indiana Beach is all lite up at night. Glad you had a good time, I have yet to make it back up there since Steel Hawg. Planning to later this summer.

It is a great little park. I have not been there in several years.

They had some decent coasters, and flats.

The only negative things that I can think of was that in order to ride any of the coasters, you had to climb a million stairs to get to them. This got a bit annoying, as the park was really slow on the day we went, and they made us go around everytime instead of letting us re-ride. The other thing was when we went to try and play fascination, the smoke was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Ended up not playing because of this.

I have yet to ride steel hog, but it looks like a fun little coaster.

^Better than the rides being damaged by flooding...

Anyway, I'm shocked too to hear your report on Cornball. The air in the backseat on the first drop alone is one of the most amazing moments on any wooden coaster for me. It's strong and has laterals at the same time. Maybe you just caught it on a bad day. Hoosier however has never provided hardly any airtime for me, which is sad because I love how the ride looks. I think I may have experienced a couple slight floater hills in certain seats on Hoosier Hurricane but nothing that compares to the ejector on Cornball.

Fantastic PTR! That is by far the most comprehensive TR I have seen of this park. Loved the pictures and the fact that you took the time to include most of the rides. When it comes to some of the smaller less visited parks like IB it is nice when someone takes the time to simply show most everything the park has to offer. Great job!

I may just have to visit again next time I find myself headed down to Holiday World and seeing if my experience changes, because these were the kind of things I had been expecting from the things I had heard about Cornball.

Fantastic Photo TR! That is by far the most comprehensive TR I have seen of this park. Loved the pictures and the fact that you took the time to include most of the rides. When it comes to some of the smaller less visited parks like IB it is nice when someone takes the time to simply show most everything the park has to offer. Great job!

I got into all of this because I love roller coasters, but somewhere along the way I have found and discovered that I actually love the experience of just being in the park almost as much as I do the coasters in general. So I don't always ride all the flats, but I'm trying to make sure they end up in my reports. I do though try to ride a few flats every day and make it a point to check out anything that I come across that is unique or different.

Fantastic Photo TR! That is by far the most comprehensive TR I have seen of this park.

Very true and I added this PTR to the Park Index

Just one more thanks for a GREAT look at a park that I've been dying to check out for years and years. I won't make the mistake again of being nearby and not going the extra miles.

Also, I loved this remark: "With all my credits out of the way I gave some love to the flats." It's the kind of thing we say amongst ourselves that makes total sense, but might as well be Cantonese to our "general public" friends...

I always thought that the way the hurricane goes along the water was really nice. This park definitely has charm too!

Before my fiancee lost her job last month, Indiana Beach had been on the list of potential road trips we were narrowing down for the summer. After seeing your report, complete with Dog 'n' Suds and a drive-in theater, I'm even more disappointed that we're going to have to put this trip off for another year if not two (our honeymoon next year may preclude our annual week-long summer road trip).

I'm with you--I enjoy retro restaurants, drive-in theaters and roadside attractions just about as much as amusement parks. Thanks for sharing!

I thought this pic was funny.

Girl on the left: look at the face.

I think I remember liking Hoosier Hurricane a bit more than Cornball too. Mainly because Cornball seemed so short, I was just really getting into it when...break run! Sorry you didn't get to ride Lost Coaster. For me, it was seriously the MOST FUN I think I ever had on a coaster.

I really loved this park at night, it was so beautiful. We loved their little taco stand by LoCoSuMo too. It's been a few years since I had a Dog n' Suds root beer...there's a burger stand here in Dayton called Voltzy's who has it still.

You can snap on the Indiana Beach flyers. I know this because I failed to see the "No Snapping" sign and was ejected from the ride. Rather embarrassing, actually

IB is also one of my favorite parks. We are pretty lucky in Indiana.

I second that!

You can snap on the Indiana Beach flyers. I know this because I failed to see the "No Snapping" sign and was ejected from the ride. Rather embarrassing, actually

It was almost hard to keep those babies under control. I would almost be afraid to ride them on a windy day.

I think one of the reasons i enjoyed Indiana Beach so much is the fact that we got to spend a couple of hours at the park the nigh before. We didn't buy ride wristbands, but instead just bought one of the cash cards, and walked around the park for a good while. We played fascination that night, and ate at the restaurant above the arcade, near the drop tower. Just walking around looking at all the rides the night before really amped up the experience, and got me super pumped for the next day, when we actually rode the rides.

PS: I am returning to the Dells in three weeks, and will most certainly be getting my second to last seat ride on Cyclops, so I'll let you know if my opinions have changed.

PPS: Did you try the Tacos by LoCoSuMo? Muy delicioso!

I would really love to visit this park at night sometime.

No I didn't try the taco's. I saw the taco stand. I will try them next time though as the food at Dog N Suds wasn't near as good as the root beer was.

What a fantastic report - great photos which really capture the feel and atmosphere of the park

As for Cornball, it has always been hit or miss so I can totally see how your rides might not have been OMG AWESOME! Sometimes Cornball runs like it sat on a wasp, but sometimes it runs like ... well like a wasp that's been sat on. It's never really *bad* as such, always fun and smooth.

I noticed your photo of Lost Coaster (showing that it's closed) ... I'm planning a trip down there this weekend so I called the park, and Lost Coaster is not currently running. I was just chatting with a girl in the office so I couldn't really ask for details, but she said that it will not be operating this weekend. No idea what is wrong with it, but hopefully it'll be back up soon; it certainly isn't the cornerstone of the park, but it is fun and unique. For me I know I'm going to have an amazing visit regardless (always do ), but wanted to mention it for other people who might be planning a visit.

Thanks again for such wonderful photos of one of my all-time favorite parks!

Cameron (IB fanboy, and proud of it!) Silver.