Photo TR: Beech Bend Park 8/17/13

Hello everyone, it's been some time since I've posted last on TPR, but also, it's also been a long time since I've seen a trip report featuring my home park, Beech Bend Park & Splash Lagoon, in quite a while. So, I decided this summer to get myself a season pass to Beech Bend, and today I got up the courage to post my first full-blown trip report, starting it off right by heading out to the park a few minutes past opening time early in the morning. Forgive me if the pictures don't appear all that nice until near the very end, as it was quite cold and a bit wet just after a rain storm had passed by earlier the previous night. While reading this, do please try not to get annoyed if I point out too much information about the park, I just find the history of the park interesting, as well as its not-quite as well seen rides for an amusement park, both past and present. Also, I have included a bit of a weird incident that I had seen that day occur. Hope you enjoy it!

The big sign on the warehouse SAID Beech Bend was this way. So far all I've seen is farmland and trees... lots of trees.

Ah, here we are! You can see the Garvin home and the old parking entrance, which is now used only for camping.

This go-kart track has existed since the late 1950's... one of the few remaining relics from the Garvin era. I didn't take a spin on them, I had bigger fish to fry.

One big complaint I've noticed is that Beech Bend Park has a large beauty problem; well, a few years later since it was put on the map once more, and it still does, but some well placed plants and newly added platforms for rides eases it a bit for me.

According to Beech Bend's new park map, Tornado is not a Wisdom Tornado, but a flying scooter ride themed to cardinal birds.

One thing you'll notice here is that a LOT of the rides manufactured here are standard trailer-mounted carnival rides, most being manufactured by Zamperla and Wisdom. More recently, however, they have began to seek other manufacturers for more permanent installations.

One such manufacturer Beech Bend recently has been making deals with is Chance Rides, who helped install the Grand Carousel in 2008...

...And the brand new Vortex for 2013! It is bittersweet to note though, however, that it is not one of the newer models that features lap bars. Still pretty nice considering it swings over the lake!

A Pinfari death machine once made its home here; now, it has been replaced with more Zamperla rides. It really irks me that they decided to put Tea Party in such an open spot.

Across the lake, we have White Water Express, which just had a brand new, and less colorful paint job applied to it this year. Doesn't change the fact though that it was made by Reverchon though. Is it possible for a log flume to be ROUGH?

Moving on towards the "kiddie land", even more transportable carnival rides can be spotted here. This spot I believe used to belong to the first Wild Mouse in 1958, and later the Jet Star/Starchaser appeared here in the late 1970's.

The Kiddie Whip is the sole remaining ride that was a part of the original park. It was sold to Guntown Mountain some time in the 1970's and was later bought back when they went into bankruptcy around 2007 and sold all their rides.

The artwork on the ride is... interesting, to say the least. It features Tiny Toons characters, phrases like "Go Go!", and features a character that I like to call "The King".

Okay, I've put this off long enough: Kentucky Rumbler is starting to become a rough ride. Even though it has 'rumble' in its name, it isn't a good thing to rumble too much. Especially in the last few cars between the first drop and the second fly-by, I noticed a large amount of rattling, so after I got my first ride in on the back, I decided to stick to the very front seat for the last two rides I would get on it today. I hope Dallas Jones plans on giving it a bit of a re-tracking in a year or two.

Restroom and trash can photo for those enthusiasts, I guess. It's a bit frustrating to gather pictures on one side of the park when most of it is just rides plopped down with a lake in the middle with few trees.

The typical Beech Bend Park day in the life of an ear is usually filled with screams, complaining about the scenery, and engine noises. No stock car or drag racing today, so the park felt a bit quiet without the sounds of engines.

Entering into the area of the park where the original park first started, I stumbled upon employees still testing the Hubcap Alley Antique Cars. The direction the jalopies go in has been switched since 2011.

Originally, the Antique Car's station was once painted yellow and known more in the past as the Dodgem building. On the left, the radically refurbished Haunted House's building originally opened in 1965 as the dark ride "Monster's Cave". Before that, a flying scooter ride once sat in its location.

Over to the right of the buildings is the Magnolia Shelter. Now, I'm a bit confused on the past of this structure, but according to pictures, it used to house a PTC Cuddle-Up, but according to other people, it once housed a WOODEN Tilt-A-Whirl. All I know for certain is that in recent history, it is now used occasionally for the Kent Family Circus as a stage during the summer. It's okay, but nothing spectacular to watch.

Giving a glimpse inside the shelter, it is obvious it has not been well maintained, but many of the original bulbs and wiring still remains from when it used to shelter some type of ride at one point.

Now THIS is the spot where they should have put Tea Party. In 2011, they decided after removing the former stage next to the Western Train, that they would move Dizzy Dragons right about where the stage used to be. But instead of putting Tea Party in its place, they decided to put two of the former benches that faced the stage there and some potted plants. It looks really like a ghetto attempt at beautifying the park...

Tilt-A-Whirl among trees. Second best Tilt-A-Whirl in my opinion, both location wise and mechanically; Holiday World's Turkey Whirl beats it out in style by a slim margin however.

Bit of a small view from the Magnolia Shelter of the Leisure Pool, another one of the park's original attractions. I didn't swim at all during my visit due to the cold weather, I just took pictures of the attractions in Splash Lagoon.

Water Wars is no more, having been replaced by seating for dining since 2010. It never really was a popular up-charge attraction whenever I had visited. Still, I kind of wish they would have put in a more permanent food stand in its place, rather than having a standard portable food stand.

The Carousel Shelter was what as its name implies: It housed the 1902 Dentzel carousel that Charles Garvin bought in Germany that supposedly had been displayed at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, or so he proclaimed. The carousel was broken up for spare parts and the animals were sold off to collectors when the park originally closed in 1984. All the shelter is used for now is sitting and eating.

Although it isn't really used for anything special, it received new metal roofing sometime in the 1990's. It too still retains its bulbs and wiring from when it still housed the carousel.

This spot formerly was the location of the original amphitheater that the park had in the Garvin era, but it now belongs to Scat 2. Probably one of the biggest force-based rides I've ever encountered at an amusement park, the only other place I know where one is currently in operation that isn't traveling is at Bay Beach. One ride was enough for me as it always gets me nauseated in one go-around.

Look out, it's a flying Dick! Oh, and another portable Wisdom ride. At least its landscaped to look permanent, unlike half of the rides around the park.

Even though the Kentucky Rumbler still is the star of the park, the Wild Mouse still gets ridiculously long lines compared to it, and seems to actually be the more popular coaster at the park. It's still one of the more wilder spinning wild mice out there that I've encountered, with me counting over 17 complete spins as it completed the second half.

Since the 2010 addition of the new Surfs Up wave pool, lazy river, and 2011 Tiki Island, Splash Lagoon now has basically bisected one side of the amusement section in half. Thank goodness Beech Bend decided to add another entrance at the eastern end of the park.

First, I would like to point out Beech Bend Park first opened in 1888, NOT 1898, as the sign proclaims. Second, Beech Bend Hall was built on top of the site of the original dance pavillion that was built in 1920 and razed in 1996. Third, the arcade inside now has greatly expanded since the local Great Escape theater sold many of its arcade machines to Beech Bend. Finally, I'm starting to get sick of this history, so thank goodness we only have last thing to point out that is historically significant.

Tiki Island from within Splash Lagoon.

Surfs Up wave pool. May not be all that large, but from previous experiences I know that it packs a wallop compared to other wave pools. Plus it's kind of cool how it intersects with the lazy river.

Okay, Lotta Wotta Island and Ragin' Rapids slide complex. This area originally used to be where the skating rink at the park once was, before it too was razed in 1996, and the land eventually was used in 2003 to build the first area of Splash Lagoon which included the two structures in the picture. That's enough history for one day.

Gold Rush Golf from Splash Lagoon. Water effects have long since been turned off for good. Not a very exciting course, so I skipped it instead when I got out of Splash Lagoon and instead headed to ride the Flying Bobs.

Flying Bobs received a new paint job in the off season as well. By now the park was starting to get packed, so I hurried and took a quick ride on Sea Dragon after I was finished, then headed back to ride Vortex.

Before I did that though, I grabbed a snack at the Dragon's Galley next to the Sea Dragon, and ended up taking the long way around.

Vortex across Fountain Lake. Had a bit of a change of plans again, taking a ride on Kentucky Rumbler after this photo since the line was virtually nonexistent still since the park opened.

After I got to Vortex, wouldn't you know it, the sun actually appeared and decided to warm up the whole park! So I grumbled a bit to myself for not bringing my swimming trunks to the park in a bag, got in line to ride Vortex, rode it, got off it, and was about to leave the park...

...When I noticed the Dragon coaster had proceeded to rollback on the lifthill. Now, this may have been a normal sight for me had this been a train full of adults, but I was quite shocked to see that it was only at half of its full operating capacity, with mostly children on board. I got out my camera and took a bit of video, and wouldn't you know it, it went around two times before it rolled back AGAIN. The operator proceeded to let everyone off... and let more people on board. First cycle around the track... didn't even make it past the lift hill, it rolled back AGAIN. Once again, everyone was let off, and the ride was kept open.

Upon closer inspection of the tire-driving wheels that helped propel the train up the awkward curved lift hill from the midway, I was a bit shocked to see that not only were the tires worn out, with the treads having been worn off, but one tire appeared to be flat, with a large hole in the bottom of it. Now, I'm not a engineer by any means of the term, but I think that once tires are this bad in shape, maybe that they should... replace them? If this has been occurring regularly, shouldn't the park close the ride instead of letting the tires wear down even further by allowing it to roll back on the lift hill and keeping it in operation? Not only that, I think it most likely would spoil a few kid's afternoons, both for those who are new to coasters and for those who aren't tall enough for the other coasters that require them to be taller. Anyways, after having seen the Dragon rollback, I finally left the park as crowds continued to grow and the weather became nicer. Next time I visit, here's to hoping I won't be this annoying and won't sound like a history book when typing up a trip report!

Great trip report! Sad to hear Kentucky Rumbler is turning into a bad ride.

Great report, I grew up going to Beech Bend Park til it closed in 84. The Magnolia Shelter used to house a Super Tilt til the late 70's than they Put a Scrambler in the Building and enclosed it. The Wild Mouse was where the Dragon Coaster is, where the Scat is used to be a Tumble Bug til the mid 70's than they put a Bayren Kurve in it's spot. The Cuddle Up was up close to where the Go Karts are located.

Man, reading that trip report bummed me out. Everything was so negative in it, all the comments were about how bad everything was. I know things there aren't the greatest, but man, you destroyed the park with all your negative comments.

^Wouldn't keep me from visiting though, if I could.

True, the comments are definitely negative, but great report nonetheless. I had completely forgotten the park received new flats since Rumblr, the water park expansion, and the removal of the Pinfari. I need to make a visit to the park. Those tires on the dragon coaster were probably re-used from either the previous year, or they've just worn out really easily from this whole year. Either way, I bet they're just letting hem be that way until they get to close the park so they could replace them. 'Tis a guess though.

Man, reading that trip report bummed me out. Everything was so negative in it, all the comments were about how bad everything was. I know things there aren't the greatest, but man, you destroyed the park with all your negative comments.

The irony in that is, I really LOVE the park, I just don't like how some things look is all. The section with the Magnolia and Carousel Shelters however looks pretty nice in my opinion, with all the trees that have grown. Looking in a book that contained an aerial of the park back in the early 1950's actually showed the whole park bare as can be, so I'm not complaining as much as I would have if I visited back then about the scenery! Perhaps I could have been a bit less harsh about the Kentucky Rumbler though, since it really isn't, say... as rough as Gwazi or something along the lines of that?

And thanks for the comments everyone! Also, ratdogg, that brings me to something that I also love about the park... the rides it had compared to other small parks at the time. It didn't have the typical kiddie rides and standard carnival rides (well, for the most part it DID, but I'm getting to the point in a second.), it actually contained some decent and pretty nice rides for its time!

It honestly shocks me the park had at various points in time, a Traver Circle Swing and Tumblebug, a Schiff Wild Mouse, a PTC Cuddle-up, Dodgems (never found out who manufactured them), a Schwarzkopf Jet Star and Bayern Kurve, a Mack Matterhorn, a Bisch-Rocco flying Scooter, Voodoo Trail, the lovely Dentzel Carousel... man, I can't even believe they used to have a miniature paddle steamer on the lake, the Belle of Beech Bend! I must get to looking up that Super Tilt ride you mentioned though, I've never heard of such a ride. Related to the Tilt-A-Whirl, if I'm presuming correctly?

This all reminds me, if anyone is interested, I could actually scan a Beech Bend Park brochure that I recently bought on Ebay for everyone to see, it's dated from the mid to late 1970's, some time before Charles Garvin died. It includes a variety of pictures from the park, and a "park map" that really just shows the boundaries of the park's various facilities. It's in pretty good condition, so it probably could scan real easily.

^ I would love to see that brochure. Please share.

^^ I would love to see the Brochure.

Great TR. I didn't even percieve the comments as being negative, just realistic. I grew up going to a small amusement park like this one myself (Bell's in Tulsa), so I know how it is. It's just a lot rougher around the edges than the chain parks, but the experiences are unique and still quite fun (and much cheaper). It really looks like the park is doing much better than it has in the past. I've seen it when it was just a handful of carnival rides in the past. I never knew there was so much history behind it.

Nice report from a park we don't see much of. From the looks of it all the portable rides make it look like a carnival instead of a park. To Bad Rumbler isn't aging to well. Probably needs some TLC.

Alright, I managed to scan in the brochure, but unfortunately, some of the top, bottom and sides of the brochure were unable to be scanned, but a majority of it was. I had to scan them in four pairs once I scanned the inside sections of the brochure, so I had to stitch them together in Snagit Editor, and then cut them in half, this time evenly and I finally re-sized them to where they are somewhat readable, and small enough to post on here. I've also included close-ups of some of the various pictures inside, with some tidbits of information.

I hope you enjoy this little extra bonus!

Cover

Left half of Page One.

Right half of Page One.

The Jet Star was the second major coaster to grace the park, later being renamed the Starchaser. After being sold at auction presumably to a traveling fair, it made its way to Kentucky Kingdom, where it began its career in sitting within giant boxes in the dark.

The Starchaser eventually was involved with an accident in 1995, being sold to Darien Lake as Nightmare At Phantom Cave, and then ended its days at The Great Escape as Nightmare At Crack Axle Canyon. It stood SBNO for the duration of 2007, before the track and cars were sold for scrap in 2008. The building it sat in still stands.

Beech Bend has had 3 train rides over the years, originally I believe the park owned a NAD Century Flyer, before purchasing a Chance C.P. Huntington, which was sold when the park closed down in 1984. A third train, originating from Coney Island, Ohio (and coincidentally another C.P. Huntington), it was originally one of two trains from the Coney Island and Lake Como railroad. The train currently lays in storage along with the track, but the cars have been left outside back behind a storage shed that lies behind White Water Express.

King-O-Slides, a much larger predecessor to the current Superslide 2000 that the park owns today.

Rare view of the lake in the 70's, showing off a Hampton kiddie ride, the Moon Rockets, a tilt-a-whirl, and a ride I cannot identify out to the right. Can anyone positively identify it?

Left half of Page Two.

Right half of Page Two.

Beech Bend at one point in time owned a sky ride, introduced in 1967.

While the lake has been dramatically reduced in size, one thing that hasn't changed is its fowl visitors. Note the trees and Mr. Ed's Riding Stables in the background; the same building's site today is home to White Water Express.

A larger view of the park map.

I worked at Beech Bend for 2 (or was it 3 I don't remember) summers in college and loved every bit of it. It isn't the nicest park in the word by any means but it certainly has a lot of personality and a decent collection of flat rides in addition to a great wooden coaster. I'm glad to see that the place is still drawing decent crowds, there were days I worked when it was virtually empty then other days when the place was just slammed. Glad to see that they have continued to upgrade and add attractions since I was there last.

I had that same Brochure for years, as for the ride to the far Right in that one pic it was a Roto-Jet.

I'm still intrigued by the mention of a Voodoo Trail ride. What is that???

I'm still intrigued by the mention of a Voodoo Trail ride. What is that???

In 1970 Funni-Frite of Columbus, Ohio started designing a walkthrough named the Voodoo Trail for the park. Based on a concept originally created around 1965, this funhouse would contain both dark and lit areas with plenty of gags. Let's take a trip back in time and get a ticket to the Voodoo Trail.

Source

Voodoo Trail sounds like it was a lot of fun. I can just imagine a TPR takeover!

VooDoo Trail was Great, the whole park had Great Rides. Beech Bend was a Fun place to camp in the 70's til the early 80's. My Parent's camped there every weekend in the Summer from the time I can remember til I was 16 and it closed. I Loved going to Beech Bend then and I still enjoy it now, going in a couple week's.

I spent my Summer's at Beech Bend and was happy to see your report. The trip back to my childhood was great, here is 2 of my Favorite ride's that Beech Bend had at that time. The 1 unusual ride, that I wish they could bring back was the Duck. It was a "Duck" Mobile, it could ride on land and float in the water. It started out in the Park, in front of the Dragon Coaster now and drove around the pathway in the park past the Dodgem, Pirate Ship, King O' Slides, Voyage A'La Lune, Jet Star, Matterhorn, Mr. Ed's riding Stables and onto the main road. It then drove down the road to the Campground, once in the Campground it drove down to the Barren River. At the river it turned on the Propellers and drove into the River, I was freaked out as _ell, the first time I rode it and we just " drove into the River". it floated down the river a bit then drove out and back up to the Park. It was a Great, Unique Ride, that could never exist now. Sorry, I posted on you report, but it brought back memories I had to share.

The Matterhorn was my Favorite ride at Beech Bend. They ran the ride full speed, you was really swinging up on those hill's. The back of the Postcard read- One of the Unusual German Ride's located along the Midway, enjoyed by young and old.

Voyage-A'La-Lune, it was a fun Dark Ride. The little dip in the ride was fun and then the hill back back down to level 1 was scary as heck.

I'm still intrigued by the mention of a Voodoo Trail ride. What is that???

 

In 1970 Funni-Frite of Columbus, Ohio started designing a walkthrough named the Voodoo Trail for the park. Based on a concept originally created around 1965, this funhouse would contain both dark and lit areas with plenty of gags. Let's take a trip back in time and get a ticket to the Voodoo Trail.

 

Source

Loved walking through the Voo Doo Trail,it was fun, had a blast many of times in there. You started down a dark Hallway into a Maze of Keyholes, you either found a Dark deadend, or a Path to the outside part. Once in the outside " behind Jail Cell Bars in front of everyone" you continued you Journey. First you encounter the come and go boards, then the floor Shakes below you. You continue walking then a stack of Barrel's are about to fall on you. You then walk up a ramp and back into the Darkness. Inside you walked past a few " Scary' displays" before exiting, out the Door, to the left there was a Giant Pot with a Zombie head poking up and spitting water on you. It was very cool in the 70-80's.