Indiana Beach TR

[Dvo]

So this past weekend, I was going on a canoe trip in Illinois. But then I realized that it was only an hour west of Indiana Beach. Seeing as I'd never been there, I decided to go early on Friday and hit Indiana Beach for the day before going to my friend's house in Illinois.

Well lo and behold, I ended up having to do a telephone interview for a job on Friday morning at 11:00, so instead of getting out of here at 9 as planned, I didn't get to leave until 12:15. This was not a good start to the day. Especially considering the park closed at 6:00 on Friday.

I got to the gate at about 3:10, and bought the "Pay one Price" ticket, which basically allows you to ride as much as you want (half-price with coasterbuzz club membership!). Right when you get to the park, Steel Hawg just dominates the landscape. In fact it's about all you can see, really. So I walked to Steel Hawg to find... Two people in line! I walked right on! It's an interesting ride, no doubt. But it's hard to judge it as a whole. The ride is almost split into five or 6 individual elements. The 95 degree drop is great, and the upward twisting hill is a little rough after that. I love the reverse-banked turn. The two inversions are fantastic though... the heartline roll that leaves you upside-down for about 30 feet, and then the barrel roll going down the hill. It's a fun ride, but it's not in my top 10.

After that I headed back into the park. It's kind of hard to find ride entrances on your first walk around the park. Both wooden coasters' stations are well above the midway, so you have to take stairways to get up to them. I stumbled upon the entrance to the Hoosier Hurricane and got in line. Another walk-on. This one was pretty rough on my first ride. I rode 2nd to the back, and I wasn't prepared for the quick turns in some spots. Overall it was pretty fun though. I love the dives down onto the lake.

Then I found Cornball Express. There were 4 people on my entire train for my first ride. Wow, this thing is great. The first drop is a 90-degree spinning drop, and I was caught completely off guard. After that it's a lot of turning and flying over hill tops. You get a ton of airtime in the back. It's one of the better wooden coasters I've been on.

Another thing I thought was funny were the buzz bars they still use! I forgot how silly these things were until Hoosier Hurricane (2nd time), when some people had to wait a ride because they couldnt get the buzz bar to go down for that row.

Next, on to a hidden gem in my opinion... Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain. This was the only ride I waited for all day, because it was running 1 train that held 8 people haha. It has an elevator lift that takes you to the top. Then after that, it's ridiculously sharp turns through a mountain theme, and a really fast double-dip. It's like a kiddie coaster on steroids. Sadly it went down mechanical shortly after my first ride so I only got one lap on it.

The other two coasters, Galaxi and Tig'rr are both similar to Wildcat at CP in my mind. However Galaxi has two cars per train, and Tig'rr has sled-type trains.

Now on to the flats... Double Drop is my least favorite S&S Launch/Drop ride. Unlike Power Tower, where you launch to the top, decelerate, and get some nice floater air at the top, Double Drop launches you to the top, INSTANTLY stops so you get your shoulders slammed into the otsr's, and then you go back down only to do it again immediately after. One ride was more than enough.

Last ride review: Den of Lost Thieves. I was super excited to see that they had a dark ride. The theming is a little dated, and there's not massive amounts of it. But it's still a really good dark ride. I personally don't like the addition of the laser guns. It only distracts me from enjoying the theming. So I took one trip shooting the laser, and the next one I just sat back. Very good dark ride.

Overall, I really enjoyed my day at Indiana Beach. I was only there for 2 hours and 50 minutes, but I easily got multiple rides on everything. 8 rides on Steel Hawg, 6 on Cornball Express, 3 on Hoosier Hurricane, and multiples on some flats. It's a nice park, but very crowded in terms of the structures. The wooden coasters are basically on top of each other. Sadly, Air Crow was not running on Friday. I was dying to get a ride on a flyer, but alas, no such luck. I'll almost certainly be visiting this park again in the future.

[violakat03]

Wow, nice ride counts. I was at the park with dare-to-fly on Thursday. We had about 45 minutes, and also walked on everything, but only had time for one lap on everything. I fully agree with you on your opinion of Cornball. It was far better than I expected! However, I was very unimpressed with Steel Hawg and LoCoSuMo.

[Dvo]

^I kind of agree about Steel Hawg. I enjoyed it, but it's not something I'll go there to ride. However I really enjoyed LoCoSuMo haha. Those turns are just ridiculous.

[DaveStroem]

That stinks about the Air Crows. They were a favorite, as were the swings on the other side of the park. Glad you had fun and even better at 1/2 price.

[DropZone99]

Air Crows was open most the day when I went, I think it usually opens later than the rest of the park. I'm glad you liked Cornball, it's amazing. The back seat is pretty good on it, but row 3 is the absolute best seat on that coaster. LoCoSuMo is one of my favorite wooden coasters, I love the sharp turns, cheesy theme, and the little bit of airtime it has. I'm really surprised you didn't like Double Shot, most people say it's one of the best S&S Towers. Sadly when I went I didn't get to ride cause we didn't have enough time, I can't wait to visit IB again and get multiple re-rides!