Fun Spot and Indiana Beach 6/27
Associated parks:
None
The Ohioans and the Michgander invaded Indiana!! That's right KicksTheSky, MooreOn, STChick and your's truly headed out to what was our first ever Indiana amusement park(s). With careful and timely planning, KTS, MooreOn, and I, met STC at Fun Spot for some... well fun!
From first glance Fun Spot was a small park with a carnival-like atmosphere. The mighty Afterburner, one of four remaining Arrow shuttle loops in existence, towered above all the other rides. We were excited to be at a park that may not even open next year, or so we've heard. We kicked off the day with a very breezy ride on the Flyers. Since the winds were so high it was very difficult to get a good snap from the ride. Although Kristin(KTC) and Kara(STC) got a couple snaps, the ride didn't compare to the Flyers at PKI. Next up was Zyklon, or "Zyclon" as the park spelled it.
I would have to describe Zyklon as probably the most rickety steel roller coaster I've ever been on. It was odd to see a Pinfari coaster that is similar to the Schwartzkoph Wildcat models with OSTR's. We found out later that it was a good thing to have these retraints. The four of us were the first riders of the day and were surprised that we had to be pushed out of the station by the ride op in order to get to the lift hill. Kristin made a comment such as "These restraints are so flimsy, wouldn't that suck if they popped open?" I think you can guess exactly what happened at the top of the lift hill... they did pop open! We held on for the duration of the ride and then faced a grand finale at the end of the ride...
It seems that the brake man was on his first day of the job, and very similar to the Wildcat models, you slam into the brakes at the end of the ride. Except on this ride we had an RCT-style, station brakes failure! We slipped past the brakes and slammed into the next car that was awaiting more passengers. Our quote of the day came from the surprised ride op who saw us crash... "That wasn't supposed to happen."
Fortunately we were not hurt too badly on the ride, we think the OSTR's actually saved us! The impact was comparable to two bumper cars in a head-on collision. We actually cheered that the four of us got to be in our very first roller coaster crash. Of course we still had faith in the ride and rode it again, after they unjammed the cars that had each crashed into each other.
The major disappointment of the day, however, was the Afterburner... We were all excited to be riding the prototype of the Arrow launched loop. It seems though some 27 years later the bugs haven't been completely worked out since the launching mechanism only pushed the train on the straightaway, only to see the train creep back into the station without travelling the rest of the track. We asked Skip the main maintenence guy if "The Little Shuttle That Couldn't" would run at all today, he simply replied with a smug "maybe..." We knew then it was our time to leave and to head for the beach... Indiana Beach that is...
When I die and hopefully go to heaven, this is what I want to see. I want to be standing on the suspended bridge on the South Entrance overlooking Indiana Beach. The park was absolutely beautiful! CCI creations as far as the eye could see, screaming throughout their circuits. This park actually made us forget that we even went to Fun Spot...
We began our stay with a ride on LoCoSuMo (yes, we know Mamoosh) and actually we were a bit disappointed with the ride. The tight turns and sudden drops was nothing like I've ever been on. Except the signs simply state that "Lost Coaster... is a bone-jarring experience!" That doesn't even begin to describe it. Even at a few weeks old, the ride was very rough, and uncomfortable at a few points. Just be prepared when you go on this fun, intense, little ride. I can't wait to go back on it when the themeing is complete on the ride. However, after two "bone-jarring" rides: one backward, one forward, it was NoMoSuMo for me...
After hearing nothing but good things about the Cornball Express we decided to hit that coaster next. I"ll quote STChick after she got off the ride, "Shivering What?" Yes folks you heard it right, we may be noting Kara as CEChick ;). This ride defies everything you'll ever know about a small coaster. CCI classifies this as a "Family roller coaster." Now if this "Family" consists of people who love the airtime you get from jumping on trampolenes all day long, then yes, by all means it is a "Family roller coaster." For the normal families however, it should be a work of art!! The airtime, and the laterals can not compare to any coaster of its size, and even possibly to any other coaster. I found why Cornball Express is a favorite to not only enthusiasts, but to Indiana Beacher's as well.
A few other things to note around the park is the beautiful Hurricane. This nice CCI will give you a smooth and airy ride with a great view of this boardwalk park. The double shot should be not overlooked. This S&S standard tower is very intense for its size and gives you that ejector air you'll find on CE. The Den of Lost Theives is a great dark ride with the MIB feel. You shoot targets and keep score of what you hit, very fun indeed!
Overall, I was very impressed with Indiana Beach. The way that they fit everything, especially Cornball Express, onto the boardwalk, is amazing! I think "the gang" has found a new yearly destination and we can't wait to hit this park again soon!!
As for Fun Spot, lets just say that I want to at least hit the Afterburner before it burns out :(.
Thanks for the great time guys, and thank you to the Indiana State Trooper that let me off the hook with only a warning... I trust that the "Those who know, don't tell" rule will apply to this one ;)
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Proud member of the Frequent Flyer Club
"Make it Stop! MAKE IT STOP!!!"
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HuKeD oNN fonickS dusinT wOrK"[;.
Hey, it sounds like an interesting day at Fun Spot. I have to agree on the Zyklon. Its not that fun sitting in back and seeing nothing but the seat in front of you either. It made me have a greater appreciation for the comfort of Indiana Beach's Galaxi, which I'm guessing you rode. And whew, glad you liked IB. I talk it up from time to time and I hate it if anyone says they had a time that was less than wonderful. I was there on that same evening on the 27th. It was a great day to go. By the way, when the Cornball was being constructed, I knew it was going to be smaller and slower than the Hurricane, so naturally I thought "we'll its not going to be as good". What a suprize, it is much wilder and the airtime is great and I've heard many people after riding it say "that one is faster than the Hurricane".
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Robodud said (about Zyklon):
The four of us were the first riders of the day and were surprised that we had to be pushed out of the station by the ride op in order to get to the lift hill.
Ahh, yes...I didn't know Zyklon was a launched coaster! I must say that I enjoyed the "launch" more than the stop on this one...oh well, how many people can say they've been in a coaster crash? The ride-op's "That wasn't supposed to happen" can join the Conneaut ride op's "Did they make it?" in our Ride-Op Quote Hall of Fame. I also think "Hurry up and fix it so Skip doesn't find out about this," quoted by the one Zyklon crew member while they were trying to push the train back is also just as funny.
Here's another one of Kara's quotes, this one taken from an IM conversation a few days before we left for the trip: "So, isn't Cornball Express like considered a kiddy coaster?" Yeah, maybe if you're Evil Knievel's kids. ;) Look out for posts from CE Chick!
As for LoCoSuMo, I will give the ride some credit. It's been a LONG time since I was as genuinely scared on a coaster as I was on this crazy little ride (especially when I rode backwards). Some of the drops are so steep that they are just absolutely wrong, and crazy moments are everywhere...now if it just wasn't so rough. Reridability is not this ride's characteristic.
Another great trip (heck, any day I can ride Cornball Express is one of the greatest days of my life), but I just hope I can get a ride on Afterburner before the park goes South for good.
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It's 106 miles to Indiana Beach. We've got a full tank of gas and a half-full cooler of cokes. It's light, and we're wearing Disaster Transport 3-D glasses....hit it!
*** This post was edited by MooreOn on 6/29/2002. ***
Yes, I am still the ST chick, but I think what really caught me off guard was to find another wooden coaster just as outstanding as Timbers. I'm not just a Timbers lover, but a big fan of wooden coasters as well...and for the past few weeks all I have been exposed to is Timbers, so to find one equally as impressive blew me away...big time :).
As for the park itself, I'm in love. I enjoyed every minute (ok, except for those few on LoCo) at this park, and it was truly an experience to remember. I am definitely hitting IB again at some point in this season, but also each and every season after this...I compare it to the likes of Kennywood: you just have to make it an annual event.
I don't regret going to Fun Spot at all. I was disappointed that we couldn't ride Afterburner, and the flyers were very restricting as far as snap-age, but we still had fun. Who knew you could go on a tilt a whirl and never do one rotation? And Rob, how could you forget DDR? I think I can safely speak on the behave of us all in saying that the best part of Fun Spot was the DDR machine. Not only did we have it to ourselves, but it was only 75 cents. Good times!
I had such a great time Thursday, and it was a trip I'll never forget. Thanks Rob and Kristin for setting this up, and doing the driving between the two. And Chris, thanks for sharing YOUR Cornball Express with me :). Oh, and I love the sig!
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Kara (car-uh)
665 Laps
252 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team
Robodud said:
"Indiana State Trooper that let me off the hook with only a warning... I trust that the "Those who know, don't tell" rule will apply to this one
Hey Rob, are you referring to you getting off scott free with 22 over the limit, or you having to take a breathalizer?
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Kara (car-uh)
665 Laps
252 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team
*** This post was edited by ST chick on 6/29/2002. ***
Doh!!
It could have been worse though. The cop could have caught me drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade ;).
How could I forget my first gave ever of DDR? That was really fun, now I'm addicted to it! I'll have to get one of these for my house :)
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Proud member of the Frequent Flyer Club
"Make it Stop! MAKE IT STOP!!!"
Haha..when he asked you if you'd been drinking, I was hoping you'd just hold up your Slush Puppy cup from Indiana Beach. You guys really did sum the trip up well. I really had hoped to ride Afterburner, the Bayern Kurve, and the Kiddie Coaster, but from what I could see, Fun Spot only had one mechanic: the infamous Skip. Like the Zyklon crew said: "Don't tell Skip we crashed the coaster..he'll be pissed!" Skip had a pretty cool golf cart though.
IB definintely did make up for all the things that went wrong at Fun Spot. I loved the ride op on Corn Ball who was like "You guys can jump the railings on the stairs and get back in line as long as I can't see you doing it." She was awesome, but I'm still amazed that she works on that coaster and has never even ridden it.
All my pictures are posted, including the one of the ride ops trying to unstick the crashed trains on Zyklon.
http://community.webshots.com/user/kmdejonge/1
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I survived Fun Spot's "Zyclon"!
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