Associated parks:
None
I rode Cornball Express eight times and Hoosier Hurricane six. I won’t go into much detail, as I gave my assessment of these rides in my June TR, but both rides were running great. (Well, one exception to the great running … HH stalled on the lift hill for, I think, about 10 minutes around 4 p.m. Couldn’t see anyone working on the ride, it just seemed to start up again and kept running through the day.)
On a beautiful day, the park was crowded and lines were as long as ever I could recall them at IB. Still, waits for the coasters generally were in the 5-10 minute range. On our last spin on Cornball, around 8 p.m., the line stretched to about 5 steps from the bottom of the stairway. Even so, the wait that time was maybe 15 minutes. The ride ops at IB know their stuff. And while riders were lining up for the front seat, the back car on Cornball was being treated as nothing special by the GP, so the four of us had it to ourselves over and over. Last car on Cornball is incredible … the air on the headchopper, and on the drop out of the helix, must be experienced to be believed.
Coasterbuzzers, if you didn’t check out Cornball Express in 2001, do what you have to do to include it in your 2002 itineraries. It is every bit as good as they say. And HH, while no Shivering Timbers, is another fine, fast, and handsome CCI out-and-backer.
Other rides taken yesterday included Dodge-ems, Bumper Boats, Ferris Wheel, and the Tilt-a-Whirl. We also took the miniature train, which gives you a unique view of the HH’s structure. Love the dark rides at IB, but the lines were long so we passed them by this time (the way people flock to these things, I don’t understand why parks don’t build more of them).
Other general notes: the park was crowded, as I said, but it was the usual genial, good-natured IB type of crowd. We ate at the Tigrr’s Den, under the Tigrr Coaster. The whole outdoor seating area was empty and we sat about 20 yards from Cornball’s headchopper drop to the lake. It’s a great setting, but the food was mediocre, except for some fine onion rings. Food was better, and cheaper, at a drive-in we stopped at just before going into the park. I’m not sure I have the name quite right … it was called “B&K Root Beer” or something, and it’s on the right side on the road leading up to the park, about a mile before you hit the south parking lot. I don’t want to oversell it, the food was only okay (again, great onion rings, the recurring culinary theme that day), but the place had an unusual old-time drive-in atmosphere … not a Mel’s Diner Happy Days atmosphere, but like pre-war, Depression-era Midwest, the kind of place Dillinger would have pulled into in a black roadster, for a quick bite between jobs. And cheap.
The park was generally neat and well-maintained, although I really wish somebody there would take a little more initiative on the bathrooms. That aside, it was a fun day at a wonderful park. I never just leave IB, I tear myself away.
Ah, it's too bad the park has to close so early though. Good to see they were doing good business on the last weekend of operation though!
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"No listenin', you hear me?"
Years ago the Beach did open the 2 weekends after Labor Day but with Indiana Colleges ALL going back early it is hard to retain help. The Beach is open to 2 private groups next weekend, though.
And Labor Day weekend, and August Saturdays in fact, brought out record crowds to IB.
I don't have all the scoop yet, but look for some interesting improvements next season.
*** This post was edited by IB Dave on 9/4/2001. ***
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