Indiana Beach guests face time zone confusion

One of the unfortunate results of time switches like this is that it prevents many of us from experiencing one of the greatest joys in a traditional amusement park, enjoying the park after dark. The parks provide a completely new experience after the lights come on and the coasters run in the dark.

Too often, however, parks close before it gets completely dark. Fortunately some of the parks with the best after-dark experiences such as Kennywood and Lakeside stay open for an ample time to allow this experience to be enjoyed.

Well, Indiana Beach stays open till 11pm, later than most parks.

How about a big clocktower? Or simply clocks at the ticket booths? Perhaps they already have that. Pretty short article.

Indiana has got to be the most whacked state when it comes to time zones.

IB is eastern time, HW is Central time, and then you have places like Terra Haute which is right on the Illinois border and that is eastern time.

You have to draw the line somewhere.

Well when we went to Holiday World we had the same issues. North of I-75 is one time zone and below is another. So I understand the confusion. So you could be only 15 minutes away and have and hour and 15 minutes to get there.....

Now, that IB is on eastern time or whatever they changed (I just know it's an hour later), that 11 o'clock closing time is like a 10 o'clock closing time in terms of how long it's been dark out when that closing time rolls around. The time change sucks for getting the most out of the nightime experience there! It's virtually the same "night time" as you get at Holiday Wiorld or just about any other park when you catch a 10pm summer closing time.

I know it's not exactly family friendly, but I'd much rather parks didn't open until maybe noon and then stayed open until midnight if they want to be open for 12 hours. Better yet, 5pm to 5am! ;)
*** This post was edited by Acoustic Viscosity 6/20/2006 3:23:33 PM ***

I didn't notice last week until we passed a bank in the small town before the two-lane country road leading to the park. I looked down at my cell phone and went "Huh?" because the cell phone changes automatically (*usually). The park was only open until 10pm last week and it was still really bright up until 9:30pm or later. In Baltimore, even on the longest day of the Summer, we might get up to 9pm. They did turn the lights on everywhere, so I did get to see the place lit up. We passed through Central and Eastern time so many times last week that it was starting to annoy us.

* There was one place were the sign said Central Time (I think in lower Kentucky), but my cell phone didn't agree until about four miles down the road.

I know it's not exactly family friendly, but I'd much rather parks didn't open until maybe noon and then stayed open until midnight if they want to be open for 12 hours. Better yet, 5pm to 5am!

That sure works for MY family....er, well, me! :)

Staying open late is fine for the enthisast and teen crowd, However in most cases families prefer daylight and early starts.

Most parks I visit are almost ghost towns after 9pm with only die hards and drunks remaining.

Chuck, who blames Daylight savings time as the fall of many things like Drive ins.

I live in Indiana and I still never know what time it is ;)

^ Time to ride the Pouncing Tiger... ;)

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You have to draw the line somewhere.

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The state border would have been nice. ;)

I think the state itself never went for daylight savings but perhaps some counties did. I used to watch TV professionally a few companies back (long story) and I remember seeing campaign commercials for daylight savings. I thought it was kind of funny.

Ahh yes, the great "Indiana Time Zone Fiasco". Believe it or not, it really is MUCH less confusing now that the entire state does daylight savings time...but I still have moments when I feel like BeccaRapor above. The problem before the recent statewide change was that there were some counties on eastern who observed daylight savings time and some that did not...then, there were other counties on central time....some of those observed daylight savings time some did not. This caused a big problem for counties that borderd other counties that followed the metro city they surrounded when the other counties didn't. (confused yet?) So yea...not only is daylight savings statewide now, but some counties petitioned to join central standard time. Of course most people would think that would be the end of it but not so. Not even 3 full months after some of the counties officially switch to central time, those same counties wanted to switch back. So now we have counties that are petitioning to go back to eastern time. The whole thing really is one big mess. At this point I have no hope that the state of Indiana will ever agree on time zones or daylight savings time.

I can happily say that Holdiay World is definatly on Central Standard Time and DOES observe daylight savings time as well. That puts them on the same time as nearby Evansville all year around.

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I know it's not exactly family friendly, but I'd much rather parks didn't open until maybe noon and then stayed open until midnight if they want to be open for 12 hours. Better yet, 5pm to 5am!

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I was sure I was the only person who thought that way.

Then again, both of my kids made the entire 16 hour day at BeastBuzz without a nap (and minimal complaints) - and that doesn't include the hour drive to PKI or the hour before that that they got ready to go. (well, my little guy crashed about 15 minutes before ERT on The Beast ended, but close enough for a 4 year-old)

I suppose we're hardly a typical family. :)

At any rate, I'd love an "all-night" plan at the parks.

HoliJohn, The entire state does not observe daylight savings time now. however a good majority of it still does.

Holiday World and Evansville are central time.

Chuck

Actually, Chuck, the entire state does observe DST. The Southwest and Northwest areas of the state are on Central Daylight whereas the rest of the state is on Eastern Daylight.

That is what messed me up travelling up Rte 41 leaving HW and heading to Chicago.

HW its central time, you go straight north and hit Terra Haute and its eastern time, keep going straight north to the Merreville area and it turns back to central again.