Indiana Beach on the way?

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SFGAMDie HARD said:
2 hours!  I thought it would be on Lake Michigan with the name like Indiana BEACH.  -----------------

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Well actully it is a beach.  It's on Lake Shafer.

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You can hear the laughter, you can hear the mighty roar. From the brickyard down in Indy to the white Chicago shore. It's a rollin', twistin', turnin' and might we both suggest. You get you fanny ridin' on the Cornball Express!

You should go to Indiana Beach because it is a great park with great roller coasters, CP cause it is so amazing and the coaster collection is phenominal and Fun Spot to help the parks future growth. I plan on having them build a CCI for us in the near future, plus you go right by it if you travel from Chicago to CP.
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Mike Middleton of Urbana, Indiana

Fun Spot has no future growth, LOL It is a Zoo literally its Fun Spot Amusement Park and Zoo Fun Spot Bring a Freind or too Fun Spot amusemnt park and Zoo come on bring a feriend or two

Sorry I broke out into the commerical there LOL

I have lived in Angola and know all abotu that place I have absolutely no longing to ever go there, I would rather take my chances on the safety of nice fair rides.  But if you do go hit up Rapid raceway just on the otherside of I-69 Best go karting I have ever been too, the indoor slick track with Nacarts and Sprint cars is just way too awesome.

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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

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rollergator said:
"Carol, becoming a regular 'buzzer....i]

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Hey, if it's good enough for my idol, Sean F. The it's good enough for me! =;-)

I do agree with Wabash Cannonball, IB is a great park, CP is amazing and Fun Spot needs to grow. As for the CCI woodie in their near future. Well... only time will tell.

Last year Fun Spot offered a "Buy One, Get One Free" discount to ACErs, I'm trying to get them to continue that discount this year. We are also working on getting the same discount from Indiana Beach. Both parks are nice, clean family owned parks that offer tons of fun, at a reasonable price.

I hope that many enthusiasts make the trip (even if it is a bit out of the way) to these parks, as well as other family owned parks. We need to continue to support all the small parks. In our region (IN-KY-WV) we are blessed to have five family owned parks, Beech Bend in Bowling Green KY, Camden Park in Huntington WV, Fun Spot in Angola IN, Holiday World in Santa Claus IN and Indiana Beach in Monticello IN and, I love them all!

I know they feel the same about you guys, Carol!  Seriously though, we can either visit these (and other) smaller family-owned and independent parks NOW and enjoy their rides, or we can go later and take pics of a park that once was.... seems like an easy call.
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*** This post was edited by rollergator on 2/26/2002. ***

Even if Cornball Express was the only ride at Indiana Beach, it would be worth the trip. You would not believe the punch (and airtime!) this ride packs.

Of course, it isn't the only ride there. They've got another good CCI, and a great Schwarzkopf that is infinitely re-ridable. They also have a great mix of modern and classic flat rides.

I've only been there once, but believe me, I will be back as soon as I can. If at all possible, do not pass this park up -- you won't regret it.

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Aaron
"I think you're blind to the fact that the hand you hold is the hand that holds you down..." - Everclear

Here's how cool Indiana Beach is:  I live about an hour from SFGAm, and have to talk my friends into going for a day.   I live 2 + hours from Indiana Beach, and they ask me when we can go back. 
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"He's blazin' away like the stars in the universe.." A. Vega + M. Rev "Ghostrider"

Fun Spot will grow as long as the owners have an interest in the park and work at its success. I believe they are adding new rides this year, one of them is a kiddie coaster. It is a great place to take children for an afternoon outing. I am sure that people once said that IB and HW had no future growth, but look at them now.

There's no way it can expand...they even tried to sell their coasters in an auction, but they didn't go for enough...

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Sept. 11th 2001, Slayer released God Hates Us All. The song "Disciple" uncannily describes the events of that day, as well as the anthrax letters that followed.
--Slayer: Thrash band, or the next Nostradamus?

*** This post was edited by CPgenius on 2/26/2002. ***

There's always a way, unless they are as short sighted as you are.

Skully, THEY ARE!!!!!!!  If only you knew some of the people that worked there OMG it is awful.  That is why they have the ZOO part in their name, they are trying to change to a total Kiddy park, I wouldn't take my kid there if it were the last place on Earth.  Sorry just had to many experiences with employees there to ever think that I would have a safe experience there.
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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

Indiana Beach is approx 84 miles from I-80, definately worth the trip.

Fun Spot is 6 miles from the Indiana Toll Rd, also definately worth the trip.

I do have a question for MagnumForce, when was the last time you were at Fun Spot? The reason I ask is from, 1997 -2000 the park was leased to an individual who lost interest in it. Ironically, said individual now works for SF. Anyway, he let the park go downhill. As of the 2001, the owners had taken back control of the park. A new park manager was hired. Rides had been repaired, rides had been painted and employees were given raises and incentive plans. In 2001, Fun Spot had once again become a "fun spot" to visit.

To Skully,

Yes Fun Spot did indeed purchase several used rides, including a kiddie coaster. But, I don't really hold much hope that the kiddie coaster will run at the park in 2002. It had sat idle for over 5 years. As of 2/16, it was sitting, in pieces, in the same spot as it was in September (next to the Zyklon.) The park owner is an electrical engineer and I think he will *tinker* with this toy for awhile. But who knows, I may be wrong.

I went to Tri State University from 1998-2001. I live only 30 miles from the place anyway, go to a Cottage on Clear Lake in Fremont.  Its my area I know it well.  If they have changed ownership I still don't know about it.  Somebody will have to give me a lot coaxing to ever return to that place.  If somone can convince me otherwise I will be glad to go there.  I was not aware the new owners were back. If that is the case maybe things would be better and a new CCI would be great only a few miles from home.

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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

SFGRAMDie HARD,

I used to live in Detroit, and dated my wife in Milwaukee for 1.5 years, making the drive to and fro' two out of every three weekends during that time.... Needless to say, I've got experience on that run, so here are a few pointers for the drive.

1) Avoid Chicago rush hour AT ALL COSTS. The south/east bound 90/94/294 are always worse than the other direction. The times to avoid are 6 to 9 am and about 3 to 7 pm. Hitting rush hour can add up to 2 HOURS to your trip.

2) Take the I-94/Edens to downtown and the I-90/Skyway out, NOT the Tri-State (I-294). Yeah, they pop you for two bucks on the Skyway, but if you time it right, it shaves approx. 30-45 minutes off of your drive time.

3) Use the manual toll-booth lanes when beneficial. Sometimes people will be very lemming-like and and line up ten deep for the automatic lanes, leaving the attended lanes with like, one semi. This tactic helps you stay ahead of some of the idiots you work so hard to pass

4) Get gas in Indiana. They have the cheapest gasoline taxes of the Great Lakes region.

Hope these tips help!

Later,
EV
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"Just remember, wherever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai

While we live some 95 miles south of Angola, we are very familiar with the area, my hubby is a Tri-State grad and I had relatives that live in Angola for 30+ years (they have sinced moved to the BGT area)

When we visited Fun Spot during the 99 season, I vowed to never return. The Afterburner was SBNO for most of the season, rides looked bad and the park was a mess. In 2000, we became part of the ACE Regional Rep system. As such we were the primary contacts for all the Indiana parks,.which meant that we needed to establish contact with Fun Spot.

The man who had leased the park, with the option to buy, (let's call him Mr. X) had completely lost interest in the park. He didn't return any phone calls and even cancelled out on several meetings we had scheduled. Once we drove to the park, paid to get in and we were told Mr X wasn't feeling well and we should come back some other time.

In February of 2001 I made one last attempt to contact the park. I left a message on an answering machine. One week later the new park manager called. He wanted us to come up and see the park. We set a meeting and were given a tour. Rides were being repaired and everything was getting a coat of paint. The new manager apologized for the way we were treated by Mr X and explained the situtation.

Since the park has reverted back to the Trine family, there has been a lot of improvement. At the ACE Day @Fun Spot last August, Mrs. Trine passed around a notebook asking attendees for suggestions on how to improve the park. It's my understanding that she made a few inquiries about some of the suggestions.

I really think the park has made a turn around and, with enthusiasts help, I think Fun Spot can and will continue to grow.

MagnumForce, if you would like to meet at Fun Spot some time, let us know.

Scott & Carol Holmes                                                         

Amercian Coaster Enthusiasts

IN-KY-WV Regional Representatives

cholmes@aceonline.org

Thanks for clearing up this lack of communitcation Carol. I didn't even know when for sure the other people took it over, but I have heard some good things about the place from last season. The Fun Spot website has been updated for 2002 and says that there will be 3 new rides, one of which is the Safari Coaster.

Why are we being so nice to this guy? Why can't we at least call him "Mr. H." which is at least (IIRC) accurate...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

OHHH I know the Trines, Dick is a very very very nice Man and gives a LOT of money to Tri State.  THis makes me feel much better.
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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

Dave,
I don't think the man's name is of any importance. It wouldn't mean a thing to 99% of the buzzers out there. If it makes you feel better, we can call him Mr H.
The important thing is that Mr H no longer controls Fun Spot and the people that are now in charge actually care about the park.
As for the 3 new rides, the Bayern Curve was bought at the Old Indiana auction, it has been SBNO for several years. Mr. Trine considered it his project and supervised the replacement of the entire electrical system. I'm very excited that it will be running this season.
The Safari Kiddie Coaster came from the Adventureland auction in North Webster IN last fall. It had been named the Little Dipper and was SBNO for at least 5 years.  IMHO, another project for Mr. Trine.
The Ballon Race came from the Bearcreek Farms auction, which was also last fall. Bearcreek Farms is located in Bryant IN. I don't know if the ride was running prior to it's sale, but I have seen it in storage at Fun Spot and to my untrained eye it looked like it needed some TLC.
At any rate, if I was driving from Milwaukee to CP, I would most certainly add a day or two to the trip and, stop at Indiana Beach & Fun Spot.

*** This post was edited by Carol on 2/27/2002. ***

Let's just be thankful that "Mr. H" has gone on to ventures that are of more interest to him, and let people who HAVE this particular interest gain control of the park....it's a real shame when folks who have little or no appreciation hold onto a park.  I think that's oftentimes the beginning of the end, and leads to parks being sold to developers for condos, strip malls, and the like...still trying to remain optimistic that something good will come out of the Whalom situation, and SO thankful that Little A-Merrick-A has seen fit to rescue a coaster from the wrecking ball.