Lost Coaster Weekend - Indiana Beach (8/20 - 8/21)

We've been meaning to find a good time to go to Indiana Beach for the first time and this even provided the perfect reason to go. We left St. Louis and drove 6 hours under constant rain. Just as we got into Monticello the rain let up and patches of blue started to peek through. We easily found our way to the Black Dog Inn, the B&B where we would be staying. Staying there was one of the best decisions we made. Thanks to IB*Dave and Trekker Park for suggesting this. The rooms were great and Tom made us feel most welcome. Bo (the black dog, a big Labrador) was fun to have around and very friendly - just don't let him use his big eyes on you when you are eating. The grounds are nice and shady, there is a small pool, and they have a great porch full of wicker to lounge around on. After unpacking and relaxing we made the short 5 minute walk to the park. We got our first view of IB as we got to the suspension bridge at the south entrance. What a great sight. All those coasters just waiting to be ridden. Since we had an hour before check-in we decided to explore the midway. Now this was love at first sight. The look and feel of the place is just fantastic. This park, more than any other I've gotten to visit, really seems to be a holdover from an earlier time. Walking down that midway feels like the 1950's at times. I love the way they have used every bit of available space. My first park ever was an old Route 66 park called Chain of Rocks. IB brought back a lot of great memories for me. As much as I love riding coasters, I like to judge parks on the whole package. IB delivered for me on all counts (sky lifts score extra points if they are ski lift style). I was in the park for 22 hours over the two days I was there and never ran out of things to do or see. I'll get to the coasters at the end of all this.

Friday night:

Check in was quick and painless. After getting our gift bags (the air sickness bags were a nice touch) we headed over to the sky coaster for our free rides. Everyone seemed to take advantage of this and we spent a lot of time watching each other fly. The weather was still cool and overcast so the park was rather empty when we started riding. Pretty much everything was a walk-on. The rides set out over the water are just great. All the employees were friendly and did their jobs well. Between 6:30 and 10:00pm we managed to get rides on all the coasters, plus quite a few of the flats. We also had dinner at the Skyroom which was quite nice. At 10:00pm we all headed over to the Beach Club Bar for a welcome reception and to wait for the park to clear out. Sodas and snacks were provided and everyone got to catch up with old friends. At 11:15 we got our first ERT on LoCoSuMo, Cornball Express and Tig'rr. In the one hour ERT we managed to get in 3-4 rides on each coaster. A fog had sprung up and made for some special rides. You could barely see the rest of the track from the top of Cornball's lift. Very nice!

Saturday afternoon:

The day began with a 9:45am - 11:00am ERT on the Den of Lost Thieves, Chaos and Galaxi. The Den quickly became the focal point and new record scores were attempted. We did manage to drag ourselves away for multiple rides on Chaos and Galaxi as well. After the park opened we headed over to the picnic shelter for lunch. Mixed veggies, potatoes, lemon chicken, rolls, deserts, and drinks to provide energy for the rest of the day. The park was crowded, but the waits were never too excessive on most of the rides. A few people headed off to other parks before our next scheduled event. We spent the afternoon getting in more rides and taking pictures. Around 3:30 we went back to the Black Dog to relax on the porch and wait for the crowds to thin out.

Saturday night:

We went back to the park around 6:00 and started working our way through our favorites. Those bumper cars may be my favorite ones to ride. For some reason my wife decided driving backwards was more fun. We also got several rides on LoCoSuMo, which was running two cars and managed to keep the line moving quickly. At 10:45pm we all met on the Shafer Queen for a lake cruise. Sandwiches and drinks were provided and the results of the trivia contest were announced. We arrived back at the dock at 11:35 for our last ERT on Cornball Express, Hoosier Hurricane and Air Crow (the new flyers). No fog tonight, but a lot of stars. Again, we had multiple rides on both coasters. The Hurricane is interesting after they turn out all the park lights. The Air Crow was quite fun and moves at a good speed. The ERT ended at 12:45am and we finished it off with the front seats of Cornball. We had a great time at this event. We will definitely be going back next year.

And the coasters:

LoCoSuMo – I was unsure how I was going to like this. Our first ride was backwards and we expected the worse. What we go was a fun ride. A little rough at times, but no worse that other coasters I’ve ridden (the Boss beats me up more). The padding in the cars is more than adequate to absorb any impacts. My wife decided this was her favorite coaster in the park. Rode 3 times before I saw the bear.

Hoosier Hurricane – I love out-and-backs so this was a treat for me. Very fast and smooth in the front seats. A little rough in the rear, but nothing to take away points for. Going under the suspension bridge is a blast and the turnaround near the gondola wheel in great.

Cornball Express – Wow! This jumped somewhere into my top 5. A wicked first drop and lot of air pops in the front seats. There wasn’t a dead spot on this coaster. If you like your coaster to always be doing something, then this is your ride. My favorite coaster in the park.

Tig’rr & Galaxi – These small steel coasters were the only types I had to ride up until our Six Flags opened when I was 7. They have a special place in my heart and I always love getting a chance to ride them again. *** Edited 8/23/2004 1:20:56 AM UTC by Frantic Ferret***

Thanks for the report! Sounds like an awesome event. :)

It was am amazing weekend and I don't even know where to start with my TR....lol. It was insane! Don't think we ran into each other Ferret, but who knows. :-)

The Queen Shafer ride was a nice touch, and it was awesome to see IB from afar at night......breathtaking!

A bunch of us took a side trip to the Fun Spot on Saturday after ERT. It was a great time and a nice alternative to dealing with the insane IB crowds on Saturday.

-Tina

*** Edited 8/24/2004 12:43:42 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

Glad you had a great first visit, Ferret. LoCoSuMo your wife's favorite coaster? Cool! It has certainly been improved since its first season.

The Beach was pleasantly surprised by the turnout as about half the guests registered onsite.

She loved it. Every time we walked past it she wanted to ride again. It is quite different from anything I've ever ridden. I can't believe how sharp some of those turns are.

How many people did show up? When I did my skycoaster ride they told me 86 people had signed up for rides, but It looked like a lot more people were on the Saturday night cruise.

Tina - I saw so many people I'm sure we ran into each other even if we didn't know it. I was the guy with the shaved head wearing the "Three Ferrets Pub" shirt. I must find a picture to attach to my profile....

*** Edited 8/25/2004 4:55:52 PM UTC by Frantic Ferret***

I hung out with a lot of peeps, but mostly Kristin, Jeff (Cedarit), Ed (Chillforce), Bill (rollergator) and Mike (Boblogone) and several others. I am sure we crossed paths at one point. Did we talk while in line for LoCo during ERT?

Anyway, the Skycoaster thing was THEE highlight. MAN I love those things! I *flew* with Bill and my friend April. It was fun seeing them frightened and practically crying like little school girls. ;-) Hee hee hee.......Wussies.

They are going to kill me now.........:-D

-Tina

*** Edited 8/25/2004 9:41:28 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

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Frantic Ferret said:
She loved it. Every time we walked past it she wanted to ride again. It is quite different from anything I've ever ridden. I can't believe how sharp some of those turns are.

Some as tight as 5.5 ft.

How many people did show up? When I did my skycoaster ride they told me 86 people had signed up for rides, but It looked like a lot more people were on the Saturday night cruise.

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72 were pre-registered and over 30 registered onsite. *** Edited 8/25/2004 9:56:25 PM UTC by IB*Dave***

ROFL...I only know ONE person who chickened out of the Skycoaster ride (ain't that right Ed?). Easy for ME to say, we had to have Tina pull the release since April and I were....ummm, nervous...;)

I remember noting the ferret t-shirts at one point near Galaxi/across from DoLT, Frantic Ferret. Next time you see the geekiest-looking enthusiast EVER, punch my arm and say Hi! :)

IB*Dave, fantastic meeting you, you are one BUSY Jamaican at that park, LOL...."only fifteen job you lazy goat"? ;)

The ops on Tig'rr will remember me for years, the guy riding front seat solo with his arms ALL the way out, trying to locate where the handchoppers WERE close enough to make contact...:)

The Fun Spot side-trip was excellent, I was really shocked at how nice the place was, and that their flyers were SO snappable even *I* could do it...

Taking Ed on his first visit to GAm was certainly a highlight as well, and having him start and end his trip on Whizzer was quite a coup for me. Viper and AE rides on Weds night were "officially OOC" (TM-bASS)...

IB overall did a TREMENDOUS job setting up the event, running the event, THEMING the daylights out of the place....I loved IB from my (one) previous trip, now I'm planning to get back there ASAP.

bill, proudly wearing his *wuss* lapel pin...
*** Edited 8/26/2004 2:57:58 PM UTC by rollergator***

Oh Bill you are SUCH a geek. ;-) Hee hee hee.

-Tina

Part of the thrill IS pulling the cord on a Skycoaster. ;-)

*** Edited 8/27/2004 9:12:23 AM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***