- June 6th, 2008, 9:15 pm
#24605
Because we didn’t end up going to Kentucky Kingdom on Saturday, Matt wanted to stop by on Sunday on our way to Indiana Beach since Louisville was on the way. We’d made plans to meet up with Danny and Patrick, but Rob and Melissa had another hard morning waking up, so we didn’t make our deadline for Kentucky Kingdom. Actually, we all ended up being kind of late, then we found out that the Indy 500 was happening that day. Not that that would usually matter, but we were going thru Indianapolis.
So after gathering everything up and leaving the motel, we stopped across the street for gas and ran in to Brian. We talked about the nite before just before we parted ways, Brian and his gang heading to Beech Bend, and me and my gang heading to Indiana Beach. It was quite a long journey, though it was interstate most of the way. We took the beltway around Indianapolis so as to avoid any Indy 500 traffic, but we did see the DirecTV blimp circling around as we drove past.
After almost 6 hours of driving, we arrived at Indiana Beach. We only had about 4 hours, but that would be enough time to have some fun at the park. This was another park that offers discounts for coaster enthusiasts, so I got in for almost half price again thanks to Matt. Once we paid and took some pictures by the park map we headed out on the bridge. You get a great view of Indiana Beach from here. And I loved what I saw. We kept stopping and taking pictures as Matt talked to Craig on the phone. Then we made our way into the park. The first stop we were going to make was Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain, however, the line was quite long, they were only running 1 train, and the ride was down when we got in line anyways.
Instead of riding Lost Coaster, though, we headed down the midway. This was the point where I commented to Matt that I already loved the park, even if I hadn’t rode anything yet. The atmosphere was great, the park reminded me a lot of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, and it was such a nice day. As we walked over to Hoosier Hurricane, we passed by Frankenstein’s Castle. I wanted to do this, so Matt, Dan and I went in while Matt told Rob and Melissa to head out and do their own thing instead of wait on us since we had a limited time. Matt was even nice enough to pay for admission for Dan and Me.
Frankenstein’s Castle-This was a funky, fun, and funny dark ride. I loved it. It was quite a long attraction and much different than I expected. I miss walk thru haunted houses and dark rides. The chamber with the ‘rock band’ was funny, and some of the scares really got me. Plus it was all air conditioned, so that helped. We even got some pictures inside. Frankenstein’s Castle was definitely a unique walk-thru attraction that I’d most certainly do again.
So after we did the dark ride walk-thru we headed over to Cornball Express. There were a few rides closed during the day, most notably for Matt the flyers. I like how the wood coaster stations are elevated above the midway, this made for interesting visuals. We walked up the steps to Cornball to a nearly empty queue.
Cornball Express-I honestly didn’t have extremely high hopes for Cornball. No reason other than my lack of familiarity of it. We turned the corner and started up the lift. This is the shorter of the 2 major wooden coasters at IB, both in height and in length. And I have to say again, I’m becoming a strong believer that most of the best wooden coasters don’t go over 100 feet. According to RCDB, this coaster is only 55’ tall. But that first twisting drop is amazing. Then the next couple of hills have great airtime as you’re twisting and turning in the tight spaces that this coaster comprises. Dan and I rode in the back seat with Matt in front of us. I love how it intertwines with Hurricane, and how it circles the area with Tig’rr. After the twists and turns, turning back under Hurricane, and then heading around again, you get the best 2 pops of air from the last 2 hills. This coaster quickly skyrocketed up my list to land in my top ten with my first ride. Oh yes, I was going to love Indiana Beach.
Cornball impressed me. Probably more than any coaster this trip because I was so unfamiliar with its layout or anything. I knew it was well liked, but I didn’t know it was that great. We were pretty close to Tig’rr, so we headed there next. They only ran 2 cars, but the wait was very minimal.
Tig’rr- This was my first Jet Star ever. They look like fun, so I was anxious to ride it. Dan and I sat in the front of the car, with Matt behind us. I wasn’t expecting much, but the ride was great fun. It seems really fast and has strong laterals. The first drop was really great, even if parts of it were painful because of the way I was sitting. Tig’rr is another great family ride and I’m happy to finally have ridden a Jet Star.
Matt ‘warned’ me that Hoosier Hurricane was rather tame, even if it did look huge. We headed to it next. I was able to snap a couple of pictures of the structure for Steel Hawg from the station. I hope I get back up to ride that soon, it looks like it’s going to be fun from what I’ve seen.
Hoosier Hurricane-The line wasn’t very long, but with a 1 train wait, it makes the wait seem forever. Then there was some type of issue as we were about 1 train away from getting on the ride that ate up at least 20 minutes of our time. No big worries, though. Dan and I again headed to the very back as Matt sat in front of us. Hoosier Hurricane has an odd lift hill, with the S curve after the lift. The first drop was good, and while the next couple of hills were fun, they were light on air. This feels like a perfect family coaster, and even if it is the biggest one in the park, it’s probably the tamest one as well. I loved the turn around, and the run back was fun as well. It isn’t an airtime machine (Kind of looks like one from off the ride, though), however, the coaster is a lot of fun.
We were leaving the station as we saw Rob and Melissa. Matt and I wanted to get something to eat, but Dan decided he’d go with R & M for another ride on Hoosier Hurricane. Matt and I walked down the midway and stopped at the famous Taco Stand. On Friday nite at Holiwood Nights I reminded Frank that he owed me dinner, since I was able to complete the Clint Challenge of 2007, which meant that I had to get at least so many rides on a roller coaster for an entire year. I won, so Frank gave me cash for dinner. Well, not only did he pay for dinner, he also paid for my entrance to Indiana Beach, so I scored big time. And the Tacos and Pork Tenderloin sandwich with Lemonade I had for dinner was worth every re-ride I took on a coaster last year. Matt had about 5 tacos. Yes, they really were that good.
The line for Lost Coaster was really long at this point, so we decided to skip it. Instead we headed to the skyway, which is the best way to get from one end of the park to the other. I loved the Skyway, I was able to take more pictures from above the park and really get to see how it’s all laid out. During the ride Rob called to tell us they were at the Sky Room restaurant ordering dinner and asked us to stop by. We went right by the Sky Room on the Skyway. Once we got off we headed up.
I’d heard a lot about this restaurant, and it was exactly like I’d pictured it in my mind. We didn’t eat there since we’d just had dinner, but Dan, Rob, and Melissa all ordered, so Matt and I headed back out to the midway for more rides, going to the Double Shot for a ride.
Double Shot-I’m really beginning to love these short shot towers. Matt told me this one was better than Holiday World’s, and he was right. I don’t’ know why, but it was more forceful and gave more airtime on both hops. Plus the view is really nice. We didn’t wait a very long time to ride, and I like how the ride is away from the rest of the park because there is nothing around you to give you much of a point of reference. Also, this one shoots up from a lower point that most shot towers do, no raising the gondola a few feet off of the ground before launch, but maybe 3 feet max. I loved it.
By this point, Matt and I had pretty much been up and down the entire midway. And I was still falling in love with Indiana Beach. So we headed back down to the middle part of the midway to get the other steel coaster that Indiana Beach had, a Galaxi. I hadn’t ridden one of these since the Myrtle Beach Pavilion got rid of theirs. The line, once again, was not long, so we walked right into the station and onto the train.
Galaxi-I love these kinds of coasters. This one was kind of rough, but still a lot of fun, especially since I hadn’t ridden one in so long. The first drop was fun, but Galaxi coasters are really more about laterals and tight drops. No major airtime, but there are some “Oh my Goodness†moments of the ride. I’m happy that there are small parks that have reserved this type of coaster.
We walked up the midway and headed to Den of Lost Thieves. I’d heard so much about this ride since it had been built, but really didn’t know a lot about it. I know it kind of looked ghetto from the outside, but we got in line anyway.
Den of Lost Thieves-It was weird sitting in the old Sally Dark Ride cars that came equipped with blasters. I was not impressed when we went down the first hallway and up the little lift hill. I didn’t think it was going to be fun at all. In the end, though, Den of Lost Thieves was a nice shooter dark ride. This makes like 6 of these I’ve done now. Two in one weekend. The ride was well done and didn’t seem like the blasters needed calibrated for once. I love dark rides, and this was surprisingly a good one.
We walked down the midway some more and then decided to ride the Galaxy. There was no line to speak of, so as we made our way to the entrance, we headed back to the 2nd car in the train with no wait.
Galaxy- I haven’t ridden one of these since the Myrtle Beach Pavilion lost theirs. I loved the one at the beach, and rode it many times as a kid. While a bit rough, Galaxy Coasters are still a lot of fun. The first drop is good with a nice pop of air in the back as you’re yanked over, but these coasters are as much about lateral forces as you’re swung around the tight curves and down the short drops. I’m glad at least someone has decided to keep these around.
There was only one credit left at the park, Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain. Matt and I went over to find the line still severely long. But it was the last coaster I had yet to ride, so we decided to wait it out and got in line. Thankfully we had plenty to talk about, and I got a couple of good pictures from the line.
Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain- I vaguely remember hearing about this ride and seeing pictures when it was being built. When it was our turn, Matt and I got in the 2nd car of the train seating backwards. He pointed out the heavy padding. I was kind of weirded out by the lap bar, and when I said something, the ride op just kind of laughed. The lift and skeleton talking to you was a nice touch. When the ride started going, it began very forceful. I’ll be honest, other than the 2 wolves, I didn’t see much in the way of scenery. It all just went by so fast. LoCoSuMo is an intense coaster for what it was. I liked both the indoor parts and outdoor parts. But it was a bit rough. I told Matt when it was all over that I wasn’t sure if I liked it or hated it, but I guess in the end it was okay.
Once we finished with Lost Coaster we headed back over for another shot at the other coasters. Cornball did seem faster at nite, I really love that coaster. We rode towards the back again and it was blissful. We also hit up Hoosier Hurricane for one more ride. By this point, it was pretty dark, so I got my nite ride on a woody by the water. Hurricane was better in the dark for some reason.
At this point everything was starting to close. They actually closed off the line for Hurricane while we were in the station. We made our way back to the Taco stand for Matt to get more Tacos, and we saw Melissa, Dan, and Rob in line for Lost Coaster. They ended up with the final ride of the nite. I could have joined them, but I was beat. We were some of the last people to leave the park, and we hung out on the bridge for a bit. Then we got in the car and headed out.
Once we were on the road, I stopped and filled up with gas again. We had a long enough drive back, so I pumped up some Daft Punk (Alive 2007) and we talked and goofed off and what not. About half way to Louisville, though, I got really sleepy. We stopped at a Steak and Shake for the kiddies to get their shake on, and I gave the wheel to Matt. I fell asleep in the passenger seat all the way into Louisville.
We stayed at a Howard Johnson by the airport with Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in the background. If I had a season pass, I may have stopped by for a couple hours the next morning. Everyone else left early and took a shuttle to the airport. I left around 11am, stopped to get gas, and then got on the interstate, ready to get home as I was at least 6 and a half hours away. But that didn’t happen.
Sixty-one miles out of Louisville, and just a few miles from Lexington, my tired died. For good this time. I called for help and the guy they sent didn’t have the tools to lower my spare. And it was Memorial Day, so nothing was open. I had a very nice police officer take me to Wal*Mart to pick up some Fix a Flat, but that didn’t work either. So my last resort was to have my parents come and fix my flat. I didn’t want them to have to drive over five hours, but they insisted. And since it was all my father’s fault for not putting my tools back in, I didn’t object.
By this point, I had yet to eat or drink anything today. Not one sip of water. And I was going to be stranded on the side of the road for hours. I pent the majority of the time sleeping ort rying to sleep. The hours went by faster than I’d imagined they would. Eventually, Mom and Dad did show up, we did fix the tire, they got me gas and food and something to drink and just made everything all better. We didn’t get home until 2:30 am of the next morning, Dad driving my Xterra for the last hour as I slept. Then I had to get up early to go to training. Why do bad things always happen to me on coaster trips?
So after gathering everything up and leaving the motel, we stopped across the street for gas and ran in to Brian. We talked about the nite before just before we parted ways, Brian and his gang heading to Beech Bend, and me and my gang heading to Indiana Beach. It was quite a long journey, though it was interstate most of the way. We took the beltway around Indianapolis so as to avoid any Indy 500 traffic, but we did see the DirecTV blimp circling around as we drove past.
After almost 6 hours of driving, we arrived at Indiana Beach. We only had about 4 hours, but that would be enough time to have some fun at the park. This was another park that offers discounts for coaster enthusiasts, so I got in for almost half price again thanks to Matt. Once we paid and took some pictures by the park map we headed out on the bridge. You get a great view of Indiana Beach from here. And I loved what I saw. We kept stopping and taking pictures as Matt talked to Craig on the phone. Then we made our way into the park. The first stop we were going to make was Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain, however, the line was quite long, they were only running 1 train, and the ride was down when we got in line anyways.
Instead of riding Lost Coaster, though, we headed down the midway. This was the point where I commented to Matt that I already loved the park, even if I hadn’t rode anything yet. The atmosphere was great, the park reminded me a lot of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, and it was such a nice day. As we walked over to Hoosier Hurricane, we passed by Frankenstein’s Castle. I wanted to do this, so Matt, Dan and I went in while Matt told Rob and Melissa to head out and do their own thing instead of wait on us since we had a limited time. Matt was even nice enough to pay for admission for Dan and Me.
Frankenstein’s Castle-This was a funky, fun, and funny dark ride. I loved it. It was quite a long attraction and much different than I expected. I miss walk thru haunted houses and dark rides. The chamber with the ‘rock band’ was funny, and some of the scares really got me. Plus it was all air conditioned, so that helped. We even got some pictures inside. Frankenstein’s Castle was definitely a unique walk-thru attraction that I’d most certainly do again.
So after we did the dark ride walk-thru we headed over to Cornball Express. There were a few rides closed during the day, most notably for Matt the flyers. I like how the wood coaster stations are elevated above the midway, this made for interesting visuals. We walked up the steps to Cornball to a nearly empty queue.
Cornball Express-I honestly didn’t have extremely high hopes for Cornball. No reason other than my lack of familiarity of it. We turned the corner and started up the lift. This is the shorter of the 2 major wooden coasters at IB, both in height and in length. And I have to say again, I’m becoming a strong believer that most of the best wooden coasters don’t go over 100 feet. According to RCDB, this coaster is only 55’ tall. But that first twisting drop is amazing. Then the next couple of hills have great airtime as you’re twisting and turning in the tight spaces that this coaster comprises. Dan and I rode in the back seat with Matt in front of us. I love how it intertwines with Hurricane, and how it circles the area with Tig’rr. After the twists and turns, turning back under Hurricane, and then heading around again, you get the best 2 pops of air from the last 2 hills. This coaster quickly skyrocketed up my list to land in my top ten with my first ride. Oh yes, I was going to love Indiana Beach.
Cornball impressed me. Probably more than any coaster this trip because I was so unfamiliar with its layout or anything. I knew it was well liked, but I didn’t know it was that great. We were pretty close to Tig’rr, so we headed there next. They only ran 2 cars, but the wait was very minimal.
Tig’rr- This was my first Jet Star ever. They look like fun, so I was anxious to ride it. Dan and I sat in the front of the car, with Matt behind us. I wasn’t expecting much, but the ride was great fun. It seems really fast and has strong laterals. The first drop was really great, even if parts of it were painful because of the way I was sitting. Tig’rr is another great family ride and I’m happy to finally have ridden a Jet Star.
Matt ‘warned’ me that Hoosier Hurricane was rather tame, even if it did look huge. We headed to it next. I was able to snap a couple of pictures of the structure for Steel Hawg from the station. I hope I get back up to ride that soon, it looks like it’s going to be fun from what I’ve seen.
Hoosier Hurricane-The line wasn’t very long, but with a 1 train wait, it makes the wait seem forever. Then there was some type of issue as we were about 1 train away from getting on the ride that ate up at least 20 minutes of our time. No big worries, though. Dan and I again headed to the very back as Matt sat in front of us. Hoosier Hurricane has an odd lift hill, with the S curve after the lift. The first drop was good, and while the next couple of hills were fun, they were light on air. This feels like a perfect family coaster, and even if it is the biggest one in the park, it’s probably the tamest one as well. I loved the turn around, and the run back was fun as well. It isn’t an airtime machine (Kind of looks like one from off the ride, though), however, the coaster is a lot of fun.
We were leaving the station as we saw Rob and Melissa. Matt and I wanted to get something to eat, but Dan decided he’d go with R & M for another ride on Hoosier Hurricane. Matt and I walked down the midway and stopped at the famous Taco Stand. On Friday nite at Holiwood Nights I reminded Frank that he owed me dinner, since I was able to complete the Clint Challenge of 2007, which meant that I had to get at least so many rides on a roller coaster for an entire year. I won, so Frank gave me cash for dinner. Well, not only did he pay for dinner, he also paid for my entrance to Indiana Beach, so I scored big time. And the Tacos and Pork Tenderloin sandwich with Lemonade I had for dinner was worth every re-ride I took on a coaster last year. Matt had about 5 tacos. Yes, they really were that good.
The line for Lost Coaster was really long at this point, so we decided to skip it. Instead we headed to the skyway, which is the best way to get from one end of the park to the other. I loved the Skyway, I was able to take more pictures from above the park and really get to see how it’s all laid out. During the ride Rob called to tell us they were at the Sky Room restaurant ordering dinner and asked us to stop by. We went right by the Sky Room on the Skyway. Once we got off we headed up.
I’d heard a lot about this restaurant, and it was exactly like I’d pictured it in my mind. We didn’t eat there since we’d just had dinner, but Dan, Rob, and Melissa all ordered, so Matt and I headed back out to the midway for more rides, going to the Double Shot for a ride.
Double Shot-I’m really beginning to love these short shot towers. Matt told me this one was better than Holiday World’s, and he was right. I don’t’ know why, but it was more forceful and gave more airtime on both hops. Plus the view is really nice. We didn’t wait a very long time to ride, and I like how the ride is away from the rest of the park because there is nothing around you to give you much of a point of reference. Also, this one shoots up from a lower point that most shot towers do, no raising the gondola a few feet off of the ground before launch, but maybe 3 feet max. I loved it.
By this point, Matt and I had pretty much been up and down the entire midway. And I was still falling in love with Indiana Beach. So we headed back down to the middle part of the midway to get the other steel coaster that Indiana Beach had, a Galaxi. I hadn’t ridden one of these since the Myrtle Beach Pavilion got rid of theirs. The line, once again, was not long, so we walked right into the station and onto the train.
Galaxi-I love these kinds of coasters. This one was kind of rough, but still a lot of fun, especially since I hadn’t ridden one in so long. The first drop was fun, but Galaxi coasters are really more about laterals and tight drops. No major airtime, but there are some “Oh my Goodness†moments of the ride. I’m happy that there are small parks that have reserved this type of coaster.
We walked up the midway and headed to Den of Lost Thieves. I’d heard so much about this ride since it had been built, but really didn’t know a lot about it. I know it kind of looked ghetto from the outside, but we got in line anyway.
Den of Lost Thieves-It was weird sitting in the old Sally Dark Ride cars that came equipped with blasters. I was not impressed when we went down the first hallway and up the little lift hill. I didn’t think it was going to be fun at all. In the end, though, Den of Lost Thieves was a nice shooter dark ride. This makes like 6 of these I’ve done now. Two in one weekend. The ride was well done and didn’t seem like the blasters needed calibrated for once. I love dark rides, and this was surprisingly a good one.
We walked down the midway some more and then decided to ride the Galaxy. There was no line to speak of, so as we made our way to the entrance, we headed back to the 2nd car in the train with no wait.
Galaxy- I haven’t ridden one of these since the Myrtle Beach Pavilion lost theirs. I loved the one at the beach, and rode it many times as a kid. While a bit rough, Galaxy Coasters are still a lot of fun. The first drop is good with a nice pop of air in the back as you’re yanked over, but these coasters are as much about lateral forces as you’re swung around the tight curves and down the short drops. I’m glad at least someone has decided to keep these around.
There was only one credit left at the park, Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain. Matt and I went over to find the line still severely long. But it was the last coaster I had yet to ride, so we decided to wait it out and got in line. Thankfully we had plenty to talk about, and I got a couple of good pictures from the line.
Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain- I vaguely remember hearing about this ride and seeing pictures when it was being built. When it was our turn, Matt and I got in the 2nd car of the train seating backwards. He pointed out the heavy padding. I was kind of weirded out by the lap bar, and when I said something, the ride op just kind of laughed. The lift and skeleton talking to you was a nice touch. When the ride started going, it began very forceful. I’ll be honest, other than the 2 wolves, I didn’t see much in the way of scenery. It all just went by so fast. LoCoSuMo is an intense coaster for what it was. I liked both the indoor parts and outdoor parts. But it was a bit rough. I told Matt when it was all over that I wasn’t sure if I liked it or hated it, but I guess in the end it was okay.
Once we finished with Lost Coaster we headed back over for another shot at the other coasters. Cornball did seem faster at nite, I really love that coaster. We rode towards the back again and it was blissful. We also hit up Hoosier Hurricane for one more ride. By this point, it was pretty dark, so I got my nite ride on a woody by the water. Hurricane was better in the dark for some reason.
At this point everything was starting to close. They actually closed off the line for Hurricane while we were in the station. We made our way back to the Taco stand for Matt to get more Tacos, and we saw Melissa, Dan, and Rob in line for Lost Coaster. They ended up with the final ride of the nite. I could have joined them, but I was beat. We were some of the last people to leave the park, and we hung out on the bridge for a bit. Then we got in the car and headed out.
Once we were on the road, I stopped and filled up with gas again. We had a long enough drive back, so I pumped up some Daft Punk (Alive 2007) and we talked and goofed off and what not. About half way to Louisville, though, I got really sleepy. We stopped at a Steak and Shake for the kiddies to get their shake on, and I gave the wheel to Matt. I fell asleep in the passenger seat all the way into Louisville.
We stayed at a Howard Johnson by the airport with Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in the background. If I had a season pass, I may have stopped by for a couple hours the next morning. Everyone else left early and took a shuttle to the airport. I left around 11am, stopped to get gas, and then got on the interstate, ready to get home as I was at least 6 and a half hours away. But that didn’t happen.
Sixty-one miles out of Louisville, and just a few miles from Lexington, my tired died. For good this time. I called for help and the guy they sent didn’t have the tools to lower my spare. And it was Memorial Day, so nothing was open. I had a very nice police officer take me to Wal*Mart to pick up some Fix a Flat, but that didn’t work either. So my last resort was to have my parents come and fix my flat. I didn’t want them to have to drive over five hours, but they insisted. And since it was all my father’s fault for not putting my tools back in, I didn’t object.
By this point, I had yet to eat or drink anything today. Not one sip of water. And I was going to be stranded on the side of the road for hours. I pent the majority of the time sleeping ort rying to sleep. The hours went by faster than I’d imagined they would. Eventually, Mom and Dad did show up, we did fix the tire, they got me gas and food and something to drink and just made everything all better. We didn’t get home until 2:30 am of the next morning, Dad driving my Xterra for the last hour as I slept. Then I had to get up early to go to training. Why do bad things always happen to me on coaster trips?
cebeavers.com
403 Coasters and counting...
403 Coasters and counting...