Indiana Beach received a sudden shock this winter when its owners, Apex Parks Group, announced the closure of the park without warning. Then, as suddenly as it was gone, it was back, thanks to the ambition of Chicago businessman Gene Staples. Wasting no time, Staples and team had the park up and running for a June 26 VIP event and a June 27 grand opening.
While the narrative mostly tells a redemption story for the park and for White County, Indiana, footage from the VIP event has already generated controversy from the unregulated guest behavior on display. The state of Indiana has been among the least-restrictive in the region as far as business closures, but heading into Friday's event, new COVID-19 case rates remained on an overall decline. Nevertheless, an event like this, which brought many travelers from out-of-state, posed an outbreak risk if infected individuals came into the park and behaved carelessly.
Two days prior to the VIP event, I had bought a ticket and made a registration for June 29, the first Monday of the operating season. The posted safety measures looked reasonable and assuring, and I felt that with my own good practices and a cooperative public, I could responsibly visit the park without endangering myself or others. Upon seeing the event footage, I reconsidered that feeling, no longer able to count on a cooperative public. After heavy soul-searching, I decided to make the drive for the following reasons:
- In a stroke of luck, my Monday was completely free.
- Being a Monday morning, it seemed unlikely that there would be substantial crowds. As exciting as a rescued park is, most people are still unlikely to drop what they are doing and flock to it.
- There was also a slight storm forecast, which has worked wonders for my luck with crowds.
- If the crowds looked unmanageable, I could turn right around and abort mission. I like driving in new places, so the trip would be satisfying in and of itself.
- Indiana Beach is operating at 50% capacity through July 3, at which point it apparently intends to remove that restriction. If I would have any chance at a safe visit, this was the day.
I pulled in expecting the worst, and got the near-best. While Friday's event painted a troubling picture, this sleepy Monday morning simply didn't draw a large enough crowd to cause problems. As more guests arrived and it became obvious that I would not be able to self-distance on rides, I stuck to my plan and left. I only stayed for about 80 minutes, and yet I got as many rides as I cared to get.
Most of the parking lots were empty when I pulled in at 9:45. Indiana Beach, by the way, has a large, free grass parking lot with a shorter gate walk than many full-price Cedar Fair and Six Flags lots. The walk has plenty of pedestrian room, as well as a great view of Steel Hawg. The North entrance gate is situated amid a few of the resort buildings, which give off a laid-back, old-school boardwalk vibe.
While I had to shift around somewhat passive-aggressively, the gate crowd was small, and I was able to maintain 6 feet of space. I had a few hitches getting my day ticket to scan at the gate, so I was provided a wristband, which also failed to scan. Ticket attendants seemed receptive to guests who wanted space, but were not themselves meticulous about distancing or proper mask usage. All mouths were covered, but I saw more than one exposed employee nose. A lone security guard was performing temperature checks on admitted guests. He saw my scanner issues, apologized, and let me through, but I then had to remind him to scan my temperature. My issues likely just threw him off-guard, as I saw him diligently check all prior parties, including groups with multiple children. The park was nearly empty for the opening hour, so once I was in the park, I felt completely in control of my safety.
As for my safety measures:
- I wore a mask on my face from the minute I left my car to the minute I got back in.
- I carried my own personal hand sanitizer in case park sanitizer stands were sparse (check) or empty (check).
- I did not touch anything except for ride restraints, and sanitized my hands after every ride.
- I used a restroom solely to wash my hands and forearms with soap. (The soap dispenser was well-stocked.)
- I did not touch anything except my steering wheel and door handle on the drive home, and immediately showered when I got home.
I had also prepared mentally to insist, politely or bluntly, that other guests back away from me, but this issue only arose twice, when children were admitted to the row directly behind me on rides. This tells me that Indiana Beach does not intend to run trains at half-capacity. Perhaps this is better to limit crowded lines, but strictly speaking, a full train puts passengers within six feet of each other for the duration of the ride. Readers beware.
The worst part is that this happened on trains that were less than half-full. In fact, I had as many Zen rides as not. Of the guests in the park, I noticed two who appeared to be coaster enthusiasts on solo trips, but the other two dozen or so guests were young families, meaning that the coasters were empty. Despite walk-on conditions, operations were somewhat slow - to be expected, given that many operators were still training on their rides. Staff were courteous and cordial, but Cornball Express in particular seemed to have difficult restraint sensors.
Steel Hawg (Credit 45, 2/4 Today, 16/48 Overall)
I had not planned to start my day with Steel Hawg, but seeing it completely deserted in the front of the park, it seemed foolish to go anywhere else. This was not my first Alan Schilke creation, so I knew what sorts of boundary-pushing elements I was in for, but I still managed to underestimate a few spots on my first ride. I was the only passenger in my four-person car (for which I was grateful), and I had the full attention of the operators helping me get the three-piece restraint in place. (To be honest, I might not have been smart enough to figure it out for myself.) After a fast ascent up the lift hill, the ride sets up its outrageous beyond-vertical drop with a devilishly-tight turnaround. The ride is 12 years old and runs like new, and yet I would swear that the car is actually tearing itself off the track with the intensity of the laterals, even on that first turn. Beyond-vertical drops are difficult to describe, and simply must be felt, but of the few I have experienced, I think that Steel Hawg's is the best. The ride's two inversions are unique and offer excellent hangtime, but I was surprised at how gentle the sloped in-line twist felt. It was awesome to gain speed through an inversion like that, though, and it is downright impressive that thrills of this caliber fit into a layout this small.
I do not know how this ride fares during a typical operating season, but even among the sparse Monday-morning crowd, Steel Hawg was not popular. I was the only person in the queue for my first ride, at about 10:10, as well as for my ride about an hour later. I overheard guests commenting on the drop, which I imagine is a deterrent for many younger riders. If this ride is generally a hit, though, I do not envy the crew that has to move a long line cycling four-person cars.
Tig'rr Coaster (Credit 46, 4/4 Today, 33/48 Overall)
My mental "itinerary" actually had me going to Tig'rr Coaster first, seeing the two-passenger cars and worrying about close rides with strangers. Luckily, I was again the only person in the queue for Tig'rr, and opted to sit in the front seat. There was one rider on the other car, but I was able to wait just outside the station until he was dispatched. I enjoyed the car and the shape of the seat, though it would quickly get cramped for anybody over six feet tall. I have not been on too many Schwarzkopf rides, but I have fond memories of all of them. With all of the developments in the amusement industry over the last four decades, little of Tig'rr Coaster remains noteworthy, but from lift to brake run, the layout is solid, comfortable, and charming. The course features two low-to-the-ground banked turns that draw strong lateral and positive G-forces. I did not quite gray out, but felt a little something rounding both of these corners. The coaster is built atop some shop structures, giving it a height boost and allowing for a nice view of the water and the wooden coasters. In particular, the interaction with Cornball Express is exciting. While this is not a "destination ride" by any means, I wish that more were still in operation, and it makes a solid backbone for a small park to build from.
Hoosier Hurricane (Credit 47, 3/4 Today, 25/48 Overall)
Whenever I read about this park, enthusiasts focus the majority of their attention on Cornball Express, not seeming to express an opinion of any sort on Hoosier Hurricane. This left me a little bit nervous entering the station, figuring that I would get either a completely dull ride or an unbearably rough one. I was pleasantly surprised, then, that it was more than decent. My first ride was from the back car, and the only other passenger was in the front row. I think that I can count this as a Zen ride. From what I can tell, Hoosier Hurricane and Cornball Express each run a single train, so this should further highlight the sparseness of today's opening crowd. The S-bend pre-drop was a bit sluggish, but it didn't stop the first drop from being satisfying. Even from the back row, I got very little airtime, but the profiling made it feel substantial all the same. The following double-up also lacked airtime, but the ride made up for it with a gut-punch of floater heading down the second drop. I hovered all the way through the hand-chopper caused by the footbridge. Unfortunately, I landed into some light jackhammering, but this was more fun than painful. After the turnaround, the coaster hits an unbanked turn, but the laterals are not strong. The next three elements follow a similar pattern to the "out" half: drop with little airtime, drop with solid airtime, slight jackhammering in the valley. The ride experience concludes with a trio of fun little bunny hills into the brakes. If there is any criticism of the ride to be had, it is perhaps that the layout is a bit unremarkable, but it would take a special kind of malcontent to be upset with a fun out-and-back woodie racing along a boardwalk. I gladly hopped back on for a re-ride from the front. There was much less airtime from the front, but the ride was glass-smooth, and the bunny hills seemed more aggressive. Cycles were not fast, but the operators were doing a thorough and efficient job. My hope is that there are more than two attendants on weekends to speed up restraint checks with large crowds. Especially if the park does not enforce train capacity, any chance for crowds to build up scares me.
After my rides on Hoosier Hurricane, I walked around the park a bit to get some pictures, watch flat rides, and just enjoy the atmosphere of being in a park. Indiana Beach truly is a slice of mid-century Americana, providing a Rockwellesque collage of lakefront, glowing lights, the sounds of mechanical wonders, the smell of cheap fried foods, and an all-around electric energy. Bravo to Mr. Staples for getting the park into any sort of usable condition on a timeline of two months. At this point, the entrance to Cornball Express was closed, so this walk bought me a little bit of time. Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain was also not cycling, but they were allowing a small crowd outside the gate. I had no intention of riding in those tiny enclosed cars with no assurance of safe distance from other guests. I walked back across the park to the gate, and to Steel Hawg, for another lap. My second ride was even better than my first, and I was acclimating to the idea of leaving the park without riding Cornball Express, using Steel Hawg as a high note to end my morning. On a whim, I took one last walk to the main plaza, and saw a train with passengers on the course!
Cornball Express (Credit 48, 1/4 Today, 15/48 Overall)
For a long time in my child and teen years, I assumed that stats equated to thrills. I was most impressed by "big" and "fast," and my ride experiences generally came from my preconceived notions of a ride. I hope that 12-year-old Me would have had an open-enough mind to appreciate the blistering punch that Cornball Express packs. Custom Coasters International has truly blessed Indiana Beach with some perfect attractions for the location, and this ride generates high thrills from a low height. Its listed max speed is 45 m.p.h., and at times it honestly feels like 70 m.p.h. I took two laps, one from the back row and one from the second row. (I hear that the wildest experience is in the front of this ride.) Every drop feels impossibly steep for the elevation change, and the speed and wildness are further enhanced by hand-choppers. Cornball Express shares structure with Hoosier Hurricane, and wraps around Tig'rr Coaster, so nearly the whole journey feels like a dream ride through a mess of track. One thing that the POV could not prepare me for was the strength of the laterals going around the helix. It is shallow-banked, long, and fast, and your left hip will certainly feel it by the end. Because of that helix, this coaster feels more like a hurricane than Hoosier Hurricane. I did not notice a major difference in either of my rides, and was greatly impressed with the mix of forces from the second car.
As I got off of Cornball Express, I noticed that a few folks were finally strolling about the paths. It was about 11:15 at this point. As previously mentioned, no restrictions seemed to be in place for coaster seating, which I found off-putting. A crowd of any substance could lead to people being "pinned" with no choice but to stand within six feet of other guests. That seemed as strong a cue as any to take my leave... so I did. Typically, 80 minutes of park time would not be a "good" use of a day, but under these uncertain and ever-changing circumstances, I do not regret my short visit. My one feeble hope is that the general public finds it in their hearts to commit more aggressively to safe practices so that parks can remain a beacon of hope in our pandemic-stricken world.
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