Like Holiday World, Indiana Beach is a classic example of the Field of Dreams adage, “If You Build Them They Will Come.” It has five outstanding coasters and people come from everywhere to ride them. IB has the lake, the other rides, the restaurant and the lodges, but it is the coasters that dominate the skyline, run behind and above and through everything else, and provide the screams and clatter inescapably associated with the place.

Tigrr --- This 1980 Schwarzkopf Wild Mouse is The Best in the country. No other park we’ve seen has two rodent coasters. Don’t let the cartoon name fool you --- this is no kiddie ride. There’s no leisurely snaking back and forth on top of the layout and then gently dipping down and back through a series of bunny hills. No. The first drop and hard right turn inflict some powerful Gs and laterals. There’s no fake braking here; the banking is 90 degrees in places and even veteran coaster riders find their knuckles white from gripping the hand rails. Tigrr uses four person in line rockets. They’re lightning fast and unforgiving.

Indiana Beach thus pulls off an amazing double. Right across the midway from each other, you have the number one and number two ranked rides in their category in the nation.

LoCoSuMo --- The Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain. What words can one use? Unique? Clever? Creative? Brilliant? Winner of the Coaster of the Year Award when it debuted, this is America’s number one Mine Train ride. To overcome the lack of space, they use an elevator rather than a lift hill to pull cars to the top. It is a nonstop breathtaking spin through hairpin turns, drops and helices, with tunnels and special effects thrown in for good measure. Turns are so tight you’re almost spinning in place. Rather than trains, you ride in short wheelbase cars with two facing seats. This allows for the quick turns. The ride is quite different in the backward seat. Some complain about roughness and jostling, but that’s inherent in the quick turns, drops and rises.

Hoosier Hurricane --- 1994. Wow. We rank this as the number two out and back woodie in the country, behind only Voyage. Nothing fancy here. No helices or laterals, since it’s straight along the lake shore, one bend around the Giant Wheel, and straight back. But it gives continual puffs of airtime, and it rivals Thunder Run in its relentless speed. The drop under the suspension bridge and numerous drops to the water look innocent enough seen from a distance, but when you’re riding and everything is just a blur, they create amazing visual impressions. How they maintain this much speed for this long from a single beginning drop is a real engineering issue, especially with that turnaround. Hurricane has won several awards over the years and we certainly have it among our top 10 woodies.

Cornball Express --- 2001. The big joke is they claim this is less intense and was built as a family alternative to Hurricane. Don't believe it. This is a vicious ride. What Cornball specializes in is laterals. The whole ride is a series of big and small helices. You weave above, beneath, through and around Hurricane and Tigrr, often sharing supports, and there’s even a log flume to your right. If everything lines up, you have so many plunging coasters in your line of vision it’s disorienting. Cornball doesn’t have the vertical Gs, but the constant speed and turns produces intense laterals. There are no trims here, no pauses, no midrun lift hills, just one drop or turn after the other until you come careening back into the station. Figuring out this coaster is difficult, since it weaves in and out of so much other structure it’s hard to follow its path. Photographing it is equally challenging. Another multiple award winner. Another one of our top 10 woodies.

If you’re coming mainly for the coasters, we urge you to stay either at the lodge right under Hurricane or at one of the bed and breakfast units across the swinging bridge. You can then walk around while the men tune up and test the coasters, talk to them, take photos, and sometimes even get invited to go on a test run. This is a golden opportunity not available at other parks. You can then buy your wristband as soon as the window opens and ride the coasters several times each before the crowds arrive from the outside.