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News & Rumors
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INDIANA BEACH
Monticello, Indiana
(Abbreviation: IB)
Owned By: IB Parks and Entertainment
 Park News - (7/21/2024) Indiana Beach has been having a bit of an issue with All American Triple Loop this season. The long delayed restoration of a classic Schwarzkopf coaster was hailed as a major achievement when it finally was ready to open to the public, with reports coming back about a very intense ride experience. Before long those reports turned more into complaints about the rough ride experience, due to the accordion style over-the-shoulder restraints on the trains they used.
If you don’t recall, the park opted to not use the trains they purchased with the coaster from Mexico, some of which were likely in a broken state due to the derail accident that took place in Mexico before the ride was retired there. Instead Indiana Beach was able to purchase Scwarzkopf trains that were in operating shape from the retired Mindbender in Canada to use on the Triple Loop. Unfortunately those trains did not have the same lap-bar only restraint system that the original Triple Loop trains had, but instead had added some very unforgiving OTS that were known to cause some serious head-bashing on the Mindbender.
If you had the chance to visit Six Flags Astroworld in Houston and ride the Texas Tornado when it was there from 1998 to 2000 then you are already familiar with this rather brutal and uncomfortable style restraint system. Now while I think many were hoping that Indiana Beach would find a way to update the trains to remove these unnecessary restraints, now a new issue has been reported this weekend.
According to a post on Twitter yesterday sent my way, the train loaded with passengers on Triple Loop was reported as suffering a rollback on the lift hill, where the train then proceeded to fly backwards and “tore through the station with the smell of burnt rubber and smoke everywhere.” A picture of the train where it came to a stop in the brake-run behind the station was posted with the post that you can see below.
There has been no word on the current status of the coaster today, but it is worth mentioning that it actually also had a rollback about two months ago when it first opened. That event was caught on video, but there was no smoke or nasty sounds, it simply stopped the train in the brake run and immediately pushed it back into the station that time. Since it only runs one train there is no risk of a collision, so they were able to reopen it right away then, but this time it appears that the train stayed in the brake run. If you are wondering how this happens, unlike a traditional coaster, Triple Loop does not have a standard chain driven lift hill, but instead the curved lift uses a series of pinch-wheel lift motors.
(6/1/2024) Interesting things happening at Indiana Beach lately. While the park finally got their new All American Triple Loop coaster up and running which is fantastic. For the most part, we’ve heard it’s been running well and earning its reputation as offering a very intense ride experience. There apparently was a weird thing taking place for a day or two, where due to a miscommunication, security was asking guests standing in the area not to take pictures or video of the ride in action. I’m guessing the true intent was meant to say not to use a camera while riding, but I really don’t know… but regardless that has been cleared up.
Otherwise, be warned that we have heard that on occasion the ride has been closed for an entire day here and there to get worked on, which is to be expected for a new ride at any park. Fortunately the park has a nice collection of other rides to enjoy, even if Triple Loop is closed, as well as being able to enjoy such a unique location for a park as this. In fact, the park posted a great video POV on their Sky Ride crossing across the lakeside park that offers up a fantastic view of exactly why Indiana Beach’s location makes it so unique. (see below - note, it was posted as a LIVE video and is subject to the occasional low-frame rate or freeze-up in the stream, but the views of the park is worth it to watch.)
Oh, while I’m on the subject of talking about all the other rides at the park, another interesting thing has happened. The trains for Triple Loop’s sister coaster from Mexico, Cascabel, have been sitting at the park since they arrived with all the parts and pieces of Triple Loop. Meanwhile the rest of Cascabel (a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop formerly known as Laser Loop when it ran at Kennywood from 1980 to 1990), have been sitting in a storage lot at Niagara Amusement Park for the past two years. It was assumed, based on some old social media posts when it arrived, that the former Laser Loop (Cascabel) would eventually be set up at the Niagara area park, but in a weird twist of fate, at least half (if not all by now) of the track for the shuttle loop coaster have been loaded up on flatbed trucks and shipped to Indiana Beach in the past week or two. You can see a very recent photo of some track sections being unloaded into a storage area at Indiana Beach below as well.
So what does this all mean? Well, it’s not good news for Niagara Amusement Park for sure, as the park has also been backtracking on their social media accounts as of late when being asked about the shuttle loop. In fact, they’ve gone so far as to reply to questions online to flat out say that they never said that the coaster would be installed at Niagara, when in fact their very first Instagram post from back on February 9, 2022 was to note the arrival of the track at the Niagara park, with the message that “Arriving right here at Niagara Amusement Park, this classic shuttle loop coaster (with flywheel launch!) is expected to begin construction as soon as the weather cooperates!!”
Well, Niagara’s loss is now Indiana Beach’s gain… maybe. While the track and trains are now being reunited as a set at Indiana Beach, this still does not entirely guarantee that it will be installed at Indiana Beach. There is always the possibility that everything is being gathered together in order to ship it all off somewhere else, either for refurbishment or in the case of a possible sale. Then again, now that Indiana Beach has just gone through the lengthy process of refurbishing and re-opening Triple Loop, perhaps they now feel confident in working on the Shuttle Loop as well. The long but narrow footprint required for it may actually make it easier to install at Indiana Beach as opposed to Niagara. In fact, based on the footprint of other identical model rides, I think it would actually fit right into the space along the edge of the parking lot that lies on E Indiana Beach Rd between the Triple Loop and Double Shot, adding yet another roller coaster to this expanded pathway off the main section of the park that is also home to Steel Hawg. Again… not even a rumor of this yet, just a simple observation on my part as to what could possibly happen.
(2/11/2024) Indiana Beach is bringing back a special offer for park fans to purchase customized paver bricks to be used on pathways along the Boardwalk or on a new path that will run past the new All American Triple Loop Coaster. Both locations are currently available for $75 per brick. I’m just not sure how much you are allowed to etch into the brick itself but follow this link to can see an example of previous bricks added in 2021.
2024 - All American Triple Loop - (4/22/2024) Indiana Beach has confirmed that the All American Triple Loop coaster will be ready for guests on opening weekend, which is set for May 11th, 2024.
(4/14/2024) Big news from Indiana Beach, as the All American Triple Loop has been spotted making test rounds at long last! It’s great to see this classic Schwarzkopf coaster up and running once again after all this time!
(11/10/2023) Fantastic news from Indiana Beach this week as the park finally posted an update on social media about the All American Triple Loop. The park has confirmed that at long last testing has begun on their new roller coaster, and they post a brief video showing a train heading up the lift hill.
One thing worth noting is that the train being tested only has three cars, for a total of 12 seats per train. Prior to being moved to the US, the roller coaster always seemed to run with 5 car trains. With the change to shorter trains, it is expected that the ride experience could be notably different, as it could result in the trains maintaining a constant speed through the various elements in the layout. While this could provide for a wilder ride, it may also prompt the park to add trim brakes if deemed necessary. Time will tell when it finally opens in 2024.
(9/22/2023) The latest update to Theme Park Tribune is calling Indiana Beach out onto the carpet. As our readers know, Indiana Beach was saved from destruction when it was purchased by Gene Staples and in the Spring of 2020, and by the end of the year the new owner had also confirmed the purchase of a used classic Schwarzkopf roller coaster from Mexico which would be renamed as the All-American Triple Loop once installed in Indiana.
At the time it was indicated that the roller coaster would be refurbished and rebuilt in time to open for the 2021 season, which delayed to 2022, and then earlier this year it seems almost certain that the Triple Loop would finally reopen in 2023. Unfortunately, the coaster is still sitting idle and now Indiana Beach has officially closed for the 2023 season with no explanation about the status of the All-American Triple Loop.
Hopefully Indiana Beach is preparing to make some kind of announcement about what is going on, as we would all respect them for some transparency right now. Even more so, it is highly likely that there are very good reasons for the delays, as anyone who saw the condition of the track when it arrived from Mexico couldn’t help but notice that it did not appear that it was taken apart and loaded up for shipping from Mexico with care. Clearly Indiana Beach isn’t going to open a ride that is simply not ready, or still in need of repairs. It is also telling that while the trains were loaded onto the tracks earlier this year, I never heard a single report from anyone claiming to see it make even a single test run. So we get it… there are still kinks to work out, but it would also be nice to have a bit more communication from the park about what is going on. This is a classic coaster after all, and one worth taking the time to preserve, so there would be an audience out there if they would just post the occasional status video or progress blog.
(5/8/2023) A great picture on twitter now shows several of the Galaxyland Mindbender cars are all now on site at Indiana Beach, likely to be put to use on the All American Triple Loop.
(4/29/2023) Indiana Beach has finally confirmed the name of the next roller coaster opening this year will be the “All American Triple Loop”. As you are likely already aware, this is the same classic Schwarzkopf coaster that was originally built to travel the German fair circuit in 1984 as “Dreier Looping” (Triple Loop) and over the years it has had many homes and many other names… Triple Loop, Magnum Force, and Quimera. Now that it is being set up for what will likely be the coaster’s final home… it will end as the “All American Triple Loop”.
I’m not sure how the German fans will feel about that name, given the ride’s heritage, but it will be fantastic to see it running once again regardless. The color version of the logo is a nice touch however, as it has all the great Evel Knieval vibes on the costume worn by I.B. Crow.
Oh, and I haven’t seen a photo confirming their arrival, but a video was posted to YouTube showing the trains for Canada’s retired Mindbender coaster loaded up onto a flatbed truck said to be on the way to Indiana Beach. These cars would likely be better trains to put to use on the All American Triple Loop as the Mindbender trains spent their entire lifespan inside an indoor location and are likely to arrive in running condition. This would also solve any potential negative feedback about using the trains that came up from Mexico where the ride ran as Quimera and was retired after a train with faulty maintenance caused a double-fatality accident in 2019.
(4/15/2023) Indiana Beach has made a new Facebook post about the status of their latest roller coaster, which is the refurbishment and installation of the famous Schwarzkopf “Dreier Looping” coaster. According to the post things are now progressing rapidly, with the new station structure now nearly completed. “Anticipation is building as we eagerly await further updates in the coming weeks leading up to the coaster's grand opening.”
So from the sound of things, it definitely sounds like 2023 will finally be the year that this epic project is complete. If anyone has passed by lately, I’d love to see some current photos of the coaster.
(10/27/22) Indiana Beach has been pretty quiet all season about the status of the Schwarzkopf Triple Loop coaster they’ve been trying to rebuild and refurbish, and of course since it is nearly the end of October, we know it missed the 2022 season. Well it isn’t much, but Indiana Beach did post a little something of a teaser to social media this week confirming that they’ve put the lead coaster car on the track at last to begin doing some testing.
(2/13/22) Good news from Indiana Beach, as the park has confirmed that the last track pieces for the new Triple Loop coaster have now been put into place. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do to finish everything up, but it is good to see the park making great progress.
Meanwhile the park has also set April 30th as the opening day for the 2022 season, though I wouldn’t plan on the new coaster being ready to open for that day until the park says otherwise.
(1/31/22) A great new video construction update from Indiana Beach from Coaster Focus shows off the progress on the Triple Loop coaster. One other interesting item was discovered in the video around the 7:55 spot in the timecode, but not mentioned by the person shooting the video, is a large blue wheel looking object in the background. It was pointed out to me, and I have to agree, that this appears to be part of the flywheel launch system for a Schwarzkopf shuttle looper. With the popular rumor being that they bought the former Cascabel coaster (formerly Laser Loop from Kennywood) from Mexico along with the Triple Loop, this would make sense. In previous construction updates people have also spotted what looked like some of Cascabels’ green coaster cars also on site at Indiana Beach, though they have since been removed from view.
In an old video about Kennywood that features a section about the former Laser Loop coaster, you get a fantastic view of what seems to be this very same flywheel at the 20:30 mark.
(1/24/22) While it may not be the prettiest coaster to look at right now, the Triple Loop coaster now appears to be pushing towards a full installation at Indiana Beach. All three loops along with a large number of track and support pieces have been assembled on the site, as shown in the pictures sent in by one of our readers.
(12/7/21) Good news from Indiana Beach this week, because the Triple Loop coaster is now going up once again. Currently all three loops are in place, and some of the other track sections now going up as well.
(11/4/21) We’ve heard a few variants of the story, but overall the message has been not to worry about the pieces of the Triple Loop coming down at Indiana Beach. The plan is still to install the coaster at the park in the near future, and that the pieces are being taken down to be checked out and worked on, as part of the process of getting the coaster ready to rebuild again. So stay tuned!
(8/9/21) Follow the link to a trip report from Indiana Beach that includes a look at the construction site for the Triple Loop / Dreier Looping coaster. Based on what I can see so far, it looks like construction has been paused for awhile now. Based on this, I don’t think the chances of the coaster opening before 2022 are very good at this point, which is probably for the best. Indiana Beach can use the extra time to really refurb the coaster as needed so they can open it in the best shape possible when the time is right. No need to rush this.
(6/20/21) A reader sent in a new version of the Indiana Beach park map which has now added the former Dreier Looping coaster into place and labeled it as Triple Loop. It also shows what we can only assume will be the future paint scheme for the coaster once finished, which will keep the three red Loops, but paint the rest of the track Blue and have a White support structure.
(6/12/21) An extensive collection of photos showing off the progress on the new coaster at Indiana Beach can be found on Instagram posted to SoCalCoaster521 IG feed that is really worth checking out just to see them all. With SoCalCoaster521’s permission, I’m also posting a few highlights below onto Screamscape as well.
While a couple of the loops are in the process of being assembled on site at Indiana Beach, the photos also give us a close up look at all the support and track pieces scattered around the site. A number of them have some interesting green spray paint markings on them, pointing out various points of damage they have suffered over the years with notes like “IMPACT DAM”, “CONCAVE”, “BROKEN WELD”, “BENT SUPPORT” and such, noting where it appears repair work will be needed to finish setting up the coaster. While well used from years of service, they did note that the track pieces did appear to be in good shape and free of damage notations.
He also spotted the shell of Dreier Looping’s former lead blue car, which appeared to have been scavenged for parts during its time in Mexico. According to RCDB’s listing, the coaster was listed as having five trains when it ran in Flamingo Land as Magnum Force, which dropped to just three functional trains during its time in Mexico at La Feria Chapultepec Magico. So it isn’t known how many functional trains the coaster may have by the time it opens at Indiana Beach.
(11/25/20) Some exciting news from Indiana Beach dropped late yesterday afternoon, and if you follow our social media accounts you’ll already know half the good news. The park has announced that they have purchased the famous Schwarzkopf Dreier Looping coaster that once traveled the German fair circuit before making resident stints in several theme parks.
It is fair to say that this ride has traveled the globe. It was first run as a traveling ride across Europe starting in 1984 under famous showman Rudolf Barth who owned it for 12 years. Barth sold the coaster to Sunway Park in Malaysia where it ran from 1997 to 1999 as the Triple Loop Coaster. From there it traveled back to Europe and landed at Flamingoland in the UK where it was renamed Magnum Force and ran from 2000 to 2005. It sat idle for a year but ended up traveling across the Atlantic where it landed at La Feria Chapultepec in Mexico where it opened in 2007 as Quimera. It called Mexico home until 2019 until it hit the news headlines in a bad way when the last car derailed in mid-ride and caused the death of two riders.
The accident was blamed on an extreme lack of maintenance by the operators of that park, with the resulting investigation that followed determining that the operator of La Feria Chapultepec had let the condition of many of the rides at the park deteriorate to the point that they were simply unsafe to run. The park was closed immediately and the operators removed and a search begun in early 2020 to find a new responsible company able to repair and run the park properly. With six companies bidding to take over the park, the hope was that it would be able to reopen in Spring 2020, but the rise of COVID-19 put those plans on hold and to my knowledge the park did not reopen at all in 2020.
Either way, the former Dreier Looping coaster was going to be removed and it will now come to Indiana Beach for the 2021 season and be renamed once again. The final name for the ride has yet to be determined, but for now they are just calling it Triple Loop. The ride has long been known for intense G-forces, with RCDB reporting that riders hit 4.7 G’s at one point on the coaster’s compact layout, standing just 111 ft tall and hitting a top speed of 53 mph. If the coaster continues to use the standard Schwarzkopf trains it has for years, you can count on it having a simple lap-bar only restraint system as intended. For the lovers of classic Schwarzkopf coasters, this is fantastic news as not only is this famous ride being saved from potential destruction, but it will be coming to the USA for the first time ever.
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Track Record
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Indiana Beach
Monticello, Indiana
Abbreviation: IB
www.indianabeach.com
Newest Developments
2022 - Cyclone
2021 - Sea Warrior
2020 - Flying Bobs
2019 - Rocky’s Toy Box
2016 - Zero-G
2014 - Viper, Grand Carousel, Pumpkin Wheel, Dragon Wagon, Growler, Baby Baron, Rock ‘n Tug
2011 - Adventure Point
2008 - Steel Hawg
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