Indiana Beach prepares for new season with new triple-loop coaster
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Four years ago, the future of Indiana Beach in Monticello seemed unclear. The amusement park’s previous owner filed for bankruptcy, and it was believed the park might close permanently.
However, Chicago businessman Gene Staples acquired Indiana Beach, which reopened to the public that same year, though later in the year than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials say attendance has been growing steadily since 2020, and they are expecting a big boost when the park opens next week with a major new attraction—The All American Triple Loop Roller Coaster.
Tom Crisci, vice president marketing with Indiana Beach parent IB Parks & Entertainment, told Inside INdiana Business they still struggle with people believing the park closed in 2020.
“We literally never closed. Gene Staples took it over in March of 2020, so Indiana Beach has never missed a season,” Crisci said. “[We’re] getting that word out that it never did close, getting some of those folks to come back. Folks that haven’t been there since pre-COVID, they’re going to be in for a enormous shock, as everything’s painted, everything’s updated. There’s new rides, that have been brought into the park, at least one per year.”
Crisci said maintaining the park’s visitor numbers the first two years after Staples acquired it was difficult, but achievable, especially due to the ability to draw visitors from other states.
“The folks from Illinois were happy to come down because Illinois had some major restrictions in that state during that time,” he said. “So the folks from Illinois definitely embraced it and came down for a long weekend or even for a full week.”
But this year’s big new attraction is the The All American Triple Loop Roller Coaster, which was built in Germany in the 1980s by manufacturer Schwarzkopf and has traveled all over the world. It was most recently in Mexico before moving to Indiana.
“There’s not a lot of places you can go to find a Schwarzkopf roller coaster like the Triple Loop as this is literally the only one left in existence,” Crisci said. “We acquired it in 2020, and our maintenance team broke ground in 2021. Basically, it was a complete rebuild, everything from the nuts and bolts. From the ground up, it’s been a complete rebuild. So it is a new ride, and we’re excited.”
While Indiana Beach did not immediately provide its total attendance figures for 2023, Crisci said they expect attendance to jump 25% with the new roller coaster.
And officials are building toward Indiana Beach’s 100th anniversary in 2026. Crisci said they have a lot of work to do in preparation for the milestone.
“We do our fireworks every year. We’ve brought back the [water] ski show with the Lake City Skiers out of Warsaw; they come out and do four shows a year. We have the historic ballroom, which puts on six complimentary concerts per season,” he said. “So there’s already a lot that we do from an event standpoint, but for that 2026 season, we’re gonna have to up our game and we’re going to really find some some great events for for our guests to enjoy.”
For now, the 2024 season officially kicks off May 11 with a special VIP preview night on May 10 for season pass holders.