On August 19th, 2001, about 30 ACErs and guests converged on Fun Spot Amusement Park in Angola, Indiana. This was my second time to the park, and the first time I could actually relax and enjoy the small family park at a slower pace.
The day started with the threat of rain. We were driving from Michigan, and almost considered not going when we heard that heavy thunderstorms were expected all day. We took our chances and drove for about an hour and a half, just across the Indiana border. We thought we would be an hour late, but it turned out we were actually a couple of minutes early thanks to Indiana time (one of the great mysteries of the universe). The park opened at 10AM, and it did rain for a bit. I enjoyed some pretty wet rides on the Tilt-a-Whirl and Flyers with my niece. We also had ERT on Afterburner for the first hour.
The Afterburner is a very smooth and surprisingly intense Arrow Shuttle loop coaster, one of only four left on the planet. It originally operated at Circus Circus near Orlando, Florida, and was moved here in 1991. Unfortunately, the elevator that originally took passengers up to the station was not installed at Fun Spot, and was left to rust in a field next to Fun Spot. Riders must now climb 6 flights of stairs to enjoy the coaster. The back seat on the Afterburner offers an intense trip through the loop backwards (somewhat similar to sitting in the back of the train on a Vekoma Boomerang, but much smoother), and even some airtime as you come back up the hill into the station. It's a great coaster for a park this size.
After ERT we were treated to a photo walk around the afterburner, and took our group picture in front of the old elevator shaft.
Lunch time was a nice little picnic with hotdogs and hamburgers, cooked by the park owners themselves! One of the park owners talked to us for a while, telling how she and her husband had owned the park for the past few years and planed to continue to improve and expand it for at least the next five years. She even passed around a notepad to ask for our input as to what Fun Spot should do to expand thier business. Of course, we logical ACErs couldn't help but suggest a little Ohio coaster company called CCI. I can only imagine what a nice mid-sized CCI woodie could do for this park.
After lunch came the preservation fund auction. Several items were auctioned off to benefit the ACE museum fund and preservation fund, including some spacers from the Afterburner (made in West Germany), a bolt from the Hoosier Hurricane, a Son of Beast poster, a piece of wood from The Legend, a bolt from the Raven (which I am the proud new owner of!), and a pin from Fun Spot's Scrambler. The big-ticket surprise item was a sample of Corn Ball Express' PTC train. Apperently, when a park orders a PTC train, PTC sends them a mock piece of the train so the park can see how the color combination looks. This one of a kind item raised $155 for ACE preservation efforts.
The rest of the day brought sunshine, good weather, and relatively light crowds. We were able to enjoy Fun Spot's nice collection of rides, including the Flyers, a Ferris Wheel, Bumper Cars, a Sea Dragon, and the parks other coaster, a Zyklon with four passenger cars and over-the-shoulder restraints. A miniature golf tournament and one more hour of ERT on the Afterburner rounded out the day.
Fun Spot also has a small zoo, with quite a few animals. There was a zebra, camel, llamas, lemurs, a bobcat, a lynx, emus, a goat petting farm, and reindeer. But most of us agreed that the most interesting animals were two African porcupines- and their new baby, born just the day before we arrived. The tiny creature hung out underneath it's parents huge quills for protection. Hopefully Fun Spot will continue to expand and improve this zoo, as many families with young children ventured back there throughout the day.
Overall, Fun Spot is a nice family park that happens to have a very good coaster, and a small assortment of nice rides. The owners really have improved the park. When I visited 4 years ago it seemed very run down, and now signs of improvement can be seen everywhere. Thanks to Carol and Scott Holmes for arranging this event, and the owners of Fun Spot for rolling out the red carpet. Hopefully in a few years ACE will hold another event here - to celebrate the opening of a brand new CCI woodie.
