On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, Indiana Beach stunned the coaster enthusiast community with an announcement that they will be adding two new rides for the 2021 season. The first of which, will be a smaller flat ride named The Polyp. While exciting for the park, that news was quickly forgotten by the time readers hit the first sentence of the following paragraph. That sentence read, “The second ride will be the park’s sixth coaster, a Triple Loop coaster designed and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf.”
It didn’t take long for enthusiasts to figure out which coaster Indiana Beach would be receiving either – La Feria Chapultepec Magico’s Quimera (2007-19), the world’s first roller coaster to feature three vertical loops. Sadly, this coaster’s operations ceased last year due to an accident that claimed the lives of two individuals on Sunday, September 28, 2019.
This accident, while determined to be ultimately caused by neglect in both maintenance and operations, still caused many to ask if this was the right move for Indiana Beach. In my opinion, it is. Even with that unfortunate history, I think this coaster will fit in perfectly with Indiana Beach’s already unique line up. Here are some of my thoughts as to why.
Reconditioned & Run the Right Way
With all due respect to those who lost their lives in September of 2019, investigations placed the blame on the park for its neglect. While it would be totally understandable for a park to want to demolish a ride following such an accident, it is also within reason for another owner to purchase the ride and give it the proper maintenance to run effectively. That is what Indiana Beach is claiming to do via their press release.
“This ride will be completely reconditioned and installed in time for the summer of 2021,” claims Indiana Beach.
This, to me, is the most important factor in my feelings for this being a good idea. This whole purchase and relocation hinges on this ride getting the repairs and any modifications it requires. Corners cannot be cut. A tragic event has already happened with this ride and people need to feel like it is safe to ride this classic coaster again.
A Precedence Set in 2013
This is not unheard of in the industry either. Look no further than the 2013 accident on Six Flags Over Texas’ (SFOT) New Texas Giant. Sadly, this accident also claimed someone’s life, but the ride was inspected, changes were made, and it runs to this very day. I hope whatever Indiana Beach decides to rename Quimera, that this will also be the case. And yes, I think a rename is in order to further distance itself from its past.
It’s a sad reality that accidents, injuries, and even fatalities will happen with in anything in life. How we respond and how we try to assure that those things will never happen again is the ultimate goal.
A Gift From One Enthusiast to Fellow Enthusiasts
Indiana Beach owner, Gene Staples, who saved the park in early 2019 from closure, has said in several interviews that he considers himself a coaster and/or amusement park enthusiast. I believe this is why he saw value in such an unexpected decision.
This coaster has a history dating all the way back to 1984 when it operated on the German fair circuit under the name Dreier Looping. It would then go on to reside at the following parks: Sunway Lagoon as Triple Loop Coaster (1997-99), Flamingo Land as Magnum Force (2000-05), and then finally at La Feria Chapultepec Magico where it had the following names: Montana Infinitium (2007-14), Montana Triple Loop (2014-16), and Quimera (2017-19).
Of all the coaster’s former locations, none have been in the United States. By adding this almost 40 year old coaster to Indiana Beach, Staples is giving many U.S.-based enthusiasts a chance to ride a ride that many have probably not experienced. There are many enthusiasts here in the states that will travel across the country, but not as many are willing, or able, to travel abroad. I think Staples knows this in the back of his head and he knows enthusiasts will come to Indiana Beach to ride this “new credit.”
A Gift From One Enthusiast to the Surrounding Community
If you read my previous reason and thought, “Enthusiasts don’t pay the bills,” you’d be right. The general public and the surrounding community who frequent the park do. So by adding this new coaster, Staples is actually double dipping when it comes to gift giving. While some of us enthusiasts are already planning on heading out to Indiana Beach again, or for our first time, the park’s surrounding community has also expressed some excitement over this announcement.
These are the people who fought to save Indiana Beach in 2019. These were the people petitioning for someone to save the park and not let all the history die. These same people are just as happy as us enthusiasts to see Staples bring this “new” ride to the park so soon. He said he was going to invest in the park and he’s done just that since the day he took over ownership. He should be commended for his dedication and thinking outside the box in this case.
The Park's Second Relocated Schwarzkopf
Upon Indiana Beach releasing their press release, the first thing that that popped into my head when thinking about their updated line up was that the park would now have two Schwarzkopf coasters. Tig’rr Coaster, the park’s Jet Star, has been operating at the park since 1984. Like Quimera, this Schwarzkopf also resided elsewhere, operating at the now defunct Georgia park, Holiday Beach from 1976-83 under the name Jet Star.
Without doing the research, I think it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that Indiana Beach, once they open this coaster, will be on a very short list of parks to have two Schwarzkopf coasters in operation, if not the only one.
A "Fitting" Place
It’s hard to explain this without just saying, it feels “fitting” to me that Indiana Beach would be the park to acquire a ride such as Quimera. I can’t fathom a major chain like a Six Flags, Cedar Fair, or Herschend Family Entertainment wanting to add a historic ride like this to their parks. And that’s okay. They have business models focused on adding new ride models and “record breaking” coasters. That works for them and that’s what their visitors have come to expect.
Thankfully parks like Indiana Beach exist as well. Much like Knoebels, a park closer to home for me, these are the parks where an older ride can live on. It has worked wonders for Knoebels with Phoenix and hopefully this holds true for Indiana Beach with Quimera. Between these classic relocations and the one-of-a-kind rides that both these parks offer, it makes them a must visit for any enthusiast. They give their guests rides that are hard to find anywhere else.
I Can't Wait to Visit Again
Having only visited Indiana Beach once, back in 2018 with Mindy. I fell in love with its atmosphere and setting. We had an amazing time. Indiana Beach was the first day of our three day trip that also saw us visit Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. Even with those two parks as part of that trip, neither overshadowed Indiana Beach for me. All were bucket list parks, but Indiana Beach just hit me differently. Kind of like, well, Knoebels.
When I heard earlier this year that Indiana Beach would be closing, my heart broke. I’ve been wanting to go back to the park ever since 2018 and I thought I’d never get that chance. Thankfully Staples came in and saved the park. With all his hard work and this new coaster addition, a return trip will be a must. Thankfully for me, Sam and Greg really want to visit the park as well. I know I’m looking forward to making that happen. I’m certain they will both fall in love with the charm of Indiana Beach as well.
