Category: Excursions

Tuesday was our annual trip to Indiana Beach. It was originally scheduled for August 16th but last Wednesday, literally five minutes after booking a rental van through Budget, something told me to look at the Indiana Beach website and that’s when I learned they would be closed that day (they move to a weekend-only schedule after this week).

It took some scrambling trying to find a new date that worked for everyone involved (Joe’s kids, their SO’s, and my brother) including a day Budget still had a van large enough available, but we were able to do it! Incidentally, Budget would not allow us to cancel the reservation without charging a $50 fee, even though we called them immediately after realizing the date we chose wouldn’t work. Luckily there’s no charge for changing the reservation, and it ended up being slightly less expensive too. I felt so stupid for not checking the park’s operating hours beforehand, though. Joe pointed out he probably wouldn’t have even done that and we would have drove the two hours there for nothing just like in National Lampoon’s Vacation, so it could have been worse. I just assumed they wouldn’t close during the week until after Labor Day like in previous years, but then again, I’m not sure if that was even the case since we usually went in July. Lesson learned!

Our rental ended up being a black Toyota Sienna which seats 7 people and was actually quite nice. It still had room in the back to put our huge cooler and other bags. We arrived at Budget before 7 am when they opened but no one unlocked the door until a few minutes past 7. Then the computers were down, so what should have taken 10 minutes or less took nearly a half hour which put us behind schedule. Since Budget has crap hours we rented from the one close to where Joe’s son, E, lives so at least once we got the van it was less than five minutes to pick everyone up (we asked them to all meet at E’s house). We had donuts we had bought at Walmart’s bakery (which weren’t bad, especially for $4 per dozen) for everyone in case they hadn’t eaten breakfast.

Between the delay and getting caught waiting for a train, we didn’t get to my parents to pick up my brother J until almost 8:30 but even with stopping at the McDonald’s halfway into our drive (I had to pee really bad), we still got to the park only a half hour after they opened. We opted to pay $10 for VIP parking so we could go back to the van frequently for food and water which worked out great since it was super hot out and a bottle of water in the park is $3.50. Kudos to them for having at least one operational water fountain, though. We also used the van to change into and out of our swimsuits since it had tinted windows.

When we were first looking at ticket prices there was a $5 discount if you bought them online, so they’d only be $32. Then I learned that the local Kroger sold them for $25 each. I called to confirm, but what the guy didn’t tell me is they get a limited number of tickets each day. I’m glad I called a second time the day before to confirm because that’s when I learned they only had one ticket left and weren’t sure when they’d be getting the next batch, or how many. When I checked the website again the $5 discount was gone and the regular price was now $40. I was livid, but it also said that you could convert the $40 single day pass to a season pass for free which would be good for the rest of 2016 and all of 2017. Even if we only go once next year it’s like paying $20 per person so we decided to go that route. So everyone now has season passes on our behalf (except for J who paid for his).

We took care of the season pass thing before going on any rides to get it out of the way (you have to visit guest relations to get the pass which includes a very poor quality photo that is useless). Then we rode the Music Express and Bumper Cars. We had wanted to go to the beach first thing to snag some chairs but no one else was interested so we went on rides and then got a couple of tacos. Then more rides, and blah blah blah.

Eventually we made it to the water park (except for K & ES who didn’t want to go at all) around 3 pm. Unfortunately the lazy river, which is everyone’s favorite, wasn’t open because they didn’t have enough lifeguards on duty. Well that blows! Charge higher admission prices but then don’t staff the park adequately – I guess that’s why they were pretty much are giving away the season passes. The Water Swings, Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain, and a few other rides were closed as well. Joe and I did go on the Big Flush water raft ride before we left the beach area, though. It was faster than I remembered and some water splashed right into my eye which messed up my contact lens for a bit. Also, my sunglasses fell to the ground as I was getting out of the raft so I stepped on them; they’re all scratched up now. And it turns out the replacement pair I had sitting on my dresser are also messed up. That was a bad place to keep them as the coating has all these little marks on it which I can see (and drive me nuts) when I put them on. It’s probably glass cleaner from when I would spray the mirror nearby. Do you know how difficult it is for me to even find sunglasses that are comfortable and fit my small head properly? I had gotten both ruined pairs at the New York & Company outlet store so it’s going to be a pain to find a suitable replacement.

Anyway… it was a little annoying dealing with E & his g/f because they would say they were going on such and such ride and we’d agree on a place to meet and then they’d either go on other rides and keep us waiting or just not show up. As a result we didn’t get to do everything we wanted and now I understand why my grandparents never seemed to be having all that much fun when they took us on vacation. Not that we didn’t have fun, mind you. It’s just work as well. Joe treated everyone to Dippin Dots and he and I shared this one that showed a red Sour Patch Kid on the sign. It was really good; tasted like Swedish Fish.

I have to say – I’m glad the park is under new management. While the previous owners did paint some things to make it look better, this newer company has replaced all the signage, cleaned most of the nasty cobwebs and dead bugs from the rides, and just made things look fresh. They’ve also added two new rides – bumper boats and something called Zero G. In addition, they took out the weird climbing apparatus that was up where the Music Express used to be years ago and put a huge carousel there instead which was actually in operation. I’ve learned from joining a group on Facebook that they’ve also spruced up the Shafer Queen, although we didn’t get a chance to ride it this time. But now that we have season passes, I think we’ll visit again in September when it’s cooler, just the two of us, since it’s open on weekends through the end of the month.

By 6 pm everyone was tired and ready to head home so that’s what we did. It wasn’t too bad other than my brother’s constant chatter. Despite me asking him to not say certain things around mixed company he did anyway and was really irritating me on the way home. I hit my limit and yelled at him to shut up (I had to shout to get his attention since I was up front and he was way in the back and didn’t hear me the first few times I called his name). Apparently this embarrassed him (although he doesn’t care about how his behavior embarrassed me) and so we got into it the next day via text. I get that he has issues and all that (which I’m not going to get into here), but I really don’t buy that he can’t stop himself. But whatever. Bottom line: he’s not coming with us next year when/if we take the kids. We’ll take him separately (assuming we’re on talking terms by then). I just refuse to apologize because I’m ALWAYS the one who concedes when it comes to arguments with my family and I’m sick of it. Contrary to the way they would tell it, I’m not a bitch; I’m actually a very fair person. If anything I screw myself over just to make sure other people get their fair share. I also bite my tongue CONSTANTLY to keep the peace.

Anyway, that kinda ended on a sour note, but oh well it is what it is.