When is 2024 National Roller Coaster Day? Where to find Indiana amusement park thrill rides

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2024

When is 2024 National Roller Coaster Day? Where to find Indiana amusement park thrill rides

National Roller Coaster Day has arrived and it’s time to celebrate.

There are multiple Indiana theme parks offering roller coasters, from Holiday World and Indiana Beach to the Indianapolis Zoo.

Holiday World Splashin’ Safari: Here’s everything you need to know.

Here’s where to find roller coasters in Indiana:

What is National Roller Coaster Day?

The day honors Edwin Prescott’s patent of the first vertical loop roller coaster in 1898, according to nationaldaycalendar.com.

When is 2024 National Roller Coaster Day?

National Roller Coaster Day falls on Aug. 16 each year, according to nationaldaycalendar.com.

Good Gravy! Family Coaster

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: May ride at 38 inches tall with a companion. Patrons with high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, and those who are pregnant or have a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

The Howler

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 42 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: May ride at 36 inches tall with a companion. Patrons with high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, and those who are pregnant or have a, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

The Legend Wooden Coaster

Construction: Wood
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Loose articles should be stored before riding. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, have fear of heights, are pregnant, or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

The Raven Wooden Coaster

Construction: Wood
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Loose articles should be stored before riding. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, have a fear of heights, are pregnant, or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

The Voyage Wooden Coaster

Construction: Wood
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Loose articles should be stored before riding. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, fear of heights, those who are pregnant, and those with sensitivity to strobe lights, or recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

Thunderbird Launched Wing Coaster

Construction: Steel, wing
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Loose articles should be stored before riding. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, fear of heights, those who are pregnant, and those who have sensitivity to strobe lights, or recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

Cheetah Chase Water Coaster

Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Minimum weight requirement: 225 pound minimum per boat
Maximum weight requirement: 340 pound max per individual; 500 pound max per boat
More details: May ride at 42 inches tall with a companion. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, fear of heights, those who are pregnant, or have sensitivity to strobe lights or recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

Mammoth Water Coaster

Number of riders: 2-6 per raft
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Minimum weight requirement: 500 pound minimum per raft
Maximum weight requirement: 1,050 pound max per raft
More details: May ride at 42 inches tall with a companion. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, fear of heights, are pregnant, or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

Wildebeest Water Coaster

Number of riders: Up to 4 per raft
Minimium height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Minimum weight requirement: 200 pound minimum per raft
Maximum weight requirement: 800 pound max per raft
More details: May ride at 42 inches tall with a companion. Patrons with a heart condition, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, dizziness or motion sickness, fear of heights, those who are pregnant, or have sensitivity to strobe lights or recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility guide.

Indiana Beach: The G-force on newest roller coaster is insane

American Triple Loop

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 49 inches
Maximum height requirement: 77 inches
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Cornball Express

Construction: Wood
Minimium height requirement: 46 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who are pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Cyclone

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who are pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Hoosier Hurricane

Construction: Wood
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who are pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain

Construction: Wood
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who are pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Steel Hawg

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 48 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who are pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Tig’rr

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 54 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Patrons with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back or neck conditions, and those who are pregnant, under the influence of alcohol or have had a recent illness, injury or surgery are not allowed to ride. Rider requirements and accessibility.

Indianapolis Zoo: Take a peak inside the new chimpanzee complex

Kōmbo Family Coaster

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 47 inches
Maximum height requirement: None
Weight requirement: None
More details: Children younger than 6 meeting the minimum height requirement must be accompanied by an adult. Anyone with limited mobility will need to transfer themselves from wheelchair/scooter to coaster car in order to ride. Patrons with heart disease or back injuries, those wearing a cast and women who are pregnant are not allowed to ride.

Twist N Shout Coaster

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement, rider: 47 inches
Minimium height requirement, passenger: 38 inches — must be age 4 or older with paying adult
Maximum height requirement: 6 feet, 5 inches
Weight requirement: 240 pound maximum
Indiana location: Lafayette

Spinning Coaster

Construction: Steel
Minimum height requirement: 47 inches
Maximum height requirement: 6 foot, 3 inches
Weight requirement: 250 pound max
More details: May ride at 36 inches tall if riding with an adult

Find more roller coasters: Your guide to theme parks not too far from Indianapolis

Chris Sims is a digital content producer at Midwest Connect Gannett. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.

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Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Published

10 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Just three days before Selection Sunday in March of 2020, the NCAA announced that March Madness, like so many other events that spring, would be cancelled due to the new virus upending life. The decision marked the first time in tournament history that the final weeks of the college basketball season would not be played, squashing Atlanta’s plans to host the Final Four.

When the following year rolled around, the NCAA decided that March Madness would not succumb to the virus once more.

With a vaccine only on the horizon and hundreds of Americans still dying each day, the organization announced in November of 2020 that while the tournament would go on, it would certainly not be business as usual. All 67 games, NCAA officials said, would be held in one location. Central Indiana was the first choice as Indianapolis had been on tap to host the Final Four April 3-5.

The plan, said NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt in a November 2020 IndyStar article was to present “a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced.”

In January the NCAA made it official: All games would be played in and around Indianapolis in a modified version of a bubble.

Holding the tournament in one place just made sense, NCAA officials told IndyStar. Unlike in a typical year when a winning team would travel multiple times before the championship, this system would minimize travel, which could inadvertently expose players and coaches to the virus.

Two months later when the tournament kicked off on March 18, 55 of the 67 games were scheduled to be played in Indianapolis venues, such as Gainbridge (then Bankers Life) Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Purdue’s Mackey Arena and IU’s Assembly Hall also hosted games.

While the first Covid vaccine had arrived a few months earlier, few people outside of first responders and the most vulnerable had been immunized, so in an effort to avoid large crowds, the Indianapolis sites all capped tickets at 25% capacity. That meant only 17,500 people could attend games at the largest venue, Lucas Oil Stadium. The college arenas allowed far smaller audiences, with IU limiting attendance to 500 people.

A week before the tournament began Marion County Public Health Department officials and Mayor Joe Hogsett asked attendees to make smart public health choices, such as social distancing and obeying the face masks mandate. Referees donned masks as much as possible as did coaches and players on the bench.

The NCAA regularly tested athletes, administering 28,311 tests Covid tests during the tournament, 15 of which came back positive.

Post-mortems after the tournament asked whether the NCAA had made the right call. Two high profile deaths occurred in the aftermath of the tournament — one a University of Alabama superfan who had traveled to Indy for the games and the other a St. Elmo bartender. But proving a direct link between their deaths and the tournament would prove impossible, and some public health experts said the NCAA had done everything it could to protect athletes and fans short of canceling the event.

A study conducted by IU, Regenstrief researchers and others that appeared in August 2021 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that while mask wearing had theoretically been compulsory, about a quarter of attendees at the games were either not wearing masks or doing so inappropriately. Still, in an IndyStar article about the study Indiana Sports Corps president Ryan Vaughn termed the event “a resounding success.”

The following year, with a vaccine widely available and far fewer daily deaths from the virus, the tournament returned to a typical schedule, concluding in New Orleans’ Ceasars Superdome. More than 69,00 fans attended the final games, according to the NCAA. Local authorities had lifted the mask requirement by this point.

“Last year was about survival. Just having championships in any way, single site, keep everybody safe and be successful,” Gavitt said in an NCAA news release in late April 2022. “I think this year was about advancing.”

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

Published

22 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Greg Casar, D-Texas, say the bill would protect taxpayers from being extorted by team owners for huge subsidies. The legislation would likely face an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled Congress.

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Record warmth followed by strong storms tonight | March 26, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) – Strong thunderstorms likely later this evening with all severe weather threats possible. It is going to be warm and windy with record highs today. Much cooler air works into Indiana for the end of the week.

TODAY: Partly cloudy conditions later this afternoon with warm and breezy conditions. It is going to be a beautiful and summer-like day across parts of Indiana. We will look for high temperatures to climb into the lower eighties which will set a new daily high record. The record for today is 80 set back in 1907. Winds will be gusty out of the southwest near 20 to 30 mph.

TONIGHT: A cold front approaches the state bringing a really good chance of strong to severe thunderstorms. A few thunderstorms may develop out ahead of the main line and some of those thunderstorms could contain some large hail along with a tornado risk as well. We are under a level 3 risk of strong storms out of a level 5. So there is confidence that a lot of these storms could reach severe criteria. Threats would be damaging winds and large hail. The tornado risk is low across parts of Indianapolis but it is not zero. A slightly higher risk of tornadic activity is possible in northern sections of Indiana.

Heavy rainfall could also lead to some flooding in parts of the state. Areas may see anywhere between 1 to 3 inches of rainfall.

Best timing on the thunderstorm activity will be anytime after 8:00 p.m. and lasting until Friday morning around 4.

TOMORROW: A few early morning rain showers will be possible on Friday. The main weather story is that it will be much cooler. High temperatures will climb around 49 which is below our normal high of 56. Winds switch direction out of the northeast and it will be a bit breezy at times as well. Low temperatures late Friday night into Saturday morning will drop into the upper twenties.

7 DAY EXTENDED FORECAST: A chilly start early Saturday morning but we will see lots of sunshine for the afternoon. High temperatures will climb around 52 for the afternoon.

Cloud cover returns on Sunday but it will be dry for the most part. Look for high temperatures to climb into the lower 60s.

Warmer next week with temperatures reaching the low and even middle and upper 70s by the middle part of the week. A dry start on Monday with some scattered showers possible on Tuesday and Wednesday.