Angola Indiana's Roller Rink: Closed For Good?

Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo in Angola, Indiana, closed in 2008. The park was once home to the only operating roller coaster with an inversion in the state of Indiana. The roller rink in the park was called Rollerama Sports Center, LLC.

Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo closed in 2008

Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo in Angola, Indiana, closed down in 2008 after entertaining visitors for over 50 years. The park was one of the largest in the region and boasted the only operating roller coaster with an inversion in the state of Indiana, called the Afterburner. However, in its later years, the park had sporadic and irregular operating hours. It eventually shut its doors, blaming "the economy."

Many of the rides have since been sold and relocated to other amusement parks, but the abandoned park remains relatively intact, with several roller coasters still visible from the road. The park has been featured in art exhibits and photographs, capturing the whimsical and playful atmosphere that still exists within it. Despite being closed for over a decade, Fun Spot Amusement Park remains a local landmark for the city of Angola.

The park was once home to Indiana's only operating roller coaster with an inversion

Angola, Indiana, was once home to the Afterburner roller coaster, which operated at Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo. From 1977 to 1990, it was known as "Zoomerang", first at Circus World, then at its short-lived replacement, Boardwalk and Baseball. Both parks were located in Haines City, Florida.

The Afterburner was Indiana's only operating roller coaster with an inversion until 2008 when Steel Hawg opened at Indiana Beach. The Afterburner was taken down in early 2017, and its parts were sent to Frontier City in Oklahoma, where they are used on the Diamond Back coaster.

A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside down and then returns them to an upright position. The first inversion in roller coaster history was part of the Centrifugal Railway of Paris, France, built in 1848. It consisted of a 43-foot sloping track leading into a nearly circular vertical loop with a 13-foot diameter.

The concept of inverting riders was not revisited until the 1970s. In 1968, Karl Bacon of Arrow Dynamics created a prototype steel roller coaster with a corkscrew, the first of its kind. The prototype proved that a tubular steel track could execute inversions both safely and reliably. The full model of the prototype, aptly named Corkscrew, was then installed in Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, United States, making history as the world's first modern inverting roller coaster.

The coaster in question was called Afterburner

The roller coaster in question was called Afterburner. It was located at Fun Spot Park in Angola, Indiana, and was in operation from 1991 until the end of the 2008 season.

Afterburner was a steel launched shuttle roller coaster. It was the prototype for Arrow Dynamics' "Launched Loop" installation, featuring an elevator to transport riders to and from the station. The ride consisted of a single train with four cars, with riders arranged two across in two rows, for a total of 16 riders per train.

The roller coaster originally opened in 1977 at Circus World in Haines City, Florida, under the name "Zoomerang." It was then known as "Boardwalk and Baseball" from 1977 to 1990. After being discontinued after a couple of seasons, the ride was relocated to Fun Spot Park in Indiana, where it reopened under the name Afterburner.

In August 2015, the ride was listed for sale in the classifieds section of the amusement industry publication Amusement Today with an asking price of $100,000. The roller coaster remained standing but not operating until it was dismantled in January or February 2017. Various parts of the ride, including the train, launch sleds, controls, brakes, roof, and sections of staircases, were sent to Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to be used on the Diamond Back coaster.

The coaster was scrapped in 2017

The coaster, Afterburner, was scrapped in February 2017. It was the Arrow Development Launched Loop prototype, which debuted in 1977 at Circus World as Zoomerang. The coaster was relocated to Fun Spot in 1991, where it was the tallest in the state at 56 feet, and had Indiana's only inversion.

After Fun Spot closed in 2008, the Afterburner was mostly sold off for parts. The ride's train was sent to Frontier City, where it was used on Diamond Back. The track, however, was scrapped. Most of the track on this model has no spine, and outside of the loop, the cross-ties sit on an I-beam ledger or connect to nothing at all. The launch is powered by a pulley connected to an electric motor.

The coaster was also involved in an incident in 2006, when it got stuck upside down in the loop, leaving 12 riders trapped for 45 minutes.

The park was small compared to parks in neighbouring states

Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo in Angola, Indiana, was small compared to parks in neighbouring states, such as Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure. Despite its size, it was one of the largest parks in the region. The park closed in 2008.

Fun Spot had a range of attractions, including the Afterburner roller coaster, which was the only roller coaster with an inversion in the state of Indiana until 2008. The Afterburner was the original Arrow launched loop prototype, and it was a sought-after cred for roller coaster enthusiasts.

The park also featured a Sea Dragon ride, a swinging ship, and a Little Dipper Safari Coaster, among other attractions.

One user recalled a memory of the park:

> I live like 20 minutes from here, never made it out before they closed though. Real shame because that's a sick cred to have.

Another user shared a story of a ride malfunction:

> I worked here in 2006 and the Afterburner got stuck upside down in the loop. Fire truck came out with their big ass ladder and saved everyone. Nobody was injured in the incident but the kids were hanging upside for a solid 20 minutes.

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