Fun Spot, Angola, Indiana, has now sold its entire ride inventory. Fun Spot closed after the 2008 season as a casualty of a slowing economy and lost group sales bookings. Then new owner Ralph Trine invested a lot of time and money from his nearby Vestil Manufacturing and added several rides and exotic animals for a new family zoo. However, the fore-mentioned economy and lack of local support caught up to Fun Spot and the park closed with the equipment immediately being listed for sale.
The great news was that Trine allowed generous sales terms to allow many family and smaller parks to make purchases. Almost all of the rides and equipment found new homes with a very few attractions being broken up for parts.
International Rides Management (IRM) was tasked to complete the liquidation of the remaining roller coasters on site. The Allan Herschell Little Dipper was sent to Bell’s Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for future use in 2013 and the Afterburner prototype Arrow Shuttle Loop Coaster was dismantled in early 2017 and all of the mechanical parts, including the train, were shipped to Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to operate on Diamondback.
Sadly, the 1978 Manco Paratrooper sat alone on the grounds as the last flat ride without a new home. IRM had several interested suitors but all cancelled as the difficulties in moving a park mount model vs. a trailer mounted model always prevailed and new buyers were sought. The Paratrooper has now left the park grounds, which now being converted into student athletic fields, and will find a new home at a major park in the US East Coast to extend the lifespan of a classic ride already in the park’s lineup.
