One of the best things about the amusement park hobby is finding so many hidden gems that are located well off the beaten path. Located about 2 hours northeast of the state capital of Des Moines, Iowa’s newest theme park, Lost Island Theme Park is a true “diamond in the rough.” After we interviewed park owner Eric Bertch on the Coaster101 podcast, we knew we had to visit, and we very quickly realized that Lost Island was special, and the perfect park to be profiled as part of our recurring “Small Park Showcase” series.
The family-owned Lost Island is a 90-acre theme park in the city of Waterloo, Iowa (population: ~67,000). While the park opened in 2022, the park’s origin story begins nearly 50 years prior, not with roller coasters and thrill rides, but instead with cabinetry. The Bertch family opened Bertch Cabinetry in Waterloo in 1977, and quickly grew with the community over the years. The idea for the Lost Island brand was conceived in 1991 during a Bertch family vacation as a fun way to give back to the Cedar Valley community. Land was purchased and plans were drawn up to erect the most spectacular water park Iowa had ever seen, and it would eventually open in June of 2001.
“We had created the waterpark with a South Pacific feel, as a way of providing our neighbors with a vacation destination that they may not have the opportunity to visit in real life: bringing the vacation to them,” Lost Island General Manager Eric Bertch told Blooloop in 2022.
Over the years, that vacation destination quickly was regarded as one of the United States’ top water parks, and eventually it was time to expand the Lost Island brand. The decision was made to open a 90-acre theme park across the street from the water park. While original plans called for the theme park to continue the “Island Oasis” theme found at the nearby waterpark, Bertch quickly realized that there needed to be more to the story.
“This needed to be a whole new world that draws guests back and makes them want to experience something that they can’t find anywhere else,” he told Blooloop. “So, drawing inspiration from the Harry Potter, Disney, and Marvel universes, we decided we had to have some kind of intellectual property to get the visitors invested in.”
That IP developed into five heavily themed lands devoted to the elements: Mura (Fire), Yuta (Earth), Awa (Water), Udara (Air) and Tamariki (Spirit). Each land has its own walk-around characters that debuted during the park’s second season in 2023, as well as a number of attractions within each realm (with room to expand in nearly all of them!). In total, Lost Island Theme Park boasts nearly 25 rides across its five lands, including three roller coasters: Matugani, Nopuko Air Coaster, and Lokolo.
The park’s two major roller coasters – Matugani and Nopuko Air Coaster, both have pasts that pre-date Lost Island. The Intamin Accelerator coaster Matugani was previously known as Kanonen at Liseberg in Sweden, where it operated from 2005-2016, while Nopuko operated at South Africa’s Ratanga Junction where it was known as Cobra from 1998 until the park’s closure in 2018. Both rides have undergone refurbishment and have received new coats of paint in their new home.
With its bright green paint job, the snake-themed Matugani is an anchor attraction in Lost Island’s Yuta realm. Don’t let its relatively small stature fool you, Matugani is a snake that still has some bite. Guests are launched out of the station, going from 0-46.6 mph in just two seconds before immediately ascending a nearly 80′ tall top hat – the ride’s tallest point. The coaster also features a vertical loop and in-line twist inversion, along with a ton of airtime packed into its 1,500′ of track and 50-second ride time.
Across the park, Nopuko (“officially” pronounced No-poo-ko, but playfully referred to as No-puke-oh) Air Coaster gives the Udara Air realm a strong anchor attraction. In talking to Eric Bertch on the Coaster101 podcast, he noted that his family were “water park” people, but now that they’re dealing with coaster enthusiasts, were previously unaware of the “reputation” that Vekoma SLC’s had in the coaster community – he jokingly apologized for bring this to Lost Island. However, the trains are brand new and feature the new-style SLC restraints, and the coaster’s bright purple paint job is incredibly inviting and fits into its new home well. Of the SLC’s that I’ve ridden, Nopuko definitely ranks near the top.
Lost Island Theme Park’s third roller coaster, Lokolo, is the only “new” coaster at the park, and is a Wacky Worm from SBF-Visa Group. It joins a number of family friendly attractions at the park including multiple interactive play areas, a suite of family attractions from Zamperla in the Tamariki Spirit realm, the Aawati Water Battle (Interlink Splash Battle) and the park’s iconic centerpiece, Alzanu’s Eye, a Ferris Wheel that can be seen from nearly anywhere in the park.
On the more thrilling side of flat rides, Lost Island also boasts one of only two Gerstlauer Sky Fly’s in the United States in Amara Aviators, the S&S Turbo Drop, Skyborne, and a Zamperla Disk’o named Shaman’s Curse, which joins Rokava (Top Spin) and Mura Fury (Moser Rides Sidewinder) in the Mura realm.
Also located in the Mura realm is the park’s lone dark ride, and quite possibly one of the best interactive dark rides in the United States; Volkanu – Quest for the Golden Idol. Manufactured by Sally Dark Rides, Volkanu sets an incredibly high bar for what an interactive dark ride at a regional theme park should be.
The queue is incredibly well themed, and features an in-depth preshow along with audio-animatronic character from the attraction right there in the line. Upon reaching the trackless (!!) ride vehicle, riders grab their blaster and aim at a mix of screen-based and practical targets throughout the ride. In 2022, Volkanu deservedly won the Golden Ticket award for best new family attraction, and in our opinion, should be on the short-list for best dark ride in the awards moving forward.
To think that this ride exists not at a corporate park, but rather at a small, family-owned park in eastern Iowa, truly boggles the mind. I was on a time crunch, and did manage to ride twice, but I would have ridden Volkanu over and over again if time had allowed.
While we didn’t eat during our visit, the park has a number of unique food and beverage options across its dining outlets. On Lost Island menus, while you will find traditional theme park fare like hamburgers and chicken fingers, you’ll also find things like Lo Mein Noodles, Rice Bowls, Pulled Pork Nachos, Coconut Shrimp and Breaded Pork Tenderloin (it is Iowa after all!). For caffeine junkies or those with a sweet tooth, Lost Island has partnered with local staples Fat Cup Coffee and Scratch Cupcakery to bring their cold-brew and a “Cupcake Flight” (themed to the realms of Lost Island) to the park.
On the subject of partnerships, while we didn’t eat at the park, we did drink, responsibly of course. Lost Island has its own beer — the Islandology Tropical Blonde, brewed by local brewers Second State. While we’re here to talk theme parks and not necessarily beer, this was one of the best official theme park beer collaborations we’ve ever tasted — light, tropical, and easy drinking. Plus, it was served in a souvenir cup by default, and who doesn’t love a souvenir cup?
One of the true standouts at Lost Island Theme Park was not a ride or an attraction, but rather the park’s staff. All of them were incredibly courteous and friendly, constantly smiling, and multiple team members thanked me, not just for experiencing their attraction, but just for visiting the park that day. Best of all it felt genuine. Call me naive, but I’ve never been genuinely thanked for visiting a corporate park…ever. I would put this staff up against any other park team in the United States. In addition, the park was immaculately clean, which is always pleasant when visiting a theme park.
In my opinion, the park was missing just two things. The first was shade. I visited in the evening, but there was definitely a relative lack of shade anywhere on the midways. Easy fix. The second thing, maybe a little bit more of a difficult fix, but also one of the main reasons we wanted to go so in depth on this article — was guests. If you’ve been on any part of roller coaster internet this summer, you’ve likely seen that one of the main talking points about Lost Island is that the park is never crowded, to the point where it almost feels empty when you are there. There are any number of factors that can lead to this — location, relative new-ness and lack of tradition, but this needs to change.
Here’s what we’re telling you. If you’re within driving distance of Lost Island Theme Park, it’s 100% worth your time and effort to get there. For a true family-owned park to open in 2022, being planned and built through a global pandemic wrought with supply chain issues, betting on themselves and the surrounding community because they wanted to give back to the area that supported them for nearly 50 years, it’s an amazing story, and one that deserves to be experienced first hand. There are roller coasters, family-friendly attractions, and a world-class dark ride all wound around a unique story and the park’s own lore and IP. Bottom line: Lost Island is a park that needs to be experienced first-hand, and we hope that you visit soon!
Tickets for The Lost Island can be purchased online at the park’s website, and prices vary, depending on the day you visit. It’s still less than $50 per ticket, which is a relative bargain in today’s theme park world. For more information, visit www.thelostisland.com
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