A.J. wrote:Skyrush - The new padding on the restraints really do make a difference, especially on the first drop! Resting the restraint just on your thighs lets your butt leave the seat going down. Unfortunately, since the mechanism is still the same, you get stapled in at the bottom of the drop. Still, the OMFGCRAZY hills throughout the layout are much more comfortable!
If the new padding is "better" then I would have hated to have ridden with the old. I went to Hershey on Monday evening and took my first ride. Restraints aside, the ride really is amazing. The airtime is extreme and that first drop really is unbelievable. With that said, the fact that my legs were going numb because the bar was placing so much pressure on my thighs really detracted from the ride experience. By the time the ride was whipping around to enter the last two bunny hops, I couldn't wait for it to be over.
I rode once and I was quite happy with only riding once. There was a small girl in the seat in front of me that was literally in tears because of the restraints pinning her in so hard. I was surprised to hear several other riders that were on my train complaining about the discomfort caused by the lap bars as well. Hershey has a problem on their hands it seems. While I definitely commend them on trying to quickly address with the new padding, hopefully they can find a resolution during the off season to help ease the issue a bit more.
I'm really not one to complain about rides being too rough or painful and usually have a high tolerance for such. This was honestly the first time where it really was unbearable for me...and I have bruises on my thighs to prove it. It probably wouldn't have been nearly as bad if you didn't have to sit on the brake run for several minutes while they are loading the other train. I went to Hershey fully expecting to be blown away with the Sky Rush experience. Instead, I left happy that I only had to ride it once. I'd be willing to give it another fair shake on my next visit, but this time I much preferred spending my time riding Storm Runner (which I had never ridden) and Lightning Racer (which was a lot more fun that I remember it being).
On a positive note, kudos to Hershey on the new Sooper Dooper Looper trains. Had a great ride on it and would have loved another ride had the queue line not been over flowing!
- Todd