Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

When I rode it a week and a half ago, the airtime still felt just as intense. This is still one of the only rides I can't keep my hands up for because of the sheer intensity.

When I rode it a week and a half ago, the airtime still felt just as intense. This is still one of the only rides I can't keep my hands up for because of the sheer intensity.

I can't contribute to how it ran before this year but it seemed really fast to me. When I was there a few weeks ago I couldn't quit laughing about how crazy the ride was when sitting on the brake run.

That's because it IS fast and totally crazy, even in its seemingly slower mode. (I really wish I'd gotten a ride on it when the cable lift kept its speed until the train dropped under its own power, though. What an experience that must've been in the back row!)

That's because it IS fast and totally crazy, even in its seemingly slower mode. (I really wish I'd gotten a ride on it when the cable lift kept its speed until the train dropped under its own power, though. What an experience that must've been in the back row!)

That gave me an idea! What if Hersheypark held a Skyrush ERT event at night where they run the lift at full speed? That'd be awesome!

I support this ERT idea, though I do wonder if they'd be willing to run Skyrush at full speed. Why'd they slow it down? If it was to keep riders from being convinced they'd be thrown out of the train, they failed.

I support this ERT idea, though I do wonder if they'd be willing to run Skyrush at full speed. Why'd they slow it down? If it was to keep riders from being convinced they'd be thrown out of the train, they failed.

maybe to ease the pain of the restraints. Hearing folks bitch about the pain as they got seated for rerides was odd.

They should rename it the Mellencamp, because it hurts so good.

I support this ERT idea, though I do wonder if they'd be willing to run Skyrush at full speed. Why'd they slow it down? If it was to keep riders from being convinced they'd be thrown out of the train, they failed.

There was never a reason given, to my knowledge, but one could argue that it was either too much rider discomfort or too much stress on the trains.

I got to ride it Memorial Day weekend in 2012 and I was definitely uncomfortable. Thigh crush? Nah. But certainly uncomfortable. It's still my favorite steel coaster after all these years though.

But I'm sure that yank over the top in the back was probably the most terrifying coaster experience in a lot of guests' lives.

I support this ERT idea, though I do wonder if they'd be willing to run Skyrush at full speed. Why'd they slow it down? If it was to keep riders from being convinced they'd be thrown out of the train, they failed.

There was never a reason given, to my knowledge, but one could argue that it was either too much rider discomfort or too much stress on the trains.

 

I got to ride it Memorial Day weekend in 2012 and I was definitely uncomfortable. Thigh crush? Nah. But certainly uncomfortable. It's still my favorite steel coaster after all these years though.

 

But I'm sure that yank over the top in the back was probably the most terrifying coaster experience in a lot of guests' lives.

I rode it the day after Memorial Day and my first ride was in the back row. I knew it would have a lot of negative G's but wasn't quite prepared for the experience!

There was even a little cresting the top of the left (anticipation for severe ejector air going down the drop).

I don't know what would have made for a better ergonomic restraint, with this much neg. G the goal of keeping riders in the train was probably the primary concern ...

I rode Skyrush again in 2014, it seemed a little slower over the crest but the rest of the ride felt the same. The partial release of the restraints on the brake run was nice.

Glad that Storm Runner and Fahrenheit got the i305 style soft harnesses, looking forward to riding those again some day.

I can imagine what the new Mean Streak 2.0 will be like going down a 90 degree drop with a six car train.

^ That small release on the brakes is definitely a godsend. Though on 1-2 of my rides, it didn't work or wasn't turned on for some reason.

I don't know what would have made for a better ergonomic restraint, with this much neg. G the goal of keeping riders in the train was probably the primary concern ...

^ That small release on the brakes is definitely a godsend. Though on 1-2 of my rides, it didn't work or wasn't turned on for some reason.

I finally got on SkyRush this past weekend... I had relatively low expectations going into it, based on what friends who share similar views on most coasters had mentioned... Even with those low standards, it didn't even reach that point. I was excited to get on with no real wait and thought I would like it more than my friends... However...

I really did not like the ride at all.

The layout was fine, I suppose... Nothing spectacular. Also, the mad-ejector airtime doesn't do much for me, unlike most enthusiasts... Let alone the terrible vibration in two different seats tried (front and back) and the painful lapbar. The last airtime hill literally felt like my femur would be broken.

Even with the 5min wait, it wasn't worth more rides and have no desire to really ride it again. I am not trying to "stir the pot" with this review, just share my honest thoughts... I typically try to find the good in anything I ride, but this really is an exception. The view was nice, at least!

I finally got on SkyRush this past weekend... I had relatively low expectations going into it, based on what friends who share similar views on most coasters had mentioned... Even with those low standards, it didn't even reach that point. I was excited to get on with no real wait and thought I would like it more than my friends... However...

 

I really did not like the ride at all.

 

The layout was fine, I suppose... Nothing spectacular. Also, the mad-ejector airtime doesn't do much for me, unlike most enthusiasts... Let alone the terrible vibration in two different seats tried (front and back) and the painful lapbar. The last airtime hill literally felt like my femur would be broken.

 

Even with the 5min wait, it wasn't worth more rides and have no desire to really ride it again. I am not trying to "stir the pot" with this review, just share my honest thoughts... I typically try to find the good in anything I ride, but this really is an exception. The view was nice, at least!

No way. It definitely ain't just you, man.

I rode Skyrush myself for the first time in a while a few weekends ago, and it's even WORSE than I remembered. The ride is fine for the most part the first half, if a little too much on the rattly side, but things go sideways (literally) once you begin to exit the Stengel dive. All of a sudden you get hit with this HUGE surge of painful lateral g-force, followed quickly by another, and then the series of airtime hills at the very end was about as pleasant as being beaten Nicky-Santoro-at-the-of-Casino style. I'm completely baffled as to how this thing makes anyone's top ten list. A ride that satisfies only after it ends is a problem.

By the way, can us Flickr members expect a Hersheypark album from you soon?

In all seriousness I understand Skyrush is an extremely polarizing ride and I completely get the complaints about the lapbars but I still love the thing to death because no other ride makes me feel like I'm going to die every single lap without fail. I guess I just have meaty thighs cause the lapbars don't personally bother me unless I've ridden it a few times in a row (Toro does this too). Every single time I read a negative review of Skyrush I get a little chubby thinking about how the line just got that much shorter.

I guess I just have meaty thighs cause the lapbars don't personally bother me unless I've ridden it a few times in a row (Toro does this too).

That brings up a good point that I've thought for a while. I find it strange that El Toro gets universally praised by enthusiasts while Skyrush has such mixed reception. Both rides have similarly restrictive lap restraints and similar aggressive airtime. Why hate on Skyrush but not El Toro?

I personally don't find either to be remarkably uncomfortable, but I needed to point out the hypocrisy in our community.

Also, I have never felt a rattle on Skyrush...

Hypocrisy LOL.

I think it goes beyond just the airtime and has more to do with the seats/restraints overall. On Toro your legs are fixed into place due to the restrictive U-bar AND the back of the seat in front of you forcing your legs to be bent, feet firmly planted on the floor, which in turn it gives you more leverage, whereas with Skyrush there is no floor - even on the inner seats I have a hard time touching the floor with my feet and I'm 6'2. With just the lapbar comes the more out-of-control/ragdoll feeling people often describe after riding Skyrush.

It's there on Toro too, but with my feet and legs completely restricted I can throw my hands up and ride with abandon but on Skyrush I hang on for deal life - loving every second of it.

And agreed on the rattle factor - Skyrush is smooth as butter. I'm always riding it in October so maybe its a better time of year or something.

^In the summer there isn't a rattle either.

In all seriousness I understand Skyrush is an extremely polarizing ride and I completely get the complaints about the lapbars but I still love the thing to death because no other ride makes me feel like I'm going to die every single lap without fail. I guess I just have meaty thighs cause the lapbars don't personally bother me unless I've ridden it a few times in a row (Toro does this too). Every single time I read a negative review of Skyrush I get a little chubby thinking about how the line just got that much shorter.

These are my feelings as well. I get how some people could be turned off by the intensity of the ride, but I just love it. I haven't ridden another coaster where I actually feel like I'm going to get thrown off the train. The crazy ejector air and the balls to the wall insanity of it all leaves me with a smile on my face every time!

I think El Toro's restraints seat in a slightly more comfortable position. However, I still love SkyRush and prefer it to El Toro just because of how intense it is from start to finish.

That brings up a good point that I've thought for a while. I find it strange that El Toro gets universally praised by enthusiasts while Skyrush has such mixed reception. Both rides have similarly restrictive lap restraints and similar aggressive airtime. Why hate on Skyrush but not El Toro?

I hit both of those rides on the same trip a couple of years back (rode both multiple times) and left a bit disappointed by both. Like a couple of the previous posters, I didn't think Skyrush was very good at all — not because of restraint-gate, but because I just didn't find it to be an enjoyable layout. I found El Toro to be much better overall, but I was surprised how much more I enjoyed Nitro than El Toro (a ride I expected to kind of suck). With that said, the ride systems on Skyrush and El Toro seem quite different to me, and the airtime on El Toro seemed more sustained than on Skyrush. While both highlight severe ejector air, Skyrush was more of the ridiculously aggressive, thigh smashing-type air whereas at least El Toro's felt more sustained and the ride itself seemed more thoughtfully sequenced. Both are up there in terms of over-the-top aggression and intensity, but this rider requires a little more than that.

^In the summer there isn't a rattle either.

I rode in mid-May. Though, it is quite early in the summer season, there was definitely rattle. Though it didn't make the ride uncomfortable, it was very apparent on the outside seats nonetheless.

There's no rattle on SkyRush. We're not diagnosing a car here. Since improvements, lap bar pain is almost non existent. It's a masterpiece, coaster nirvana! Along with El Toro, they are my top favs. I managed a hands free front row ride on SkyRush this year, but was unable to do it riding back row, left side. I question the claims that it's slower. Feels the same to me as when I rode it opening year.

I guess I just have meaty thighs cause the lapbars don't personally bother me unless I've ridden it a few times in a row (Toro does this too).

 

That brings up a good point that I've thought for a while. I find it strange that El Toro gets universally praised by enthusiasts while Skyrush has such mixed reception. Both rides have similarly restrictive lap restraints and similar aggressive airtime. Why hate on Skyrush but not El Toro?

 

I personally don't find either to be remarkably uncomfortable, but I needed to point out the hypocrisy in our community.

 

Also, I have never felt a rattle on Skyrush...

For me at least, Toro's restraints are perfect. I could re-ride it all day and have never found them uncomfortable in any way. Skyrush's restraints put pressure in a totally different spot and (in my opinion) completely suck. I still like the ride, so they don't ruin the experience for me but I don't think they're comparable to Toro.

I have ridden both with issues with the restraints ratcheting down during the ride and then other times with no issue at all getting to enjoy them both to the fullest.

Sky Rush does give that bit of HOLY COW I'm going to get launched off into the sky and I am thankful that the restraint clicks down to the next tightest position, it is a rush. On El Toro when the bar clicks into the next tighter position, as stated here your feet and legs are set in place, and it is uncomfortable. It is the classic this belt loop hole doesn't keep my pants up and the next is too tight- some people are odd (meaning in between) sizes.

Both are in my top ten. I place El Toro higher on my list because it is a wooden coaster making it more unique in what it does.

After finally getting on Skyrush this year I must say I didn't personally have a bad time with their restraints, but I completely understand anyone who does. They are tight, but with the ride doing what it does it at least keeps people from flying out.

So for me they weren't really comfortable but I've experienced worse restraints.

New clue.

We're adding some more water to the boardwalk?