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In a world where parks are charging $40-$65 just for parking your car, around $20 for a meal shouldn't really be a shock. Welcome to the world.

It’s a theme park and you don’t have to eat there or be there period for that matter

Since this current Summer season was drawing to an end, I wanted to make one more trip down to Hershey Park. I decided to go on Wednesday, and the crowds were relatively quite slow. The other reason for this trip was to buy the Scrambler coaster-dynamix model as a gift for my friend/boss who owns Adventure Park USA, as we have a scrambler at our park, and his birthday is coming up. I went with a coworker who had gone with me at least 2 times over the year, which made the trip a lot more relaxed. We didn't feel the rush to get every credit, we could just do what we wanted to do. We did Fahrenheit first as it was a walk-on, and we rode the front seat. I've ridden the back seat of Fahrenheit before, and it was amazing. The front seat is less intense, but I did enjoy the hangtime on the inversions. That one airtime hill after the the double corkscrews/overbank was powerful, but I still prefer the backseat. Fresh from a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure where my friend and I had ridden El Toro for the first time, we went onto Wildcat's Revenge afterwards. We've ridden it before, but now we had something to compare it to. While front row on El Toro was great, I don't know if I prefer Wildcat's Revenge more. I think both have great finales, but Wildcat's Revenge is more enjoyable. The aggressiveness with the airtime is easier to take in when the track is butter smooth. El Toro wasn't rough by wooden coaster standards, but I'm also not sure how many times I could ride it. The finale where the airtime hill goes into a sharp turn is the part that I found a little bit uncomfortable. In contrast, Wildcat's Revenge rips you out of your seat, but there isn't any part that I find rough. I've only ridden Joker at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom out of the other hybrids, and I will say that I prefer this over that. We rode Lightning Racer next. We got the front row of Lightning Racer and while it was a little forceless - it was a lot smoother than any other seat. The coaster definitely banks on it's interactive elements, but I do wish that the little hills throughout the attractive gave some airtime. I don't really notice a huge difference between Lightning and Thunder other than Thunder feeling slightly rougher. In a couple of years', I do think a retracking might be in order. Not unbearable, but more noticeable than years' prior. Afterwards, we went over to ride the Hershey Drop Tower. It's not a bad drop tower, and gives you a full experience. I do think the launch feels weak, but I do like the view and length of the attraction. We then did Coal Cracker. We ended up doing this twice throughout the day. I'm a sucker for log flumes. Next to roller coasters, I'm a huge log flume enthusiast. Out of the log rides, it's not the most special, but it definitely is cool to interact with the other attractions as you float along. I also enjoy how throughout the ride, the little waves in the current can splash over your boat. It's not quite to the extent of a rapids ride, but it's more than you usually get on a log ride. The airtime hill at the end isn't bad either. Next was Great Bear. Last month, my friend and I had done Talon at Dorney Park. My friend hated Great Bear the last time he came, and he didn't have too much of a reason other than it feeling so/so. I didn't understand the criticism, but I sort of do now? I love Great Bear, but I do think it lacks a finale. Talon might be less intense, but it feels more full. I don't know if it's a fair criticism though since the space Hershey had to work with wasn't ideal. We got to ride the front seat, and I liked it a lot. I just wish there was more of a finale into the brake run. Our next rides were on Superdooperlooper, and Skyrush. These are the only two rides my friend hadn't ridden yet. The loop on Superdooperlooper is still very intense, and then the ride sort of just interacts with the park. It's fun in that way, but not much. I do wonder how the ride runs without the trim brake before the helix. Skyrush was a front-row ride, my first time in the front row, to-be-exact. It was great. I have a love/hate relationship with this ride. This time? I liked it. The airtime is great, it has one of the best first drops on a roller coaster, but I'm not the biggest fan of those trains. Part of me would probably prefer the ride with the same cars used on Superman:ROS. My friend didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. Comet was our next ride, and we got the back-seat. Words cannot describe how awesome the airtime on Comet can be. The back seat ensures that during that first half, you're going to not be in your seat. The second half does have some dull moments, but once you enter the two last humps before the brake run - it's back. Underrated wooden coaster. We decided to do the Scrambler because we wanted to compare it to the one at the park we work at. There's no comparison. The Scrambler at our park is naturally very tame. It takes about 4 minutes to get to its' full speed, and about one minute to stop. I love the thing, but it is what it is. The one at Hershey Park is a lot faster, and its' surreal to ride an attraction the way its' meant to be run. After that, we rode Candymonium. As far as B&W hypers go, Nitro/Mako are the ones that rein supreme in my heart. I haven't ridden too many B&W hypers, but Candymonium is probably better than Apollo's Chariot for me. The ride feels full, and the floater airtime is great. For Hershey, it's one of the standouts for me. I think the lack of intensity helps it out, and makes the attraction feel a lot more drawn out. While Hershey has a lot of great coasters, a lot of them are compact, speedy, and really snappy. This ride takes its' time. For me, Wildcat's Revenge and Candymonium are the best additions for Hershey. They feel like full rides. You have a great start, a great middle, a great finale. We went to get drinks at the The Chocolatier. We got the Chocolatier martini, the smores' martini, and another friend who joined got a martini combo. I liked the Smores' martini, and one of the chocolate martinis' in the martini combo. (i just forget the name of it). I don't think they were that strong, but I didn't want them to be either. I got Shrimp tacos to match it, and I think my friends' got burgers. The food was good, not great, but a needed break in the system. Still a little tipsy, we went back to Coal Cracker. It's peaceful, and not too intense. My third friend really wanted to do Tidal Force. We had ridden it before, he didn't. I know how soaked you get on that ride, but I'm also cognizant that you can dry if you only ride it once. You can also take your shirts/shoes off. I only really had to take my shirt off, and my shoes stayed dry. As far as chutes go, it's large, but the hill doesn't have the punch that other larger chutes have. I think Dorney's had a better drop, even it had trims on it. We went back on WIldcat's Revenge, which had just broken down, but by the time we got in line - it started working again. If you see a ride testing, a lot of the time, it's going to open back up. My advice for breakdowns is to put a ten-minute timer on your phone, if it bypasses 10 or 15 minutes, get out of line. It's saved time, and frustration. We finished the day on Stormrunner/JollyRancher. Stormrunner is my favorite accelerator from Intamin. I loved TTD, but it's a one-trick pony. Plus, the launches on both KingdaKa and TTD are drawn out. The punch on Stormrunner's launch is what keeps me going back. A fuller layout really benefits the attraction. I prefer Maverick, but I'm not sure what that's considered. That feels like a completely different attraction. For a Boomerang, I do think JollyRancher is one of the better ones. I rode in the backseat. The intensity of those models are a lot, and can be enjoyable. After that however, we were ready to end the day. In conclusion; It was a great day. Hershey Park has a great collection of rides, and the inclusion of longer attractions such as WR, and Candymonium; the park feels more full. That being said, I did notice a lack of great flat rides. Both Dorney Park and SFGA really showcased a better variety in that department. Here, you have some good ones, but a lot of areas where you're looking for things other than kiddie rides and roller coasters. I think the inclusion of so many kiddie attractions is a good thing, but also feel like there should be a balance of thrilling flat rides too. Dark rides is another area that could use improvement. The Reeses' shooting ride is a step there, so is Lafftrak, but there should be a little more to do other than that. If not a dark ride, a show other than the Sea Lion show. I know people probably want more roller coasters, I think we just need some different additions to really help out the park. I do not think the boardwalk needs anymore expansion. I'm not a fan of the Boardwalk, and I feel like it's disrupted the flow of the park. Now with the lazy river, some slides, and a waterplay area; i think it's big enough for a tiny park-in-a-park. That's my take.

- The turnstiles open at 8:30 along with the square area of the park. As mentioned above, there is a breakfast buffet in Molly's Mill Restaurant right off the square that also opens at 8:30. There are other shops open then too. No rides are accessible until rope drop at 9:30. People do tend to get there early, but not it's not usually a huge crowd at opening. - No, you do not get wet on flooded mine. - If you have time, just take a walk around the park and through the MidTown area just looking at stuff. If you see a hole and it says not to look, you should for sure look in it. There are so many little things around the City that can easily be missed when rushing from one ride to another.

There'd be a lot of room to play with orientation within that plot of land but the general placement that I chose there makes for an impressive sight walking the midway from Pandemonium to the games, while swinging towards the lagoon. You'd be able to see it right in front of you swinging above the 'arcade' building. It could be pushed a good 25ft closer to the railroad track without changing this framing I just did a quick and dirty fit check. The angle would look about like this walking this direction.

I have to admit, the thought of it swinging over the lagoon is absolutely thrilling to me. It would be a lovely view.

Im a planner, so I had a schedule set for the shows we wanted to see. No tickets. Did Superdogs, Knights of Valour, watched the end of diving show from a distance, enjoyed the live music in the wine happy hour area, and had two glasses of wine there (hah), watched the Love of Drag, exploration, drinking and food breaks with friends. We do spend time just chilling and soaking in the atmosphere, but also looking around at everything. Of course time in the barns. oh and dueling pianos of course!

I would have assumed it would have been included in the, y'know, corporate-wide announcement that announced everything else....but yeah, you keep that hope alive.

They could replace Steamin Demon with a Pinfari looper and Canyon Blaster with a colonoscopy tent and it would be a drastic improvement.

Well if that's where it is going I guess this works then? The ride support structure is 75ftx100ft and it swings out an additional 50ft each on the long sides (total 75ftx200ft). They could use this arcade for the queue rather than Axis or obviously build new buildings. Edit: An easy retheme for Joker would be just name it Riddler. No need to change the color. Slap some question mark decals on there. Remove the face that already is nearly disappeared and call it a day.

The social media comments are hilarious to read as some people are saying they just re-painted xcalibur or this ride is a copy of xcalibur

Disney has announced that Disneyland will be giving The Haunted Mansion an outdoor plaza expansion and new retail location! https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2023/08/new-haunted-mansion-grounds-expansion-retail-shop-coming-to-disneyland-resort-in-2024/ The stately grounds of the Haunted Mansion will expand with a spirited metamorphosis at Disneyland Resort next year. In 2024, the additions will build on the story and lore of the Haunted Mansion and include an expanded outdoor queue to immerse guests in enhanced theming, as well as a new retail shop adjacent to the attraction’s exit. Local legend suggests the manor known today as the Haunted Mansion was first built by a prosperous sea captain. To this day, the mansion’s staff faithfully maintains the happy haunting grounds. The expanded queue will tie into these stories and more, including new gardens inspired by Master Gracey, Madame Leota and the one-eyed cat. Each of the gardens will feature unique elements ranging from a water fountain and gazebo to themed statuary and landscaping. In fact, guests will be able to see a new greenhouse where the groundskeepers for the Haunted Mansion grow their plants. The pet cemetery and horse-drawn funeral hearse will continue to reside on the attraction’s grounds. And speaking of Madame Leota, we felt it was time to continue her presence beyond the walls of the Haunted Mansion with an all-new retail shop. This carriage house of the mansion, belonging to Leota, will be a standalone shop that we are just “dying” to tell you more about in the future. We also will make enhancements to the plaza adjacent to Tiana’s Palace. This area is one that holds a lot of memories and history, and a new, elegant park-like setting will be a place to relax and enjoy the ambiance and live entertainment under the shade of new and historic trees. Construction on these additions will begin in January 2024. We will take the opportunity to help improve the accessibility of these areas which includes a new elevator exit from the Haunted Mansion for guests with disabilities.

they changed the name on the Troika (went from Crazy Legs, to Harley Quinn, to just Spinsanity after the new Harley Ride opened). then, of course, they decomissioned the Troika. .and now they've also decomissioned the Turbillion Harley Ride too. . . HOPEFULLY the Troika will come back.. it's still in the boneyard, and still painted Red/White/Black in Harley Colors.

Tidal Wave or Excaliber were my thougths