Jim S.

Yeah guys, if you thought Hershey's mouse was bad, what do you consider a good one? Were they using the trims on the mousey section or something? Every time I've been on it, the only trims they used were before the first and last dips, and I'm glad they did. Speaking of trims, I've been on SooperDooperLooper with and without them in the same year. It seems completely random, as I've had both single-train rides with the trims and double-train rides without them (as well as the other, more logical, combinations.)

What does this thing do? Is it basically like a Downdraft at ground level?

Yeah, Stormrunner was possibly the world's worst choice of names. Because, you know, it makes so much sense to close a ride with magnetic brakes when it gets wet.

In my experience, expect about an hour wait for Fahrenheit even if you get there around opening. More later, depending on how busy the day is. Great Bear tends to have around a half-hour wait for a random seat, probably at least twice that for the front seat. (People really pack into the front-seat queue, which is completely separate from the rest of the station. And the trains are always stacked.) Lightning Racer eats lines, it'll be from a walk-on to a station full at any time. Wildcat isn't very popular because it used to be rough (it's better with new trains, but still rougher than Lightning Racer and some people just don't "get" wooden twisters), it probably won't be more than a station wait unless the park is super packed. (Even if it's less than a station full, I hesitate to use the term "walk-on" because operations are a bit slow here.) Sooperdooperlooper should be a walk-on to a station wait, again unless the park is super-packed. Stormrunner may or may not still be down. As for wait times, it's really all over the place. I've seen it anywhere from an hour to a station wait, at random times of day. It's better since Fahrenheit opened.

When I was there Saturday, I couldn't find the path under Roller Soaker. I didn't have a map, but if it's where I remember it (I only ever walked it once) it seemed to dead-end at the wave pool.

Last Thursday, I got an email reply from Hersheypark saying that they anticipated that Stormrunner would be open for Memorial Day weekend. When I went on Saturday, not only was it closed but everyone I talked to said it might not be open til June. Am I the only one who thinks it's strange that two Intamins have been down for weeks waiting on parts from Germany simultaneously?

In my limited experience, Coasters and Gameday Grille are also mediocre in both food and service. Everytime I go to Gameday they're hopelessly understaffed, and the one time I went to Coasters my food was barely warm. And amusement park Subways are usually like twice the price of a normal Subway, so they're not really an alternative. For the first time visitor to Hershey, study of the map is a must! The paths don't seem to lead in the shortest direction to a lot of the rides. There are signposts around the park that point in the general direction, but there are still lots of places you can go the wrong way. To make matters worse though, the map really doesn't seem to be to scale in some spots. I blame it on the hilly terrain. But definitely use the map and the signposts! If you just set out walking in the general direction of a ride, you may easily find yourself walking all the way around it, possibly encountering a dead end in the process, to find the entrance. Also on the subject of Hershey, Comet, the antique wooden coaster, has a ludicrous line all the time. This is not because it's an outstanding ride (although it's a good ride for what it is), but because operations are horribly slow. You may never see trains stacked anywhere for as long as you will on Comet. (Even though several of Hershey's other rides stack just about 100% of the time too.) I'm a big wood coaster fan, but it's not worth making it your first stop on your first trip just to avoid the line. Do one of the big steel coasters instead. (Probably Fahrenheit, unless you really want a lot of rides on Great Bear. Stormrunner's line has been sensible since Fahrenheit opened.) You'll have to decide later whether you want to spend your time in Comet's line.

Two thumbs way down to the PR department, who evidently went to the Dish Network school of marketing. (Anybody who has ever had to call Dish about anything will understand.) Stormrunner isn't open, and I heard from several people in several positions that it might not be til June. So why did they say in emails in the last few days that they anticipated that it would be this weekend? What everyone was saying today is that they're waiting on a part from Germany. I have no idea what part. The trains are back (if it's true that they were sent out for work) and are on the track.

A few hours ago, in the station of Sooperdooperlooper: "Does this one go upside down?"

Nuts, I knew I should've walked around to the entrance. I saw the footers from the road, and I tried to get a look at them from over by the salt & pepper shaker, but I didn't walk around any further.

I just emailed them Wednesday and I got a reply yesterday saying that they anticipated that it would be open by Memorial Day weekend. So either whoever answers their emails doesn't know what they're talking about, or the guy you talked to on LR doesn't know what he's talking about. Since I've never worked for Hersheypark, I can't guess which is the case.

I wasn't paying attention to the motor boats today, but there's no track going up yet, nothing but small concrete pads, so I would assume they're open. You could always call the park or email them.

Footers have been poured for the Miler. I couldn't get a close enough look to determine the layout.

Not only are the paths way off scale, it completely fails to give you any sense of elevation (maybe that's why.) Looking at the map, you'd never guess that the Wild Mouse is right next to the waterslides.

Out of room? He has a golf course! How does a cross-under differ from a cross-over? I hope we aren't getting a glorified Wacky Worm. I must admit I'm not familiar with Miler's offerings.

Were there any status updates on the other two new coasters?

I don't either, unless maybe they're going to put one big roof over the brake run and the to-be-constructed storage track. (There's a big concrete pad for it, but nothing else.) And I also don't understand the purpose of re-doing the final lift before the train returns to the station. That part was already track instead of trough! On another note, does anyone know if the swans are all still there? All day today I only saw one. There were at least 4 last year.

That's ironic that they're replacing trough turns with track. The whole point of making trough for seemingly trivial parts of the layout was that the cars wouldn't turn smoothly on track since the wheels swivel! This track looks like it's cambered though, maybe that's how they're going to get the wheels to follow it. I don't remember the tracked sections that were there last year looking like that. I hope they extend the hours today too if the crowds are that bad again. Other years, when the hours have been listed as "12 - ?" they've kept the park open til 7 or so but after 6 you had to pay tickets. That sucks because I always have a stash of leftover tickets but I don't take it with me when I'm going to get a handstamp.

So Knoebels officially allows single riders? Last year there were "no single riders" signs on the ride. I saw a single rider once and only once, and I'm not sure someone else would've comfortably fit in the seat with him. (It's uncomfortable enough in the outside seat already -- "forceful" isn't the word for that ride!) The lap bars do go really low, I don't see how anyone (adult, anyway) could be ejected from the ride no matter how much room they had laterally in the seat.

That's the second good comment about Comet I've read today. Is it safe to assume, then, that the completely unnecessary trim brake isn't being used this year? I've only ever had one run without it. It was still no Phoenix (I think it loses too much energy in the dogleg or something) but at least it didn't suck. Schmecks are meant to be airtime monsters, but the way they used to use that brake it might as well have been a mine train.

Now I'm pissed. If they would've announced that LR and Wildcat were going to be open, I might have gone. But there was no way I would go with them, SR, and Fahrenheit closed. I'm surprised they ran Great Bear with all the wind though. When would be a good time to go to Hershey in the regular season and avoid huge lines? So far I haven't found one. I'd like to go in May to get the greatest discount from the Subway coupons (the discount goes down $2 per month). I would think May wouldn't be a busy time, but I don't know when school groups go.

They always ran Stormrunner other years. It closed once in a while, but mostly it ran well. They also run it at Halloween. Is Great Bear scheduled to run? That was the one they always used to close if it got cold, but it was always scheduled to run. I don't know why they never run Lightning Racer, you'd think they would want to run a coaster that can handle so many people, and it's the best wood coaster in the park. They ought to get it open to make up for the other ones being closed. That, or cut the price. EDIT: I see on their website that the price is $23.95. I could swear that when I looked a month or so ago it was $29.95. Maybe they did lower it. But I'm still seriously pissed off. I was looking forward to going to Hershey all winter, but now it hardly seems worth it. I can imagine how long the line for Great Bear is going to be if it's open, since it's the only other good coaster there.

Mick Foley was at Knoebels for PPP last year.

Kosmo's Kurves? That sounds like a kiddy ride, not a suitable repacement for the High Speed Thrill Coaster. Hopefully it's just a poor name choice and not a lame coaster. Dudes, there's still time to rename the Miler. Save Kosmo's Kurves for when you build a wooden wild mouse. I'm a little worried about talk of taming the Flying Turns too. I'm hoping to see a ride that looks more like the test video and less like an Intamin bobsled!

And I'm almost certain that it's official that they're getting a Miler.