F1shy

I do not know whether the decision was made before or during Bear construction, and I agree that B&M could not have simply "auto-completed" into the brake run... but if you think away from the ending, Bear could have originally been designed to Immelman right instead of left (or vice versa, depending on how you look at it) and spend more time on the other side of the creek instead of over Comet Hollow. Or the track could have originally been designed to run where "Attraction 2012" is currently planned to lay. If you look at an overhead view of the park, Bear had some potential to expand, but you can assume it was cut short for Hershey's financial reasons. I'm just throwing ideas out there.....

That makes little sense... What did Hershey do so bad to B&M? Other then pay them for their multi-million dollar attraction? If anything, Hershey does not like B&M only because of their price tag, which is generally much higher then Intamin (but also a must more reliable product). The Great Bear was actually supposed to be longer, but apparently Hershey was running low on funds at the time, so the track was cut short and built to completion based on Hersheypark's standards. This explains the ending to Bear.

One of my friends who works on the inside told me that... when asked about what the new attraction Hersheypark is building, the company responded with, "a new slushie stand." haha. I wish I could have pryed my friend of information about the new "attraction" (my friend couldn't even tell me if it was a roller coaster or not, even though 99.9+% [maybe a little exagerrated] of the people speculating this attraction KNOW it's a roller coaster), but given my friend's position, and my blabbermouth, I decided to not annoy my friend with questions. I asked my friend what they COULD tell me, but my friend couldn't exactly determine what they could/could not tell me, so my friend told me NOTHING AT ALL. Super secrecy at it's finest. Now for an actual contribution towards this topic: Based on Hersheypark's history, B&M apparently does not like Hersheypark after The Great Bear. So that might rule out B&M, for those still considering it.

Noooooo I just HAD to apply for an Internship for Hershey instead of Ride Operator this season..... I would have loved to Ride Op for you guys!

That's sad to see Especially when I was JUST there two weeks ago and everything was normal! Slidewinder was great! I feel bad you guys didn't get to ride it!

#100 - Intimidator 305 Last coaster: #116 - Go Bananas! at Wild Adventures, Valdosta, GA #'s 117-135 will be coming soon with my first-ever visits to Carowinds and Kings Island over the next three days!

I think a lot of people misunderstand Fahrenheit... obviously this is coming from a ride operator. When the entire queue line is full (without overflow), the line is only an hour long. How do I know? I timed it... waited in line during my day off so I KNEW how long the wait was. Sometimes we run two trains because the 3rd train is malfunctioning... is that really a problem? Safety is a huge concern for any amusement park, and Hersheypark is no exception. And the single rider line is closed because of guest complaints... simple as that :\

I was at the park both yesterday and today... lines weren't bad yesterday. Intimidator 305 was running two trains and the wait for front row was 25 minutes for my friend and I. Volcano was probably the longest wait of the day with 40 minutes - running 2 trains as well. Grizzly was running one train all day and it was practically a walk on. Overall, crowds were light and lines weren't long at all. Today, Intimidator 305 was running one train... so I didn't even bother with the front row. I happened to jump in line after a rain delay, and fortunately waited 4-5 trains for the back row. I didn't bother with the rest of the park... since I got everything in the day before, and the crowds were a little larger.

A lot has changed since 2006... Sidewinder is now probably our roughest ride in the park, next to Wildcat. Fahrenheit has a small patch of roughness as you exit the cobra roll. The weather has been unpredictable, recently. Yesterday we had a 0% chance of thunderstorms in the morning, and 100% chance of t-storms in the evening... in reality, we had HAIL in the morning, and the most beautiful of blue skies in the evening. It was ridiculous. And as for the bag drops, some rides have cubbies, while others have a marked area on the station platform/ride area to put your belongings.

Lines for Great Bear, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, and Wildcat have been relatively short - meaning less than 30 minutes for each ride. Don't let the long lines fool you, as capacity on each coaster is fairly large. Just like RollingRunner mentioned, Wildcat has been having surprisingly longer-than-normal wait times... as long as the queue line doesn't reach the bottom of the ramps, you'll be waiting no longer than 20 minutes. If Storm Runner ever breaks down, ask a "red tag" why... if they say "no-launch", stay in line... maintenance usually fixes that problem within 15 minutes. If they don't know, I would recommend going back 45-60 minutes later. Look over what I said a few posts up... that may help a bit. You will want to hit Fahrenheit and Roller Soaker first... those lines fill up the quickest. As for the other listed rides, Sidewinder and SDL will be near walk-ons. Great Bear and Storm Runner should have lines no longer than 30 minutes each. And to comment on what RollingRunner said, night rides on Storm Runner and Great Bear are, indeed, the best. It doesn't matter where you sit, so don't be too upset if the line for front row is too long. As for Fahrenheit, I believe the best ride is in the back. I've made some riders sit in the front AND the back of the train, and nearly everyone has agreed that the back gives a better, more exciting ride.

Crowds in July have been ridiculous. We've been hitting close to record attendance every day - even on weekdays. I was operating Roller Soaker yesterday and the line averaged 90 minutes from 3-8pm. The best time to ride Soaker would be in the morning, or immediately after a breakdown... we broke down once yesterday and the line reduced to 30 mins, but 10 minutes after re-opening, the line extended back to normal. Fahrenheit's line actually isn't too bad. Attendants at front-line will say the line is 45 minutes long when we've had guests say they actually waited around 20 minutes. Once you hit the tree closest to the stairs, it's about a 10-15 minute wait, depending on the efficiency of the ride attendants/operator/ADA loading-unloading. Since July 29th is my last day at HP, I should be working Fahrenheit, and I always stress to my co-workers the importance of increasing the capacity by quickly loading/unloading trains - while maintaining safety of the guests, of course... so you should see the line move pretty fast. /brag And to comment on what YoshiFan said: If you plan on visiting the Boardwalk, especially on a hot day, I recommend going as soon as the park gates open - ride Tidal Force first, then Roller Soaker, then the water slides.

During the weekdays, the crowds have been light... ESPECIALLY on Mondays and Tuesdays. Fridays and Saturdays are always busy. - Ride Op

I absolutely love roller coasters, but I rarely get the chance to visit theme parks to ride them. I'm 20 years old, and have yet to hit my 100th credit. This August, that's all going to change! I'm currently at 96 coasters, and while on a road trip to Georgia, I plan on visiting Kings Dominion for my 97-100th credits! If everything works out, Intimidator 305 will be my 100th credit... and I'm sooo excited. So this brings up the question: What are your roller coaster milestones?

I was there Saturday with a couple friends, and we noticed that as well. They had two trains running on the Thunder side. Gotta wonder how Lightning stalled there... I suppose maybe if it happened on the first test run of the year. Err... okay I guess I lied about both trains running on Saturday, then. My mistake. I must have been seeing things.

Sounds like you had a good day! This weekend was a great weekend for guests - I was working Sidewinder on Saturday and the line never exceeded the ramp to the station. I glanced over at Stormrunner a few times and the lines never reached the top of the stairs. Lightning Racer was running both trains on that day. Yesterday I operated Fahrenheit from 2-6pm and I believe the longest wait was 40 minutes. We were only running two trains... probably because Hershey was expecting little attendance after last Sunday. I have no explanation for Sidewinder's closure or Thunder's "Valley in the tunnel", however.

Hey Gary! Nice pictures of Hersheypark! I apologize for not getting back to you about what ride I was operating yesterday... we don't receive our ride assignments until the start of our shift. But if you were wondering, I was working Stormrunner! I don't recall seeing you, though. :\ Yesterday was a great day to attend Hersheypark... lines were significantly shorter than friday and saturday. I was working Frog Hopper on friday, and even THAT had a 45 minute wait. An hour wait for Fahrenheit is a blessing, haha. Oliver

Great report - loved the pictures! I've never seen so many photos of Carowinds before so it was nice to see those. I'll be Ride Op'ing at Hersheypark on April 4th!

Same problem... re-upload link?

I've had NL for a couple months now... I haven't done anything but mess around with the program until I decided to take this coaster somewhat seriously. Some things I'm already aware of are the few spots with red vertical G's... and a few turns are a little pumpy (term?). Hope you like it - constructive criticism is appreciated! Redifer [Final].nltrack

Some of us may look at it as a souvenir of some sort. For example, I decorate my walls with concert tickets, penn state football/basketball tickets, posters, and of course, amusement park tickets...

Shot three years ago by meh. Mantis @ CP

Maverick, two months ago. :]

Earlier this year I wasn't sure if there was an "official" topic concerning Gamertags and whatnot, so I didn't start one... looks like this one oughta do! F1shst1cks is my gamertag. I just got a handful of video games from Christmas... Gears of War, Call of Duty 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, FIFA 07, Battlefield 2, and Hitman: Blood Money. ...I also play Halo 2 and G.R.A.W. Yes, I am a hardcore gamer. lol... sometimes that may be a bad thing.

Matt I told you it was the Red Bull lol

CalP 15 WOF 10 CP 21 SFOT -3 SFOG +27 BGT 19 Poor Texas :[