Photo TR: Boomers and Hersheypark

[BeemerBoy]

The game plan was simple. Do Boomers, Epcot, Hersheypark, and Knoebels all within 35 hours. Yeah, exactly. What was I thinking? Well, I did manage to get 3 out of the four done, so not too bad overall.

 

It all started in Fort Lauderdale. I picked up the car I'd be driving north, and promptly made my way over to Boomers to catch up with my favorite woodie. It was time to see if she could still lay claim to that spot. To make things simple.....she can, albeit just barely over Thunderhead.

 

The DBH is definitely starting to show a little wear, but still delivers an excellent ride (especially from the second to last row). I picked up my unlimited rides wristband for 12 bucks, and arrived at the station to find a total of maybe 10 people at the most. And that's music to my ears for such a great rerideable coaster! The downside is that they made each of us exit and walk all the way around the station after each ride. They simply wouldn't budge, even though it was completely unnecessary. We all could've camped out on that train for an hour or more.

 

Anyway, after 12 rides it was time to head out to see the parentals, and get some shuteye before phase 2 began the next morning.

 

** The on-ride photos were taken with permission from the ride ops on duty. Always ask before attempting. This has been a TPR public service announcement. **

See you tomorrow, Epcot. But you folks won't. At least not in this TR anyway. Instead you'll see Hershey.

As I was leaving, I attempted to make a citizen's arrest for this atrocity. Sir, please make up your mind right now. This indecision is simply not allowed down here.

Will do.

GASP! I'm assuming yearly maintenance.

I loves me an empty station. Hmmm, I wonder where the red train is, though?

For now anyway. There's still much more out there, including one formidable bull.

Is she still number one in my books?

A non-threatening station pic.

Blurry pic. Check.

Obligatory first drop pic.

Yes, the go-cart track is enormous.

So how many woodies have endured an actual hurricane, and still had what it takes to be a top 20 ride on Mitch's poll? Look, there's the flags to prove it.

Or you could just look to your right and take in the beauty.

click click click click....if you try real hard, that actually sounds like the lift hill.

The lapbars don't seem to lock real well anymore. And with this much room, who's complaining?

You teased me back in October, but this time there's no high school physics field trip to deny me my rides!

[BeemerBoy]

Okay, so I got caught up in D.C. traffic, arrived at Hershey an hour later than planned, underestimated the size of the place, and quickly decided to save Knoebels for another time. I was only working on a couple hours sleep, and there was simply no way I could do both parks in one day.

 

My thoughts on Hershey....

I really liked this place. It seemed to have a pretty good mix of everything. I only wish I could've been a little more rested prior to entering the park. This place took it's toll on me because I simply underestimated the amount of walking required to see the whole place! It's not a flat park by any means, and the distance from the entrance gates to Lightning Racer is insane.

 

Although I thought I was familiarized enough with the layout before I arrived, I found myself constantly looking at the park map to find my way around the joint. It wasn't until later in the afternoon, and a couple trips around the park that I started to feel like I knew where I was going.

 

Even though I saw a train, and a monorail, I never really noticed where to pick them up, or if they even aided you in navigating the park all that well. I guess you could consider that my biggest gripe about Hershey then. Perhaps their next investment should be finding an easier alteranative to getting all the way back to the Midway, and new Boardwalk areas. It's quite a hike as it is now.

 

The crowds weren't too bad, but a park filled with field tripping high schoolers didn't help matters too much on the enjoyable meter. Besides that, I found most of the employees to be friendly and helpful. The grounds were clean, and the park looked great.

 

Onto the coasters:

Stormrunner - The longest wait of the day at just about 45 minutes for a front row ride. It was a one train opreation all day due to what I was told to be "understaffing." If so, then that's ashame. Thankfully, I never waited more than 15-20 minutes for anything else (that being a front row Great Bear ride), or I would've been slightly more upset by this.

 

The ride itself is great. Honestly, I'm the oddball who still loves the sheer size and speed of KK and TTD over this smaller rocket. Don't get me wrong. I thought the inversions, and the course were great fun, but if given the choice, I'd still go with Ka. Yes, I'm strange. There was a little discomfort with the OTSRs through the elements, but nothing too bad at all.

 

Great Bear - Naturally, I love B&M inverts, but this one was only saved by the unique layout and location. Granted, it was still great fun compared to most things out there, but it just didn't do alot for me in comparison to the others I've ridden. Ice Dragon, are you two competing for lamest ending ever, or what?

 

Wildcat - Since I never rode it with PTCs, I can't say too much. Even so, I could still tell that Millennium Flyers must've been a Godsend to this coaster. It turned out to be another pretty fun GCI in my book.

 

Lightining Racer - This was the surprise of the trip for me. I'm not sure exactly why, but I was blown away by this one! I loved everything about it. ** surprisingly, the two on-ride pics were taken with permission of the ride ops **

Come on baby! Daddy needs a new Tahoe.

Coaster.

Signature move. Not pictured.

My train never saw the winner light.

The riders on the winning trains were all given new Tahoes.

Next up was a big surprise.

Booo to smokin. Yay to making their areas look nice and blend in.

Purdy.

They are beautiful though.

I think it was around this point that I was stapled through the seat itself.

Insert "wow, GCIs always look amazing statement" here.

Insert growling cat sound here.

Flowers and stuff.

The new Boardwalk area. Wow, another boring caption. Maybe I need to call to the bullpen for Nikki and Jer to help finish this report off for me.

A smooth mine train. In fact, much more interesting than this caption.

It's been approved by me. No sticker needed.

I'm not real fond of the zoom on my camera, but I did like Stormrunner though.

Through the station. And bonus two train shot, I might add.

The other train just sat there and laughed at me and my sore feet.

Almost there.

This guy threw out 6 kids over the course of my time in line. Way to go Hershey!

This might have been enjoyable if it were dipped in white chocolate too.

Hershey dips their squirrels in white chocolate.

This should be redirected back to Lightning Racer, immediately.

This seems so familiar for some strange reason.

The grounds were beautiful.

Argh. Probably the most frightening sight one could see upon arrival to a park. I have a feeling it's gonna feel like a living A&F store in there today.

Thanks. Wow, when the kids TP a lawn up here, they sure do get creative.

[YoshiFan]

That Storm Runner excuse for only running 1 train is a bad one. That seems to be one problem with Hershey, only ok operations. When I went last October they had only 1 train on each side of Lightning Racers despite it being a 35 minute wait and I heard at Springtime In the Park they ran 1 train on all the open coasters causing 45+ minute waits for Comet.

 

Even though I saw a train, and a monorail, I never really noticed where to pick them up, or if they even aided you in navigating the park all that well.

 

They are really only sightseeing rides as both rides only have 1 station and are transportation rides (the monorail does have a station at the chocolate factory but it is not used anymore), the monorail is a great ride since it takes you out of the park and over ZooAmerica. You board the train near the Claw ride and the Monorail near Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge.

[pete4winds]

Awesome TR. Boo to one-train ops, YYYAAAYYY to Hershey in general. I can't wait to get back there. End-of-July, why do you take so long to get here???

[BeemerBoy]

^^ Thanks. In all honesty, I would've loved to have ridden both the train and monorail, but my main focus was the coasters this time around. Heck, by the time I had finished with that objective I was beat. There was plenty more I could've explored, but I really needed to conserve energy for the last leg of my trip.

 

^ Thanks Pete. Yeah, yay to Hershey in general is right.

 

Here's the rest of the pics.

I see you Dorney. I don't have time for you today, so quit taunting me with your Hydra credit that I need. Just tell the folks thanks for viewing this TR.

Thank you Hershey. It was a pleasure. Time to head towards the Vineyard now.

Hours and hours of driving + plenty of coaster riding, with very little sleep = bloodshot eyes. Sadly, I think it's time to get going and find some Visine.

Dollywood, this is what you need. A classic.

Maverick?

You guys just can't compete.

With all the coasters done, and not many people around, I was able to catch a few more random things before heading out.

Even with a crooked lift hill.

This turned out to be pretty fun. Much like Lake Winnie's Cannon Ball. At least to me, anyway.

What it says.

Exclusive brake run shot.

Gotta love when there's a chain IN the station.

Obligatory "Hi Joe" comment.

And one more for good measure.

I'm smiling at this very moment.

It afforded some pretty unique views of it. And I was happy.

I really did love how the skyway ride crossed over Great Bear. Awesome!

Have you noticed it's early, and I'm not really into caption writing at this time of day?

Location, location, location.

This was the second. Honestly kids, how tough can it be to get the whole sign in the pic. I'm even pointing to expand the view, yet she still failed miserably!

I asked two different people to snap a pic of me with Great Bear's sign. This was the first lame attempt.

B&M goodness.

[Billy]

awesome pics of Great Bear! i found Hershey to be a pain to navigate too... its almost like hiking.

[BeemerBoy]

^ Thanks. Yeah, the park definitely gives you a workout!

 

So anyway, for some strange reason I was thinking about that freaky squirrel this morning, and I came across this.

[ginzo]

Nice pictures. Oddly enough, your woodie trip report has me most excited about Storm Runner. I'm making my first trip to Hershey in over 10 years in July! I remember it being a very nice park, much nicer than Great Adventure at the time.

 

The Dania Beach Hurricane is hard sell for me. We visit relatives frequently in Tampa. It's hard to convince people to drive almost 600 miles round trip for a single woodie when Busch Gardens, Disney, and Universal are all close by. Maybe some day.

[shesaidboom]

"I pledge to uphold the objects of the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society, to foster compassion and goodwill towards albino squirrels, and to dedicate myself to the protection of all squirrels, especially those that are albino." Who knew albino squirrels were such serious business? Hershey Park needs to start a chapter and have an 'albino squirrel camp out and feeding party' now that one has been spotted.

 

Wow, another boring caption. Maybe I need to call to the bullpen for Nikki and Jer to help finish this report off for me.

 

SAVE THE ALBINO SQUIRRELS!

[Louise]

Really great trip report Scott!! Your PTRs are becoming some of my favourites, great pics and captions (for the most part... LOL!! ).

 

Hershey is on my list of must-visit parks (at some point before I die, probably not anytime soon ), nice pics!

[cfc]

Maybe Edgar Winter could do a benefit concert at Hershey for the albino squirrels.

 

Whew! Quite a whirlwind tour there, Scott! I live in Virginia, and I still haven't hit the Pennsylvania parks.

[moinab]

Another great report!

 

We were supposed to go to Hershey last summer, but had to cancel due to scheduling and financial difficulties. Maybe next year.

 

at the chocolate dipped squirrel!

[Diddi]

also went to boomers today:

airtime? jup. thanks to funny lapbars.

[BeemerBoy]

The Dania Beach Hurricane is hard sell for me. We visit relatives frequently in Tampa. It's hard to convince people to drive almost 600 miles round trip for a single woodie when Busch Gardens, Disney, and Universal are all close by. Maybe some day.

Don't forget the go-cart track. Sell 'em on that.

 

Nah, I hear what you're saying, and so many people miss out on a great one simply because of the odd location. If given the chance, you should really ride it before the years start to catch up with it. Honestly, I'm amazed it's held up as well as it has, given the fairly low attendance compared to if it were in a park with a bigger maintenance budget. You could always fly into Lauderdale first, then make the trip to Tampa. That is, of course, if you don't road trip it from Ohio.

 

Really great trip report Scott!! Your PTRs are becoming some of my favourites, great pics and captions (for the most part... LOL!! Wink Taiko Laughing Red).

Thanks Lou! Cedar Point's up next....just 10 days away.

 

 

Maybe Edgar Winter could do a benefit concert at Hershey for the albino squirrels.

[ginzo]

Nah, I hear what you're saying, and so many people miss out on a great one simply because of the odd location. If given the chance, you should really ride it before the years start to catch up with it. Honestly, I'm amazed it's held up as well as it has, given the fairly low attendance compared to if it were in a park with a bigger maintenance budget. You could always fly into Lauderdale first, then make the trip to Tampa. That is, of course, if you don't road trip it from Ohio.

 

My experience is that smaller parks take better care of their woodies because they are the star attractions at those places.

 

I've actually had the exact same thought about the DBH; that I need to get down there before it gets jacked up. I also feel a sense of urgency to ride Renegade before CF brings it up to their corporate standard for woodies.