Ccron10 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Prologue: I plan on working on 3 projects this summer; this park being one of them. The idea of this project first started as an idea to create a Merriot's Great America-kind-of-park. As time went by, the park became to spread out and I decided to start over, but rebuild the style of the rides in the new park. I also scrapped the idea of the park style and made the new one owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Co. The reason why is to ask myself, "What would the company do if they had the chance to build Hersheypark all over again?" The result is Hershey's Grand Adventure. HERCO bought the former entertainment park called Maple Grove Entertainment Park from a family who also owned nearby Maple Grove Raceway in 2007. The park had 2 race tracks; one was an oval track with go-karts; the second was a 4-wheeler dirt track with several jumps. There was also a Ripcord-style ride called Sky Screamer which stands 300 feet tall, Thrillshot which launches riders vertically into the sky, and a Vekoma kiddie coaster called Little Dipper. In 2007 after HERCO bought the park, they added an Arrow log flume called Old Mill River Falls. The station is supposed to resemble an abandoned mill and it features 1 long tunnel with suprises, a 40 foot tall drop, and a 70 foot tall drop making the ride one of the tallest of it's kind. The park is planning an official Grand Opening under new ownership in 2008. A new main entrance and amptheatre are planned to open. -See the Newest Post for pics!- Park logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hand 0f Time Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Probably would have been better not to include screen shots of the blank walkway and lift to nowhere for the video. Also - correct spelling is definely needed. I noticed at least 3 errors and that just drove me crazy. But anywho, I'll wait to see your project comming along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rckrazy06 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I think you should just stick to one park at a time, last time you tried this, none of them were really completed. Like the Island one(forget the name) That was one of my favorites. Anyway looks good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ccron10 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 March 2008 Greetings! Something sweet is happening in rural Berks County. Just last year, Hersheypark-owner, HERCO bought Maple Grove Entertainment park from a local family and plans to improve it. It's location sits in the middle of a big, flat, open field which makes it have the ability to build and try things that couldn't be possible at Hersheypark. Not a lot is going to be new for it's official opening season execpt for a new park entrance and amptheatre. Last year they added a greatly detailed log flume, but it seems out of place. looks like a laser and fireworks show will be added eventually. More Soon! Comments please! The stage and seating area for the amptheatre is completed, but the park entrance hasn't been built yet. This is going to look like a lot of fun once it opens. The ride does stick out a little from the rest of the park, but over years, it should fit in well. Tucked in the back corner of the park is the Old Mill River Falls log flume. This is the first step the company took to revive the park and add style to it. The Little Dipper may look like a kiddie coaster, but adults are even allowed to ride! Welcome to HERCO's new theme park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Looks good so far! I love the flume... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Looks great! You might want to use the "David Walsh" cheat to remove the interface in your photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angryemobeaver Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Every thing looks great so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ccron10 Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 May 2008 Opening Day Today was the official opening of Hershey's Grand Adventure and it was a day with a decent amount of people who decided to show up. As soon as the gates opened, most of the people made a mad dash to the Little Dipper or Resse's 500. The line filled up quickly for Little Dipper and remained full through out the day. I headed straight to the back of the park to ride Sky Screamer and was able to get re-rides. It turned out that it was one of the most successful days the park has had in a long time. ____________________________________________________________ August 2008 Well, it's one of those dog days of summer at Grand Adventure. The line for Old Mill was long and the park offered free water to it's guests. The lines were decent for the park's other rides, but Sky Screamer's was long and had incredibley terrible dispatch times. Construction fences have gone up next to Thrillshot and digging has begun. _____________________________________________________________ October 2008 2009 Attraction Press Release Today, HERCO officials gave a speech to the press about their new 2009 attraction planned for Hershey's Grand Adventure. The ride called RoboCoaster is a thrill ride that is simply described as a robotic arm with seats. Guests will board one of two arms and get an experience that they'll never forget! RoboCoaster along with a new restrooms building are planned to open Memorial Day 2009. _____________________________________________________________ Memorial Day 2009 RoboCoaster's Opening RoboCoaster can only be described in one word. Wow. I have never rode a ride so wild as this one and the way the park themed it made it fit perfectly. It has it's own midway and along it are really cool flags advertising the ride. On a sad note, Sky Scraper has been removed. I came by the park earlier in the year and an employee let me take a look around. They boarded up the entrance by this time and the ride was still standing. In May, the whole ride was gone, a construction fence has gone up and some strange footers have appeared. I wonder what the park has in store for 2010? The footers have appeared! Let the rumors begin! Comments Please! SKy Scraper's entrance has been boarded up. seems like they're going to re-use it. This is one of my favorite pics of the park so far. Sad to see this go. But I guess it needs to. The Ad banners look awesome! May 2008. RoboCoaster's entrance really fits the ride's look. The construction fence has gone up. This was taken earlier in the season. It seems the park quickly added on to Little Dipper's queue line. I don't have a pic of it though. Reese's 500 seems to be a big hit. The brand new park entrance looks awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Great updates! You placed the robocoasters perfectly! As for the footers...I think they make up a turnaround. I'm guessing a family out-and-back woodie. It's too early for a hyper or anything like that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottslover77 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Nice park, can't wait for an update. --Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 WOW! Really good! Ill be watching this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPCrazy Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Again, this has to be your best project to date Chris! Just as long as your Hersheypark recreation isn't dead. Good work, as always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinciDAWGS12 Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Wow! This park is awesome! Then again all of your parks are...I think the new ride will be a Dive Machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ccron10 Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 May 2010 Today is the opening on Hershey's Grand Adventure's first major roller coaster! Thunder Express. The story goes that in the middle of a large forest is an abandoned railway the sat vacant for ages. You discover it and find an old locomotive and decide to ride it even though it doesn't look safe. All of a sudden on a long stretch of track, the locomotive launches foreward unexpectedly up to speeds around 60 mph. Will you survive? You'd have to ride it to find out! While I was waiting in line I found a fact sheet. I didn't get a picture of it, but here's what it said: Builder & Designer: S&S PowerSteepest Drop: 90 degrees Top Speed: 60 mph Highest Drop: 120 feet Other Features: -90 degree banked turn-around - World's First Wooden Launched Coaster -World's Steepest Drop on a Wooden Coaster. IMO the ride was awesome! The launch wasn't very forceful, it was smooth and was themed nicely. The only problem is that the rest of the ride needs more trees. But that will come probably once the park expands more. I haven't heard any rumors on what's coming in 2011, but my guess is that it's not going to be very much. Thunder Express ends by going into the sloping brake run. Comments Please! Needs more trees though. The area is starting to get more feel to it. Express's first drop goes over the path leading to RoboCoaster. The launch area, queue house, and transfer building. The ride's exit plaza looks great. This area is starting to get a theme to it. On opening day, the coaster's entrance looks a tad different from last time I was here. There's the new station! A new sign has appeared over the entrance. They had most of the track done and were already testing. In March, a lot of work still had to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Burnett Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How did you do the sloping brakerun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPCrazy Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Nice update there! This park is really taking shape. Can't wait for more updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hey, that's not a wooden coaster!!! Kidding. But I LOVE Thunder Express! The layout, station, and plaza are excellent, but there is one thing that sets this coaster apart from the others...CUSTOM WOODEN SUPPORTS! It's great to see that you have put a lot of time into making this coaster look amazing, and I know everyone else feels the same. Great work! -Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haydawg149 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 IMO, you should use the larger leveling out slopes, and shorten the trains if you want to make it more realistic. It would look A LOT better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinciDAWGS12 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 How did you do the sloping brakerun? I'm pretty sure he used the Extended Coaster and I think it has a sloping brake in it. I love the coaster! The supports are awesome and make it look really realistic. A launched wooden coaster would be a lot of fun. I can see Intamin trying that in the future with their Prefab track. Great ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Its alittle odd but nice creativity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angryemobeaver Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I like Thunder Express, kinda reminds me of Lightningbolt at my Hershey Park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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