Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[pianojohn]

Just got back from my day (4 + hours) at Hersheypark. Thanks to the great advice, I was able to hit all of the coasters I needed to and not spend too much time in line.

 

We arrived at 9:30am to find a decent crowd waiting outside the gates. At about 9:55 we were let inside, and I made my way to the Farenheit area. Got on the 1st train right at 10am. OK coaster, nothing great in my book.

Headed over to Storm Runner. Fun coaster with some nice surprises.

Then got the Wildcat and Lightning Racer credits while squeezing in Wild Mouse and Roller Soaker. 7 coasters and it wasn't even 11am!

 

Made our way to the other side of the park. Got the Trailblazer credit and then headed to tackle Great Bear, SooperDooperLooper, Comet, and SkyRush.

 

Great Bear was about 45 minutes so we skipped it and headed to SDL. It was only running one train so we skipped that (for now). SkyRush had a 1hour15 minute wait, so we opted to do Comet. While in line for Comet, SkyRush broke down. We exited Comet just as SkyRush came back up, and the line was only 20 minutes!

 

OK, here are my thoughts:

The station: seriously?? Who designed a station where you exit and enter from the same side in the same place? I know Millenium Force does that, but they have an unloading and a loading area. It was a clusterf*ck everytime the train came back with people trying to get their items out of the bins and holding up the loading process. They could remedy this with two fixes: one costly and one practical.

 

First, make the station flush loading. You enter from the left side and exit on the right. This would require a re-design of half of the building.

Second, do not allow ANY loose articles on the ride. This takes up valuable loading time as well.

 

Now the ride: it was fun, but after bottoming out on the first drop and having the lap bar stapled to my thighs, I just couldn't enjoy it anymore. I just kept thinking "When will this end so I can exit and get the feeling back in my legs?" Seriously! There has to be a way to have the bars lock in the station and not re-lock tighter during the ride.

 

Fun day, hot weather, and a thrill packed 6 hour drive back to Cleveland!

Edited June 23, 2012 by pianojohn

[grrt]

How should the lines be next Tuesday/Wednesday? Best time of day to ride SkyRush?

[GayCoasterGuy]

 

First, make the station flush loading. You enter from the left side and exit on the right. This would require a re-design of half of the building.

Second, do not allow ANY loose articles on the ride. This takes up valuable loading time as well.

 

Did you get a chance to let the park know/fill out form at Guest Relations? Every little bit helps.

 

Great report! Did you get back to sooperdooperLooper? I'm real curious to hear reports with the new trains/rehab.

[IanKgtr]

How should the lines be next Tuesday/Wednesday? Best time of day to ride SkyRush?

 

Not bad at all if you follow the plan posted a few pages back. Do Skyrush after lunch, maybe around 1 or 2.

[gisco]

We arrived at 9:30am to find a decent crowd waiting outside the gates. At about 9:55 we were let inside, and I made my way to the Farenheit area. Got on the 1st train right at 10am. OK coaster, nothing great in my book.

Headed over to Storm Runner. Fun coaster with some nice surprises.

Then got the Wildcat and Lightning Racer credits while squeezing in Wild Mouse and Roller Soaker. 7 coasters and it wasn't even 11am

 

Nice, I will have to remember this for my trip next month.

[coasterfreak101]

Great report! Did you get back to sooperdooperLooper? I'm real curious to hear reports with the new trains/rehab.

 

The new trains are super comfortable, and whatever work they did on the brakes really helps the train to not jolt to a stop so hard at the end. The trim in the middle of the ride also feels less strong, or at least just smoother. It was a good change!

 

How should the lines be next Tuesday/Wednesday? Best time of day to ride SkyRush?

 

I posted a plan like ten pages ago, and then reposted it only two or three pages back. Just follow it.

[eddie200330]

This came in an email today.....for anyone who is going and staying overnight!!!!

 

http://view.hersheysweetmail.com/?j=fe5a117374620179701c&m=fef017777d6d00&ls=fdee10777d67047a73127172&l=ff2e10767167&s=fded15737763017b7d137977&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2910737c660075771674&utm_source=HPA+6.22.12+Rush+The+Park+Package+-+Hotel&utm_medium=ET_email&utm_campaign=HPA+6.22.12+Rush+The+Park+Package+-+Hotel&utm_content=http%3a%2f%2fview.hersheysweetmail.com%2f%3fj%3dfe5a117374620179701c%26m%3d%25%25ex2%3bMemberID%25%25%26ls%3d%25%25ex2%3blistsubid%25%25%26l%3d%25%25ex2%3blistid%25%25%26s%3d%25%25ex2%3bSubscriberID%25%25%26jb%3d%25%25ex2%3b_JobSubscriberBatchID%25%25%26ju%3d%25%25ex2%3bjoburlid%25%25

[ernierocker]

So, after reading all of these reviews, it seems there has been another hidden positive of Hershey building SkyRush: you can dominate the rest of the park first thing in the morning, as long as you save SkyRush for later in the day.

[coasternut]

So, after reading all of these reviews, it seems there has been another hidden positive of Hershey building SkyRush: you can dominate the rest of the park first thing in the morning, as long as you save SkyRush for later in the day.

 

From my experience on Sky Rush (4 times) that's the only good thing. I'll be back this week to try to like it.

[coasterfreak101]

So, after reading all of these reviews, it seems there has been another hidden positive of Hershey building SkyRush: you can dominate the rest of the park first thing in the morning, as long as you save SkyRush for later in the day.

 

As if the best ride in the country wasn't enough!

[A.J.]

This came in an email today.....for anyone who is going and staying overnight!!!!

So, they added Skyrush to the attractions that open with Hersheypark Sweet Start. Nice! I wish they would've done that on opening day.

[regularshow99]

How long should waits be during the first week of August?

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I just consulted Miss Cleo, she said, and I quote, "Mon, da waits gon be as bad as dey EVA beeen dat week, you should stay home!"

 

Seriously though, nobody can predict the future.

[Thom25]

That's true, but the first three weeks of August historically are the busiest time of the Summer season.

[JRHcoasterki]

Has anyone heard anything more about the Skyrush restraint reconfiguration? Maybe reconfiguration isn't the right word... Anyway though, has anyone heard anything?

[grrt]

One more question... anybody care to explain the park's 'Preview Plan.' I get the gist of it, but their website words it slightly confusingly.

[ernierocker]

This was posted three pages back:

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1194663#p1194663

[grrt]

This was posted three pages back:

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1194663#p1194663

 

Thanks! Pardon my ignorance... and excessive posting. Just trying to make sure all goes smoothly!

[alpengeist04]

^Yes, definitely take advantage of the preview if possible. It should allow you to get a ride or two on Skyrush, that way you won't be so tempted to run to it first thing in the morning.

[cal1br3tto]

Has anyone heard anything more about the Skyrush restraint reconfiguration? Maybe reconfiguration isn't the right word... Anyway though, has anyone heard anything?

Yeah, I'd love to know more if there's any news out there. It would be great if they could actually accomplish that during the season (without major disruptions) instead of waiting.

[JRHcoasterki]

Yeah that would definitely be ideal if they did it during the season! If they do end up fixing them, I wonder what they will do... Will they just add more padding or something like that?

[_koppen]

Yes, most likely.

[A.J.]

Yeah, but even adding more padding can't be done in a week or so during the season, unless they would pull a Fuji-Q and simply add massive amounts of padding everywhere but where it's necessary and wrap it up in some thick fabric with a zipper or lacing. I think Hersheypark is classier than that though.

 

They most likely have to remove each restraint from each seat, load 'em up, and ship them to the Ralph Alberts company in Montoursville PA (they do molding for a lot of restraint systems across the US). There, they probably have to completely remove the current padding and re-mold it to a new specification before shipping it back.

[IanKgtr]

They most likely have to remove each restraint from each seat, load 'em up, and ship them to the Ralph Alberts company in Montoursville PA (they do molding for a lot of restraint systems across the US). There, they probably have to completely remove the current padding and re-mold it to a new specification before shipping it back.

 

And since a process like this would be rather lengthy, we most likely won't see it happen until the off-season. Hershey probably isn't willing to close their star attraction for an indefinite period of time simply to reconfigure the restraints. One possible solution is to reconfigure one train at a time in order to keep the other running, but we already know how poor Skyrush's capacity is during two-train operation. So there's a good chance it won't happen until the off-season.

[coasterfreak101]

I wouldn't expect anything with the restraints until the off-season. Hopefully they can at least get some lockers over there for the year though to help with load times...but since they haven't done anything yet, I'm doubtful.