Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[TBpony414]

YEAH!!!!!!!! Best news ever, I love the soft restraints! Minimal bruises with hands up!

[neil009]

^ Good to know (but here come the complainers).

 

Here I come! Yes good to know these restraints require there to be less puny human flesh for them to squish down upon.

 

The I305 straps (aka The Backpack From Hell) actively squish you into the seat the entire ride. Sure they give a little during airtime, but afterwards you feel them retracting and squishing you back down into the seat. I actually kind of hate them a lot.

actively squish you into the seat

actively

 

Except for there's literally nothing active about these restraints?¿ They have no active retraction system built in. If you had inches of room in the old restraints, you should have plenty of room in the new ones too. It's all dependent on how tight YOU make it though.

 

While the vests are bolted to the OTS bar, there's room/extra fabric between where the straps meet, and where they're attached to the bar. The seatbelt latch is attached to this extra fabric.

 

[attachment=0]Cia61srUkAEd7B-.jpg[/attachment]

With the old restraints, since they were a fixed size, the seatbelt was a great way for ops to tighten the restraint because of the leverage. With the new ones, tightening the seatbelt or loosening it has a massive effect on how tight the vest is, and much less so on how tight the OTS bar is. So when ops are checking restraints and they pull down on the seatbelt, they tighten the vest, and not necessarily the restraint.

 

TL;DR loosen the seatbelt

 

I think we're splitting hairs here as far as language. The restraints may not actively retract like a seat-belt in a car, but they're "elastic", you push on them and they give, but they're constantly pushing back, like a rubber band. Look at the picture, look at the angle of the straps, then picture where somebody's shoulders would be. Unless you're a skeleton, the presence of your shoulders are pushing the restraints outwards, and consequently they are constantly pushing back on you. They give a little during airtime, then they squish you back down. It's nothing like the unrestrained feeling of actually being able to come up in your seat a little and then fall back down due to gravity.

 

Thank you for telling me they can be loosened, I will try that and see if it helps, but as for completely solving the problem I have with the restraints, well, dubious Neil is very dubious.

[boldikus]

^ Good to know (but here come the complainers).

 

Here I come! Yes good to know these restraints require there to be less puny human flesh for them to squish down upon.

[neil009]

Just cause I'm voicing a minor quibble doesn't mean I'm taking it that seriously. Everyone remain calm

[scottm1023]

I'm gonna be in the area at the end of the week and have the option of visiting the park on either Friday or Saturday. How bad can I expect the crowds to be and which day would be best to visit? I know the Music in the Parks program is going on this time of year and hoping I'm not running into that at the wrong time.

[amy_mel]

I know I'm late to the new restraint debate but I was just at the park yesterday. The soft restraints are a HUGE improvement. I caught more air on SR than with the old restraints. I also was guilty of putting my hands behind the old rigid restraint at shoulder level on the launch to kind of make myself feel more secure. Totally wrong riding technique that could have gotten me injured. I couldn't do that with these. They give, so when I pushed from the underside it flexed enough that I was forced to hold the grab bar like I should. The rattle in both coasters was gone from what I could tell. No head banging at all. As far as Skyrush, I didn't notice any difference there at all. I'm glad they didn't go with the vest style on that. It would totally take away that wild, out of control feeling.

[YoshiFan]

I'm gonna be in the area at the end of the week and have the option of visiting the park on either Friday or Saturday. How bad can I expect the crowds to be and which day would be best to visit? I know the Music in the Parks program is going on this time of year and hoping I'm not running into that at the wrong time.

 

I think both days will be bad. Friday is not only Music in the Parks and also Health & Welness days for school groups. I was there yesterday and knew there would be a lot of schools but never expected it to be one of the most crowded trips I have ever taken to the park. Fahrenheit, Laff Trakk, Storm Runner, Skyrush and Great Bear all were 45 to 75 minutes most of the day and a few times Fahrenheit got to 90 minutes. Even smaller coasters like Trailblazer were 30 minutes at some point. I also thought it would clear out around 5 but many school groups weren't even entering the park until after 2 and lines were still long later in the day. Almost every school group has music t shirts.

[eddie200330]

I just got an email from Hershey resorts with a survey regarding hotel options........As in naming a new hotel...what kind of amenities and perks you prefer etc. etc......A few of the names used Herhesypark Drive in them such as The Inn on Hersheypark Drive. Could this be why the got that land recently??

[Coaster Hero]

^Seems possible, though parks send surveys just to test the waters sometimes.

 

Also, I'm heading to Hershey for the first time since before Skyrush was built (unlucky me went the week before it was announced ). I'll be there on Memorial Day and I have some questions. How will the crowds be? I heard the Intamins got new restraints... is this true? (sorry if this was on another page, I haven't checked). Also, have any of the Intamins been closed lately? I don't want to go only to discover that they're closed! Finally, are there any tips or tricks that will make my visit any better? (like how to get on all the rides in one day). Thanks, and I can't wait to finally ride Skyrush!

[TyRush]

^Yes Storm Runner and Fahrenheit got the softer Intamin restraints, they should be operating as normal now unless there is a generic issue. Skyrush is open in full force as well. I think everyone agrees the "backwards" method is the best way to go. I'd start with Fahrenheit, Laff Trak and hit the woodies in the back of the park. Then hit Storm Runner and make your way to the front of the park. Skyrush is tempting to ride first but if you wait till around 2pm the line is usually >15 mins. Have fun!

[Rill'o'beily]

Just out of curiosity, how would everyone here rate Fahrenheit as a coaster so ignoring lack of theming and horrible name?

[coasterbill]

Very few modern Intamin's have me getting off and going "meh" but that's how I feel about Farenheit. It's okay, any time the lift hill is the best part of the ride there's a problem. It's a very forgettable ride.

[PixelRush]

Just out of curiosity, how would everyone here rate Fahrenheit as a coaster so ignoring lack of theming and horrible name?

Quite intense and twisted, I personally liked riding it! The ejector hill at the end is really cool!

[chickenbowl]

Just out of curiosity, how would everyone here rate Fahrenheit as a coaster so ignoring lack of theming and horrible name?

 

Pretty decent! I like it more than any Gerstlauer Eurofighter I've ridden. I rank it in my top 30, right around Cheetah Hunt, Wildfire at SDC, and Kraken. There's some surprise airtime in the layout, and I'm sure the new restraints will make it even more enjoyable!

[coasterbill]

Really? While I think Cheetah Hunt is at best the 4th best coaster at BGT, Farenheit doesn't even belong in the same conversation as Cheetah Hunt.

 

To each his own but I think Cheetah Hunt puts it to shame.

[michaellynn4]

Very few modern Intamin's have me getting off and going "meh" but that's how I feel about Farenheit. It's okay, any time the lift hill is the best part of the ride there's a problem. It's a very forgettable ride.

 

This is (mostly) how I feel. It's certainly fun and enjoyable, but NOT worth the long lines it generates most of the day. I might not call it "forgettable", but it's definitely a "one-and-done" ride for me. I'll gladly spend my time over on Skyrush and Storm Runner instead.

[coneyislandchris]

This is (mostly) how I feel. It's certainly fun and enjoyable, but NOT worth the long lines it generates most of the day. I might not call it "forgettable", but it's definitely a "one-and-done" ride for me. I'll gladly spend my time over on Skyrush and Storm Runner instead.

It's fun enough, but definitely not as enjoyable as Skyrush or Storm Runner. I'll absolutely second you on that. Hoping to head back over in a few weeks and check out the new restraints, and see if that affects the enjoyability any.

[boldikus]

Just out of curiosity, how would everyone here rate Fahrenheit as a coaster so ignoring lack of theming and horrible name?

 

I mostly agree with Bill, it is an underwhelming coaster for an Intamin but I love the drop (I sat in the back) and the airtime pop at the very end is perfect - classic Intamin.

 

I'll gladly spend my time over on Skyrush and Storm Runner instead.

 

Basically.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

Fahrenheit is a really fun ride. It's got some great airtime moments, and the inversions are pretty good. But I'd only ride it once. It has a low capacity, and in my opinion, you have 4 coasters in the same exact park that are better. (Storm Runner, Skyrush, Lightning Racer, Great Bear)

[The Geek Mojo]

Really? While I think Cheetah Hunt is at best the 4th best coaster at BGT, Farenheit doesn't even belong in the same conversation as Cheetah Hunt.

 

To each his own but I think Cheetah Hunt puts it to shame.

 

 

I rode Cheetah Hunt in February and it was pretty weak. I rode it when they first opened it back in 2011 and it was great back then. It seems they've really slowed it down a lot. Last time I rode Farenheit was July 2015 and it was fun even with the hard restraints. I can even imagine it now with the soft restraints being even better. With Cheetah Hunt being kind of let down, I'd have to disagree with you and say Farenheit is better...And that's without experiencing the soft restraints. But I will agree with you on it with being the 4th best at BGT behind the three B&M's.

[VegasBaby]

Fahrenheit is a really fun ride. It's got some great airtime moments, and the inversions are pretty good. But I'd only ride it once. It has a low capacity, and in my opinion, you have 4 coasters in the same exact park that are better. (Storm Runner, Skyrush, Lightning Racer, Great Bear)

 

This really sums up my feelings as well. Don't get me wrong, Fahrenheit is a great coaster and I love the vertical lift, but it's not one I'm going to ride over and over. At a lesser park, it might be the highlight coaster, but Hershey has so many great coasters that I prefer.

[neil009]

Well, I like Fahrenheit more than Impulse, and more than any B&M multilooper that isn't an invert, so that puts it ahead of about 80% of steel coasters for me.

[coasterbill]

Well, I like Fahrenheit more than Impulse, and more than any B&M multilooper that isn't an invert, so that puts it ahead of about 80% of steel coasters for me.

 

You need Kumba in your life.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

^^I think that Impulse is actually better. Not as much airtime (except for the 0-g roll), but I thought Fahrenheit wasn't as forceful. And Impulse has the best lap bars ever made aside from the B&M clam-shells, and smoother track.

[neil009]

^^I think that Impulse is actually better. Not as much airtime (except for the 0-g roll), but I thought Fahrenheit wasn't as forceful. And Impulse has the best lap bars ever made aside from the B&M clam-shells, and smoother track.

 

Fahrenheit "wow" moments:

1. First drop

2. Snappy corkscrew 1

3. Snappy corkscrew 2

4. Disorienting change of direction followed by solid airtime hill (not ejector but decent)

 

Impulse "wow" moments:

1. First drop (though not as good)

2. ???

 

Nothing else about Impulse could be called forceful at all, and I actually kind of dislike hangtime under most circumstances.