belo777 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I went to HP yesterday for about an hour(I love my season pass. ), ONE coaster was in operation, Wild Mouse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ccron10 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 The US has cleared ZooAmerica saying that they took appropriate action: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/us_clears_zooamerica_in_bison.html Amid the raging waters of Spring Creek, workers at ZooAmerica struggled to save the lives of two North American bison. Ultimately, one would drown. The other, close to the same fate, would be shot. The zoo defended itself by saying there was nothing its staff could to do to save the animals — the water simply rose too fast and higher than expectations. On Tuesday, after months of criticism, calls for an investigation and other finger-pointing, the federal government put an end to “Bisongate.” Alyn Kiel, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said ZooAmerica took appropriate steps to try and save the two animals based upon previous flooding in the area. “Because of the nature of the back-to-back storms, they could not have anticipated the extent of the flooding as it actually occurred,” she said. Floodwaters in the area reached record levels on Sept. 7, peaking at or above marks set by Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. In nearby Hersheypark, water from Spring Creek inundated the park’s aqua theater, something that Gary Chubb, the park’s maintenance manager, said had only happened once before. Kiel said that while “tragic,” the deaths of Esther and Ryan were not related to any noncompliance on the part of the facility. Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co., which owns ZooAmerica, said in a statement that it hasn’t received the report, but “the summary of its findings certainly provides validation for the efforts put forth by the ZooAmerica team to secure the safety of the animals within their care during the extreme and historic flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee.” “The responsibility that our zoo personnel have and feel in that regard is absolute, and the loss they experienced was felt deeply by each and every member of the team — and, truly, by our entire company,” said Garrett Gallia, associate vice president for communications. In addition to being cleared of any wrongdoing, the ZooAmerica also was recently the subject of an operational review by the USDA, which concluded that the park was in compliance with all regulations. That review was sparked in part by a complaint filed by PETA in September, expressing outrage over the deaths. In the letter to the department, Alex Thorton, a PETA specialist, claimed the deaths could have been prevented, and urged the USDA to “hold ZooAmerica responsible for the lack of oversight.” The USDA has said that any complaint against a zoo automatically causes a review to be conducted. Kiel said Tuesday that based upon the circumstances, the department would have reviewed the park’s operations regardless of PETA’s letter. The deaths of the two bison also garnered national attention following Tropical Storm Lee. Online, more than 100 people flooded the park’s blog with comments, ranging from negative screeds against the park to well-wishers. Most of it, however, was negative, equating the park to Michael Vick, now the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who was sentenced to prison for dogfighting in 2007. The criticism, however, shifted away from the park in recent weeks after an Ohio man released wolves, lions, tigers and bears into a small community before taking his own life. But reaction to the animals’ deaths wasn’t completely negative. Some people found humor in the situation, including the person who created Twitter accounts for the bison. According to them, the animals’ deaths was actually an elaborate ploy to escape the zoo. The two bison are now on the lam, enjoying the local night life. The gag quietly petered out after a month. Meanwhile, a little more than a week after the flood, ZooAmerica reopened to the public. The only reminders of the incident is that the bison pens remain empty — and all trace of them has been removed. Even maps at the park do not reference the animals. It isn’t known if the park will seek new bison for the enclosure, or change it to something else. Hershey Entertainment & Resorts said Tuesday that no decision has been made regarding the future of the bison exhibit. The Boycott ZooAmerica Facebook page is now saying that Hershey paid them off..... wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Seriously...they get crap for trying to save their animals, crap for not closing and "risking everyone's lives" during a big rainstorm, and crap for closing due to inclement weather - snow in October! And yet they give rebates for tickets and post constant updates on Facebook showing how hard they're working to get everything back in shape. It's such a shame to see a place that tries so hard (and does so well) get so much crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ccron10 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 And on the news of Skyrush, more concept art from HersheyparkPR on Twitter. In addition, here's another construction update from Keystone Thrills: http://keystonethrills.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/hersheypark-skyrush-construction-update-49-10-31-11/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schotcher Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I just hope it doesn't ruin Comet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenbowl Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 From these new renderings, it looks to me like the hill above the bottom of the first drop is banked at the top (possibly a Stengel Dive?) instead of un-banked like a standard airtime hill (which is what I assumed). That looks like a cool element to throw in. I circled it in the picture. EDIT:You can also see the hill/turn at the bottom of the other picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intarider Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Wasn't the ride supposed to have a 140 degree overbanked curve? This would at least fit very well with the picture. Should be an interesting element, especially on the outside seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fooz Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Those new renderings are reaffirming my belief that this ride will be amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningstroller Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Is it just me or is every coaster at Hershey a completely odd layout? Nevermind odd, just messy looking. I've never seen so many rides stacked on top of each other. I get the whole Disney kinetic thing, where there are things moving and happening all around you, but Hershey just looks like chaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpengeist04 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Maybe it's just me, but I can't tell in that rendering if that hill is overbanked or not. It looks like the same track that is going over the first drop. Then again, maybe it is a Stengel Dive. Oh hell, I don't know. ...Still looks great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Is it just me or is every coaster at Hershey a completely odd layout? Nevermind odd, just messy looking. I've never seen so many rides stacked on top of each other. I get the whole Disney kinetic thing, where there are things moving and happening all around you, but Hershey just looks like chaos. When you're at the park I don't think you notice it as much. It's a beautiful park. That being said I have serious concerns about the way this will look but Hershey usually does a good job with aesthetics so I'll wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ccron10 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 From these new renderings, it looks to me like the hill above the bottom of the first drop is banked at the top (possibly a Stengel Dive?) instead of un-banked like a standard airtime hill (which is what I assumed). That looks like a cool element to throw in. I circled it in the picture. EDIT:You can also see the hill/turn at the bottom of the other picture. It think it IS! It does look like it is 90 degrees if not more. You can see in the bottom of the 2nd animation it does look like it could be close to being over-banked. I've always wondered why the track looked narrow on this turn, but if it was to be over-banked, i think it would look like this so it does look to be a stengel dive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belo777 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 ^ But, the first airtime hill after the drop is still a regular airtime hill. (I don't think you were talking about the first hill though, but just checking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpengeist04 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 ^^OK, I see it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnderCoverDrummer1 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Maybe it's just me, but I can't tell in that rendering if that hill is overbanked or not. It looks like the same track that is going over the first drop. Then again, maybe it is a Stengel Dive. Oh hell, I don't know. ...Still looks great though. Call me crazy but I LOVE that quality of Hersheypark. I hate nothing more than having to walk what seem like miles to get from coaster to coaster. In HP it's impossible to stand anywhere and not see at least two coaters. At the same time the park is still beautiful and has an amazing amount of foliage. It's truly amazing how many rides they have crammed into that park while still maintaining the most amount of shade of any park I know of. I'm sure that Skyrush will fit in just fine. Especially since Hershey doesn't seem to be the kind of park to put in a coaster and then leave the land under said coaster looking like a giant pile of dirt while grass grows in over the next year. ::cough:: KD/I305 ::cough:: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Is it just me or is every coaster at Hershey a completely odd layout? Nevermind odd, just messy looking. I've never seen so many rides stacked on top of each other. I get the whole Disney kinetic thing, where there are things moving and happening all around you, but Hershey just looks like chaos. It's weird - you'd think it would be like that, but it works. Walking around Comet Hollow is my favorite part of the entire park - you go from being between Comet and Great Bear, to being underneath sooperdooperLooper and Great Bear at the same time on the other side. And riding those last two involves weaving in and out of the other, plus the log flume. It's honestly a really cool experience, and a great place to be. And the existing rides really give them some unique features - Storm Runner is one-of-a-kind because of where it is in the park, and what it's built around. I'm sure that Skyrush will fit in just fine. Especially since Hershey doesn't seem to be the kind of park to put in a coaster and then leave the land under said coaster looking like a giant pile of dirt while grass grows in over the next year. ::cough:: KD/I305 ::cough:: That's not fair at all - there were three blizzards over the winter, and it's an absolute feat that Kings Dominion was able to even get the ride open for media day. Any other park would have pushed back the opening weeks, if not months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnderCoverDrummer1 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 That's not fair at all - there were three blizzards over the winter, and it's an absolute feat that Kings Dominion was able to even get the ride open for media day. Any other park would have pushed back the opening weeks, if not months. Then explain to me how even now, a year after opening, there are still giant patches of what look to be either dirt or dead grass under the ride... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpengeist04 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 ^^I know I'm getting up there in age, but I don't remember saying what you quoted there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnderCoverDrummer1 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 ^He was quoting me and somehow it said that I quoted you...not sure really what happened there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fooz Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 The grass is growing pretty well under I305, I bet that pic was from opening day 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnderCoverDrummer1 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Regardless of when the picture is from, it's still a YEAR after the coaster opened and the ground still looks barren in rather large areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schotcher Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We all remember I305 (Opening day) don't we.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Hersheypark has sent us high resolution copies of their latest Skyrush concept art! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammmmmy Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 OKAY. NOW IM PUMPED FOR IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fooz Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Have we ever seen a hypercoaster with such a low to the ground layout and airtime hills before? This could be a speed demon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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