Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[netdvn]

Do people really find Alpengeist that rough? I've heard the same from many people, but I've yet to find anything uncomfortable about the ride. If anything I usually feel it rattle in the cobra roll when I'm in the back row, but that's it. I can't say anything about the Great Bear since I haven't been on it yet, and hopefully that will change next year. But I've always found GB's layout very unique and loved it's use of the terrain.

 

Alpengeist just got new trains this year so the rattle isn't as prominent as it was in years past. It's still there, but it doesn't affect the ride as much if you sit toward the front-middle. Toward the back, the ride rattles incredibly hard. The front row is actually really smooth (at least it was when I rode in summer).

 

GB sits with Alpengeist as a very underrated, surprisingly forceful ride. I feel it would've benefitted from an extra inversion or something to throw you off a bit. The corkscrew at the end is nice, but not enough to justify the meandering the ride does. It's still with a ride just to experience the weird forces in the helix.

[Schrecken]

I actually like the GB a lot, and its only real fault IMO is that it is rather short. But, then again, many of the coasters at HP suffer from that issue, which is a reult of not having a whole lot of room to build longer coasters.

[coasterfreak101]

I agree that it's short, but honestly I'd take it over the slew of short Batman clones out there - just the uniqueness of it and the location (I really do love that run along the creek before the last corkscrew) makes it a much better ride to me.

[eddie200330]

I agree that it's short, but honestly I'd take it over the slew of short Batman clones out there - just the uniqueness of it and the location (I really do love that run along the creek before the last corkscrew) makes it a much better ride to me.

 

Flying low near the water with the ground on the right hand side adds a sense of speed to it.

[jray21]

As a general rule, I always take Tylenol before I visit a park, and throughout the day. That way, even terrible rides won't ruin my day.

[YoshiFan]

I also take Tylenol before most trips to a park especially after last year when I rode Gwazi and had a headache for close to an hour afterwards.

 

Great Bear is probably my 2nd least favorite B&M invert (out of 6 I have ridden) but I still think it's a great ride. That helix before the drop is unique and I really like how it has the the loop and then immelman right after the first drop. It's amazing how they fit the coaster in with so many rides close to it.

[TyRush]

Yeah the Bear isn't the best, but it packs its punch. I feel Talon totally blows it away. And Raptor is better too.

[rcjp]

^Talon was impressively good. I had heard some saying it was forceless but I found it great. The pacing was pretty good, the helix after the immelmann was forceful enough and I loved the ending: the corkscrew immediately followed by that sharp intense turn that goes almost 90 DEGREES and the unexpected airtime moment before the brakes. I was pretty impressed.

[Aceattack52]

^/^^ I really should have gone on Talon when I was there, but it broke down at the end of the day.

[Ccron10]

This was posted on a local newspaper's Facebook page:

BREAKING NEWS: The Hershey Company announced today that “19 East” -- the site of the old Hershey’s chocolate factory -- will become a “restaurant, retail and entertainment” complex. Spokesman Tim Leh said the company is working with a developer, Tim Harrison, on details of the plan.

I am really hoping for something along the lines of Universal's CItyWalk and could be a great opportunity to turn the town into a year-round destination.

By the way, not everything is being removed. The smokestacks, cocoa bean silos, "Hershey" bushes, and original factory building (which is being renovated for office space) is staying. The people in town are upset about it (kind of like the Chipotle controversy a couple of months ago), but I view it as a better alternative than just letting the building sit abandoned with no use and rot away.

[Hercules]

^ It won't be. Probably a couple of chain restaurants, a half decent bar and a couple of shops. I wouldn't put too much stock in to this.

[Ccron10]

^ It won't be. Probably a couple of chain restaurants, a half decent bar and a couple of shops. I wouldn't put too much stock in to this.

I'm not really expecting a Wolfgang Puck out of this, but a nice mix of offerings that aren't as fancy or expensive that is kind of on a smaller scale than CityWalk. Just enough to attract tourists during the offseason for when the park is closed.

[TPDave]

This looks like a good move to enforce the resort. Am I blind or did they have a completion date for the complex?

[Ccron10]

This looks like a good move to enforce the resort. Am I blind or did they have a completion date for the complex?

No completion date yet, but it still has to go through the township for approval. If I were to bet, I don't see this thing being finished until the end of the decade if it gets the green light. As of right now, the park isn't involved with this.

[GwaziBSRider1]

This reminds me of the Power Plant complex in Baltimore. This could be really amazing if they do it right.

[netdvn]

I've noticed a lot more places are building mixed residential/comercial areas to draw more residents. They seem to be very successful too. Hopefully Hershey can pull this off well.

 

- I was still hoping Hershey Resorts would buy this and expand Hersheypark back there. Then again, they bought part of the golf course so I guess they have more than enough room to expand.

[coasterfreak101]

So long as you can still hear the wind echo around in those stacks, I'm good!

[Geauga Dog]

Is this the factory that was next to the park near Kissing Tower?

[Mrlittle]

They should build a Chocolate World #2. They could include the store, food area and perhaps some new cool tours or features. Chocolate World is always so crowded so why not. On my last visit, we were actually looking for a good place to eat and found somewhere a city nearby so I like this idea.

[mike541x]

This reminds me of the Power Plant complex in Baltimore.

 

 

It would be awesome if it turned out like this. Power Plant is one of my favorite spots in Baltimore, and it would be cool if they added something like Rams Head Live. But considering they already have Hershey stadium, it would be out of the question. Regardless I'd like to see what comes out of this project.

[netdvn]

Is this the factory that was next to the park near Kissing Tower?

 

Yes, the factory was in the process of demolition when I went up to the park over the summer. The new mixed use area will go on the factory's old site.

 

[alilstronger]

^ I am not current on my Hershey knowledge. What is being done with the old factory area? I know the candy is mostly made out of state now and I was wondering what they were going to do with the old factory. I would love to the park expand more. I know they are pretty much at their limits on most sides of the park.

 

Someone brought up Power Plant in Baltimore. Its nice down there. Not into the club scene (I hang out in Mount Vernon) there but I have heard Rams Head Live is a good concert venue.

[coasterfreak101]

It would be interesting if they reopened the old monorail station right there and staffed a small admission gate at that platform to let guests come from that downtown area right in to the park.

[Dr. M]

^ I am not current on my Hershey knowledge. What is being done with the old factory area? I know the candy is mostly made out of state now and I was wondering what they were going to do with the old factory. I would love to the park expand more. I know they are pretty much at their limits on most sides of the park.

 

Someone brought up Power Plant in Baltimore. Its nice down there. Not into the club scene (I hang out in Mount Vernon) there but I have heard Rams Head Live is a good concert venue.

 

Last I heard they'd modernized the plant and layed off a lot of workers, and sent a lot of manufacturing over seas, but they still produce a lot of candy in Hershey itself. Is this no longer the case? Anyway to answer part of your question, they purchased part of the neighboring golf course and are moving the highway in order to expand.

 

EDIT: I looked it up and as far as I can tell a lot of Hershey's manufacturing still takes place in Hershey PA. I guess most of the old building isn't used anymore though?

[Ccron10]

^ I am not current on my Hershey knowledge. What is being done with the old factory area? I know the candy is mostly made out of state now and I was wondering what they were going to do with the old factory. I would love to the park expand more. I know they are pretty much at their limits on most sides of the park.

 

Someone brought up Power Plant in Baltimore. Its nice down there. Not into the club scene (I hang out in Mount Vernon) there but I have heard Rams Head Live is a good concert venue.

 

Last I heard they'd modernized the plant and layed off a lot of workers, and sent a lot of manufacturing over seas, but they still produce a lot of candy in Hershey itself. Is this no longer the case? Anyway to answer part of your question, they purchased part of the neighboring golf course and are moving the highway in order to expand.

 

EDIT: I looked it up and as far as I can tell a lot of Hershey's manufacturing still takes place in Hershey PA. I guess most of the old building isn't used anymore though?

As of right now, the cocoa bean silos, smokestacks, bushes out front, and original portion of the factory is being kept. The building is currently being renovated into office space and it looks like they kept some of the old machinery inside the building. The factory moved its operations down the road to a larger location and still produces products. As for moving much of their manufacturing to Mexico, I really don't find that completely true as they do have quite a few production plants in eastern Pa (I know they have a factory in Hazleton).

 

If you are talking about the golf course in front of the factory, that is not true as it is still operating and there would be no place for a four-lane highway to go that way (plus it would cut through the front yard of Milton Hershey's High Point mansion near the creek). I think you are talking about the golf course near the park, which is owned by Hershey Entertainment.

 

As of right now, the park is not involved in this project and I really don't expect them to expand this way. They would be better off going over to the golf course by Chocolate World and deal with that road instead of Rt. 743.

 

Just found another article going into a little more detail about the factory demolition, renovation, and redevelopment:

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/12/hershey_chocolate_factory_hers.html

Inside the newly renovated office space of the former Hershey Co. chocolate factory on East Chocolate Avenue, workers walk past floor-to-ceiling windows that spill sunlight into the converted factory floor.

 

Two years ago this space would have been filled with the sounds of manufacturing, the churning of chocolate conches and chocolate milling. Today it is a modern, sunlight office.

 

Out the window that the workers are walking past, excavators are working in tandem to tear down the remaining portion of the former factory. Work on the $20 million demo is expected to be completed within the next month.

 

In all, Hershey is spending roughly $90 million on 19 East Chocolate Ave., an investment in the village that it expects to call home for at least another 100 years. Roughly a quarter of the former building is being renovated into office space, while the remaining portion of the production facility – roughly 1.5 million square feet – is being demolished.

 

The last Kiss rolled off the line here in 2012, as production was shifted to the new West Hershey Plant near Hersheypark Drive. The decision to close, and later demolish, a portion of the old plant didn't sit well with a number of area residents. But, said Hershey Co. officials, it was necessary if the site was going to be redeveloped.

 

Rick Russell, Hershey's director of government relations said the company tried to find a developer who could work with the former factory site, a hodgepodge of more than 20 buildings, narrow corridors and in some places, low ceilings.

 

“We had virtually no interest from any developer,” Russell said, standing amid the newly renovated office spaces on the west end of the former plant. “Now we have a very serious level of interest.”

 

Neither Russell nor other Hershey Co. officials would discuss specifics of what the former factory could become, other than to say the developer, Tim Harrison, was considering a mix-used development of restaurants, retail and some form of entertainment.

 

“We feel very positive that the site will not sit empty for very long,” said Tim Leh, Hershey's director of strategic sourcing. Leh said he expects the company to obtain the necessary approvals for redevelopment in probably the next two years, after which construction could theoretically begin.

 

Before that can happen, however, the company will have to address parking in east end of town.

 

Hershey is expecting to consolidate roughly 1,200 employees into the former factory location, which will push the area's existing parking to the limit. The company is in the preliminary design stages, but Russell said eventually the development of that end of town will necessitate several parking structures.

 

What those parking decks will look like, how many there will be and who will pay for them is yet to be determined. All of that will have to be worked out before any redevelopment of the former factory could begin.

 

In the interim the company will do some basic landscaping on the demolished portion of the former factory, but it will still, when all is said and done, be an empty lot. Eventually, however, it will be redeveloped, part of what Russell described as one of the biggest changes in the small village's recent history, and what could be a key component to creating a vibrant downtown area.

 

“We want to create an environment where Hershey is not just a destination for tourists,” Russell said. “We have an opportunity to be selective as to what goes in on the east end.”