Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[DJeXeL]

Yes. They have no idea what they're doing. The TPR engineering consultants should really email the park asap!

[blk_mamba]

Gosh, I wonder if a park the size of Hershey Park has insurance for things like this?!

[A.J.]

Gosh, I wonder if a park the size of Hershey Park has insurance for things like this?!

Sorry, thought you were serious there for a sec.

[blk_mamba]

Gosh, I wonder if a park the size of Hershey Park has insurance for things like this?!

Sorry, thought you were serious there for a sec.

 

I was hoping the gosh gave it away, lol.

[StarWars]

I wonder, whenever they get around to expanding over to the golf course section, if they will try to come up with a flood solution, like creating special drainage tunnels underneath the park or something. Some sort of floodgates. Or do they already have something in place that does nothing to alleviate the flooding? Speaking of that eventual new section, I wonder if they will relocate the current dam to another location to allow Spring Creek to be widen in the eventual new section. Is the flooding exacerbated because of the current dam's location?

[blk_mamba]

I agree I have heard so much about the land they purchased and it looks huge. They have purchased enough to build a second gate and expand the current park easily.

[fraroc]

Thankfully, Joaquin is pretty much out of the picture now, so I don't anticipate any problems with Hershey this week and next, which is good because I'm heading down there next week...

[Schrecken]

Hey, does anyone know if the coasters will still be running on November the 1st? I had planned on going this weekend but I noticed that the park is closed tomorrow (was also closed today for some reason, maybe something to do with all the rain last weekend?), and I may not get another chance to go until the last weekend of this month (Sunday the 1st). That day looks to still be part of the fall season (when all the rides are open) but I just wanted to be sure as that may be my only chance before the end of this season. Later in November I'm guessing that this will be the time period when most or all of the coasters are closed, so trying to go then would be out.

[TyRush]

^They closed for the summer season. Hersheypark in the Dark starts next weekend. Hershey's weather policy is that it must be 45 degrees to start running most coasters

[coneyislandchris]

Yes, all the coasters should still be open on November 1st, weather permitting:

http://www.hersheypark.com/seasons/halloween.php

[Schrecken]

^They closed for the summer season. Hersheypark in the Dark starts next weekend. Hershey's weather policy is that it must be 45 degrees to start running most coasters

I could have sworn that a couple of years ago I went quite early in October and that they were open every weekend in October (but were closed most of September), so apparently they have changed the schedule since then.

[RollerManic]

Sorry I don't follow Hershey and accordingly for my ignorance, but what exactly does HP do for Halloween?

[boldikus]

^ Not much. It's nothing like Haunt or Fright Fest. No scare actors, only one "trick or treat" trail essentially for little kids, they change the names on the coasters (Scarerush, Fearenheit, etc) and put up some lighting displays and decorations. I was a little let down when we went last year until I realized soon after we got in that its basically an event for parents w/ small children therefore lines for the coasters were 0-20 minute waits. Oh they also turn off the running lights on the woodies (and I believe Laff Trakk now) for the last hour of the night.

[seasonic]

Hersheypark's summer season ends in September and then there are usually two weeks of being closed to the public before Hersheypark in the Dark. The one weekend are private events, and the next week the parking lot is used to host a huge auto show. The auto show has been there for like 50 years or something. There are usually only 3 weekends of Hersheypark in the Dark.

 

And yea this year the three wooden coasters and Laff Trakk are dark rides for the last hour. The woodies have their tracer lights turned off and Laff Trakk has its black lights turned off, making it completely pitch black.

[Schrecken]

^ Not much. It's nothing like Haunt or Fright Fest. No scare actors, only one "trick or treat" trail essentially for little kids, they change the names on the coasters (Scarerush, Fearenheit, etc) and put up some lighting displays and decorations. I was a little let down when we went last year until I realized soon after we got in that its basically an event for parents w/ small children therefore lines for the coasters were 0-20 minute waits. Oh they also turn off the running lights on the woodies (and I believe Laff Trakk now) for the last hour of the night.

 

Their Halloween even is indeed lame if you're expecting haunted houses or something like what many other parks do, but it is a great time to get lots of rides on your favorite coasters without much crowding and no blistering heat/humidity. I rode Skyrush 35 times in one day when I went a couple years ago.

[coasterfreak101]

^Exactly. I've been hitting Hersheypark in the Dark on the last day of the season for a few years now, and it's all for the short lines (and fun atmosphere, but that's just Hershey in general). I don't like the various Haunt events, so it's really a win-win in my book! Last year we even got stuck 170 feet up Skyrush's lift for ten minutes - maybe my favorite final ride of a season ever.

[mike541x]

As someone who loves Haunt events, I thought HPITD was a great change for once when I visited last year. The family friendly atmosphere made the park feel more quiet and less chaotic than say Howl-O-Scream, Fright Fest etc. And yes the short lines were the best part! I got plenty of day and night rides on most of the rides there.

Walk ons all day!

[savetheclocktower]

Went to Hersheypark with two of my brothers on September 20, and we couldn't believe that Skyrush! We just could not stop riding that amazing amusement device! My brother has nicknamed that coaster make and model "Intamin Mean Coaster" (the ones with a double spine track). We have not been on Intimidator 305, but we can imagine that it also falls under the category of "mean"!

[Intimidated305]

Hello Hersheypark thread! I'm usually a Kings Dominion guy, but this Saturday I will be traveling to Hersheypark for the first time in a long while. Any ideas on what the crowds will be like? I have never been there this late in the year, and i've never been on a Saturday. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[angryemobeaver]

I've never been to HP and planning on going this weekend. I would prefer to go tomorrow, but with it being a Saturday does anyone have an idea what the crowds are usually like on Saturdays in late October? If its expected to be crazy busy then I'm fine waiting until Sunday. Thanks!

[mike541x]

I went last year on both Saturday and Sunday and I'll have to say Sunday was the best day to go. Everything was a one train wait to a walk on throughout the whole day. Saturday wasn't terrible but there were definitely lines for every ride, especially around night time. I'm planning on hitting up the park next coming Sunday for the last day of HPITD.

[coastermaniac]

This was filmed back in July. I had a great time as this was my second visit to the park.

 

[angryemobeaver]

I ended up making my first ever HP trip on Friday October 30th. Time was short as the park was only open from 5-10 and we got there an hour after opening, but we still got plenty of rides in! We (my bf and I) started the night with a ride on Skyrush in the front seat. So, Skyrush was a very solid ride but it didn't reach my expectations. Yeah its fast, twisty, and intense, but I didn't get the airtime I was expecting. Luckily, when we got back into the station we saw no one was in line except for a few rows. So we moved to the very back row for our second consecutive ride. The back seat on Skyrush is honestly life changing! I have only ridden roughly 150 coasters, but I would have to rank it as one of my favorites! To make things even better, there was no line again so we stayed on! I could have stayed on Skyrush all night, but time was very limited and we have any entire park to conquer!

Skyrush: 10+/10

 

We then headed over to Superdooper-Looper where there was absolutely no line, we literally walked right on, we didn't even have to wait for the gate to open. SDL is one of those rides I never really paid much attention to and its been a while since I had seen a POV so I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised on how fun this ride was! We were in the back row and I noticed a few pops of airtime, plus the classic forceful loop, low to ground turns, and wooded area really surprised me.

Super Dooper Looper: 6/10

 

Next we headed to Great Bear where once again there was no line, we also rode in the back. I've honestly never heard anything too positive about this coaster, basically just it has no forces and after the corkscrew it awkwardly makes its way back to the station. Luckily since I had such low expectations I was pleasantly surprised. I adored the predrop helix, it really whips you around and is a great intro to the inversions. The drop, loop, and immelman are basic B&M invert elements, but for some reason I really appreciated the way the zero-gravity roll and corkscrew flow together. I will say after the corkscrew the ride does kind of lose its speed and excitement, imagine if Great Bear would have had a heartline roll like Banshee, that would have been a perfect ending!

Great Bear: 8/10

 

Next was the biggest surprise of the night! I've never really heard to many great reviews for Fahrenheit, and honestly it looks pretty gimmicky. I'm not a huge fan of vertical lifts, but I LOVE beyond vertical drops, and Fahrenheit's was no exception with the ejector air it provides! The Norwegian loop was fun although not that intense, the cobra roll though is taken really fast (I wonder how it was able to stall there of all places back when it first opened?) The corkscrews were disorienting but smooth, and the turnaround, airtime hill, and low to ground turn were the perfect ending. Fahrenheit really surprised me, its like a shorter Maverick with more inversions.

Fahrenheit: 10/10

 

I decided to ride Sidewinder since we're nearby and I'm a credit whore. In the past I've actually enjoyed all of the Boomerangs (including Invertigo's and Deja Vu's) I've ridden, and with this one having the same trains as Carolina Cobra I was actually kind of excited. I appreciate Hersheypark trying to improve the ride with the new trains, but it honestly sucks (but I'm sure its much better than what it used to be like prob.) Seriously, sell it and put anything else there.

Sidewinder: 3/10

 

Besides Skyrush, I was also extremely excited for Stormrunner. So after my bad ride on Sidewinder I was happy to ride a great smooth Intamin. Stormrunner was only running one train, so even though the place was dead the line still ended up being close to 30 minutes which isn't bad at all! I LOOOOOVE launch coasters and this one was no exception! The launch is powerful and quick. I was hoping to experience some airtime on the top hat but didn't, but its alright because this ride is about everything but airtime! The immelman type inversion had really intense positive G's, and the snake dive (I think that is what they call it) was ridiculously discombobulating, and the final s-curve was snappy. Overall Stormrunner was great but not what I was expecting at all, but in a good way!

Stormrunner: 9/10

 

As we were walking towards Lightning Racer we saw Wildcat so we wanted to give it a try. The line for some reason was pretty long and I've always heard Lightning Racer was much better, so we got out of line and decided to come back. After getting out of line I decided we have to get at least one more Skyrush ride, so that's exactly what we did! After that I remembered we had forgotten to ride Comet. I honestly had low expectations for Comet for some reason, but luckily I was surprised. Hersheypark does an extraordinary job at maintaining EVERYTHING, including Comet, this ride felt brand new. The funky old station and chaser lights provided a great vibe for such a cool coaster. Comet was smooth but still felt like a true wooden coaster, had a few pops of airtime, and some of the turnarounds are taken surprisingly fast to make for some awesome laterals! I wish I could've gotten more rides on this, but at this point we only had an hour until the park closed.

Comet: 7/10

 

Since we only had an hour left I wanted to be sure to ride Lightning Racer. On the way there my bf asked what the large building lit up was. I told him it was the new indoor spinning coaster with lasers. In his mind he pictured Flight of Fear, which he loves. I told him its much different but we can ride it after Lightning Racer. So anyways, once again Hersheypark maintains everything so well. Even my bf noticed, he asked how new Lightning Racer was because the queue and station were so clean, freshly painted, and not vandalized that he assumed it must have been only a year or two old! The ride itself didn't disappoint at all. I love how unlike some other parks, this actually does race/duel at all times. Because it was the last hour they turned the lights off, which provided a real out of control feel. There was definitely some air to be found, but this ride is all about feeling out of control. Being the credit whore I am I wanted to ride the opposite track to get the credit, but I promised my bf we could ride Laff Track, and I still wanted to ride Wildcat too, so there was no time for a re-ride.

Lightning Racer: 8/10

 

It seems like Hersheypark in the Dark is obviously targeted towards families and children, which is great because it made the lines on the bigger coasters much smaller. However, since Laff Track is a family ride, this actually had a long queue. I did promise my bf we would ride it though so into the queue we went. After about 45 minutes we finally were able to board the ride. I will say the trains have got to be the most uncomfortable trains ever, like whoever is complaining about Skyrush's restraints must have never been to the other side of the park to ride this thigh crusher. Once again since it was the last hour, all of the lights were off. I haven't ridden this with the normal theme before, but I think its safe to assume its probably better with the lasers compared to the pitch black. Overall the ride was mediocre for me, but for families I can tell its a real winner.

Laff Track: 3/10

 

Unfortunately, after we exited Laff Track the park had officially closed, so no Wildcat for me. But hey, just another one of the many reasons for me to come back next year! Hersheypark is a wonderful place, its the best of a small family park and a big corporate coaster park. All of the employees were very helpful and you could tell they love what they do, something that isn't too common in this industry. I talked to a few employees and found out some aren't actually employees, but rather volunteers which is so great! Apparently Hersheypark will 'hire' workers this time of the year when a lot of college kids are back in school, and instead of paying them, they donate money into a charity or organization of that volunteer's choice! So cool! However as a business person I always try and see where I would do things differently. I honestly was unable to see any major flaws with the way this park is being managed, or areas where it lacks. At best I just wish Hershey the best and hope they continue doing what they do! Oh, and an Intamin drop tower like Falcon's Fury would be nice!

 

Overall Hersheypark is probably one of my favorite parks I have been to. I will for sure return next year and give myself more than 4.5 hours to really take in the park!

[TB305]

...didn't get the airtime I was expecting.

When I read this I wanted to explode, luckily, I read on and saw how your opinion changed!

[blk_mamba]

I feel like if Skyrush was in Cedar Point it would be listed as a top 10 coaster easily. I haven't seem very many views of the ride once ridden that are bad.