Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[gardyloo!]

On 7/22/2022 at 3:50 PM, coasterbill said:

A few other things to note:

1) The park has the worst weather policies that I've ever seen. What Joe said to do is exactly what you should do in normal circumstances, but if it's mildly breezy or might drizzle later then you need to unfortunately prioritize Candymonium and Skyrush even though they will have massive lines in the morning. Farenheit will also close in like a million stupid weather situations because it's located at Hersheypark and that's how they roll.

2) I get the idea that you're looking to go-go-go all day but food lines suck almost everywhere and the Chocolatier is seriously really great. I really recommend eating there if you don't mind doing a sit-down meal. They're on OpenTable so you can make a reservation. The outdoor patio rules also.

ah good to know, thanks! I'll make sure to check accordingly. Nice tip too, maybe I'll go and reserve a table for lunch to cool down with some AC & good food. 

 

[VegasCoaster]

On 7/21/2022 at 11:26 AM, gardyloo! said:

- I always heard hershey had a less than optimal skip the line service but I saw they recently improved it. Does anyone have any experience with it? Can u marathon skyrush for example with it? 

The point of entry for the fast track is at the bottom of the stairs for the station. When I was there Monday/Tuesday that looked like it would have cut the maximum 30 minute wait in half, so not really all that worth it IMO.

 

On 7/21/2022 at 11:26 AM, gardyloo! said:

- any tips for a plan of attack? I was thinking off hitting laff track first, then fahrenheit, then storm runner… no idea what to do after that

Sounds like a decent plan of attack. The app wait times generally don't seem to be too accurate for all the rides unfortunately. When I was there, Candymonium becomes almost a walk on in the afternoon since there isn't much else in that area of the park. Reese's Cupfusion was a cute ride, but starts the day at an hour wait and doesn't drop down from that. Never saw Lightning Racer get more than a 10 minute wait, so I'd just do those when you're in the neighborhood unless you want to go up that hill a bunch.

Seconding many people's recommendations of Chocolatier. Its a fair bit more expensive than most of the other food in the park, but offers unique options you won't get anywhere else.

[Domm]

Went this past Sunday night and Monday. Sunday from 5-9 everything walk on. Monday all rides were walk on or 5-10 min wait except for the indoor coaster. That was maybe 30-40 mins. Easy to do this park no fast pass. Like the other poster said, candymonium mid day should be walk on. Not at start or end though.

 

I didn’t know anything about sky rush going in and damn that thing is wild. Hurts the legs like no other for sure. Second ride was much better after adjustments. Wildcat looks like it was probably a great ride when it opened. Not so much now! Look forward to the rmc

[StarWars]

On 7/22/2022 at 9:50 AM, coasterbill said:

A few other things to note:

1) The park has the worst weather policies that I've ever seen. What Joe said to do is exactly what you should do in normal circumstances, but if it's mildly breezy or might drizzle later then you need to unfortunately prioritize Candymonium and Skyrush even though they will have massive lines in the morning. Farenheit will also close in like a million stupid weather situations because it's located at Hersheypark and that's how they roll.

2) I get the idea that you're looking to go-go-go all day but food lines suck almost everywhere and the Chocolatier is seriously really great. I really recommend eating there if you don't mind doing a sit-down meal. They're on OpenTable so you can make a reservation. The outdoor patio rules also.

Huh. I was there in October last year and it was absolutely pouring. We were drenched by the time we got into the train. Man, the rain stung! I tried my best to keep my eyes opened, but the rain made that impossible. Also, going up that lift hill in pouring rain is not at all recommended

[prozach626]

Sounds miserable.

[gardyloo!]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:02 PM, VegasCoaster said:

so not really all that worth it IMO.

Ah thanks for the advice. We aren't really budgeting for it anyways cause it's weekday in the third week of august, so kids will be back in schools and we assume crowds will be low.

 

On 7/29/2022 at 3:02 PM, VegasCoaster said:

Seconding many people's recommendations of Chocolatier.

thanks, we'll go and check it out for sure.

 

On 7/30/2022 at 8:06 AM, Domm said:

Second ride was much better after adjustments

Any tips for riding? I dislike how much MACK's lapbars come down, so I'm not too sure what I'll think of Skyrush. I did, however, didn't mind the tight lapbars on Flying Aces (same lapbars and trains as skyrush only with contouring), as the ride's extreme laterals were so good that being stapled didn't really matter.

[thrillseeker4552]

On 7/29/2022 at 9:02 AM, VegasCoaster said:

so not really all that worth it IMO.

I am going on the Saturday of Labor Day. I know, I know... but that's just how things worked out. Fast Track has got to be worth it right? Should I still expect an absolute clusterf*ck all day at the park?

Luckily, I went in 2016... so I'm not trying to "credit grab" and don't really care about riding rides like Laff Track, Wild Mouse, etc. Should I have a plan of attack even with Fast Track if it doesn't do much good?

EDIT: Just read boldikus' post on the previous page regarding this, so I guess I posted prematurely - but if anyone has anything else to add I suppose, I'd appreciate it!

[AmyUD06]

33 minutes ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

I am going on the Saturday of Labor Day. I know, I know... but that's just how things worked out. Fast Track has got to be worth it right? Should I still expect an absolute clusterf*ck all day at the park?

Luckily, I went in 2016... so I'm not trying to "credit grab" and don't really care about riding rides like Laff Track, Wild Mouse, etc. Should I have a plan of attack even with Fast Track if it doesn't do much good?

EDIT: Just read boldikus' post on the previous page regarding this, so I guess I posted prematurely - but if anyone has anything else to add I suppose, I'd appreciate it!

Without FT, Fahrenheit should be your priority.  It has both the best FT implementation and the worst capacity,  I'd then say SkyRush next, since it can be temperamental and you don't want to miss out if a sensor throws a weird code or the lift cable snaps and it stays closed for the rest of the day.

Otherwise Boldy's advice makes sense.  With FT you don't need a plan, just don't be surprised when you encounter Cedar Point-esque merge points on many rides.

Some other tips:
-Don't skip the log flume.  You don't get too wet and its one of the few left that have a little jump at the bottom of the main drop.
-Don't skip SuperDooperLooper.  If you've been on Revolution at SFMM or MindBender at SFoG, imagine that but with no trims.
-Mac and Cheese from the place down by Trailblazer's entrance was bangin'.
-Don't forget about Preview Night - your ticket gets you in for the last two hours of the night before your visit.  Keep the same ticket and parking slip for both days.
-Don't waste time in the water park.  Lines will be double-insane for everything there and there really isn't anything unique aside from the water coaster.
 

[VegasCoaster]

6 hours ago, gardyloo! said:

Any tips for riding? I dislike how much MACK's lapbars come down, so I'm not too sure what I'll think of Skyrush. I did, however, didn't mind the tight lapbars on Flying Aces (same lapbars and trains as skyrush only with contouring), as the ride's extreme laterals were so good that being stapled didn't really matter.

Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I didn't really have any issues with Skyrush. They do release the restraints a bit on the brake run, so you get some relief then. I will say the ride ops tended to be very staple happy (like put full body weight when pushing down) on Skyrush and a lot of other rides, so I'm not sure how much you can control things aside from maybe trying to lift your legs / flex your quads when they go to staple you.

[gardyloo!]

15 hours ago, VegasCoaster said:

Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I didn't really have any issues with Skyrush. They do release the restraints a bit on the brake run, so you get some relief then. I will say the ride ops tended to be very staple happy (like put full body weight when pushing down) on Skyrush and a lot of other rides, so I'm not sure how much you can control things aside from maybe trying to lift your legs / flex your quads when they go to staple you.

Thanks for the tip! On rides like skyrush Wouldn’t mind stapling as much (also cause you’re always stapled after the first drop no matter what), but on most other rides it just kinda impacts the ride experience for me to some extend and not in a good way.

[thrillseeker4552]

On 8/1/2022 at 7:38 AM, AmyUD06 said:

Without FT, Fahrenheit should be your priority.  It has both the best FT implementation and the worst capacity,  I'd then say SkyRush next, since it can be temperamental and you don't want to miss out if a sensor throws a weird code or the lift cable snaps and it stays closed for the rest of the day.

Otherwise Boldy's advice makes sense.  With FT you don't need a plan, just don't be surprised when you encounter Cedar Point-esque merge points on many rides.

Some other tips:
-Don't skip the log flume.  You don't get too wet and its one of the few left that have a little jump at the bottom of the main drop.
-Don't skip SuperDooperLooper.  If you've been on Revolution at SFMM or MindBender at SFoG, imagine that but with no trims.
-Mac and Cheese from the place down by Trailblazer's entrance was bangin'.
-Don't forget about Preview Night - your ticket gets you in for the last two hours of the night before your visit.  Keep the same ticket and parking slip for both days.
-Don't waste time in the water park.  Lines will be double-insane for everything there and there really isn't anything unique aside from the water coaster.
 

Thanks for the tips! I have decided to go with Fast Track. It will just make my day way better, and luckily my friend agreed to get it with me. Fingers crossed Skyrush stays running until then. I've ridden it before and loved it but it's been 6 years and I've ridden a zillion new coasters since then so... we'll see if it still lives up to the hype I have in my memory.

Candy also looks fun.

[tndank]

1 hour ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

 I've ridden it before and loved it but it's been 6 years and I've ridden a zillion new coasters since then so... we'll see if it still lives up to the hype I have in my memory.

Spoiler: It will live up to the hype. It's as great as you remember.

[gardyloo!]

On 8/3/2022 at 1:51 AM, thrillseeker4552 said:

Fingers crossed Skyrush stays running until then.

Skyrush isn't that temperamental right? 

[boldikus]

21 hours ago, gardyloo! said:

Skyrush isn't that temperamental right? 

It's an Intamin.

[coasterbill]

... and it's at Hersheypark

[Jason Maier]

Just out of curiosity, which roller coaster at Hershey Park had the highest ridership numbers in 2021?

I tried searching on my own but found nothing.

[YoshiFan]

I would think it would have to be Candymonium but that is just a guess. It would likely be one of the coasters that operates during Christmas Candylane with all those extra operating days. Wild Mouse, Laff Trakk are low capacity and sooperdooperLooper usually goes to 1 train during that event, same with Wildcat.

[coasterbill]

It pretty much has to be Candymonium or Lightning Racer. Lightning Racer has shorter lines and a shorter season, but if it's filling trains it's doing up to 48 riders per dispatch.

[boldikus]

Construction fencing is up all around WildCat and there is land clearing/digging happening around and in front of the station.

[qwimjim]

So anyone have any idea when the RMC'd Wildcat would open? How long do these types of projects typically take, like would Hershey be aiming for it to be up and running for the April opening in 2023? 

 

[coasterbill]

6 minutes ago, qwimjim said:

like would Hershey be aiming for it to be up and running for the April opening in 2023?

I would ABSOLUTELY not count on this.

[qwimjim]

33 minutes ago, coasterbill said:

I would ABSOLUTELY not count on this.

Haha ok, if you had to put money on it, do you think it opens in 2023 at all?

[jarmor]

If it is based on Arie force, then never. . .

[boldikus]

Its possible but very unlikely. Planning trips early in the season to parks with new attractions opening is always a risky move, especially when its not a B&M they are building.

As far as how long RMC takes to complete a full conversion?

• Georgia Cyclone closed on July 30th, 2017 and opened as Twisted Cyclone on May 25th, 2018. (9 months)
• Robin Hood closed on October 28th, 2018 and reopened as Untamed on July 1st, 2019. (8 months)
• White Cyclone closed on Jan 28th, 2018 and reopened as Hakugei on March 28th, 2019. (1 year, 2 months)
• Roar closed on August 16th, 2015 and reopened as The Joker on May 29th, 2016. (9 months)
• Mean Streak closed Sept 16, 2016 and reopened as Steel Vengeance on May 5th, 2018. (1 year, 8 months)
• Cyclone closed July 20, 2014 and reopened as Wicked Cyclone on May 24, 2015. (9 months)

Iron Gwazi, Storm Chaser and Twisted Timbers are bad examples since they all sat SBNO for a while before RMC actually started work. But it would seem the medium sized conversions comparable to Wild Cat seem to take about 8-9 months from close to reopening. If we go by that, then this would likely open closer to late-May. However, who the hell knows what they're going to do to this thing. I have a theory they're going to install a giant truss-style lift ala Gwazi/Zadra and go for that wtf/wow factor since WildCat basically sits right along Hersheypark Drive. The other thing to consider is what this coming winter is going to be like weather-wise.

 

 

[UrbanLegend]

Any non-season-pass-holders looking for some single-day HP tickets?  I bought 4 of their spring sale tickets in March, and wouldn't ya know it, I haven't been able to and won't be able to make it at all this summer.  Anyone interested in getting them? They're for the regular season so gotta use them before the 11th.  $48 even each, plus the satisfaction of helping a fellow enthusiast and really-active-in-like-2012 TPR user out.