Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[Saldek]

On Food Network TV tonight at 8 p.m.

 

Extreme Candy Coasters -

 

Four chocolatiers go to Hersheypark to find inspiration for their chocolate roller coasters.

[thrillrider]

Thank's for the heads up.

 

Dvr....set.

[Magnum PA]

Drove past the park today. Five observations I made about the proposed coaster site.

 

1) It looks like the creek has been pretty much drained, not a whole lot of water in it at this point. Don't know if that's typical for this time of the year or if it means construction is starting soon.

 

2) It looks as if a path is being constructed from Comet Hollow, under the Comet, and back into that area. I think a walking path from Comet Hollow to the park entrance would be a great idea.

 

3) There is a crane inside the park near the stroller rental, which, of course, is right next to the construction site.

 

4) A new wider double gate has been added to the park's fence along Park Blvd. I don't remember seeing it before, and it's all shiny and new. I'm assuming it will be the construction entrance for the area, as there are tire tracks all over the ground there.

 

5) Finally, there was a man running what looked like electric wire through the area near the dam.

 

It seems to me that we can expect construction to begin soon, if it hasn't already.

[Ccron10]

Sounds good. I think they lowered the creek-level during Springtime in the Park so that they could build that random, mysterious shack next to Comet's first drop.

 

EDIT: I'll go check it out tomorrow and get some type of update together.

[HPCrazy]

The creek is usually not drained during the off-season. This is possibly a good sign. I'll be back next month for an off-season update so I'll see what I can find.

[Ccron10]

UPDATE: 1/22/11

Photo AND Video Update

 

Since it was Community Weekend, I figured I would stop by ZooAmerica and Chocolate World as well as take a peek and see what's happening with Attraction 2012. I'll post a seperate trip report on my visit, but here is what's happening so far:

 

It's empty..... too empty....

 

The bleachers are gone from the dog sledding demonstrations during Candylane and there's no sign of a picnic table anywhere.

 

Creek's drained.

 

Same stakes. There were a few with blue flags too.

 

Last time they drained the creek was to move land to build this.

 

Tilt-A-Whirl's cars are still there, but something is stacked next to in on the midway.

 

Interesting....

 

The mysterious white shack.

 

Something left over from the past. There are two or three of these benches still here. I think it's safe to say that they're gone.

 

This stake, as well as a few more, are found on the hillside between Comet's turnaround and the lake. I'm guessing that they've been out of view.

 

DIRT!

 

Here is the first ever, Keystone Thrills Video Update. I apalogize for my soft spoken voice.

 

I'll leave you with a photo of Hersheypark's skyline.

 

I should have the official update posted on the Update page tomorrow. Enjoy!

[Hayzle]

It stinks that they started this big R.I.T. thing and never went ANYWHERE with it. The page is still EXACTLY the same as it was in October!

[HPCrazy]

Well maybe since the early stages of construction is beginning to heat up, maybe we'll see some more to their little game come spring. I know what you mean, it's been a few boring months lately, but I think a change is on the way pretty soon.

[Ccron10]

^^ In the reply I got from the email adress posted on their site it says that they aren't going to do anything until around spring of 2011.

 

Here's an update of the map:

[HPCrazy]

I would have thought they would be playing their game up until the spring when they made the announcement. That's unless they begin the game in the spring and play it until July/August and then announce it.

[Magnum PA]

I would have thought they would be playing their game up until the spring when they made the announcement. That's unless they begin the game in the spring and play it until July/August and then announce it.

 

I would bet that's exactly what we're looking at. I think the details of the ride won't be released until summer. It's all just a little silly to me, and pretty annoying too. Yes, we're all excited about getting a new ride at Hershey that is finally over 200 feet. But they act like it's never been done before, when in fact they are the ones who are late to the hyper-party. Just announce the damn thing.

 

I'm 90% sure we're looking at an Intamin hypercoaster. That's been pretty obvious from day one (eventhough I'm still holding out hope for B&M). I'm only interested in the layout, and how it will affect the Comet/Comet Hollow, both of which I can't help but feel will be disappointing for me. So, I'm kinda' growing disinterested all together. The games are stupid. I'll be interested again when the official announcement is made.

[HPCrazy]

If they are definitely doing the second suggestion that I mentioned, then why the heck did they approach us at the Keystone Thrills meet-up when they had no intention to do anything else until the spring. They should've had the people in the labcoats out doing the surveying this spring during STITP. I know it's bugging some of us over at Keystone Thrills that things have been pretty quiet lately.

 

Also don't forget that it was mentioned on the RIT website that it has been twelve years since their most ambitious undertaking (or something like that). When you think about that, it would lead to when Great Bear opened, which is from B&M and which also happens to be approximately twelve years until they announce this thing. I was also discussing with someone else about the dive machine concept and mentioned that Griffon has a steep lifthill. I have yet to see and experience it in person, but from the pictures that I've seen of it, it could very well be possible that we're looking at a 200-some foot B&M dive machine here.

[QueerRudie]

Having decoded many of the "hersheypark' secrets in the past (Including StormRunner- which I sort of scared the hades out of employees with just doing a simple line-drawing of the stakes from it's pre-construction days) i've been observing how the 'stakes layout' has grown- Thanks for that- as it makes it a lot easier to figure things out...

 

After seeing all this updating in the past month or two, I'm pretty sure to put even-money that it's an Intamin Hyper-lite coaster- that is, using the Cable-lift technology plus an extended, low to the ground layout that tends to fit to terrain around, through, over, under and aside other rides. It just makes sense- the layout is wide, varied and passes through Comet Hollow in a way that would make a lot of sense for an Intamin ride, as well as the general scope of the attraction itself.

 

For me, I do enjoy the idea that this new ride could be a B&M- but I really can't see the layout being that big and still being a B&M; the VDM coaster concepts, although interesting, just don't fit the layout of the stakes that have been posted so far. It doesn't fit with what B&M has done in the past. I could be wrong- time will prove tell on that. But I really can't see it being a B&M.

 

R.D.

[eddie200330]

^ I kinda agree on this concept somewhat as B&M seems kinda "bulky" to be fitting in the planned area. I know they made Great Bear fit and whatnot, but could you imagine what it would look like with two of them down in this area? It would be the most clusterf%&ked mess going!

[DJeXeL]

I smell an Intamin

[coasterfreak101]

My life would be complete if this thing was an Intamin hyper with an EGF-style drop once the lift crossed over to the far side of the creek. The way those stakes look, it'll head across the creek, run down toward the picnic area, cross back over, run back toward the beginning, cross under Comet and make a run back next to Comet's outbound run toward the entrance, then turn around with Comet and head back next to the river. Sounds Intamin-hyper-ish to me! At least I hope it is.

[knowit]

It's an Intamin Hyper with a dual chain lift (for staging) Look for a potential design in between intimidator 305 and a mega lite zooming up ad down the creek area. I retract my initial prediction that it will go to the old golf course

[CCI]

Looks like I'll have to postpone my first visit since '04 till 2012. I still have all the credit's to pick up too.

[coasterfreak101]

^^I like when he says things, because he's been right before!

[Ccron10]

It's an Intamin Hyper with a dual chain lift (for staging) Look for a potential design in between intimidator 305 and a mega lite zooming up ad down the creek area. I retract my initial prediction that it will go to the old golf course

 

I played connect the dots with the stakes and got something like this: (see below).

Chances are since talk going around is that it's going to go over the water, this isn't a very accurate picture, but the layout given makes it look like it's going to be a good ride reguardless of what manufacturer builds it.

[Hayzle]

I think its amazing how Hersheypark has crammed all these rides in. The are miracle workers if they can plan a 200 foot plus coaster on that plot of land that isn't a dive machine!

[HPCrazy]

That looks like a good layout, utilizing the land more than once. I could see some possibilities as far as designs (Mega-Lite, etc) if this thing wasn't going to be a 200-foot coaster, but a Dive Machine just keeps coming to my mind, due to how much land this thing will be built on.

[A.J.]

That looks like a good layout, utilizing the land more than once. I could see some possibilities as far as designs (Mega-Lite, etc) if this thing wasn't going to be a 200-foot coaster, but a Dive Machine just keeps coming to my mind, due to how much land this thing will be built on.

 

I would count out a Diving Machine - they may be able to fit on a small land plot, but the horizontal clearances needed for those coasters are enormous. If Hersheypark is going to design the ride in a similar manner to the other Comet Hollow/Minetown coasters, it's going to have to weave through some tight spaces.

[HPCrazy]

I don't know why everyone seems to be thinking Mega-Lite, but I just don't see a 200-foot one coming. A hyper (B&M or Intamin) or B&M dive machine would be the best fit. I'm still trying to figure out how they'll even fit a 200-foot coaster in there at all without going to the golf course. They don't even have any stakes near the pavilions. As what Chris stated, they stop before those, unless more were added to that area. I like Chris' layout (not saying that is the exact proposed layout) but it does have potential.

 

As far as the dive machine goes, I guess the area where Griffon sits is a lot larger then I originally expected. I've never been to the park since it was built (my last visit was in 2005), but when I was last there, that area didn't seem any larger than what we're looking at here.

[eddie200330]

^ Getting to 200' isn't hard, they could just go the route of Farenheit....vertical lift. But, that brings up the point of having 2 of the same ride in the park. While I want to think it is Intamin, what about some of the other designers out there, such as the ones who built Skyrocket at Kennywood?