Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[coasterbill]

Do Dorney and Hershey have some sort of "no compete" agreement where they can't build the exact type of ride? (Kind of like what Busch Gardens and kings Dominion have). That would eliminate the S&S Tower thoughts... unless Dorney is selling theirs to Hershey. (Sorry, had to create a little extra drama there.)

 

I doubt there's a formal agreement. Dorney just chooses not to actively compete with any other local parks voluntarily.

[TyRush]

^^They were not that far apart honestly. That's why after seeing how this Ultra tower has a wider cylinder with four bases it totally makes sense It could seriously be that. From seeing other S&S complexes they are kinda spread out more.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

And it makes sense since the walls could be chocolate.

[SteelForceless]

Visited Hersheypark yesterday with my father, and had a great day at the park! Got there around 11, and did Midway America and Pioneer Village (or whatever it was called). On our way to the Hollow, it started to rain. Skyrush, Comet, and SDL had already closed, but the nearby Waveswinger was open, so I did that. That turned out to be a mistake, as the rain picked up and I got absolutely soaked! Dad and I waited back at the car for an hour or so, and eventually decided to do Chocolate World and hope the weather cleared up. Luckily, it did, so after a few minutes at Chocolate World we were on our way back into the park. We did the remainder of the park, and then went back for rerides, since the weather washed away lines up to the 10 minute mark. Left at 8 since it gets hard to walk after swimming in wet shoes for 6 consecutive hours (that or I'm weak, but it was uncomfortable). Now to the rides (based on order ridden)

 

• - Fahrenheit: Great ride, love the drop and tight inversions. Vest restraints make this ride much better than it was last year. I don't fit in the groove of the seat all that well, but I think that's just Intamin telling me that I need to lose weight. Didn't kill the ride however.
  - Lightning Racer: A good wooden coaster. I enjoy the whole racing aspect of the ride, I would likely consider it a worse coaster without it. Decently smooth, fun and enjoyable.
  - Wild Mouse: Standard Wild Mouse, although I did notice less braking on the switchbacks.
  - Wildcat: Pretty much the opposite of Lightning Racer - Rough, not fun, and not enjoyable.
  - Sidewinder: Meh. The vests make it bearable but the track still feels rough as hell and it's a boomerang so there's only so much you can get out of it.
  - Storm Runner: Holy crap this ride is good! This ride has improved so much with the new restraints! This means you don't get your head torn off during the flying snake dive. Instead of bouncing back and forth painfully, you just slowly go from side to side, and painlessly. With this in place, I can love the entire ride and not just the first half before having it ruined by headbanging (neckslicing?). The launch is great, the drop good, and the inversions are fun. An amazing ride.
  - Comet: Nothing special, just an old woodie. Still fun and enjoyable, unlike another wooden coaster at this park.
  - SDL: Good ride overall, loop is forceful and fun. The only issue was that I rode it right after it opened, and the car I got was the one they left out in the rain, which meant there was a half inch of water on the floor of the car. Most of it came out in the loop though.
  - Skyrush: Just as I expected it to be. Extremely intense, huge ejector airtime, a fast ride that keeps up its speed, and squished thighs. Oh well, I guess that's the price for one of the best coasters in the area.
  - Great Bear: Decent invert. I prefer Talon because it's more forceful and has a complete ending, but there wasn't much else they could have done with this ride. Overall a solid coaster.

 

I also enjoyed Flying Falcons, as it was fun to be on a scrambler in the sky.

[Physical]

^^They were not that far apart honestly. That's why after seeing how this Ultra tower has a wider cylinder with four bases it totally makes sense It could seriously be that. From seeing other S&S complexes they are kinda spread out more.

 

It also makes sense to me for Hershey to install an Ultra Tower. It seems like Hershey takes the stance of "Huge additions every 2-5 years" instead of "Smaller additions every year"

 

IIRC the last major they got was Skyrush in 2012 (Unless you count Laff Trakk, and considering Mauer spinners are decently cheap, I'm not counting it as a major) so I would assume Hershey has a decent amount of money in the coffers, to cough up for an ultra tower.

[A.J.]

Have there been any other installations of the Ultra Tower system? Like coasterbill said, that system looks really complicated and complex. I really don't think that it would be worth it for them to install one of those, especially considering that all four of their "dark" attractions (Laff Trakk, Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, the 4D show and the Great American Chocolate Tour) appeal to families. The Ultra Tower seems like a much more thrilling sensory attraction.

[mr_rush]

No installations yet. But Hershey seems to always like to do new and unique things, but as you said it seems a bit complex for the park. Also I went on the raven sun website and on the bottom, Hersheypark is listed as one of their big/main clients which may seem to hint they are ordering another big attraction from them.

[jarmor]

But Hershey seems to always like to do new and unique things, but as you said it seems a bit complex for the park.

Like???

[mr_rush]

Skyrush = first winged outer seats

Laff Track = first spinning indoor glow coaster in the U.S.

Storm Runner = first launching coaster w/ inversions and a top hat

Lightning racer= first dueling / racing wooden coaster

 

I am not 100% sure about Lightning racer and storm runner, but the others are right I think.

[TyRush]

But Hershey seems to always like to do new and unique things, but as you said it seems a bit complex for the park.

Like???

First inverting hydraulic launch coaster, first dueling/racing wooden coaster, first wing hyper coaster, first indoor spinning glow coaster. I'm probably missing a few things but they do try to do different things. Obviously the ultra tower is a huge first to take on but like I said Hershey worked with the same company on Laff Trakk that works with Intamin on this Ultra Tower. Laff Trakk has been great since it opened with effects so I can't see why they wouldn't trust them

[Genx24]

Don't forget they had the first looping coaster on the East Coast as well.

[larrygator]

First class crappy story line for a shooting dark ride

[Jcoaster]

First class crappy story line for a shooting dark ride

 

 

I can honestly say Reese's Challenge is one of the two bad things I've ever seen Hershey do. The other one being Roller Soaker.

[coasterbill]

I love that stupid ride.

[jarmor]

Lol these significant "first" are pretty much reaching in my opinion. I, personally, look at "first" as things like what B&M did to the inverted coaster (batman), what Intamin did what the hydraulic launch coaster (xcelarator), not just adding inversions or placing a clone coaster in a building. And Lightning racer came after gwazi . . . which came after twisted twins.

 

But hey, its all an opinion.

[A.J.]

I can honestly say Reese's Challenge is one of the two bad things I've ever seen Hershey do. The other one being Roller Soaker.

We almost saw Turbulence too.

[Jcoaster]

I can honestly say Reese's Challenge is one of the two bad things I've ever seen Hershey do. The other one being Roller Soaker.

We almost saw Turbulence too.

 

Thankfully not. That thing looked like a nightmare waiting to happen.

[Ccron10]

Took a walk through the area where those TB#2 and #3 survey markers are at. Still can't find TB#1, but given the location of the two, I do have to wonder if it would be in the center of Convoy or in Red Baron's ride area?

[michaellynn4]

I can honestly say Reese's Challenge is one of the two bad things I've ever seen Hershey do. The other one being Roller Soaker.

We almost saw Turbulence too.

 

Thank god that POS never materialized.

[John Peck]

I totally forgot about Turbulence.

 

Anyway, I'm planning a trip to HP. We are looking to doing the night preview and hitting the park the next day. On the full day, if we are to get there when the park opens (which will be a thursday or friday (around the 24th of august)) what would you locals prefer I do get the most rides in.... or be able to beat the crowds to certain rides. My last visit in 2014 was awful as it was so busy and hot.... and the waterpark was closed as it was the second weekend in september, so the crowd wasn't disbursed enough.

[A.J.]

I feel like the Thursday would be the better bet to have a more enjoyable day. It'll likely still be crowded as it's during the summer season but you won't feel "pressured" to do rides in a certain order, especially considering you're doing a preview night as well.

[defrocker]

Just got back from my first trip to Hersheypark since 2008 and the memory tends to fade on rides that long ago. We had a really good experience. We waited about 25 minutes for Laff Trakk and everything else was under 15 minutes. A few points before the ride reviews. I was very impressed with Hershey's operations. To be an independent park with no "standards" they are friendly and efficient. They seem to have joined the company of "no glasses, period" on their rides. My wife needs to wear hers to avoid getting sick so we had to sneak them onto the rides (which I don't enjoy doing.) So onto the rides:

 

Fahrenheit: 3 rides. This ride was much better than I remember. My wife said some of the pacing and "twistiness" was reminiscent of Maverick. I just can't get over the vibration through the cobra roll. Really is a downer...

 

Laff Trakk: 1 ride. I like spinning mice, this was really fun, but I have a hard time swallowing a half hour wait for it.

 

Lightning Racer: 1 ride. Walk on - front row. Only rode thunder, but this one has aged very well although it doesn't seem to race as closely as it used to, unfortunately.

 

Wlidcat: 1 ride too many. I'm done with this one. No redeeming qualities. Needs help from Hershey, GCI, RMC, or Caterpillar.

 

Storm Runner: 2 rides. Maybe it's the new restraints, because again, this was much better than I remembered. Lots of air over the tophat, great pop into the flying snake dive (which my wife says is stupid because snakes don't fly or dive). It has developed some roughness, especially in the valley after the drop, but not enough to zap the fun.

 

Trailblazer: 1 ride. It's a mine train. And a slow themeless one at that.

 

Great Bear: 1 ride. back seat. Once again, this was better than I remembered. Certainly not a great Invert considering I have Afterburn right up the road, but still a fun ride with a fun setting by the river. Pre-drop helix is oddly satisfying.

 

SDL: 1 ride, front row. Just a classic. Still butter smooth and a great wooded setting.

 

Skyrush: 4 rides, all back. This ride has really put me in a pickle. There are aspects to it that are great. It has good pacing, setting, and airtime. But... I don't like the trains, the restraints are uncomfortable, it's a little on the short side for a hyper (granted Hershey does not have the setting for a longer one), it was a little on the rough side in the first 2 turns (although I suspect I was on a bad wheel a few times), the laterals are a strain on the body in the wing seats, especially during re-rides. I don't know that I would put it in my personal top 10. I don't know that I would call it the best ride in the park, but it is a blast and it's a good fit for them. I just feel that the early Intamin hyper trains would bump this up a bit for me. This is likely about the best hyper that could have been built in this park and in this plot of land, I'm just still unsure of how I feel about it overall.

 

As a side note, we also did the Hershey Story museum and I have developed a new appreciation for Hershey, in general. What a remarkable man and truly the embodiment of the American Dream. I intend to visit the area again, and certainly sooner than 2024...

[defrocker]

One other thing I meant to add...

 

We did the updated chocolate world ride. While I do think the updates are nice with the digital screens, the audio is very busy now with sometimes up to 3 things playing at once. Before the update, riding one time, I knew how chocolate was made. Now I am not convinced that I would know after one ride through. Just thought I would post for those that are Hershey fans.

[TyRush]

Yes I too agree the tour ride has not improved at all. Most of the people I know dislike the changes. They seemed to have gone too technological this time

[mr_rush]

Clue #3: An attraction like this has never been done... Choose your path, theres 3 ways to fun.

 

-Its definitely an ultra tower.