Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[Ace Of Spades]

Definitely an Aquatrax.

The joke! IT LIVES!

[Ccron10]

However, in an interview earlier this month, park General Manager Frank O’Connell chuckled when asked about the construction under way in the park.

 

“We’re building a slushy stand,” was all he would say.

No, its going to be the world's tallest Vault slushie stand. It's confirmed!

[Pacificoaster]

Judging from the blue print, the lift seems to have lift supports similar to intimidator 305. Maybe a giga?

[KDcoasterMAN]

I made a "RCT3" model off of the blueprints. Hope you like if you haven't seen it

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=42955&start=860

[Magnum PA]

Have you ridden I305? I'm pretty sure 90% of the board would agree that how quick that ride's over leaves no sour taste at all. You do so much more in that 30 seconds than any B&M hyper. It's not like you're walking off 17-second Dragster.

 

I couldn't agree more. You don't see everyone scrambling to book their trips to Carowinds to ride the cookie-cutter that is I232...but I305 is one of those coasters that most enthusiasts must ride at some point, and will go out of their way to do so. Regarding Dragster, even so, a ride like that would still put any US park on the map and get people talking like I305 has.

 

Yes, I've ridden I-305, and yes, I loved it. I never said I didn't like Intamin coasters. In fact, I even said that they were my favorites. Leaving the whole restraint thing out of the argument, I just feel that a B&M megacoaster would have been a better fit at Hersheypark than another too-short Intamin twister. Again, this is all assuming that what we've seen is the accurate layout.

 

I-305 is irrelevant to this conversation. It's in a totally different league. First of all, it is 5100 feet long. By any definition, that's a long coaster. Why would anyone be disappointed in its length? Sure it flys through the course very quickly, but that's only because it's so damn fast. It definitely feels like a complete ride and does not seem short by any means.

 

People have traveled and continue to travel to Kings Dominion to ride I-305, not because it's an Intamin ride, but because it's 305 feet tall, has an 85 degree first drop, and goes 95 mph. It's only the second gigacoaster ever built in the U.S.

 

B&M megacoasters have consistantly, over the years, rounded out many parks' collection of roller coasters perfectly. They may not pull people in from across the country, but they certainly pull people in regionally and they are great reliable rides.

 

I'm hoping that this new coaster doesn't disappoint when it comes time to ride it. But judging soley from what we know and what we've seen, Hershey has shortchanged themselves with both this ride's height and length. They had a chance to make a real splash in the region. But at this point, it seems they're coming up small compared to what Dorney, SFGAdv, SFA, and certainly KD already have.

[coasterkyle]

IMO Hersheypark has one of the better coaster collections in the country esp. compared to SFA and Dorney's collections. I do not see where they are short changing themselves if they go with Intamin or B&M. To me they are just adding another great coaster to an already spectacular line up. Also if they do go ahead with this layout I think it would be a great use of space.

[Thom25]

Living in the Northeast, I've been following this ride and thread regularly and am surprised at many of the comments. When the ride was first announced, I too had hopes for another long giga and was disappointed on some levels with the posted lay-out. However, there are a lot of positives, which I think a lot of people are ignoring (imo).

 

I totally agree this ride appears to be an Intamin and won't have any loops. So when I think of Expedition GeForce at 173 feet tall, a 212 foot Intamin certainly has the potential to deliver given Intamin's dominance on the top 10 steel polls. While I've never been to Holiday World, Hershey does appear to be a similar kind of park with a lot of trees and rolling terrain. I continue to be psyched for any new coaster in the Northeast, and think Intamin has a higher probability of delivering an extreme ride regardless of the height or length.

[A.J.]

If the layout on the blueprint is in fact the layout, I really like it. I'll take sweeping turns over jarring directional changes any day.

[Magnum PA]

Living in the Northeast, I've been following this ride and thread regularly and am surprised at many of the comments. When the ride was first announced, I too had hopes for another long giga and was disappointed on some levels with the posted lay-out. However, there are a lot of positives, which I think a lot of people are ignoring (imo).

 

Oh, I think this layout has a ton of positves. A 212 foot drop is no slouch, and this thing may push close to 80 mph. There look to be two great air-time hills in the middle of the current pond (criss-cross point). I'm hoping that the second is just smaller than the first for an incredible head-chopper effect. The return along Comet's dogleg looks to have a series of bunny hops, and there also look to be a few quick I-305 style directional changes.

 

I just think that building a ride that is statistically smaller than all of the megacoasters in the region makes this ride less marketable. I was hoping for something in the 230 ft tall, 5000+ ft long category, like recent B&M installations, something they could market as the largest in the Northeast.

 

I totally agree this ride appears to be an Intamin and won't have any loops. So when I think of Expedition GeForce at 173 feet tall, a 212 foot Intamin certainly has the potential to deliver given Intamin's dominance on the top 10 steel polls...

 

I agree here as well. GeForce and Goliath receive rave reviews overseas. Both seem very 'hilly' as well as having some wicked turns. If we get a similar ride, I will be excited - no doubt.

 

But I don't think we can totally ignore the lap-bar/OTS thing here. I expect this thing, if it's an Intamin, to have the current I-305 restraint system. While they are better than the Storm Runner/Fahrenheit/Maverick restraints, they are certainly not as good as the GeForce/Goliath restraints. It takes away from the ride experience for me, and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. That was another reason for me to hope for B&M. Nothing beats their restraints.

 

I continue to be psyched for any new coaster in the Northeast, and think Intamin has a higher probability of delivering an extreme ride regardless of the height or length.

 

I'm psyched too. B&M coasters are definitely not as extreme as Intamin's designs. But there are many of us that love the tall, graceful, swooping, hilly B&M style, and I just think that's the direction Hersheypark should have gone.

[braztaz]

Actually, I'm not too sure if this ride would have the new i305-type restraint...I mean Cheetah Chase just came out with the original restraints, so I think the straps on i305 were specifically for theming...

[Skycoastin Steve]

I just think that building a ride that is statistically smaller than all of the megacoasters in the region makes this ride less marketable. I was hoping for something in the 230 ft tall, 5000+ ft long category, like recent B&M installations, something they could market as the largest in the Northeast.

212 feet would make it the tallest coaster in Pennsylvania, taller than Superman at SFA, taller than anything at BGW, and only 2nd to 305 in the Mid-Atlantic region. You would have to go all the way to CP, KI, or CW to find something taller, and Hershey doesn't even come close to drawing from the same crowd as those parks. Nothing in New England is taller than that, either. The only "exception" would be Phantom's Revenge, which has a 220+ foot drop, but that's not a huge difference.

 

As far as ride length goes, it's tough to tell just from looking at a bird's eye view of the layout and tell exactly how long it is. If it has a lot of airtime hills, that will increase the length. We're also talking about a park that doesn't have a ton of space to put in a mile-long coaster. None of their other coasters are long at all, so it is what it is.

[HappyEisentrout]

Do we have proof that this is the layout? Is Hersheypark just sitting in their offices laughing that they fooled everyone?

 

If this is the layout, it appears to be another great Hershey coaster in a great location. As much as I like B&M, Intamin pulls off a more intense ride. It also appears that Hershey has a good relation with Intamin. I305 is the only coaster that confirms OTSR but Bizarro didn't get fitted for new harnesses. I think that we could see a lapbar Intamin at Hershey next year. IMO.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^It's tough to fake something like a blue print. It's similar to when someone caught the words "giga coaster" on the Intamin packing slip at KD a few years back. I'd put good money on this layout being legit.

[Ccron10]

Do we have proof that this is the layout? Is Hersheypark just sitting in their offices laughing that they fooled everyone?

 

If this is the layout, it appears to be another great Hershey coaster in a great location. As much as I like B&M, Intamin pulls off a more intense ride. It also appears that Hershey has a good relation with Intamin. I305 is the only coaster that confirms OTSR but Bizarro didn't get fitted for new harnesses. I think that we could see a lapbar Intamin at Hershey next year. IMO.

If the stakes out in the park right now match up with the footers in the blueprint, then it makes it very likely. I'll stop by this afternoon to check it out.

[osm]

IF the layout is indeed similar to GeForce or Goliath, there's no reason why there would be OTSR's. I305 only has them because the twisties at 90 mph with LBR's would be much too intense. I do also think that a B&M hyper would have been a better fit for the park, but this probably would be a better coaster. However, I still wouldn't take any leaked layout as a given, I have a feeling Hershey will be throwing a curveball our way pretty soon.

[HappyEisentrout]

^Exactly, Hershey isn't just going to give away the coaster this early. The layout shown could be of one of the projected rides for that area. Their planning and design department probably had quite a few ideas for that area and this may have been one they didn't choose. Hersheypark is tricky.

[chickenbowl]

212 feet would make it the tallest coaster in Pennsylvania, taller than Superman at SFA, taller than anything at BGW, and only 2nd to 305 in the Mid-Atlantic region. You would have to go all the way to CP, KI, or CW to find something taller, and Hershey doesn't even come close to drawing from the same crowd as those parks. Nothing in New England is taller than that, either. The only "exception" would be Phantom's Revenge, which has a 220+ foot drop, but that's not a huge difference.

 

Don't forget that SFGAdv has Nitro (230') and Kingda Ka (456').

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Oh yeah, how could I forget?

 

Let me put on my Homer Simpson DOH! face for that one.

 

But at the same time, the coaster would have to be over 456 feet to be deemed the "tallest in New England," and there's no way on this planet or any other that that's going to happen at Hershey.

[chickenbowl]

^It's cool.

Anyways, I hope it's an Intamin. It would definitely round out Hershey's line-up. I mean, 3 GCI's, Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, an Intamin Mega or something, a B&M Invert, and a Schwartzkopf. That sounds like they covered all bases to me.

[televisedconfession]

Regardless of it being Intamin or B&M; it being 212 feet or 512 feet; or an Aquatrax or Megalite, I am most curious to see what this theme is going to pop out to be. I really appreciate it when parks market their coasters to the coaster community before the actual announcement. It builds up interest and generates buzz. From a Marketing viewpoint, pretty brilliant (just as long as you don't over hype something *coughThirteencough*.)

I like this RIT theme they're building. To me, it sounds like they're going for an engineering educational ploy, which begs the question what will the actual ride be themed to? I'm wondering if it's proximity to the Comet is going to have to do with anything, and wondering what the purpose of the website is.

I bet there are A LOT of clues on the website that we're just not looking into.

Or like this new news piece

4/20/11

23-year old RIT Junior Researcher awarded an unprecedented two MacArthrop "Genius Grants." Donates $1,000,000 gift to charity.

Prince Desmond anyone?

Yet at the same time, they had a press release denying any media/viral marketing campaign.

 

The whole site is WAY more fascinating to me. I hate blue print debates. Let's focus on what the heck this is all about! TPR obviously got chosen to help crack this code for a reason. Let's figure it out guys!

 

 

Edit:

I also wonder if there are going to be any launches to this thing:

PROPULSION DYNAMICS

Through interpretation of structural behaviors, RIT scientists and researchers precisely calculate expected rates of acceleration, g-forces, and total velocity. Proprietary software, developed in-house, lends RIT significant competitive advantages over competing research institutions.

Propulsion Dynamics

Study results available 04/25/11. [PDF format]

Edited April 22, 2011 by televisedconfession

[PSiRockin]

Pennsylvania isn't considered in the New England region, and certainly not Jersey with Kingda Ka.

 

Edit: ^ Yeah I agree! The site has more to reveal than one photo.

Edited April 22, 2011 by PSiRockin

[braztaz]

Pennsylvania isn't considered in the New England region, and certainly not Jersey with Kingda Ka.

 

And the B&M Hyper Nitro is 230ft. While it doesn't look to be breaking any records, it should still be a fun ride!

[televisedconfession]

Ok, someone piggyback off me here.

These are my thoughts on the website:

 

1)

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

Reserved for our most ambitious scientists, the Interdisciplinary Studies Group (ISG) combines the classical physics of propulsion dynamics, the experimental methods of gravity manipulation, and the rigorous testing of materials and design to form our most advanced program of study. These studies are not released to the public, and in many cases have been classified by the United States government.

 

I think we're seeing something a little more than just a typical coaster. They're research studies point to gravity manipulation, propulsion, ect.

 

2) http://www.rideinstitute.com/about.php Their staff list have two people that are theatre people/performers, one person who is an expert at parachuting, and another who

studied classical music, corporate finance, graphic design, and advanced theoretical engineering at The University of Paris – Sorbonne

.

 

The musical side of this has my interest. Why music?

 

3) And this makes me chuckle:

RIT categorically denies any and all noninvolvement with a "viral marketing campaign" in 2012, and vociferously disputes any non-association, implied or otherwise, with "fake web pages, hidden messages, foreign languages, and symbolism." Among RIT colleagues and board members today, there was widespread admiration for the enterprising work of Malawskey and The Patriot-News, yet we remain a thriving research institution with vast financial resources and a fully funded research pipeline stretching many years into a bright and prosperous future.

 

 

What are you up to RIT? Seriously! This is driving me bat crazy!

 

I'll think we'll see more throughout the end of this month and into May, as the PDF's open up.

[FeelTheFORCE]

I am most curious to see what this theme is going to pop out to be.

...

which begs the question what will the actual ride be themed to? I'm wondering if it's proximity to the Comet is going to have to do with anything, and wondering what the purpose of the website is.

 

Aside from the actual name of the ride and sign at the entrance, I doubt there will be much theming, if any at all. Like their other coasters, I would assume they gear more towards building a quality coaster rather than extensive theming.

[televisedconfession]

^I didn't mean like Disney/Universal Studios theme. I simply ment where it's going to stand. Most coasters do have a theme, whether there is a storyline and sets behind it or not. There's (normally) a reason behind a name, and I think we're seeing it emerge with this website teaser.