Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

[ejot]

Found the contrast to a 4hr wait interesting.  It was a bit surreal to ride a brand new B&M for the better part of a half hour without seeing another guest.  Not everyone's preference, granted.  I enjoy raucous full trains and Zen solo rides alike.  

[Canobie Coaster]

Fyi to anyone going to Candylane.  If you intend to ride Candymonium, you also need to watch out for wind.  Candymonium closed due to wind before any other coaster yesterday.  Winds were listed as 16-18 mph on my weather app.

[dwainw]

On 10/29/2020 at 3:55 PM, YoshiFan said:

These rides MAY close when temperatures approach 38 degrees or lower. They MAY NOT open unless temperatures are above 38 degrees and rising: Fahrenheit; Ferris Wheel; Great Bear; Hershey Triple Tower; Kissing Tower; Lightning Racer; Capital BlueCross Monorail; Sidewinder; Skyrush; sooperdooperLooper; Storm Runner; Wild Mouse; and Wildcat. Candymonium may close as temperatures approach 34 degrees.

So Candymonium can operate in lower temperatures because of these bogie heaters:

At night they give a nice glow:

These are the first in the US, no?

[coasterbill]

Maybe on a B&M hyper (not sure about Raging Bull) but wheel heaters are becoming increasingly common.

I just caught the part about how it will close at 34 degrees even though it has wheel heaters. That's absolutely adorable.

[thrillseeker4552]

9 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Maybe on a B&M hyper (not sure about Raging Bull) but wheel heaters are becoming increasingly common.

I just caught the part about how it will close at 34 degrees even though it has wheel heaters. That's absolutely adorable.

I know you are subtly referencing Nitro here. I am curious: what is the lowest temperature you have seen Nitro run?

Genuine question from a West Coast-er who thought 40 degrees at SFMM's Holiday in the Park was absolutely freezing. 

[coasterbill]

18 degrees. They’ve never closed it for temperature. It also doesn’t have wheel heaters.

[YoshiFan]

New restrictions in PA starting Saturday

https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/new-coronavirus-restrictions-just-announced-by-pennsylvania-gov-tom-wolf/A4KPJWHDJ5HNBP27NTUMMQQTKM/

Quote

All in-person businesses in the entertainment industry serving the public within a building or indoor defined area, including, but not limited to, theaters, concert venues, museums, movie theaters, arcades, casinos, bowling alleys, private clubs, and all other similar entertainment, recreational or social facilities, are prohibited from operation.

It sounds like the park should be able to stay open but indoor rides might not be able to run and no indoor shows.

[coasterbill]

Yup. Laff Trakk and Cupfusion are now listed as closed. I’m sure the Chocolate World ride will be closed also.

[DorneyKid14]

Family took the day and went to Hersheypark for their Christmas Candyland event. Weather was perfect; cold and overcast. Park looked beautiful with all they lights. The snow definitely added extra beauty to everything. 

The new Chocolatetown looks fantastic. Cant wait for the restaurant and ice cream parlor to open up!  I did not ride Candymonium, did not feel like doing the walk of shame. 

 

Now onto photos!

 

The new entryway is great. Love the openness and the view of the water and coaster. 

I like fun and chocolate 

Love the color of the ride. The sign is one of the best i've seen!

I always need to take some type of sunset picture!

Wish the lights went up the tree more, but they still looked great! 

New this year was TREEville At the Boardwalk. Some tree were decorated by a certain group and if you took a photo in front of them, you got a price. And the price was...... HERSHEY CANDY 

this was decorated after hot chocolate!

This was themed to.... PEPSI (Coke is still better)

Seems a little cold for the wave pool. 

Waterpark themed tree!!

They had the 'welcome' sign at the end of the treevillage. 

Grabfries are a gods gift from heaven. 

 

 

From Fahrenheit all the way back towards the whip, they had the 12 days of Christmas. Unfortunately, this is the only photo that came out half decent. 

 

We did ride the train, but we did it before the sun had fully set, so we didnt get to see the lights in their awe. 

 

Triple tower looks good in christmas colors!

 

So the area down by the water was absolutely beautiful. The trees were all full of lights. 

Some videos of the light shows!

Here is a quick hyperlapse! 

 

 

 

Fresh giant donut? YES PLEASE!!

Lastly, we made our way over to Chocolate World to end the night. New entry way looks nice at night! 

 

This house of candy was absolutely incredible! I can not imagine spending numerous work days building this.

Love the kit-kat flooring. Really brighten ups the house!

 

 

This was so cool to see. Great job by the people that built it!

 

All in all, it was a great day at the park. The new entrance was great. Hershey really made a great investment with that. Hopefully I can come back and ride Candymonium. 

 

[coneyislandchris]

So looks like my daughter is right on that line of the 48" height requirement, which means we're gonna be hitting up a lot of the East Coast parks this year to get some new coasters under her belt. Hersheypark will more than likely be a stop since they have Sidewinder, Lightning Racer, Wild Mouse, and Wildcat all in that range.

I'll be blunt; my son and I have never had a good experience on Wildcat. So when I take my daughter out there, what do you guys recommend as the best possible seat on that coaster for avoiding the usual car crash sort of ride we get out of it?

Thanks in advance.

[tndank]

I love all seats on Wildcat.  

[Mike240SX]

Last year, front row for me was the least brutal.  It was still pretty bad though, to the point where unless your daughter is concerned about building her credit list, it would probably be in her best interest to skip it.  Then again, kids have more resilient bodies than us adults LOL.

[PKI Jizzman]

Front row was still brutal. What about Comet? Comet rules! Coal Cracker is a ton of fun, too. 

[coasternut]

3 hours ago, coneyislandchris said:

So looks like my daughter is right on that line of the 48" height requirement, which means we're gonna be hitting up a lot of the East Coast parks this year to get some new coasters under her belt. Hersheypark will more than likely be a stop since they have Sidewinder, Lightning Racer, Wild Mouse, and Wildcat all in that range.

I'll be blunt; my son and I have never had a good experience on Wildcat. So when I take my daughter out there, what do you guys recommend as the best possible seat on that coaster for avoiding the usual car crash sort of ride we get out of it?

Thanks in advance.

Don't ride it, it's brutal as others have said. Ride Lightning Racer -- it's a blast...

[VegasBaby]

22 hours ago, coasternut said:

Don't ride it, it's brutal as others have said. Ride Lightning Racer -- it's a blast...

Agreed, just ride Comet or Lightning Racer more, they’re much better rides than Wildcat.  And don’t forget about Laff Track, the indoor queue is a blast and it’s a super fun ride.

[bert425]

On 3/30/2021 at 2:17 PM, coneyislandchris said:

So looks like my daughter is right on that line of the 48" height requirement, which means we're gonna be hitting up a lot of the East Coast parks this year to get some new coasters under her belt. Hersheypark will more than likely be a stop since they have Sidewinder, Lightning Racer, Wild Mouse, and Wildcat all in that range.

I'll be blunt; my son and I have never had a good experience on Wildcat. So when I take my daughter out there, what do you guys recommend as the best possible seat on that coaster for avoiding the usual car crash sort of ride we get out of it?

Thanks in advance.

the bench out front of the entrance:

 

[prozach626]

Back row. That way, she'll never want to ride another roller coaster again and you can save money by leaving her at home.

[JG-77]

My front row rides on Wildcat have been fine. Definitely shaky, but those seats are very well padded, and it didn't bother me. I even got mild pops of air thanks to the profiling on some of the entrances into the banked turns.

[YoshiFan]

Looks like no Storm Runner this weekend

 

[YoshiFan]

I know it’s a Saturday of a holiday weekend but I wasn’t expecting to see 4 hour wait times posted. I made the mistake of visiting the day before Easter years ago and decided to never try it again.

[blk_mamba]

I went this Sunday and they were slammed! It was really a crappy experience. The long lines were probably in large part because so many rides and roller coasters were just closed for the whole day, operations where moving slow and there is pinned up demand. All in all it was a pretty subpar experience. I'll be thinking twice before I re-visit the park for the foreseeable future.

[boldikus]

Near-perfect weather on a holiday weekend early in the season when the park is always severely understaffed and the experience was sub-par? I for one am shocked.

[CNYCoasterguy11]

Nobody should be surprised by those wait times, any Saturday in Hershey is a nightmare. That's why I always make sure to visit on a weekday, it's night and day for crowds. And Springtime in the park tends to be busy due to everyone looking for stuff to do in the nice weather.

[blk_mamba]

I expected crowds. I didn't expect the park to be understaffed, nor did I expect for so many rides to be closed. But point taken. What I am hearing is that the park is known for poor operations and that just is apart of the deal when going to Hershey Park. Which is sad, because it is a great park. But in a world where you claim you have capped attendance because of covid AND you make people register what day they are going to visit it seems like they would do what they can to be better prepared to handle crowds.

[jamesinclair]

I havent been in 8+ years, and am considering going this summer with a friend...

The catch is, my friend is large. 350lbs large. Is there a point in attempting this? Will there be enough rides they will be allowed on to?