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Photo TR: Hersheypark 9/11/10


Ccron10

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Since I didn’t want to stay trapped in my dorm room all day yesterday, I decided to go to Hersheypark for the day. If you read my last trip report from there, I talked about it being so full that my girlfriend and I only got several rides in (but then again, we went on opening day), but this time was much different. Read on…

 

Got to the park around 11:30 and got in line for Fahrenheit which ended up being a 45 minute wait, but thankfully I brought my iPod along so wasn’t too bad. Rode back seat and it has to be the best ride I’ve had on it since it opened. It did rattle a bit, but the airtime on the first drop and hill were awesome.

 

Storm Runner had a 15 minute wait and also seemed to be in high-gear today with the top hat and flying snake thingamajig having airtime. Got bruised by the restraint on the banked rise and second part of the dive though.

 

Sidewinder had a 10 minute wait and being the gullible sucker I was, I rode it and miraculously survived without getting a headache, but the guy throwing up in a bush near the ride exit wasn’t so fortunate.

 

Great Bear had a 45 minute wait with ½ the queue being filled. I also want to note that they took away the faucet they had in line to cool down with. Forceful ride towards the end, but would beat Talon if it had one last corkscrew before the end.

 

From here I rode Sooperdooperlooper in the back for a 15 minute wait. Not really an intense ride, but it was enjoyable.

 

For those who are wondering what is going on with Attraction 2012 the answer is pretty much that it is hard to tell. I could see from Looper’s line that a bulldozer was parked next to the Paddleboats path on the other side of Comet. I couldn’t get a great picture of it though, but I can confirm that there are a lot of stakes on both sides of the creek heading all the way down to Creekside Catering. When I rode Comet, I could see two stakes behind Scrambler on the left and right side of it. Then it’s just tons of makers heading from that point all the way around the outer corner of Founder’s Circle on that access path then the stakes start up again near Comet’s far turn-around. The opening in its structure does look like it got some new unpainted wood and the new fence seems to cover a lot of the area next to the ride. The markers in front of Tilt-A-Whirl have been recently updated (9-10-10) and it seems like the goofed a little. LOL. I did find a weird one out between Great Bear’s bridge and the Monorail bridge labeled 9C. At this point I wouldn’t be disappointed if it ends up being a coaster or Star Flyer since both rides would be a great addition.

 

Getting off of the markers discussion, Comet had a 30 minute wait and seemed to be running wild. I wouldn’t call it a kiddie coaster, but it certainly isn’t the Phoenix.

 

I hiked back to Midway to get the last several coasters and got into line for Wildcat which I previously ranked as my #1 worst coaster. This ride was better since I was in the front seat. Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on, but 90% of the ride was tolerable; it was just the final turn that was the killer. It makes me wonder if the groundhogs under the coaster might have something to do with the roughness?

Lightning Racer was also running in high-form today with it actually producing airtime in the tunnel and section after it. Shortest line of the day with a 5 minute wait to almost walk-on.

 

Wild Mouse had a ½ hour wait and is better than Dorney’s although they would occasionally have to stop the cars to give people time to get on.

 

From here I went over to Minetown and got a Chicken Parm. Sub at Gourmet Grille (which was like sex on a bun) then rode Reese’s with a 15 min wait. Scored 43,780 which wasn’t bad at all. I don’t think many people of the GP knew what RECC was and I have a feeling that this might have a downside on the ride in the future. I was asked by several people what this ride was and could hear many people wondering as well.

 

I then rode Monorail and Wave Swinger which each had a one cycle wait then decided to go hit Coal Cracker since I never get to ride it much since I usually come in the off-seasons. It had a 15 to 20 minute wait and it seems like it got much better since my last ride in 2006. The water level is much higher and the hump at the bottom of the drop scared the $h!t out of me!

 

Next I got on Falcon with a 5 min wait then decided to hit Trailblazer since I haven’t done it in ages. Ended up being a walk-on and has gotten smoother. From here I re-rode Fahrenheit at dusk in the front seat with an hour wait, rode Lightning Racer once with a walk-on, Storm Runner with a 10 minute wait, and Fahrenheit again with a ½ hour wait.

 

Since it was closing time, I got to refill my souvenir bottle at Crossroads Creamery and get a Candy Chaos (which is a medium soda cup filled with ice cream and layered with your favorite candy). It was huge for a small and made me wonder what the large was! I then walked to the Chocolate World parking booths for my roommate to pick me up then left.

 

To sum the visit up it was great and I has me contemplating on getting a season pass for next season to save money.

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Pretty much it's a good thing it's not raining today since everyone in the queue might've drowned from looking at this.

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I love how it rips around the track at a fast speed.

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Three train operation today. woo. :)

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It's better in the backseat. :p

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I ended up being like a magnet for every coaster I got on today because the line would always get 15 minutes longer after I got in line for it.

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Storm Runner didn't really seem like it had much of a line today. Could it be loosing it's claim over the park?

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One thing's for sure if it had a windshield that was dirty it would say...

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Nuff said.

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Only the suckers (like me)always ride this.

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It seems like the station is getting a coat of blue paint. Strange in my opinion.

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I never realized how much compacted everything is until I rode this today.

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Might now be the kind of the park anymore, but at least they're still selling the vintage "I Survived the Sooperdooperlooper" T-shirts ( I bought one).

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Oldie, but still a goodie. Hopefully Attraction 2012 will shave the waittime off of it. Speaking of which...

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This path used to be for the paddleboats, but once they closed up, this was pretty much blocked off to the public. If you go under the Comet through the railway's old tunnel there, a bulldozer is on the otherside as well as a stone trail, many markers (seen from Comet) and an old paddleboat. There's also a marker hidden amongst the dirt to the right of this picture.

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Can you see it?

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Here's another.

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And those markers previously in front of Tilt-A-Whirl? Looks like they goofed a little and re-did them last Friday.

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Oopsies! lol

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Let me introduce you to marker 9C. Appearently he is the outcast compared to all the other markers because he is located on the otherside of the creek and the furtherest away from all the other markers.

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Groundhogs are taking over Wildcat!

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Aww!

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No airtime, just a lot of rattling around.

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This, on the otherhand, is better.

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Oh, the Boardwalk was closed today, but some of the entertainment (like the Sea Lion Show) that wasn't scheduled to be open was going on.

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wanted to ride it, but now single riders allowed. :(

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Whirlwind is getting a bit bad too.

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This is pretty much the best Wild Mouse I've been on.

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Beautiful.

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Yes! Nailed it! Now if I was a few feet closer and had the Kissing Tower in the picture.

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Pretty much the worst and shortest log flume I've been on up until that drop. It easily ranks #2 on my list with Gadv's Log Jammer being #1.

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Dusk and night rides on Fahrenheit= Awesomeness.

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transfer track and control pannel porn.

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I like the new entrance signs although I wish this picture turned out better.

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And I'll leave you with a little teaser of the park's Christmas Candylane Event. I'll be back for Halloween for more sweetness so until then, Peace out! :)

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For a camera phone, these pics are pretty good. I can usually tell camera phone pics out pretty well but these are just as good of quality (or close to) a regular camera.

 

Looking at the one pic, I'm wondering if they could possibly make this go over the area where Comet's first drop ends and hill to the turnaround begins. Other than that, the only other way I can think would be is to make an opening just under the first drop and run it through there. I don't remember a bulldozer being around there back during my June trip, perhaps someone else around here can also confirm seeing this recently (or a month or two ago).

 

And I totally agree, Storm Runner is in desperate need of new paint. The thing has needed it now for the past season or two. I just love how they're repainting everything else but leaving this ride alone. And why would they be repainting Sidewinder's station's roof? That's the least of worries when it comes to fixing up the place.

 

As always, you have always provided good TR's. Can't wait to be there again on October 17th!

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Looks way more crowded than I would have expected but I guess the nice weather brought in crowds. Was Rollersoaker open? (I know it's part of the Boardwalk now but I wasn't sure if they kept it open until October).
Nope, but Tidal Force was open. If it was I probably would've ridden it to get my last credit needed there. The Boardwalk did stay open until late Spetember back in 2007 if I remember though.
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RECC = Reese's Extreme Cup Challenge - Goofy name for a rather goofy interactive dark ride.

 

 

It suffers a bit in the public eye because it's non-descriptive name, unobtrusive show building (on a strange part of the midway) and a lack of signage on the midway to attract guests to it. It's like PKD's Grizzly used to be, except it has no following or folklore that got people to seek it out. While it's not bad as shoot-em-up dark ride, it's not that great, either. I've always gotten off feeling as if I was dragged through some journey through extreme "marketing".

 

They probably would have been a lot better off if they had just opted for the typical haunted house motif. Otherwise, if they should go to better lengths to theming the exterior of the show building if they plan on attracting the crowd they probably want for the ride. (Also, don't overlook the idea of an indoor climate controlled queue for the place.) It's hard to believe the well-themed Boardwalk is in the same park.

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I just usually get off the ride thinking of it as laser tag and I just usually ride it just to see how high I can get my score. I don't really think there is much to tie the pre-ride video storyline into the actual ride though because it doesn't really hype me up or anything. The music is fun to listen to while waiting in line (which is kind of why I waited in the regular line instead of the single rider line), but most of the line is outdoors, but under a roof.

I could really either see them redoing the ride or just getting rid of it in the years to come. Most of the GP thinks it's a roller coaster too.

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^ That's pretty much the point where I start to question the storyline. On the theming side, Ghostwood Estate at Kennywood is better (even though I got e-stopped midway through the ride), but for scoring, you can reach much more points on RECC.

EDIT: Oh, since I'm drinking out of my souvenir cup now, I do have to say that they are the cheepest I've seen at $7.99 with .99 refills. While Six Flags offers free refills ($12.99 cup) for one day, this still is a better deal out of how much I took advantage of that.

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I'm surprised that Storm Runner was only a 15 minute wait for you. When I went there last month, it had the second longest wait behind Farenheit, because they kept one train in the station for what felt like an eternity, until the other train unloaded and loaded after the last ride, essentially making the ride a one train affair.

 

I agree that Wildcat is a bit rough, but was still fun for me. I can tolerate a little roughness on a woodie. Lightning Racer is way better though, I agree.

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I'm surprised that Storm Runner was only a 15 minute wait for you. When I went there last month, it had the second longest wait behind Farenheit, because they kept one train in the station for what felt like an eternity, until the other train unloaded and loaded after the last ride, essentially making the ride a one train affair.

 

I agree that Wildcat is a bit rough, but was still fun for me. I can tolerate a little roughness on a woodie. Lightning Racer is way better though, I agree.

 

I was suprised too. I remember when it was around a 1/2 hour wait time and was the most popular coaster in the park. Now it seems like Fahrenheit and Great Bear are beating it out now. While it was great, after riding Kingda ka it kind of made the launch seem less powerful.

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^ Personally, I think that's because a ride on Storm Runner ends before you get a chance to really enjoy it. In fact, I've never seen the appeal of Intamin Launch coasters like TTD or Kingda Ka. So many of them are just a launch, high hill, long drop...and that's it. That just seems to be the mentality with a lot of Steel Coasters since Magnum came along. "Who cares about the ride? Let's just climb em' and drop em' as far as we can. It's all about height!"

 

Meanwhile, you can get in line for Farenheit and have a much more fulfilling experience that most people seem to feel is worth the wait. Plus, with Great Bear, not only do you get a great custom designed Beemer, but you can also catch a short line for it, if you're lucky. As I said in my TR, Great Bear was a lot more exciting and wild than I remembered from last year.

 

Not only that, But Hershey's got three woodies, two good, and one that's really great. I've really grown to love wooden coasters as of late, because riding a good one makes you feel like you're on an adventure.

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