TR: HersheyPark 8/17/ 10

[Movieguy]

I'm a bit late in doing this, but I've been very busy, plus I'm not too happy with many of the photos I got, since I forgot to have the flash on my camera turned on for a lot of them. There may be an onride photo or two coming if I remember how to use the scanner downstairs, so stay tuned.

 

I brought my Mom and My sister with me this time, the latter of the two now attending her first year of college at NYU. We thought this would be a nice way to spend the latter part of the summer, and for the most part, we were correct.

 

We left our home in the morning on the 16th, and drove down in my Chevy. Mom drove the first leg to Scranton, and I drove the rest of the way. We stopped at our Hotel, the Hampton Inn, in Hershey itself, before we settled in, and went of to have dinner. We found a place called "What If..." which has to be one of the finest places I've ever eaten at. Definitely go there if you haven't already.

 

After dinner, I dropped the two women off at the outlet mall nearby, and went to the park to buy my ticket for the next day. Doing that, I got in for the night for free, so I went to that nice arcade in Minetown, played a few games, and even got in a quick ride on the Superdooperlooper, before finally leaving, and picking up my Mom and Sis, then returning to the hotel.

 

The next day was a perfect one for the park, as we headed to Chocolate World first, and went on the Tour. After riding and having our free chocolate, we went into the park, and got in line for Comet. About 30 minutes later, we got on the coaster, and loved every second of it. "Now THAT's a coaster..." My mom said as we got off.

 

After that, we split up, as my sister and I got in line for Farenheit. It was a long wait, but the line constantly moved, which I like. Plus, security really seemed to be on the ball, when it came to catching line jumpers. After about an hour, we got on, and my sister loved it, just like I knew she would.

 

Then, upon our completion of the corndog and water bottle we each got, my sister went off with my Mom, and I went to get in line for Storm Runner. This was the one blight on our visit...I got on this coaster the first time that day, and enjoyed it, but when we came back to the park later, after having dinner at a nearby Red Robin, the line was much longer, and hardly ever moved. I was determined to get my sister on this coaster as well, as we finally got into the station and noticed something...

 

What I saw was a fully loaded train on one side, that didn't dispatch for nearly an eternity. It was only until the other train returned and began unloading/loading that it was finally dispatch. I wondered out loud what was going on, as a ride op explained that what they were doing was the current policy with this ride...which I think is complete BS, and defeats the purpose of having two loading stations...but, I kept waiting.

 

Then, the ride broke...just as the two of us were getting in line for one of the trains. I just said, screw this, there are other coasters we need to get on before the park closes, an opinion my sister shared fully, and we walked out of the line.

 

I mean, What the hell, Hershey? To think I used to sing your praises on how well you run your park...now you go and put up some BS regulations regarding one of your biggest coasters, significantly lowering its through-put, and hardly batting an eye about it. I expect this crap from Six Flags, or any park in New York State, but not from you guys.

 

Anyway, rant over...

 

Whatever sour feelings Storm Runner gave me, were quickly washed away when my Sister and I reached Lightning Racer. While I simply liked this coaster on my last visit, I found it extraordinarily awesome this time around. It's too bad I only had time to ride it once, because it was easily the best woodie of the park, and had the shortest wait to boot.

 

After Lightning Racer, My sister and I split off, allowing me to ride Wildcat next, another decent woodie, and then The Great Bear as my last coaster of the trip. I don't know what it was, maybe the fact that I rode it at night, but again, Great Bear was more wild and exhilarating than I recalled from my last trip. It was a great way to finish off my coaster riding, before I joined my family at the Minetown arcade once again. My mom loved all the Skee-ball games, and my sister played the hell out of the ticket games. There was one based on the game "Operation" which she absolutely loved. We each got a bag of goodies with our respective tickets, and finally left.

 

On the last day, we went to the Hershey Story museum, then back to chocolate world for a final ride on the tour. I then got myself a big case of Reese's Fast Break bars (Which I'm still going through now!) and walked out with my family and the souvenirs they had gotten. After having a nice filling meal at the Cracker Barrel in Harrisburg, we finally drove off for home.

 

That's it. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Herhsey's a really nice place, but it's big, easy to get lost in, and I'm not getting any younger! I think I'll go back to a smaller place I've enjoyed in the past, like Kennywood or Knoebels, for my next summer vacation.