griffonj2022 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) So for 4th of July weekend my family and some friends decided to head down to Hersheypark to kick off our weeklong vacation. What a great idea.. We went for one day only, Sunday, but did the preview plan the night before and got in extra coaster riding time We managed to hit all the major rides that we wanted too, but missed out on some of the minor ones that I would've liked to ride, but wasn't that big a deal if I missed them. Below I have included a description of the coasters with the number of times ridden in bold, but if you just want to see pictures you can go ahead and skip down to them. Comet - 1 - This ride was pretty tame to me. While being over 50 years old, the ride was extremely smooth and not as rough as other coasters in the park *cough* Wildcat *cough*... The lift hill scares the crap out of me though, due to the fact that it looks like a "S" Nonetheless, it was a fun ride, but lacked the airtime I was expecting to get out of it. Got some great peeks at nearby construction as well Fahrenheit - 2 (1=night, 1=day) - The last time I rode this ride, I didn't like it at all. The forces, minimal airtime, and restraints being slammed into your thighs before you start made me dread stepping on it again. I was pleasantly surprised to find it running much better than my last visit when it opened, and I actually enjoyed it There was some good off the drop, fun twists though the inversions, and my favorite airtime hill with the extreme at the end of the ride. This one we rode at night and first thing the next morning; 40 minute wait at night, 20 the next morning. My only total concern was that in the back car it rattled really loud. I mean it was loud. Hope that doesn't mean anything bad! Great Bear - 2 (1=night, 1=day) - Anytime I have watched a B&M traverse the track before I have never seen the track or the supports move (unlike the Norwegian loop on Fahrenheit ) but walking into the park that first evening I realized that the track does give a little when the car goes by. First time realizing that.... but besides that, Great Bear was running very nice. I love any B&M invert, and this one is definitely one of my favorites even though it is pretty short in length. My only complaint would be the slowwww loading and unloading in the station. While they were running 2 trains, it could've been much quicker. Because of this, the max. we waited was about 30 minutes. Not too bad, but could've been much better.... Lightning Racer- 1 each side - 2 words: walk on! There was no wait, no line, no nothing but two roller coasters for riding. These are two of the smoothest wooden coasters I have ever ridden, and the interaction and racing between the two make them even better. The only thing that could've made them better was filling all the trains. I know that there wasn't anybody in the back of the park, but they could have opened up the 4 middle cars for riders to make capacity higher. Because they roped off the 4 cars, you had to wait for the next train to come around to hop on. Not that big of a deal though...OH! Can't forget about all of the sky blue supports surrounding the rides far side near the road. Big ones, small ones, and many many more were sitting there waiting for their placement at the front of the part. Can't waitttt!!!! Roller Soaker - 0 - Didn't ride...not worth my time. I didn't wanna be cold Sidewinder - 1 - This was my first, yeah first, Vekoma boomerang, and it was fine. The trains were nice and comfy, and the restraints reminded me so much of the ones on Manta and other B&M flyers. I got really dizzy once I hit the loop going backwards, but other than that the ride was the usual. Halfway through the day, the ride got stuck on the second lift as it was getting ready to drop the riders backwards (picture is below) and was there for about 20 minutes. Didn't go on it again after that! SooperDooperLooper - 3 - First time riding this one too! And it was a walk on! This is a classic Schwarzkopf looper with plenty of force on the loop and fun to keep the ride going. I didn't like the trim halfway though, that hurt, and I didn't like the slam into the station, but I love the interaction with Great Bear, Coal Cracker, the creek running throught the park, and a coming attraction... Storm Runner - 4 (1=night, 3=day) - I LOVE THIS RIDE.Period. It's my favorite in the park, favorite of all accelerators, and it's just all around good fun. As a bonus, there was literally no wait any time we rode. The first ride was at night, and it was dark. I was so excited after getting off my hands were shaking. I missed it apparently... Anyways, the next 3 times were the next day, and there was no line, no wait, and no stopping this ride. After the first ride, I remembered why I love it so much. The launch, the throw-you-out-of-yourseat airtime , the inversions, the flying snake dive, and then the whipping curves at the end, throwing you over into the break run. Can't forget about it's interaction with other rides too. Pure Intamin perfection. Trailblazer - 0 - Didn't even walk to the entrance Wild Mouse - 0 - Didn't ride this one either And I wanted too! Wildcat - 1 - I rode it once, and I liked it right up until the final turns and then I didn't. My back cracked without needing to go to a chiropractor...that's all Overall, the trip was successful, very hot, and very fun. My friends and I are planning a trip sometime this summer so I get to go again Can't wait... Now on to the pictures! ****I had to take out the construction shots because I forgot that you're not supposed to post them if you took them on the rides. Sorry But, I can explain what they were, right? There was a lot of small footers on the hillside where Comet's turnaround is after the first drop, with some of them being big, small, medium, but scattered all over that place. The main draw was a huge, appox. 30-40ft. tall support right in the middle of the previous creekbed. This thing was tall. I remember riding Comet and seeing it and going "WHOA" while riding around and staring at it Anyways, it was pretty cool to see. There are also TONS of supports off to the left of Lightning Racer's first hill and such. They were all sorts of sizes, but looked really cool. We didn't go on the road to see them, but I wanted too ADMIN EDIT: I went ahead and added the "Photo TR:" notation to your thread's title. Thanks for sharing this with us! -Thanks! Oooooh lookit! Time to get off the highway...finally Look at the cute little grass cube box things Yayyyy What's that off in the distance? Getting closer... Look...a gas station! Let's focus in on the Sienna window, not the roller coaster Whoops, foot shot FAIL A little better? Refurbishment? Or Happy 4th of July? Well good evening beautiful... Just imagine how different this will look in 9 months. Next morning... I got the butt. Preeetttyyyy loooopppp Through the tree.... Helixing...? That's better Attack of the giant tree leaves! I see you!!!! Inversion #1 I still see you! Right into another tree... And again...in the tree...why me? So they replace the huge hanging sign with this little one...I liked the big sign better :/ Well what does that look like?...a thumb that's it! X Low-capacity train crossing X Falling into the sign...ouch Start your engines...oh wait, wrong ride Into the sky...this part was cool at night Very photogenic What the heck is that big wire? Ah, screw it... These rides just like trees is all... I see you again!!! I like this picture for some reason... Tower shot! This time with a train and more track! That's better...'cept the dang tree is still there. I told you it got stuck...more coming soon! Edited July 12, 2011 by griffonj2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffonj2022 Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) Part II...woohoo Attempted panorama shot from far away...and it turned out okay! I like this shot...except for the tree AGAIN Ha...didn't dare set foot in this lazy river. Oh, pardon me, the Intercoastal Waterway Told ya these rides like trees. I wanted to ride this... Lightning Racer racing? Attempted iconic shot I loved this thing But the water is cooooold Rode this slide. Hurt my butt though because I sat up to early at the end and did a little hop, skip, and a jump on the water This looks neat doesn't it? Heating up while falling down Screwing again This is my favorite part! What is this?! Vandalism! Nah, just something beneath Great Bear is all... There's another one! What is with this... Oh, yeah, this is what it's for right? A scramble of steel Breaking out...haha Holy Grail? Possibly... I love you I like how this ride twists before it's fully straight. Kinda feels like it's gonna throw you out the side...but instead it throws you over the top! And as we leave the park...we still see Storm Runner peeking it's top hat at us. See you soon! BEST RIDE PHOTO EVARRRRRR..... Edited July 12, 2011 by griffonj2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08stien Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I probably could have figured this out by paying more attention to your report, but how much exactly did you get done during your preview night? I will be going in August and I'm trying to make a game plan for our preview night, which will be a Saturday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffonj2022 Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 We went on a Saturday night and got in at 7:30 because the park was open 'til 11. I think if the park closes earlier, you get in earlier, but I'm not sure so you might wanna check on that. We, having 2 12 year olds, headed right to Comet because it's the "first ride" when you walk into the park. That had about a 20 minute wait. Then we did SuperDooperLooper (0 minute wait ), Great Bear (25 minute wait) and then went to Fahrenheit. By then it was around 8:45 and Fahrenheit had a 45 minute wait. We did it, and it's worth it in the dark, but I hate how slow that line moves. We went to Storm Runner around 10:00, and by then the park was a ghost town, so that was a walk on in the back two cars. We didn't get to any of the wooden ones because it was getting "really late." Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, and Great Bear are all great for night-time rides, with Storm Runner being my favorite because there are practically no lights along the track. The launch feels extremely fast, the top hat feels like it's throwing you out into the park because you have no idea where you're going, and the rest of it is just so fast that you have no idea whether you're upside-down or not! I was shaking after I got off it I'm sure you can start in the back and work your way to the front, but it was 4th of July weekend when we went, and it wasn't extremely busy or empty, so I would assume any off day would be pretty quiet. The only busy place was the Boardwalk, which is a given on any hot summer day. So, overall, we did -Comet -SuperDooperLooper -Great Bear -Reese's Extreme Cup Challenge (5 minute wait) -Fahrenheit -Storm Runner Not too shabby for 3 hours I'd say! Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imawesome1124 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Nice TR of one of my favorite parks. But imo 3 hours is not enough time to fully enjoy the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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