PTR: Hersheypark 6/13/-6/14

[Nitro1118]

After 4 years, I finally decided to make the long overdue trip back out to Hershey Park for a mini-vacation with my girlfriend. Originally, we were supposed to head out to Cedar Point, but had to back out for work/financial reasons. After a 3 hour drive from Monmouth County, NJ, we hit the park up for 2.5 hours on Monday night, then were there all day on Tuesday (with a 2 hour break at our hotel around dinner time).

 

Ride count:

 

Skyrush 6x

Lightning Racer 3x

Storm Runner 2x

Great Bear 2x

Comet 2x

SDL 2x

Fahrenheit 1x

Wildcat 1x

Laff Trak 1x

Wild Mouse 1x

Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge 1x

The Whip 1x

Skyway 1x

Chocolate Factory Tour 1x

Zooamerica 1x

 

Notes:

 

-As I mentioned in the Hersheypark thread, I liked Skyrush much better on this trip than during my 2012 trip, where I found it overrated. This time around, the pacing felt quicker, and I was in a better mood than the last go-around. The unnecessarily painful restraints (why can't Intamin just angle the lap bar for greater surface area on the leg?!?) still kill its marathon potential, and makes that last bunny hop a little brutal after the previous 30 seconds of thigh-crushing, but it is still an amazing ride. Intense ejector, quick pacing, and amazing laterals that really toss you around viciously in the winged seats. Cracked my top 5 steel and top 10 overall.

 

-Loved the vest upgrades on Storm Runner and Fahrenheit. It was my first experience with this variation from Intamin, and they definitely added to the ride experience for each. Crossing my fingers SFGAdv cracks open their wallets to get these on Kingda Ka. Anyway, both rides were running great. Fahrenheit is a quirky coaster with some cool elements and surprising intensity, and Storm Runner is still one of the more underrated/overlooked coasters out there.

 

-WTF happened to Wildcat?!? I haven't ridden it since 2007, and boy was it pretty awful today. The La-Z Boy Millenium Flyers made it tolerable, but some major work needs to be done to this ride.

 

-Lightning Racer is still running remarkably well for a 16 year old wooden coaster. Perfectly smooth for a wooden coaster and the racing element never gets old.

 

-Laff Trak was a bit disappointing. The outside of the building and queue were very well done, but the ride area was a little bland and the cars didn't spin much compared to other spinning mouse coasters. Solid addition, but that's about it.

 

-Zooamerica was another disappointment. I am severely spoiled by SFGAdv Safari, but Hershey's collection was very limited, presentation was kind of poor (hard to see a number of the habitats), and some of the enclosures seemed excessively small for the animals they were housing.

 

-I wish I had another day at the park to really dig in to their flat ride collection. They have a very good collection of flats, especially in terms of classic flats like the Whip and Flyers.

 

-Operations were a little shaky around the park. Most ops seemed disinterested and many coasters were stacking trains. Storm Runner had its back 2-3 cars completely blocked off for Fast Track users, whom I saw 0 of on either of my 2 rides. Skyrush went down to 1 train ops tonight. I will say, though, there was a ton of staff everywhere, and I noticed 0 closed attractions.

 

-Overall, had a great 1.5 days at the park. Hershey is a beautiful, well-rounded park with so much to do for every age group. I definitely can't wait to make it back out within the next couple of years.

 

Some pics...

[williamj2543]

Looks awesome! I think Hersheypark would be the #1 next theme park to visit, SFMM seems a bit too far just to go for that park but hersheypark is pretty close to me, and they have a very solid selection of rides.

[boldikus]

Great report and photos. Hershey is my #1 park and I need to get back!!!!

[Nitro1118]

Looks awesome! I think Hersheypark would be the #1 next theme park to visit, SFMM seems a bit too far just to go for that park but hersheypark is pretty close to me, and they have a very solid selection of rides.

 

Yeah, the ride selection at the park is exceptional. Big and versitile collection of coasters and a ton of flat rides. HP is definitely a must-visit for any enthusiast.

[TBpony414]

Hersheypark never gets old! They have a fantastic, well-rounded collection of rides for the entire family. They also have my favorite food options and it's a beautiful park with tons of flowers and nicely flowing paths. Glad you had a super time! If you haven't been to HP... GO NOW!