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| In case you didn't know where you were. |
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| This place looks like fun. |
After many years of hearing how great this park was and looking at the parks incredible list of roller coasters I knew I had to visit. I finally had the opportunity so I made the 823 mile, 12 and a half hour journey to the park. I visited the park on Wednesday, June 19th, 2013. It was a beautiful day, partly cloudy, and right around 80 degrees. It wasn't hot at all which made for an incredible day. Also, the park wasn't crowded at all so I was able to wait no more than 15 minutes for most rides. There were a lot of people at the park but for some reason it didn't feel like the park was overly congested. Hersheypark was the first new to me park I had visited since 2007 so needless to say I was very excited (picture below proves this).
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| Yeah, I'm excited! |
The park boasts 11 roller coasters (now 12), over 50 rides, Chocolate World, Zoo America, and The Boardwalk (water park). The layout of the park can be a bit tricky so having a map handy would help. When I visited I was too excited to grab a map let alone look at one. I already knew which roller coaster I wanted to hit first so I just asked people where to go and they were nice enough to let me know. I managed to ride all 11 roller coasters at the park and some of them multiple times. I was able to get a total of 36 rides in from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm while I was there. I would say that is a huge success. My trip to Hersheypark was strictly a roller coaster trip so I only rode the coasters and no other rides. Believe me, the coasters alone are worth a trip to Hersheypark and the other rides are just icing on the cake.
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| I mean even the lights are Hershey Kisses. |
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| This band was awesome! |
As I was wondering around the park I noticed some cool characters including the band playing tunes for the midway (which I thought was awesome by the way). But first let me introduce you to a couple of cool characters pictured below. When I saw these guys I thought instantly of Bri and how much she would love meeting these. They looked great and put a smile on my face.
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| I see you Symphony bar and Payday! |
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| This guy is a nut! |
This is what my day looked like in order ride-wise (including how many times I rode each ride) when I visited Hersheypark:
4x Fahrenheit - This is a great coaster. It's smooth, has six inversions, a 97 degree drop, a great air time hill, and it's just plain fun. Word of advice: Visit this coaster when the park opens due to lower capacity and you can get multiple rides on it.
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| 97 degree drop |
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| Twisty! |
Sidewinder - This is a boomerang coaster that's just ok. It was good for one ride only (haha).
4x Stormrunner - Yeah, um, awesome! One of the parks best coasters and easy to ride. Smooth and fast. Zero to 72 mph in 2 seconds! That's all you need to know.
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| 0-72 mph in 2 seconds |
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| Wow |
Great Bear - Great inverted coaster with a helix style drop! Smooth, fast, and fun. I also love how it flys by the river at high speeds.
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| Fly by the river |
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| Helix Drop and Inversions |
Trailblazer - Typical mine ride coaster with nice landscaping.
Great ride for younger kids but not for thrill seekers.
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| It sure does look pretty. |
Mad Mouse - One of the best back and forth mouse coasters I've ever been on. I'm normally not a fan of these type of coasters but this one was thrilling and fun. Sorry no pictures of this one.
2x Wildcat - My first ride on this was in the front car and fairly smooth so I figured I would ride again since there was next to no wait. Yeah this time around I grabbed a seat in the middle of the train and it was pretty rough.
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| Don't let its looks fool you. |
4x Lightning Racer - This is a racing wooden roller coaster (which means two coasters in one) and honestly one of the best (if not THE best) racing coasters ever built. I'm not kidding. It is two wooden tracks. They have one side lightning the other side thunder and they are both equally as fun. It is very smooth for being a wooden coaster, with many air time hills, and, AND an incredible tunnel filled with moments of surprise. Yeah this coaster kicks some serious butt. I'm sad this is the only picture I have to showcase this great coaster.
Pretzel and Drink Break - I had already spent probably over four hours at the park and I was getting a little hungry and thirsty. So here comes my word of advice to the park goer. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on food at the park but need something to eat I suggest getting a pretzel (cheese sauce optional) because they are usually very good and filling. They can also be bought for around $5 which is usually half the price of a full meal. As you can see from the picture below I was so hungry I started eating my pretzel before I took the time to snap the pic. Also, this park serves Pepsi products which is a win! That means Mountain Dew! "I'm all jacked up on Mnt Dew!"
2x Skyrush - It was time. Time to ride Hersheyparks newest and highly touted coaster. Let me start by saying this may be the most intense roller coaster I have ever ridden. Yeah, I said it. It's 200 feet tall and has an 85 degree drop while reaching speeds of 75 mph. The drop has ejector air (refer to my other post about what makes a coaster great for the defined term) and you feel like you are going to be thrown from the train. Now I know that sounds scary but really it's pretty fantastic (haha). The whole course of track is fast, fast, fast, and more fast with incredible amounts of ejector airtime everywhere. It's like a surprise moment on every turn. Before you know it you are hitting the break run with a look of shock on your face (as in did that just happen).
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| Skyrush reaching towards the Sky |
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| Towers over the front of the park. |
2x Sooperdooperlooper - Just when you thought the coasters at Hersheypark couldn't still deliver. Well they do. This is a great ride and features only one inversion but it is smooth fast and has a unique layout with a neat tunnel. It would be a great ride for a kid who has never been on a coaster with an inversion. Wish I had some pictures of this.
4x Skyrush - The last coaster I rode was really close to Skyrush so I thought I would just get some more rides on this awesome coaster since there was next to no line. Earlier in the day (at park opening) everyone heads to Skyrush which makes the lines pretty long. During mid-afternoon on a day like today the line is no longer than 15 minutes.
Comet - This was the longest line of the day due to one train operations. I waited around 20-30 minutes for this coaster. It was built in 1946 so a great classic wooden out and back ride. It was very smooth and provided a great and fun ride. There were some nice hills and plenty of air time. I just wish I could have ridden it more. Yet another great roller coaster at Hersheypark.
Park Scenery - The park was really beautiful in most places. I was only in the park for eight hours so I didn't even get to tour the Zoo America section which I hear is very nice. The Boardwalk (water park) area is also looked nice. Here are some pictures of the landscape of the park.
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| Looks nice |
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| Train ride and foilage |
2x Great Bear - The line wasn't long and I wanted to get a few more rides in on this great (no pun intended) coaster. In the picture below you can see four of the parks roller coasters. Hersheypark does a great job utilizing space. The Comet's lift hill can be seen to the right as well as Skyrush's lift hill. You can also see a Sooperdooperlooper train on the brake run and Great Bear soaring over it.
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| Four coasters in one shot! |
Wildcat - This was a mistake (haha). I was on my way back to ride Lightning Racer again (located in the back of the park) and I stopped at this and rode for a third time since there wasn't much of a wait. Another rough ride and I ended up not riding Lightning Racer again because it was getting late and I wanted more rides on Skyrush.
6x Skyrush - I closed this incredible day with six straight rides on this. It would have been more if I didn't have to leave and journey to another park. This coaster is number five in my rankings. I loved it. It was so intense that it was almost as if it couldn't be possible. The outer wing seats were spectacular and if you didn't have the restraint holding you in you would be thrown into the parking lot.
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| Skyrush station and winged trains. |
I was very fortunate to visit this park on an uncrowded day with amazing weather. I have already been urging Ashley for us to plan a trip with Bri to the park next year. I would like to experience more of the park like Chocolate World (which I hear is awesome), Zoo America, and The Boardwalk. Eight hours is just not enough time in this park. I will say it again. This park has one of the best overall collections of roller coasters out of any park I have been to. The only park that can even compare to it is Cedar Point. They have seven coasters in my top 50 rankings if that is any indication. So, if you like chocolate, riding great rides, meeting Hershey characters, listening to the Chocolate Covered Band, riding some thrilling roller coasters, then this place is for you. It is a must visit park.
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| I had a wonderful visit! |
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