Hersheypark

Visited: August 11, 2023

Attending: Brian, Kate, Steven, Jude, Alex (for a bit)

I had suggested to my sister Kate that we should do a HersheyPark trip this summer, since I had a season pass with the attendant perks. Kate and her family live in New Jersey, so they hadn’t been to Hershey in quite a long time. They are, however, Disney experts, and they brought some of that Disney mojo and determination to this trip. I got everybody bring-a-friend tickets with Sweet Start, and although we tried to get there as close to 9 as possible, it ended up being more like 9:45. I also got boxed out of the closest parking spots because of a concert at the stadium that I knew nothing about. The day turned out to be not terribly hot, but it was really crowded for a Friday. Fortunately, some crowd-dodging tricks were effective. Jude is a relatively new enthusiast (and a 9-year-old), so I had a “mild to wild” plan ready, although he was pretty game for most anything.

Comet

After making our way through the entrance, I took us down the secret path along the creek to the Hollow. We got an awfully good look at Skyrush, but that wasn’t our goal for today. The plan was to hit up the Comet first, before the crowds got nasty. By my recollection, Kate rode the Comet back in 1990, although she says she doesn’t remember. As usual, the Comet delivered quality, with some rumble and a little airtime. It was maybe a little rougher than I remembered, but it gets a pass due to its age. The important thing was that Jude liked it.

SooperDooperLooper

The Looper is right next door, and Jude pronounced himself ready for an inversion, so we did that next. Although he was ready, he did have some trepidation. I’ve found that before their first loop, everybody expects to feel the pull of gravity, and there’s no way to talk them out of that before they try it. Still, it went about as expected. The star of the show is the loop, but the helix at the end isn’t anything to sneeze at either.

Jolly Rancher Remix

From there, we proceeded to Jolly Rancher. A boomerang may be a bit of a step up from the Looper, but it’s the next logical progression if you’re going to stick with inversions. Jude decided to ride with me this time, so I took a seat in the middle of the train for safety. I’m not sure I’ve ever done a boomerang from the middle before; there was a definite reduction in the amount of strange forces. The backwards climb was a bit higher than I thought, and there’s always some tension before the drop, but that was cool. The cobra roll had a little bit of jank on it, especially backwards, but nothing major. The tunnel remains kind of a disappointment. There’s a bit of fog, but I certainly can’t smell anything.

At this point, it was a bit after noon, and we’d gotten three credits; a fine start. We decided to break for lunch at the BBQ restaurant near Trailblazer. Which was a good opportunity to discover that Trailblazer was closed. That’s where I would have started, really, but clearly the point was moot. Alex also joined up with us around this point.

Wild Mouse

I don’t know if the Wild Mouse was strictly necessary at this point, but Jude was a bit height-limited, so I wanted him to go on whatever he could. As we now had a group of five, Kate and Steven took one car, while Alex, Jude, and I took another. Kate and Steven were not ready for the forces a wild mouse puts on an adult body (I did warn them), and I think they disliked it strongly. Alex was experiencing it for the first time at adult height, so I think that surprised him as well. Jude seemed to think it was very funny. I don’t find these things pleasant, but I wasn’t really riding it for me, so that’s all fine.

Laff Trakk

Laff Trakk is the only coaster at Hershey that I’d never ridden, because the line is always absurdly long. It was today as well, but we just decided to stick it out (Alex eventually bailed in search of food). All I knew about this was that it was a compact, indoor, spinning coaster. I expected a spinning wild mouse, but I was mistaken about that. It’s still compact, on a wild mouse footprint, but it doesn’t have all the switchbacks. The spinning also wasn’t very intense, so I was able to enjoy it, much like I did Time Traveler. It’s indoors, and therefore dark, but it also has a number of well-lit props and decorations, which enabled me to see the path fairly well. I’d be happy to ride this again, if I ever see it without a line. I think this was Kate’s favorite ride of the day.

After that, we rejoined Alex in front of Wildcat. Steven very much wanted to ride it, Alex was game, and it has a 48” height restriction, so Jude could as well. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised at that, and I thought it would be a substantial jump upward from where we were. I made sure everybody tried the test seat to see if they’d feel secure, and they all liked it. However, once we got to a point where we could see the whole track, and specifically the vertical drop, Jude changed his mind. Honestly, I think that was probably the right call. Given universal trepidation, we all bailed on Wildcat this time. Fine with me; I was expecting more rides on it later in the year.

Lightning Racer

With Wildcat disposed of, we headed to the back of the park for Lightning Racer, which I thought was a good next step on the mild-to-wild trail. Jude was initially uncertain, but I suggested we split the party for a race, and that seemed to appeal. Kate and Jude went for Thunder (left) while Steven and I took Lightning (right). It’s a rumbly ride, but lots of fun, and with the GCI twister layout, there’s lots of opportunities for interaction. Much like last time I rode, having someone on the other train to wave at increases the enjoyment. Thunder won the race, by the way.

Jude liked it so much that we all went around again, except for Kate. Although there was a fair bit of line, it moved swiftly, because they were running two trains on each side. We all went for Thunder this time around, which is pretty much the same ride, in my opinion. I don’t think one is superior to the other. Jude proclaimed this the best coaster he rode that day, and I think that’s a good assessment. The mild-to-wild trip stopped at this point, but I think that’s great progress.

Great Bear

We headed back toward the front of the park, and stopped to ride the Ferris wheel and the Pirate ship (I passed on that one). We took a break and bought some lemonades, which were excellent, and then we rode Coal Cracker. None of that is a coaster, so I’ll not go into detail. Great Bear is right by Coal Cracker, so we went over there next. Jude was below the height limit, which kind of surprised me, but he was feeling done for the day. Steven and I went on it while Kate and Jude visited the Kissing Tower and the antique cars. I talked Steven into waiting for the front row, which I knew was a bit of a risk, but I hoped it would pay off. I admit that there are better inverts in the world than Great Bear, but I really am fond of it. The initial helix provides great views, as does the drop. I admit there’s a bit of a dead space along the creek as it heads back toward the brakes, but I’m fine with that. The good news is that Steven enjoyed it quite a bit, and I was able to explain why B&M coasters are known for smoothness. That was a positive all-round.

Candymonium

At this point, we got some dinner at the Overlook (disappointing) and then went over to Simply Chocolate for a Milkshake The Size Of Your Head. One of them, anyway. I let Kate and Jude get one while Steven and I abstained. It’s visually impressive and certainly worth it. By this point, the sun was starting to set, so we headed back toward the front.

Steven had been interested in Candymonium from the start, which makes sense. It’s right in the front of the park, it’s huge, and it looks like fun. Kate had been unhappy that the coasters we’d ridden beat her up a bit, and I suggested loosening up and going with the flow more than she had been. To encourage that, and because Jude isn’t tall enough yet, I suggested that Steven and Kate ride while Jude and I checked out the gift shop. So this entry isn’t about me. Both of them got off raving about the experience. I’m not sure where in the train they were, but Kate was able to relax more, and they both reported experiencing good floater airtime. I think I’ve made two new B&M fans. That makes me happy.

I kinda forgot that once you enter the gift shop, you can’t get back into the park; oops. We planned on visiting Chocolate World, so we didn’t buy anything at that time. Unfortunately, Chocolate World was closed, and it was after eight, so we decided to be done for the day. There was one last surprise, though: the concert I mentioned earlier was Guns ‘n Roses, and it was in full swing as we left. It’s an open stadium, so we could certainly hear, although not the best quality. However, you could see straight onto the stage from the side, and that’s where I’d parked, so we got treated to “Welcome to the Jungle” while I hunted for the car.