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 Review of Comet @ Hersheypark
0 Rating Posted by: Ferrari on 8/25/2001 7:49:00 PM
This is a fun classic woodie. I think it was Hersheys first coaster. It is not as wild or intense as Lighning Racer or Wildcat, but has more speed and much more airtime than they do. The Comet is enjoyable for riders of all ages and tastes. If you want a fun classic woodie that gives nice airtime, Comet is for you.
 

Review Comments

smk on 2/15/2002 11:22:52 AM said:
comet is hersheys oldest coaster still standing (c. 1940s) but its not hersheys first. the old wild cat (not the one thats there now) was built early 1900s and was removed long ago
SLFAKE on 6/10/2004 1:13:25 PM said:
The original Wild Cat (Originally called Joy Ride) ran from 1923 to 1945. Like the Comet, it was a Herb Schmeck design. It was an out and back and around 2300 feet long. Best as I can figure, the station was somewhere near where the Dolphin Show theater now is. After the station you dropped over the creek and the lift hill went up the hill near where the Pirat now sits. It looked to be a turn at the top of the lift hill that preceeded the first drop. From there it was a run along the ridge that Sidewinder, Storm Runner, and the Dry Gulch RR now stand. The turn around was somewhere near where Trail Blazer is. the return trip followed the ridge and then made a turn near the lift hill and send you back into the station.
There were a few stories about its demise... the most common is that it was in such bad repair after WWII (with the war effort, wood was used for other things than coaster maintenance) that it would have cost just as much to repair it as it would to tear it down and build a new coaster. Schmeck, who was said to be a perfectionist and was said to never really be happy with the Wildcats design, was put in charge of designing and over seeing construction of the new coaster that would replace Wildcat... that coaster was the Comet which has been running since 1946 to the present.
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