fergusonat
Posts: 813
Registered: 5/2/2005
Rank: Gold Critic
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 7/24/2005 12:13:30 AM
Hershey Park
Wednesday July 13th, 2005
8:00 AM
We set the alarm at 8:00 that morning, just so we could have enough time to head down the complimentary continental breakfast our hotel had to offer. I, unlike my dad, had no appetite. I was ready for Hershey Park. So after shoving a few muffins and a glass of orange juice down my throat, we hopped in the car and took off for Hershey at around 8:30 AM. The drive seemed as if it would fly by, especially after the grueling 5-hour drive we endured just the day before to first get to Dorney Park. This drive was a measly hour, how long could it be? I would soon find out that this one-hour drive would become one of the longest hours of my life.
A brief stop at Hamburg at a gas station and a few packs of crackers later, we finally came upon Hershey Park’s skyline. Before us stood the looming forms of Lightning Racer, along with the forbidding mass of tangled wood that Wildcat is comprised of. Day two of my Pennsylvania trip had begun, and I could smell it in the air. No really…the air smelled delicious. After all, we were in Hershey, PA, the sweetest place on earth. I was really taken back by how pungent to aroma of chocolate was in the air. Of course I expected it to smell, but I had no idea it would be so strong. With our windows down breathing the chocolate-air in greedily, we passed into the park’s parking lot and found a nice spot nestled quite close to the entrance. Walking along the parking lot and heading towards Tudor Square, we ran into a guy selling a ticket for 20 bucks. He seemed like an honest guy, so we paid him and saved 19 bucks. We then waited at the ticket booths until they opened. It was only about 9:30, so we had a while to wait still.
http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/7729/p10111734dz.jpg
Opening time finally rolled around, and we bought our other ticket and entered the park. With the stomach-tugging aroma still in my nostrils, I instantly headed for Storm Runner, following both the signs and the rest of the crowd who apparently were going there too. I ran ahead and jumped in line, the front row almost a walk-on. What an exhilarating ride Storm Runner is…insane launch and great airtime cresting the tophat. Then there’s the matter of the Flying-Snake-Dive, a fantastic maneuver that truly makes it seem that you are trying to tame a wild horse. Great ride…great enough for another ride of course. And so I took advantage of the short wait and rode again in the front seat, still just as insane as the first ride. Sure PKD is the launch-capital of the world, but in my mind, Storm Runner’s launch puts all of them to shame, even Hypersonic’s…
http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/9869/p10111790xm.jpg
After my shot at taming vertical-horsepower, I took a spin on Sidewinder. I had heard so many horrible things about Vekoma Boomerangs that I had just about the lowest expectations for this ride. While it was far from the smoothest ride out there, it was entirely bearable and even kind of fun…Even still, I wasn’t compelled to ride it again. It was on to Midway America, within it’s holy borders two amazing GCI creations. First up, Lightning Racer!
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/8763/p10112353za.jpg
The first thing I noticed was the impressive station that the ride had…insanely huge. It looked like a freaking mansion. This time, my dad tagged along, although a bit shaken by the daunting layout that the ride had. We headed to the front of Thunder, a walk-on. The lines were so short that they had all the middle seats closed off and just the first two and back two seats were available. The ride turned out to be fantastic, both smooth, unpredictable, and intense. The racing/dueling effect really was awesome, especially how everybody really gets into it. Now, the occasional birds being flipped at the opposing train took away from the experience, but the furious layout and decent airtime was insane. We won our first race by li
Message updated 7/24/2005 12:14:36 AM by fergusonat
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