Chet
Posts: 2922
Registered: 8/14/2003
Rank: Chilla Dude
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 6/13/2004 10:58:00 AM
Hey guys, i just got back from Hershey Park for Gannet Fleming's company picnic. It was free, so i went anyways even though i got on few rides. I didn't have time to look at 3r1c's tip, which would've helped me out a lot, but 5 rides is still pretty good, since we spent an hour at the picnic and waited for the tickets until 12:00. The 5 rides i went on, in order, are:
Great Bear,
Lightning Racer,
Storm runner (at lunchtime so it was a short queue)
Sidewinder,
Wildcat.
Great Bear, was as always, a great ride. The queue was an hour wait, but it was worth it. I sat on the end in the third row, and my cousin was freaking out, and he's 25. That helix before the drop is my favorite element on any inverted coaster i was ever on, because of the extreme g's. The drop is alright, a good change from twisting drops, and the loop is huge! I liked the immelman because it is really unexpected and i got a good laugh out of my cousin's face when we went around it. That zero-g to the right is a good change from the origonal, and the straight spot over the lake is a good view. The flat spin cause my head to bang off the restraints frequently, which i thought was strange. I'd give this ride a 4.2 out of 5.
After we got off this ride, we went to Gannet Fleming's picnic. All the food there was really good. After an hour of staying there, we went towards the back of the park, which we heard was dead. It was only a 10 minute wait for Lightning Racer.
Lightning Racer was always one of my favorites at hershey, and it still is. It is so long and fun to interact with another car. It was my only dueling coaster where the cars both run at the same time (B&R:TC and RT at SFGAdv) We lost, as Lightning seemed to be winning all the time and we were on thunder. 4.0 out of 5.
I really wanted to go on the mouse after we went on this, but the group I was with insisted on going to Storm Runner at lunchtime, since it wouldn't be crowded. well, it was crowded. 1:15 hours we waited there. I didn't bother for the front, but it was the best ride in the park nonetheless. My cousin was more scared on this than the great bear, as i was too. The launch just freaks me out, even though this was the 3rd time i was riding this. NOW GET READY, HERE WE GO! Is, as my cousin would call it, his last words. Guhbye. You are thrusted out of there so fast you don't know which way is which. Then, up and down (straight down.) the tophat. I put my arms up on that, and it was a great experience. The cobra loop made my dad scream for the first time ever on a coaster, and he went on Millennium Force. Up the camelback into a roll/ flying snake dive was one of the key elements in this ride that gives it its #2 spot on my top 10. A couple headbanging turns and it's back into the station. A 4.8 out of 5 for me. They need to get new restraints, a photo center, and fix those turns at the end.
Wow, my legs were rubber when i got off that ride, and i didn't want to wait long for Sidewinder. It moved slow, so it took an hour. A standard boomerang, but high nonetheless if you're in the back. I hate the Cobra roll going backwards. It gives me headbanging. 3.4 out of 5 for me.
After that, we headed towards the restroom, and then got some Dippin' Dots, which i never missed at a park that has them. Then, we went on the Wildcat.
I see that this is GCI's first coaster, and I believe it. There's unreliable restraints, which went up without the ride ops doing anything in the station twice, there's brakes that squeak like no other, and headbanging that would make you forget that you were supposed to be on a fun roller coaster. This has to be down there with Viper at SFGAdv. A 1.4 out of 5 for me, and a big
 for GCI for even thinking of making something like this.
We went back to meet our parents by the comet, which had a 40 minute wait, so we didn't bother. We just went home at 6:10. My legs are still tired from yesterday. I'll give this park a 4.4 out of 5, so it's worth t
Message updated 6/13/2004 11:12:00 AM by Chet
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