Hercules

I get the feeling that Hurcules wasn't a very popular coaster. Unfortunatly I never myself had the oppertunity to ride, and would like to hear stories from any who have?

You mean Hurt me please..

Very rough,thats why its not there anymore,ranks up there with SOB.

does the nickname Hurt-Your-Knees seem familiar ;) Sure it looked cool, but ouch. lol. It wasn't horrible really, I didn't think so, just definitly not comfortable.

***lol to the above, got to it first with the nicknames! *** Edited 8/12/2006 3:47:33 AM UTC by P18***

I didn't think it was horrible either. It could be horrible and often times was, but it could also be pathetically average.

The problem is that it was never good. :)

Does anybody agree with me that the Wildcat at Hershey is rough? I am a season pass holder, there weekly, and have only ridden it twice this season.

What does Wildcat have to do with Dorney?

why do people have to be analitical @$$holes instead of just carring a decent flowing conversation?

Why did you change to topic from Dorney to Hershey a mere 3 replies and 12 minutes after starting this thread instead of letting the conversation about Hercules flow?

Oh, and I'd watch the language if I were you.

Yeah, no need to get defensive and crappy about things. :)

Wildcat at Hershey is one of my least favorite coasters - I find it VERY rough. Luckily one of the best woodies around is a short walk down the midway.

I apologize about language, the comment just rubbed me wrong. All I was pointing out was When I hear the descriptions of rough they told of me, I thought wow, that sounds like the Wildcat and I wanted to see if anybody agreed

Dorney's Hercules had two speeds:

Rough and Almost Stalled.

Believe it or not, around 1990 or so, Hercules was a decent coaster. I don't remember many details about it, mostly the big drop toward the lake and turnaround over the water. But I also remember being extremely disappointed when I rode it again years later-- gee I THOUGHT this was a good ride.

I rode it. It sucked. I didn't ride it again. The end. :)

I rode Hercules back in 2001. I didn't find it too rough (it was somewhat rough, but not to the point of discomfort). However, aside from the surprisingly fast and smooth stretch leading from the station to the lift and the decent first drop (actually helped, IMO, by the trim brake at the top; it gave more time to look at your fate 150 feet down), the rest of the ride was underwhelming. I liked the use of the terrain, but it was just dull. No airtime, laterals, or even sustained speed.

I didn't find Hurcules rough, just amazingly boring.

Then again, Hershey's Wildcat is one of my favorites, and Mean Streak's been giving good rides this year.

I rode Hercules the year it opened and I thought it was GREAT! The turn over the lake was intense and the rest of the ride was alright. The key was there wasn't a single trim on the ride.

The speed was the key to me. The greater speed helped the ride immensely.

I made a special trip to Dorney to ride it again 3 or 4 years later and I was shocked at how bad the ride was. The trims made everything after the turn horribly slow, and boring. The age also started to cause the ride to get rougher.

I honestly don't think the ride would have been torn down if it was in the state it was when it opened.

Hercules was great, I loved it and thought it was WAY better than Hydra. I just plain love woodies to begin with I guess. Wildcat and Meanstreak are 2 of my favorites too.

I rode it the first year too. With PTC trailered trains and virgin Dinn track, the turn over the lake at the bottom of the first drop added new meaning to the term "Dinn Shuffle." But the speed was good and the drop under the station was very good. I thought it had too many right hand turns, but it was a pretty decent coaster. When CF added the trim brake and reprofiled the drop under the station they sucked all the excitement out of it.

They did do the right thing by changing the angle of the curve over the lake, it tracked much better after that. Unfortunately, for various reasons, they still kept the trim brake on the first drop.

Hercules was a good ride when it opened, some like myself would say it was great. SVLFever hit the nail on the head with the idea about speed. Hercules wasn't designed with many drops. It was designed as a terrain coaster that relied primarily on it speed and strength to woo riders and that is what it was known for in in the early years. Think The Beast and how it races over the terrain not really maneuvering any big drops. When you take away its speed, your not left with a whole lot to impress you other than the prelift turn, the massive drop and lake turn. The rest of the ride suffers the most from the speed reduction. I remember flying through those turnarounds at one point in time. I remember the airtime going under the station. If anyone can find an onride POV from Hercules in its early years, you can see for yourself how fast the ride used to go.

Moral: Good idea, bad engineering, unique layout, tragic fate, legendary ride *** Edited 8/12/2006 3:27:03 PM UTC by DorneyDante***

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Jeffrey Seifert said:
I rode it the first year too. With PTC trailered trains and virgin Dinn track, the turn over the lake at the bottom of the first drop added new meaning to the term "Dinn Shuffle.".

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The Dinn Shuffle,is there any coaster he designed that dont do that?

IMO the only good coaster he designed was the Beast.