Hercules at Dorney Park

Does anybody enjoy the wooden Hercules at Dorney? In my opinion, all of the shaking on the turn after the first drop is why it's so fun. And why does it seem to go slow after the turn? The bunny hops at the end gave me great airtime and thus, caused me to give another go on the ride. This ride used to kill me back in '97, but I guess now, I found it more fun because I've gotten stronger over the years. :)

I liked it, but my dad cracked a rib on it and afterwards we had to figure out the nonviolent side of coasters so he wouldn't hurt himself anymore.
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RollerCoasters aren't my whole life... they just make my life whole

I'm glad someone else likes Hercules. I didn't find it as rough like others say and the drop and curve over water is awesome. I also recieved some airtime in the second half.

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"If we knew how safe roller coasters were, we'd lose their thrill" - Daniel Keller

It would be fun with out the brakes but since it had them it ruins the whole coaster.

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Ryan

I only rode it once and i really enjoyed it. i dont know why people hate it. i thought it was fun.... or maybe that was because i was missing school on a trip...

I think it would be great with some nice, *soft* padding. The junk on there now isn't much better than sitting on plain wood. Sometimes I find the ride ok, but most of the time it just plain hurts.

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The speed during the drop and turn around are definitley the highlight of the ride. Unfortunately, it has been so neutered by trims that it nows rides like a mine train with a 150 foot drop. There were points where I wasn't sure if the train had enough to make it back to the station.

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G's! They're what's for dinner!
*** This post was edited by Pale Rider 7/13/2003 4:58:23 PM ***

<Huge Hercules fan, but everyone here knows that by now. I too get air in the second half, you have to sit near the back to get any hint of it though. The reason why it is rather slow during the second half isn't because of the trims on the first drop like everyone thinks, its because the second hill (before the drop under the station) used to be much higher than what it is today. I have no clue why cedar fair lowered it. There used to be nice floater air on the drop under the station. Curtis Summers would be shocked at what they have done to his design. You can see where the hill used to go in this pic: http://www.eastcoaster.com/images/Dorney/2003/herccm.jpg

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"You know its a good ride when you come into the final brake run wiping tears from your eyes."

I dont like the ride at all, it is too "trimmy". The first drop would be one of the best on any woodie if it didnt have the trims....

I like Hercules. The drop and the turn are the best parts of course, the rest is ok. It does beat u up a lot but thats why the name of the coaster is Hercules! It's like a big muscle bound man beating the hell out of u! lol

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"If it's just us...seems like an awful waste of space." -Contact

I'd love to see the last turn before the station removed and turned into another drop down the hill, that would be a strong finish. Give it a GCI overhaul!

"Ow!" *Yawn*

The majority of people's experiences on Hercules can be described by the above two words.

"Burn It!!"

The majority of people's thoughts after a ride on Hercules can be described by the above two words.

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DorneyDante said:
The reason why it is rather slow during the second half isn't because of the trims on the first drop like everyone thinks, its because the second hill (before the drop under the station) used to be much higher than what it is today. I have no clue why cedar fair lowered it.

First off, I never heard that about the hill being redone. Not saying it never happened just saying I was unaware.

With that said, the quote above makes no sense if you understand physics in their most basic form. Lowering a drop midway through a ride wouldn't make the ride any slower after that point because you'd be going faster over a lower hill in the first place. After the first drop the ride has as much enegery as it's going to have. Period. A lowered drop just means you'll go over it quicker and the speed at the bottom would be exactly the same. (come on, physics geeks, help me out with an explanation here :) )

With that point made, the hill was probably lowered after the trims were added so that the slower moving train could make it over. I know right now, it feels dangerously close to stalling at times. If any of those hills were any higher, it wouldn't make it. Thus, I'm assuming the hill was lowered to accomodate lowered speed due to the trims.

So indeed the entire ride is slower courtesy of the trimmed drop.

I've had decent rides on Herc, but the bad ones outnumber them by roughly 10 to 1. I've never had a great ride. I still hop on once in a while and hope to get lucky, but usually wish I just skipped it.

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Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 13

Gonchor, did you look at the pic I posted. You can CLEARLY see where the hill used to go. Look at the second hill (the hill before the drop under the station).Do you see the supports that extend above the track. That is where the track used to go. What I forgot to mention in my other post is that that part of the ride is now host to a small section of brakes, that is why it is slower. The entire ride in general is slower because of all the brakes. Quote me on that, they did lower that hill. I'll try to find you more pics to confirm that cause I know your fairly new to Dorney.

Dante, been going to Dorney Park for 21 years. =)

Dante is right in that the second hill used to be higher (almost like a double up I believe).

-Danny

Thank you Danny :-)

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"You know its a good ride when you come into the final brake run wiping tears from your eyes."

I HATE Hercules. It is a rough, heavily trimmed, awkward piece of crap that offers little airtime. It is a good looking coaster, though (which you can pretty much say about most Curtis Summers coasters).

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"That's DOCTOR Evil. I didn't spend six years in evil medical school to be called 'Mr. Thank You Very Much.'"

Actually, I'm glad for the trims, it's rough enough at the speed it hits now.

I had no idea the second hill was redone. Of course, adding the trims would slow the train down enough that it might not clear the second hill, making the redesign necessary. Are there any pics out there that show it from before?

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Eastcoaster
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geneticfreak said:
Actually, I'm glad for the trims, it's rough enough at the speed it hits now.

That's NEVER a good reason to want trims.

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"That's DOCTOR Evil. I didn't spend six years in evil medical school to be called 'Mr. Thank You Very Much.'"

I remember enjoying my rides on Hercules. I haven't ridden it since 1999 so maybe my mind is blocking out the bad parts and only keeping the good parts.

I know I liked the little surprise beginning.

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