Hercules Remembered

Sorry for digging this up everyone, but I hadn't heard the news (been extremely busy with school recently) about Hercules. I'm a huge coaster nut and have had season passes to Dorney in 01' and '02. Just last weekend I made the trek out to DP for one last hurrah before the season's end, completely unaware of Hercules already decided fate. As usual, I hopped on Talon first thing and then proceeded to make my way over to Hercules only to find the entrance bordered up. I was in complete shock. First chance I had, I did a search online and came across this thread. I don't know why I haven't already registered here. 'Been reading Dorney threads all afternoon.

On topic, I live in central NJ and while I was a young child at the time I remember all the fanfare associated the debut of Hercules. There were all kinds of articles in all the local papers -not advertisements but articles of praise and awe, most with pictures of the big drop -h*ll, that's better than the best advertising money can buy. It really was ALL the hype.

Rob, don't get me wrong here, Thunderhawk/ Coaster is unquestionably the better coaster (my DP favorite by far, even with the trim brakes :-/ ) of the two. And while I was too young to have visited Dorney before Hercules, I can only imagine that DP must have been widely reknown for it (Thunderhawk).

OK, so maybe Cedar Fair was looking to buy regardless of Hercules, but I can't help thinking that it helped influence their decision. On one hand, I'm very happy that CF bought the park as they preserved a valuable piece of history that may have otherwise been dozed to make way for a lot of townhouses -not to mention all the countless big-ticket coasters and thrill rides they've brought to the park. However, there's this part of me that misses the pre-CF Dorney of my childhood. I only wish that CF would have preserved the quaint charm of the park I remember. The first time I returned to the park in 2000 (since 1990) I was horrified... the lower midway was nearly unrecognizable.

That said, I look forward to posting in the future. Hercules will be missed.

-Travis

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CoastaPlaya said:
No matter *how* much you *try* to *subliminally* contact the *Human Assterisk*, rollergator will *not* come to *your* aid. You'll only *strain* your ***right pinkie*** reaching for the *shift* key.

Now *cut* that *out*. I mean *this* out. *Whatever.*

-CO

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gotcha

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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003

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Rob Ascough said:
How very true, although I can't say that I could have imagined Hershey or Knoebels selling out... I would have bet on them turning their attention towards Lake Compounce if the Dorney fell through (which it actually did, at one point).

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Thank god, Knoebels or Hershey hasn't sold out. Well, Hershey is kind of corporate anyway, just not as bad as Dorney, Hershey still has alot of charm and atmosphere. I love the way Knoebels is now, and I have confidence that Dick Knoebel will never sell out, at least from what I've heard. And I hope I'm right.

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Hey, I get it!

DorneyDante's tribute to Hercules is to waste bandwidth on the forum in the same jaw-dropping fashion that his favorite coaster wasted perfectly good trees, maintenance budget and rider's time! Clever....in a dropped-on-the-head-as-a-child-and-loved-it sorta way.

-CO

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

*laughing

Playa, you are too much! hehe

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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003

Hey DorneyDante, do you like pancakes?

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph
"Those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know." -Jeff

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DorneyDante said:
*laughing

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Most pointless post almost ever. Even more pointless than this one! This isn't a chat room, it's a message board. Only make post when you have a point or at least a complete sentence. I'm no moderator, but it's just really annoying to read "*laughing" all the time.
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-Parker My Coaster Count
www.SFMWZone.com

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ApolloAndy said:
Hey DorneyDante, do you like pancakes?

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Ah....it's been a while since a pancake joke :)

Seriously, though....enough with the *laughing thing!
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- "I used to be in the audio/visual club, but I was kicked out because of my views on Vietnam........and I was stealing projectors" - Homer Simpson

Yeah, I can remember Lancaster PA's WGAL TV 8 making a big deal about Hercules... of course years before that I can also remember WGAL TV 8 making a big deal about the debut of the "Dorney Park's huge new steel coaster Flying Dutchman".

Argue all you want for the overgrown, record breaking when it was built, monstrosity known as Hercules, I still think that most historic coaster at Dorney is still there... though today it has one too many trim breaks and one to few tunnels (than it used to). Once again a case of quality, not quantity standing the test of time.

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Half of the people surveyed agree, half disagree and another half are unsure.

Right on. The coaster that matters the most to Dorney still resides there. The ultimate proof of bigger not always being better!

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-Rob (realizing I just opened the floodgates with that statement)
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Not to keep beating a dead horse, but did anyone read the article on Hercules in the Sept/Oct issue of ACE News? I thought it was very well done... too bad that ACE doesn't put certain articles online because it would enlighten a lot of people who have contributed to this topic!

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Like me Rob? ;) Just out of curiosity, what was the article about?

Dante, still wondering what they are doing with all the wood.

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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003
*** This post was edited by DorneyDante 10/16/2003 1:18:12 PM ***

It was written by Mark Davidson (I believe he is the editor), who always writes good articles. Really, it talked a lot about what has already been discussed to death in this (and other) threads. The most interesting point he made was about the changes that the coaster had undergone during its first few seasons. These included a reprofiling of the bottom of the big drop, the elimination of the last third of the "triple up" and the addition of the trim brakes.

The thing that made the most sense was the fact that the elimination of the top of the "triple up" made the drop beneath the station smaller, which meant a decreased speed throughout the second half of the ride. As it goes, the banking on the final two turns was figured for the train moving at a certain speed... once the speed was lowered because of the smaller drop, the trains took the turns to slow and this made the final turns uncomfortable because the banking was all wrong for the "new" speed of the trains.

Also interesting was the former manager Harry Weinstein wanted that low-level turn over the lake, despite the [rumors] that both Summers and Dinn had made other suggestions.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I actually just read the artcile on Ace online, it was a very good article and shed some light that I didn't know on the subject. I found the part about the fan turn interesting. I didn't know that Dinn originally proposed an upward fan curve.

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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003

Not like Dinn would have got that right, either... but interesting to know nonetheless!

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Okay, I am too lazy to search... so I will ask, "An upward fan curve"? Where?

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"I don't believe it!" - Victor Meldrew
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE 10/16/2003 4:23:21 PM ***

That actually doesn't make sense... I was always under the impression that a fan curve consisted of an "up" and a "down". An "upward fun curve" sounds like one-half of what it should be.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

The sentence said that he proposed a large double up(which I don't understand how that could have been done) or a large fan turn upward.

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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003

It's Not The Fall That Kills You... It's The Landing!

Whatever they planned on putting at the bottom of the first hill on hercules, they could have planned it a little bit better. Even the existing hairpin turn is on the rough side because there is no smooth transition into the turn at the bottom of the hill. Originally, that turn was supposed to be twenty feet out further.

But anyway... Hercules is still one of my favorites and always will be.

A question for the masses:

Does anyone know whether there was a third train for Hercules? If anyone ever noticed, there's a break section just after the platform that looks as though a train could be held there. Herc ran with two trains, but maybe this break section could have made a third train possible. Thanks!

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Want a fast coaster?... Go out on a LIM!
*** This post was edited by krazy pete 10/16/2003 10:31:14 PM ***

Herc very well could have had three trains when it opened, I'm not entirely sure. I know that it had two trains when it closed this year, so I wonder if the three trains were replaced with two when the change was made from trailered cars to standard cars. Then again, I'm not sure if the old cars were replaced or just modified...

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002