Hercules Remembered
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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002
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2004 Wood Coaster Calendar now available. Order before Oct 5th and save. See S&D Greetings for details.
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Nashville needs a theme park!
Any one out there who can help?
I was curious about Herc.
1. How long is (was) Hercules?
2. A good one: Any estimate on how many board feet of lumber went into Hercules?
3. Anybody know what the original profile was before they made all the changes to Hercules? I've heard they re-profiled Hercules over the years from the original design.
Thanks for the answers!
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Just in case you were wondering... there's no way in hell you can fall out of a coaster unless you do something blatantly stupid...
*** This post was edited by krazy pete 9/16/2003 11:44:07 PM ***
For those who are wondering what will become of the footers from Hercules, two possible scenarios:
1. They leave 'em there. It would be pretty time consuming to pull several hundred concrete footers outta the ground, only to have to re-fill the ground later. If they decide to leave the footers in place, more than likely some really fancy landscaping will be employed to hide their presence.
2. They get rid of 'em. It is a safe assumption to make that the original footers can't be re-used to support columns for the new floorless. This is because of the difference in sizes - a steel support column is much larger than the main support beam for a wooden coaster. The existing footers are simply too small to use. Take a look at the footers on Talon and Thunderhawk and you'll see the drastic size differences.
If I'm wrong in my assumptions (and somebody out there will propbably prove me wrong no matter what I say), then I apologize. Otherwise, I find it hard to re-use the existing footers from Hercules as part of the new floorless.
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Don't you hate it when people start screaming before you even touch the lift-hill? You didn't even get to the top yet!
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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003
A possible clue to the demise of Hercules:
A source indicated that Hercules might have been the victim of a legal squabble between the city of Allentown and Dorney Park. Allegedly, Hercules either breached the park's property line (down by haine's mill road - all those houses you see down at the back end of the park, across the lake) or ran very close to that property line. Obivously the annoyed neighbors may have provided enough of an incentive (in the form of possible litigation) to give the park a damn good excuse to get rid of Hercules.
Then again, who ever said living across the lake from a damn rollercoaster would ever make for peacable living, either. Those folks who do live down there shouldn't complain too much, since they've decided to remain there despite the fact they knew damn well who their neighbor is!
This story does give some credible excuse for Dorney to get rid of Hercules, but in my opinion, no excuse no matter what it is was a good excuse to close Hercules,
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I don't understand why people get so upset about how high coasters get these days. Once you're over the top, you're back on the ground in two damn seconds!
*** This post was edited by krazy pete 9/17/2003 12:11:47 AM ***
I agree that Woodies are very nice looking, and Hercules was, but looks can be decieving [VERY decieving in this case]. Hercules sucked. I know I have said it over and over, but I cant say it enough. It was trimmed to death, poorly engineered, rough, boring, and slow. You name a negative word, its probably associated with Hercules in some way. I may sound rude, but i still have yet to understand why you have such affection for an inanimate object, especially Hercules. I could understand having "affection" for Raven, Legend, or Phoenix, but Hercules? Sure, Hercules was great in its prime, but its prime is [was] looooong gone. Im sorry if I offended anybody, but cmon, its the truth, the ride was horrible, and B&M is one of the best coaster companies out there, and I am looking forward to riding this so called "eye-sore" instead of Jercules, Hurt-Your-Knees, etc....
What if they lived there before Dorney began to expand and encroach on their property and went from a small park to what it is today? How easy to you think it would be to sell their homes now?
mOOSH
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Half of the people surveyed agree, half disagree and another half are unsure.
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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003
When I visited in 1980, the park seemed small compared to what it is today.
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Half of the people surveyed agree, half disagree and another half are unsure.
Consider this: the ride is going to debut in about 19 or 20 months, yet it has already been announced. Considering the crap that the park goes through to get a big attraction approved, they probably presented the plans a few months ago, anticipating months of "back-and-forth" with the townfolk but not expecting things to happen so quickly. Makes you wonder what they did to get approval so quickly, huh?
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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002
Dante, who thinks that Talonjosh wasn't even born when hercules was built. ;) You have your opinions and I am entitled to mine and for whatever reason they may be.
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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003
Proably for a similar reason SFMW built V2 at 180' when the city limited them to 150' -- they thought they could get away with it.
mOOSH
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2004 Wood Coaster Calendar now available. Order before Oct 5th and save. See S&D Greetings for details.
When Dorney Park built Hercules, they may not have realized they breached the property line, or ran so close to it. It almost looks like the park boundary could be considered "the middle of the lake."
Hercules original design actually called for the turn to extend roughly ten or twenty extra feet further out than it does (or did). If the park considered "the middle of the lake" as the boundary, that may explain the design change - and the rougher ride experience.
With that in mind, the neighbors may have become somewhat disgruntled over time - due to the noise. I know I would if I lived down there.
Consider the fact that Talon was almost never built due to the same reasons - however the complainants were residents of a high-rise apartment complex located on the opposite end of the park (down near the Steel Force end of the Dorney). But the results of that argument have given us a surprisingly quiet ride. The loudest thing you'll hear from Talon is everyone screaming their heads off. Unfortunately, that was not the same for Hercules.
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It never fails to amaze me when 15 people in a group try to all ride in a car that only holds 6 people.
DorneyDante said: Dante, who thinks that Talonjosh wasn't even born when hercules was built. ;) You have your opinions and I am entitled to mine and for whatever reason they may be.
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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003
C'mon, keep the insults coming, i dont mind.. And what does it matter when I was born? whats the big freaking deal? i did get a trimless drop on Herc, but the ride was still rough as f**k. God, this is turning in to Dante's "Whine so I get attention" Topic...
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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002
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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003
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