Hercules to be replaced by B&M floorless at Dorney

I'd prefer a place like Knoebels where 50% of their coasters are wood! :)

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Signature will be closed today. Sorry for the inconveinance.

ARGH! I just wrote an extensive post to the forum thread, only to have it disappear when the thread was closed WHILE I was writing.....ARGH!

Anyhow, long story short, I hate to see a wooden coaster disappear...ESPECIALLY since this one hasn't even had an ATTEMPT made to salvage it....correct me if I'm wrong, but CF has yet to even TRY to have GCI or GG work on one of their coasters...

IF one of those, or the Canadian firm Martin-Vleminckx, or someone else, could do *something* to save Herc, that MIGHT give CF an idea as to what to do with MS...

Of course, I'm still hoping jeremy can go on an e-mail campaign of epic proportions and win CF's heart the way fans of Whizzer saved that coaster....;)

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"The robot mafia is running numbers?"
"Well, nothing fancy, mostly just ones and zeroes"...;)

I'm all for the preservation of good (or even mediocre) rides, but preserving junk like Hercules is a waste of effort, time, and cash, IMO.

Dinn-zasters of the world take note, and we're all looking your way Wolverine Wildcat, you too Psuk-clone, your days may be numbered.

Muahahahahahahahahaa....

*** This post was edited by chris 9/4/2003 12:49:31 PM ***

three words: THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To SROS208:

I would like to say i did not write the following: I just wanted to make sure i was quoted right. no harm done

Woodfan said:
"I jsut feel like there is now too much steel coasters at dorney and not enough wood,..." What about parks like Cedar Point and Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Great Adventure only to name a few. I'm sure majority of you praise these parks for their coasters and look each park has what 2 or 3 wooden coasters out of 14 or 16. Now I would call that too many steel coasters at a park. When more than 75% of the park's coasters are steel.

What i did write was the following

I think this is a tragedy, even though hercules gave a rough ride, its ashame we will never see that beautiful famous first drop on that hillside over the lake, ever again. Don't get me wrong a B+M floorless is going to be nice, but i feel like would be better to replace the ride with maybe a GCI woodie, making a terrain coaster lower to the ground, so that they won't have a huge strucutre but a great ride, or maybe an intamin plug and play woodie. I jsut feel like there is now too much steel coasters at dorney and not enough wood, even though thunderhawk is a great ride. Hopefully they will get some more wood down teh road. I just hope they make this floorless as good as talon or if not better then most , because i feel they need to do this to seperate themselves from other parks and hopefully the layout will not be another medusa , scream clone, thats all east coast needs is another clone.

thanks for all the good time hercules you will be missed,

no harm done.

Wood fan

Dorney wasted no time in removing Herc from their "Thrill Rides" listing on their website.

They did leave behind the obituary in the history section:

1989: In 1989, Dorney Park broke ground on a new and ambitious project. With an unprecedented 157-foot drop, Hercules was born as the tallest wooden coaster anywhere in the world. The colossal coaster attracted international attention and put Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom on the map as one of the most exciting amusement experiences in the Northeast.

Rest in Peace, big guy.*** This post was edited by NitroFan 9/4/2003 1:18:08 PM ***

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millrace wrote:

Is this the first "modern" wood coaster removed?

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I was wondering the same thing. It's going to be interesting to see how they dispose of that much pressure-treated lumber -- that stuff's a pretty big environmental hazard.

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?" -- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5

I am so excited!!! I can't wait! I hope they theme it up or something! It be cool if it went down to the lake and skimmed the water! You guys think it will be a custom or a scream clone?

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http://coastertrackrecord.tripod.com/

Just think we will need to wait an entire year until we even get close to hearing about a layout. I just hope it uses that hillside better than old Herc did.

Any idea if Herc is getting the wrecking ball or is it being dismantled piece by piece? I would think that if it the new coaster is going up in 2005 that they are carefully removing it. I have a feeling I may need to make a few visits to Dorney to get so deconstruction pictures!

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Signature will be closed today. Sorry for the inconveinance.

From the PR department: There is Hercules merchandise still available at the Park. I suspect it will sell fast. I'm not sure if or when we'll be adding these items to the webstore. Hercules will be dismantled. There are no plans to reassemble the ride.

Gator: The Canadians spent some quality time on Mean Streak, and dare I say that a crappy ride will remain a crappy ride. They did a really nice job on Blue Streak though.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Wow. That's all I can say. When I read that headline, I thought that I had accidentally changed my homepage to ARN&R. Or that it was April Fool's Day.

A wide range of emotions is what I'm feeling. I was always one of Herc's biggest "anti-fans", but I was always more for a modification of the ride, Kennywood Thunderbolt-style, than removal of it altogether. I don't like to see a drop in the number of wood coasters, and its even weirder that this loss is not the result of a park closing but is a decision made by a rather successful amusement park. I do, however, look forward to another "rideable" coaster at Dorney, because that will give me much more incentive to go back. And I am VERY thankful that Hercules and not Thunderhawk is being spared in the name of progress.

After reading the article again, one thing stands out in my mind that no one seems to have touched upon. The author made it very clear to point out that the new ride will stay within the current park limits and will be much further from the road (which is a residental road, by the way) than the existing one. I wonder if part of the decision was because of neighbors complaining about the "noisy wooden coaster" across the street? Dorney has traditionally had lots of problems when installing new rides, thanks to the neighbors, and I have to think that getting the new coaster approved might have been much easier if Hercules was offered up as some kind of sacraficial lamb.

I miss the way Hercules used to be without trim brakes... I'll miss the way it looks on the hillside... but with a B&M floorless coming to Allentown, I don't imagine myself missing the experience.

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

Martin-Vleminckx basically helped La Ronde saved le Monstre a couple of years ago... Monstre was going down the drain fast (shaky, washboarding everywhere). They retracked it and now its a relatively smooth ride!

I think Martin-Vleminckx may have tried doing something to it, but as Jeff said, they worked on MS and its still a bad ride! I guess its the design that's the problem.

Thats a good point about the the layout Rob. If it's staying in the parks boundaries.

Here's a quote from the news article: "Hercules comes within 236 feet of Haines Mill Road and 240 feet of Dorney Park Road. The new ride will be 460 feet from Haines Mill and 493 feet from the park road, Albino said."

Here's a map of Hercules mainly showing the turn over the lake and the two roads. link

Reading that Haines Mill road is the one that runs along the park where all the houses are (your facing that going up the lift of Herc) Dorney Park Road is the one on the other side of the lake). If the new coaster is basicly twice as far from these road than Hercules. I'm thinking that the new coaster looking at the land and a rough guess at distances is this will be another compact layout! Thats just my guess though. Who knows what it will actually be until we get a press release in another year or so about the actual stats!

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Signature will be closed today. Sorry for the inconveinance.*** This post was edited by Jeff 9/4/2003 2:38:36 PM ***

Rotel1026 asked if they were "pressed for space?" I wondered this also when I first read it, but didn't they just buy a boat load of land last year around the park? Maybe I'm thinking of another park, but I swore it was Dorney.

Dorney did buy land, but I think that it was assumed that it would be for parking... perhaps so the park could expand into the current lot ina few years.

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

I bet this is another sound dampening B&M too. Not that it hurts the ride, I just don't think it HELPS at all!

My last talon ride was ruined due to a girl behind me screaming her head off (AND MINE TOO!)

Chuck, who would gladly have had it drowned out by a B&M roar that didn't exist.

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Charles Nungester.
It's official Lesourdsville Lake is closed for 2003

*sigh* I for one am NOT happy to see her go... she is not a waste of time or waste of space as so many people think she is. Hercules was the first roller coaster I ever rode. Hercules is what made me love coasters. I for one will miss her dearly and no argument anyone can make will change that. Hercules will always have the most special place in my heart of any roller coaster I have ever been on... YOU'LL BE MISSED!

All I can say is, they are taking down their only record breaking coaster they have ever had for a mediocre sized floorless that we won't even get to ride for 2 more years. Hercules wasn't the best ride, and certainly not the worst. I just find it hard to believe that this is the final answer to the problem. I would have loved to see a reprofile of the ride if anything. Why couldn't they have spent the "millions" that they were spending on maintenance on hiring a company like GCI to come in and overhaul or reprofile the ride before making such an abrupt move like this to demolish it.

Clear the way cedar Fair and eat up every and any ride from the original Dorney Park in your path. Just saddens life-long park goers like myself to see what is happening to this park. They have done so many great things to the park yet at the same time have ripped so much (if not all) of its soul away, and I'm afraid the only people who are witness to this are the people who have been going to the park all their lives.

What I will miss the most is seeing the 1st big drop as you crested the top of the lift(especially at night w/the chaser lights on) and the unique dip under the station. I will also always remember the hysteria and excitement in the area it brought its opening year. If anyone has an original T-shirt from opening year and wants to sell it, let me know.

R.I.P-Hercules 1989-2003 Another original Dorney Park ride bites the dust.

Edit-In concern to the noise issue. Have you ever stood on the opposite side of the lake as a Hercules train passed? The sound was deafening. This may also have a major part in their decision.

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"You know its a good ride when you come into the final brake run wiping tears from your eyes."
*** This post was edited by DorneyDante 9/4/2003 3:15:37 PM ***

Too much steel, not enough wood. What is the world coming too? LOL Although new coasters are great, and Dorney is a short ride away for me, this was disappointing news to me. Wood, wood, wood, we need more wood.