hershey park

I was at Hershey pARK sUNDAY NIGHT. It was cold, and when the park closed it was 43 degrees outside. There were no lines at all, and even once on both STorm Runner and on Great Bear we came back into station in the front seat and were sent right back out, there was nobody to load.

My question, at the entrance of the park it said unseasonably cold temps could force an early close on some rides, especially roller coasters. WHY? How does the cold affect them, and how much colder than 43 degrees does it have to get?

Man, that must have been some windchill on the front seat of SR at 43 degrees.

yeah, but I would do it all again to have no line at all

It was just as cold at Cedar Point on Saturday, and as far as I know nothing closed early. Dragster was still running at 11 p.m. when I left.

Most people are aware of metal change with warm and cold temperature. It wouldn't be much change, but I wonder how the cold effects the track if it does at all.

Something to chew concerning metal temperatures...

When I worked at Cedar Point last year, the ops on Dragster had to spray the transfer tracks with water so it would cool and clear the main track.

The only park I have ever seen notices like this posted before was at Silver Dollar City on Wildfire. However, I was also told that Ninja was not running the day I was at SFMM due to the temperature...

Depending upon the coaster, the temperature colling off may effect the viscosity (i.e. thickness) or the grease in the wheel bearings, etc. As the temperature gets cooler, those items get thicker, icnreasing friction. I was at a park once in the spring and rode a wooden rollercoaster with sand bags at my feet. The reason: they needed the extra weight to make certain it would complete the circuit because of the cool temperatures. 9Of course, the ride also hadn't been broken in for the year either.) Generally, thought, I wouldn't think a coaster car that has ran all day would suddenly develop these types of problems at night as the cool weather rolls in.

There may also be problems with electrical sensors malfunctioning due to condensation, especially if a "fog" rolls in at night when the temp drops. In general, these items are most likely to effect the newer, more complex rides more than the older ones.

Isn't 40 the magic number they use at Dollywood during November and December?

Lets see... 70mph launch on Storm Runner with 43 degree temperature results in a nice cool wind chill of 28.2 degrees which would give you about 30 minutes till frostbite set in. :) *** Edited 10/16/2006 8:37:29 PM UTC by CoasterBGW***

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bobthecoasterguy said:
Man, that must have been some windchill on the front seat of SR at 43 degrees.

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Sorry for going off-topic a bit, but during the infamous SRM '03, wasn't it in the 40s during the Saturday morning water slide ERT at Splashin' Safari? That was butt-cold, I tell ya. Zinga was worth it, though.

I certainly hope Dollywood does not shut down at 40 Degrees.... they are having an event on November 18th. Although being as south as they are maybe it won't be in the 40's there.

I was at HP too Sunday night. Depending on your outlook, I either wimped out or exhibited some common sense by deciding againt riding Storm Runner. Then again, I did LR 6 times in a row.

Gary, how did the climb over the top hat feel? Near the end of the night there were a few launches that looked like they barely made it over. (I know most times when riding it, it doesn't feel that way at all.)

I've been on Millennium Force in 40 degrees, with a hoodie covering most of my head and face. It's not as horrible as you'd think, even on a ride that doesn't have a lot of slow spots.

I doubt there's any good mechanical reason for most rides not to operate. I'm sure they'll run slower (Blue Streak was not impressive Saturday night), but you never know. They were running Gemini trim-free and I had more air time than I ever remember getting on that ride. If the most safety-anal park will run everything, I suspect that's a good benchmark to compare to.

Millennium Force at 40 degrees sounds OK. Now the time I rode front seat at about 50 degrees and driving rain... That was what is commonly known as "defensive riding". Instead of hands up, it was hands in front of the face to avoid what felt like mini-darts driving into my face. But still a great ride.

it was amazing, and your right, not only did it look like it barely made it over the top hat, it felt that way too. It seemed like a long time on the top, which made for a beautiful view. You gonna be at HP for any of the next two weekends? I will be there the next 2 sundays

It's one reason I wish...if the temps were warm enough, they would operate coasters during Christmas Candylane at HP...that way it would give me an even better reason to go (moreso than flats, because i'm not that big of a flat ride person).

S:ros at SFA can't start running if the tempurature is in the low 40's the grease, wheels, and track are to cold to get it going. But if it's been running all day it can keep running because the train has the weight+the train is lose from running all day.

^ A flexible bridge is a strong bridge and a stiff bridge is a breakable bridge. The train and track move as one together. Just like CB members.

From Silver Dollar City

"All rides and attractions are operable weather permitting. Temperature must be 40 degrees or above for PowderKeg™ and Wildfire™ to operate. Temperatures must be 38 degrees or above for Thunderation to operate."

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Jeff said:

I doubt there's any good mechanical reason for most rides not to operate. I'm sure they'll run slower (Blue Streak was not impressive Saturday night), but you never know. They were running Gemini trim-free and I had more air time than I ever remember getting on that ride. If the most safety-anal park will run everything, I suspect that's a good benchmark to compare to.

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But isnt this also the same park/ride that routinely hides one of the trains under a tarp with hot air blowers to ensure that the trains are properly "warmed up"?