Hershey Park or Knoebels?

There's also a Giant out on Route 39 which is more convenient for those coming to the park from I-81.

Wow this place is packed today.. and lightning racer has broken down as I've entered the station twice. But skyrush defiantly lived up to the hype....amazing :)

If you're gonna live up to the hype, defiantly is the way to do it.

After doing both this weekend, I'd say go with Hershey.

Were the restraints any trouble? And could you tell if they were modified?

I'm not supprised Hershey got ahead of that restraint problem this quickly. When we were there, the tram operator asked everyone how they liked Skyrush and almost in perfect unison everyone yelled "It hurt my legs"

I went to Hershey last weekend and stayed in the Highmeadow campground. This gave us an hour early access to the park (they call it Sweet Start). The Hollow section of the park was open, thats where Skyrush is located. While the wait was at about 3 to 5 minutes for Skyrush...the restraints hurt my thighs so much I could only do two rides in a row. It was sore for about 4 hours. Otherwise, its an awesome ride, fast and a lot of air.

I don't know if they were modified or not since I never rode it before but they weren't an issue at all for me. Sure there was mild discomfort but nothing to extreme, and I sat in the back wing seat every ride. Ill take the discomfort for the feeling like I'm going to fall out over every hill and around ever turn, there was so much freedom with those restraints.

I will give you the freedom of restraint thing. Skyrush feels amazingly open and free..:except for the 10 ton bar trying to amputate your legs. I still don't hate it though because it is just THAT crazy. Guess I just will continue to pull UP on the underside of the bars so it doesn't hurt so bad.

Are the Skyrush restraints hydraulic like most Intamin's?

Making restraints hydraulic sounds great on paper, as they'd appear to be infinitely adjustable. In reality, they pose a problem, at least from my experience.

Take Maverick as an example...those lap bars continually tighten on me the whole ride in fine increments, often to the point of pain. If they were ratcheting like B&M's, there would be a point where they wouldn't make it to the next notch, leaving a very small but relieving amount of play.

Am I alone with these thoughts? Why does Intamin keep using hydraulic restraints?

In my experience, none of them have moved unless I moved them. Mind you the bulk of that experience is on the rides at CP, but they are four different restraint designs.

B&M appears to have gone to hydraulic restraints on the wing riders. I found the "jacket" part of the restraint at Dollywood to tighten over the course of the ride.

I have never had any trouble on any of the other hydraulic restraints - S:RoS, MF, TTD, Storm Runner, KK, etc. It's really just Skyrush in particular that was painful.

What does it say about me that every time someone mentions Skyrush and "painful" in the same sentence, I get more excited (first rides next weekend - had to get there this year, couldn't risk it being tamed). Looking forward to some bruising...after a day of bumper cars and flying skooters. Midsummer PA fun... ;~P

I also find SkyRush to be the only one that was a bit uncomfortable. With that said, it wasn't terrible by any stretch as it's not the jackhammering, headbanging misery that generally is the source of pain on coasters. It's just weak padding, in my opinion. It's the same thing with the Maverick restraints on the over-the-shoulder straps. The design is just fine, and I love the ride's intensity. It's just it hurts my neck banging against rigid, tough rubber straps.

If you want a primo example of how Intamin can solve that problem, look no further than Intimidator 305. The padding is so cushy that the borderline-violent transitions cause no discomfort whatsoever. I could ride that thing all day.

Regarding your comment, rollergator, if Hersheypark tamed SkyRush in any way, it would be the completely wrong solution to the problem. Its intensity is its draw to me. I don't want them to take away from that which isn't the ultimate cause of the problem.