An Afternoon at the park
My friend and I got off work at 4pm and headed back into the park. As we were walking to the Great Bear, a very violent thunderstorm came up. We made it into an arcade just as the rain really started to come down. I turn $1 into four quarters and went in search of a game that I could play for awhile (knowing that the rides wouldn't be up for quite some time). I passed by Q-bert, looked at the pinball machines, but then, I found my salvation. The ORIGINAL NES Mario Bros. 25 cents per play. I play it for and hour on my first quarter -- the rain was STILL coming down. Another 25 cents went in and I was doing well... but then the rain stopped and we decided to head out.
The queue wasn't open for the Great Bear, but we decided to wait outside anyway. 20 minutes later, we were on the front seat!
Great Bear - Front Seat - 7/10 The 'Bear is a fun ride, but definitely one of the more tame inverts out there.
We decided to hit the 'looper since it's ride there and we wouldn't have to wait for it.
Sooperdooperlooper - back seat - 6.5/10 The back is my favorite seat on this ride, with the front seat a close second. The looper is waay more intense in the back because you really feel like you're getting pulled through it.
We skipped the Comet and headed out to the Wildcat. We got there after stopping to grab a frozen coke (80 cents @ employee cafeteria).
Wildcat - front seat - 9.5/10 We only had to wait 3 trains for the front because most of the people had left during the massive storm. The front seat isn't my favorite, but my friend insisted as he had never ridden it before. A great ride, though!
The Lightning Racer was right there soo... we got on it.
Lightning Racer(Lightning) - back seat - 8/10 The LR is a great ride on either side, but this ride just doesn't even come close to the Wildcat. The 'Cat has more air, better laterals, and feels faster (even though it's not). I still love the lightning Racer.
We decided to make our way back to the Comet and but stopped for a taco and a ride on the Sidewinder...
Sidewinder - middle - 2.5/10 The ride is boring. It has some headbanging, but I just consider it a boring ride.
The Bear had no line, so we opted for a quick backseat ride...
Great Bear - back - 6/10 You really get whipped through the inversions in the back more than in the front. Other than that, there's no real reason to ride the back. It's a different experience, but not better than the front.
The Comet was just a quick walk from the Bear...
The Comet - back - 7/10 The Comet has a really intense first drop and then gives "gently" air time for the rest of the course. Not the kind of air time when you're throw into the restraint, the kind where you just float over the hills. I only get air when I'm in the back, though.
It was 9:15pm by now and the park was closing at 10. We headed out to the Wildcat for one last ride...
Wildcat - back seat - 9.9/10 This is EASILY the best ride in Hersheypark. The back seat on the Cat gives an absolutely intense, out-of-control ride and never lets up for a second after the first drop. Lots of "intense" airtime (the kind when you're thrown into the lap bar), perfect laterals, and a great layout make this my favorite ride. It is SOOO much better at night.
We ran around to try to grab another ride, but the queue had been closed early due to the laser show! Grr... It was now 9:45 so we decided to run back to the Bear and grab one last ride! We waited for the front seat and grabbed the FINAL RIDE OF THE NIGHT! Whoohoo! Still a good ride, but only a 7/10, maybe a 7.5 because it was at night.
The park was now closing, so my friend and I decided to head out of the park and "chill" for a little bit before the real fun began...
The employee party
At 10:50pm, we found two of our other friends and headed toward the employee entrance. At 11:00pm, we ran toward Mama Ilardo's, where free soda and pizza were being served. Two sodas and three slices of pizza later, we headed over to the Lightning Racer. (the rides were being run by our supervisors) We waited about 15 minutes for a middle car on lightning. I thought to myself, "Gee, I just waited longer during this party than I did this afternoon!!". Luckily... that would all change!
We checked out the games that were running for us to play (free, of course). We all played until we had each won a prize (a bar of Hershey chocolate). We headed up to Chaos (one of the few decent flat-rides of the park) and had a nice ride. Mouse had no line, so we hit that. It was raining, although not hard, but that made the ride that much better than usual.
Next, we all headed down for some FREE soft icecream. And then, it was back to Mama Ilardo's for another slice of pizza and a coke. We took a quick bathroom break before heading to the Lightning Racer. It was now 12:15am.
We ran up the queue and onto Thunder. After a great night ride (a victory!) we realized that nobody was in line for our rows! Re-ride!!
Another great ride and another victory and, surprise, another re-ride! We ended up staying on Lightning Racer for the rest of the night until the fun came to an end at 1:00am. (I think we got about 7-8 consecutive rides).
The employee party was a BLAST! Free food, free drink, and (after the initial crowd died down) LOTS of re-rides on a great coaster. I wish Wildcat would've been open, but oh well... I can't wait until July's party!
I was at the employee party too, didn't ride that much, i rode LR twice and the musik express once, i spent most of the time talking to my friends running the games, but the free food was a big plus too.
