Hersheypark Adds Soft Restraints to Fahrenheit and Storm Runner

https://twitter.com/Hersheypark/status/731477421526945792

Now if they'd get rid of those godawful restraints on Skyrush we'd really be in business.

Skyrush was the first thing I thought about when I read about this this morning. They should have been fixed even before the ride was even built. Oh well, It is what it is.

Yeah, but what it is is terrible.

Skyrush didn't bother me one bit. Not sure where all the hate comes from.

Glad to see the changes on the others though, certainly warranted.

I thought I was the only one who didn't find Skyrush to be total agony. I rode it a lot, and I suppose at the end of the day I could feel it in my thighs, but I thought was a fair trade off.

Maybe it's the extra weight I have in my upper body. Going over the tops of the airtime hills, the force on my legs against the restraints is too strong. I feel like it's trying to break my femur bones in half. Add to that there is one abrupt change in direction from the right to the left (I think) that pulls my torso to the side out of the seat, while my lower body bends to the side. The third problem is something that has been slightly fixed. The restraints get tighter and tighter throughout the ride, which hurts. It was relieved somewhat the second year of operations (I think) by the restraints loosening up when the train is waiting to enter the station.

I'll usually ride it once on my almost yearly visit to the park to see if anything has changed. It hasn't yet. Maybe now that I've lost a few pounds it will be a little better. I don't think I am going this year though.

It seems like I write this post every year. :)

I haven't ridden Skyrush yet, but if the restraints last summer on Bizzaro/S:ROS (SFNE) were any indication of the new style of Intamin restraints, then I get it. I used to love that coaster so much, but last summer I didn't even bother with the free re-ride that the Flashpass gave me. That's how much it hurt the tops of my thighs.

(And) Maverick's new restraints are definitely an improvement, so I assume these new HP ones will be a hit as well.

Does anyone remember Hypersonic at Kings Dominion? That was bad for the thighs. I hurt for days after riding that.

I rode it once... maybe twice, I honestly can't remember. I also don't remember anything bad about it. It gets a lot of hate. Only thing I really remember about it was how ridiculously powerful the launch was. And the air over the drop. If it hurt, I don't remember, probably because I was sensory overloaded. I was also a lot younger, and more tolerant / forgiving of painful coasters than I am now.

I am looking forward to trying both coasters with the new restraints. I never rode Maverick with the old restraints but thought the soft restraints were much more comfortable than the coasters I have ridden with the older style restraints. Now if Kingda Ka would get them too that would be great.

The new restraints are awesome on Storm Runner! I didn't see Hershey's tweet that morning so I almost fell off my dinosaur when I saw them on SR. I just posted my trip report.

-TwisteR

I remember Hypersonic pretty well, and I don't recall my legs being in any pain or discomfort. That ride was ALL about the launch (still the most insane launch ever). Well, except maybe the crazy air at the top of the hill. The rest of the ride sort of felt and sounded like a traveling carnival coaster or something, but glass smooth, if that makes any sense. It had that rattle similar to a Galaxi.

I thought Mehrenheit gave a bit of a clunky ride- nothing awful, but a soft restraint couldn't hurt it.

I find that the restraints on Skyrush vary in level of discomfort depending upon where you sit although the last hill always gets me regardless. Good news about Storm Runner and Fahrenheit, especially SR. Apart from the added comfort, I'm glad to see these restraints on SR b/c I don't have a lot of upper body strength and pulling down the old restraints, which were heavy, was a challenge.

I never had any trouble with H:XLC. I think I rode it two or three times. The biggest problem was the short ride length (really, the interesting part of the ride was about 4 seconds long) and the horrible capacity (coupled with a lot of downtime). I only rode Skyrush its opening season and I am stick thin pretty much everywhere, and I couldn't enjoy the ride at all. The overwhelming sensation was similar to a 500 lb barbell being pressed on my thighs. Not sharp but not fun either.

Dare I ask where you aren stick thin? :-P

I loved Hypersonic. Never had any issues.