Hersheypark changes?
However, I do think that area needs something to fill in the emptiness. It's a long walk from Tidal Force to LR. They could use some traditional flat rides to fill in some of the spaces there. I was never fond of the market tent or the restroom trailer. Many of the food stands are the basic "load em up and haul em to the next carnival" trailers.
How about a people mover of some kind back there, or more direct access from the front gate? While not a dead end, I'd say Midway America is more of a cul-de-sac. You still have to turn around and head out the way you came in. I don't know how that would work with the service building and all the catering areas along that edge of the park though.
SL, what is that they're building next to the old dept store downtown now?
Before I forget, remove one degree of restraint from Comet. It would improve the feel of the ride and reduce the loading and waiting times as well.
Flats would be a good idea. It seems that more and more adult flats disappear from Hershey.
As for a "people mover".... While it may be cost prohibitive, re-route the monorail. It was originally designed back in the late 1960's as a way to get people over to the chocoalte factory area where they gave the actual tours (before Chocolate world). Since Chocolate world, they don't stop there and all you get is a lovely view of a parking lot. Re-route (replace?) that thing to actually be used as transportation in the park.
As for a Hyper location... With an expansion into the the area now occupied by the meuseum / old arena, the station could be in taht area with the course of it running along the western edge of what is now Midway America with a turn around being next to Hersheypark Drive not far from Wildcat... the parking lots that are there (not for visitors, but employees) could eithere be built above or relocated. *** Edited 12/4/2007 7:42:50 PM UTC by SLFAKE***
Re-routing the monorail and making it a functioning transportation option would be a great idea. It would be expensive but I think it would help with complaints that Hersheypark requires a lot of walking. Build a station near the carousel and have it stop near the Kissing Tower and Lightning Racer.
The worst part - they came from a company in Florida. Disgraceful...esp. in PA!
It's true though that HP requires a lot of walking, especially up hill and down. I'd love to take some of my relatives to Candylane to see the lights, etc., but they say all the walking is too hard on them, and they're too proud to use wheelchairs. A few times this year, by the time I got back to the car, I felt it too, and I'm not THAT old. *** Edited 12/4/2007 10:17:03 PM UTC by RatherGoodBear***
I rode the whip at HP this year for the first time and boy is that baby comfy with it's very thick padding and smooooth ride. BORING! Cool old photo murals on the walls but did I mention BORING! Guess they thought the Knoebels & Dorney versions were a bit old and exciting.
The food trailers in Midway America add to the midway feel don't they?
I wonder why Hershey ignored the used ride market and purchased a new Whip... and why the hell it rolls on a concrete floor? It's not a very good ride.
A Ames said:
speaking of Farenheit... when does construction start? and if it already started does anyone know where i can get some pics?
Screamscoop posted some pics of dirt being moved around. I hope they're not behind schedule.
Rob Ascough said:Re-routing the monorail and making it a functioning transportation option would be a great idea. It would be expensive but I think it would help with complaints that Hersheypark requires a lot of walking. Build a station near the carousel and have it stop near the Kissing Tower and Lightning Racer.
But then the line for the monorail would get so long that you'd get there faster by walking. When I was at Great Adventure in the summer (I know, sub-optimal, but my girlfriend's work schedule didn't allow going in the spring) I was amazed at how many people kept telling me I should use the Skyway (or whatever they call it) to get from Nitro to El Toro or vice versa. Um, no. If I'm going to wait in a half-hour+ line, it's going to be at the coasters themselves. Granted, it's not as hilly as Hershey, but there's still a heck of a walk through the center of the park past nothing interesting -- plus if you take the LONG way back by the lake, you can stay in the shade.
I did read that this area, when built, suffered from cost over runs and was way behind schedule because the buildings are not simply buildings with an old English or German facade like most parks would do, but actual buildings built that way from the ground up.
RE: the Skyride: It was good for getting from the back of the park to the exit at the end of the day, or for getting to the back of the park first thing in the morning... however other than that, it always struck me as kind of useless since the station nearest the gate was BETWEEN the gate and Carrousel Circle... so you would actually have to walk away from the main part of the park to get on the sky ride. To me I always used it simply as a ride for scenic value, not as travel. As stated, it often was faster to simply walk to the back (or front) of the park than it was to wait in line for the skyride.
*** Edited 12/5/2007 5:58:22 PM UTC by SLFAKE***
Jim S. said:
But then the line for the monorail would get so long that you'd get there faster by walking.
..and while those lazy people are waiting in line, other people can be riding. Talk about a great way to reduce lines without virtual queueing!
I wanted to respond to a couple of comments:
1) First, someone asked why they didn't build a separate waterpark elsewhere. I believe this all goes back to the problems they were having about the water the attractions in The Boardwalk would require. They did not have an easy time getting that approved.
2) Someone asked why they didn't build a better shoot-em-up darkride like ones they had experienced in Orlando. I think that would've have been beyond Hershey's budget, and where would you have put it in the park, already knowing that you're putting in a waterpark the following year? As it was, they had to move offices to put in The Reece's Extreme Cup Challenge.
3) Someone suggested adding a Huss Troika and a Swingaround. Not exactly cutting edge or new by any stretch of the imagination. You put in a Zamperla Disk'o or MegaDisk'o like the one I rode at Kennywood (Cosmic Chaos) and I am so there.
4) The hypercoaster or junior-hypercoaster. Where in the heck do you put such a thing now that The Boardwalk takes up a lot of Midway America? They wedged in Storm Runner and Great Bear, so I suppose anything is possible, but there becomes a point where things become too cluttered.
I suppose they could get rid of The Music Express and The Whip and run it that direction, but I agree that it would lose the feel of the area, not that The Boardwalk hasn't already done that with all its bright colors.
I wasn't really saying that they should intertwine a hyper coaster through Midway America, just that they've done a good job previously with that sort of project. There are parts of the park I just marvel at as you wait on a ride platform and watch two or three other rides pass each other. It's a much better feel to a park than to have rides sprawled out from each other.
I suggested also about skirting the outside of Midway America with a hyper and I'm not sure that would diminish the feel of the area since I never really felt it had an old time midway feel to it anyway, before or after The Boardwalk.
I would like to take a moment as the original poster to thank everyone for their responses. This is what I was hoping for and I appreciate your input.
Secondly, I'd like to see The Boardwalk managed better, from my Labor Day TR:
"First the area is way too cramped and even on a day with light crowds, there were too many people. East Coast Waterworks is poorly run. First, the top 2 slides were closed then since there are no propoer queues for the other slides, you wait in the structure and this causes people to push and shove to get through and lots of line cutting since there is no formal line. "
They need a more attractions and something has to be done with East Coast Waterworks to fix the line issues (and they need to have all slides open).
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