Hersheypark June 1, 2007

Me and a couple of my friends planned this trip three weeks in advance. One of our friends Mom works at AAA. So there we got discounted tickets from the usually 45.95 to only 35$. Good Price.

We noticed the weather said Scattered thunderstorms all day but we decided to take our chances. And at the beggining of the day, it was beautiful, until about 4. there it went all down hill.

We arrived on the highway next to the park around 1:45 p.m. From there i noticed that on wildcat the train was stuck. I thought, oh well maybe its just since the new trains it would be okay. five minutes down the road, i then notice the riders were being taken off the train and had to walk down the hill. No big deal , all the other rides were still up and running.

We got to the Parking lot. Barely any cars, but they're was about 50-75 busses there. So we decided to run from our van to the park. Great Idea, considering most of the other kids (im only a junior in high school so i cant say children) had the same idea for their first ride as us, The Great Bear.

After a short bathroom break, we then entered the park. I then noticed there was a dunkin donuts shop right outside the park. It was a very nice building. Besides that, we walked in and then ran straight to great bear.

We got in line, about a 20 minute wait. As we were standing in like i started to get very annoyed by the vendors screaming "Get your Lemonade for the long wait ahead." It gets on my nerves. The Line was moving at a very fast pace. We finally got to the building and grabbed a third row seat. From inside the building it was about a 3 ride wait, and worked out perfectly for the six of us, three in row three, and the other three in row 4. I grabbed a Left edge seat. Just the helix at the top felt amazing, but then the first drop truely started off the roller coaster season. The First loop felt amazing as always, then the Immelman was amazing as well. Then as we hit the Zero-G Roll, the ride seemed a little slower than usual, but it was still an amazing ride.

Second Ride: SooperDooperLooper. No Line. Got in the front seat, friends in the second and third row. This ride is fun, but definately not too exciting. I mean I get a more sensational feeling in the loop then in the first drop. It basically glides down the first hill. They really need to do something with them brakes though.

Then we hit up the log flume. wait was a bout 10 minutes, but I love this ride. especially in 93 degree weather. the little bump at the bottom of the hill always is fun.

We then went over to Comet. wait was about 10 minutes. This ride actually seemed better than ever. Got the second to last seat. The First drop was excellent. Whip us down the hill like never before, and gave us some excellent air time. Even though i did loosen my seat belt a little for some extra air. Still a great ride.

We then went over to Storm Runner. Wait was only a half hour. We got into the third seat after switching where we chose to sit about 5 or 6 times. Wait from the station 3 rides. We got in and once i pulled the harness over, I knew i was gonna be in pain. I have a problem from taking shots in my legs when i was younger, and not taking them there anymore, it causes pain when you push down on my thighs. and the harness came right down on them. We left the station and headed out. WHOOOOSH! The Launch felt amazing, just like the first time i was ever on. I love the snake roll. It has to be my favorite inversion ever on a roller coaster. The staff was actually really great on this ride as well. They were screaming good luck and just getting everyone pumped for the ride.

Then we went to grab a bite to eat from the food court right outside the storm runner at about 5. We all got chicken tenders platter at 14$. Definately not worth it. Everything was cold. but we made a smart decision buying the Souvenir Cups with .99 cents a refill, well atleast we thought it was a good idea.

We finished eating and then noticed some raindrops. We thought to ourselves "Okay, one or two raindrops wont kill us." but wow were re wrong. It then started Pouring and thundering. We were bored so why it was raining and it was still hot, why not go for a jog in the rain, we ended up running over to the boardwalk(which looks really nice by the way) until a old security guard told us to get under one of the dunkin donuts stands. We Were DRENCHED.We waited for him to walk away and then ran back to our friends. many others were running to the exit. It was a mad house. We then went back to the food court and stood under these large umbrellas for about and hour.

Then around 6 we got tired of waiting and as it was still pouring, we decided to take our chances and run to chocolate world, big mistake. We ended up getting to the Kettle Korn stand, when we then noticed that security guard were yelling for teens and younger kids to go into the arena. We then walked in. As we walked it, the entrance was completely flooded. We then took a seat in the Arena and called our friends mom to see where she was. She was actually waiting in the van for us. We picked up and stuff and walked out, and it seemed to be as if the arena was getting even more flooded. and we had a good laugh when a kid about 15 slipped from fooling around. Then we ran down to the main gate, where we found water...Up to the bottom of our calfs, and we are all 6 feet tall. yea. It was bad. The water than slowed down once we got out of the park.

Even though it rained, it was still an amazing trip to the "Sweetest" amusement park in the U.S. and we're actually going to go back next week.

well thats good. When I went last year I had a good time.

Is that AAA rate avalible to AAA members or just an employee thing?

D'oh! I never thought of checking AAA for lower park rates !!!!

I stopped at Hershey around 430 that day, what a mistake. weather aside, There were so many busses of kids it was unreal. Crowds of people wondering in the way not going anywhere.

And then there was the line for Tidal Force (the only ride I was in line for that day, then comes Stormes.) I have never seen so much Line Cutting. I was actually looking for a security office or park employee but couldn't find one. My fiancee almost shoved a kid to the ground after he was majorly horseplaying and stepped on her feet and almost knocked her over.

I made it to the parking lot, where I was going to ride out the storm, but I was scared to death. The wind, rain and hail was rocking my car, and I started thinking tornado it was that bad. While leaving Hershey I was a road sign flaping back and forth like it was in a hurricane. Five miles down the road it was sunny.

Back to line cutting, it was so bad, I am actually going to write an email to HP. Not to complain, but because I think they actually care, and I am going to suggest tighter security when there are so many school trips there.

We're at Hershey yesterday for Chocolate Buzz. We drove in Friday night just after the storm and saw several closed roads from the rain. There was a car on a side street that was half under water. The roads were covered with mud, mulch, tree limbs, and other debris. What really amazed me was how well they had Hersheypark cleaned up by Saturday morning. There were only a few signs of the previous nights storm. It's pretty busy at the park, but still had a great time.

It must have been pretty nasty Friday night. I heard they delayed the start of the Bears game at the Giant Center for half an hour because of the weather conditions.