Hersheypark Skyrush - Sunday, May 27th, 2012

I don't think we've gotten to the too intense point just yet or that intense has replaced excitement in most cases. I do believe that some rides are pushing the limits of what we can handle, but I haven't ridden the ride that pushes me past my threshold yet. Plus, it has a lot to do with WHAT thrills you about coasters. To me, yes, I would prefer an all around awesomely themed unique coaster with tons of airtime and beautiful views, but I am plenty excited ANY time I step on a coaster that goes super fast or has a huge drop and tons of speed and airtime...

Still, I get what you mean. Take a ride like The Mummy at Universal Orlando...put that coaster outside in daylight and there is nothing really special about it, and it certainly is not intense. However, with all the effects and theming, that coaster is in my top 10 easily. Lightning Racer is a blast as well and not very intense. There must be a careful balance, and we ARE getting close to ruining some of the ART of coasters for statistics, nevermind what people can handle.

^Good point! Think of something like Voyage. Super *intense* and super *fun* at the same time. I-305 has that intensity (mostly from high G's and *snapping* back and forth), but I couldn't find anything fun about it. I tried and tried (it had the shortest wait in the park! sometimes a nearly empty station...) over 2 days to find something about it I liked.

That still proves to me (again!) that others really do have different likes/dislikes. I'm pretty sure I-305 ranked high on Golden Tickets, etc... At the same time, it still has the shortest line in the park from what I hear.

Some of I 305's problem may also be the park it is at: KD has a decent variety of coasters, and instead of focusing on having the biggest and baddest coaster collection, they have a combo of interestingly themed rides, unique rides, indoor coasters, a great woodie (Rebel Yell), and one random B&M in there. I305 kinda seems out of place at such a park.

I still have not made it out to ride the Voyage. I'm honestly a little reluctant to drive that far to ride wooden coasters, but the video makes me drool a little, so I might have to suck it up and make Voyage my 100th. But I am curious as to see what I think of the intensity factor on that one for sure. Never did a gravity group coaster.

Well, I bet I305 also has one of the best capacities in the park as well, so that could explain the short line just as well as low demand.

gamerguy said:
Lets face it Intamin makes awesome coasters but their restraints suck, the best ones were on the 2ooo coasters but MF is the only one left with those.

I totally agree with that. Top Thrill Dragster has the same restraints as Millennium though.

The worst part to ride on Maverick is the back, those restraints squeeze ur leg so much on the first drop.

Honestly, the lap bars on El Toro hurt my legs a lot more than the ones on Skyrush.

bunky666 said:I still have not made it out to ride the Voyage. I'm honestly a little reluctant to drive that far to ride wooden coasters, but the video makes me drool a little, so I might have to suck it up and make Voyage my 100th. But I am curious as to see what I think of the intensity factor on that one for sure. Never did a gravity group coaster.

If you are looking for intensity, you will like Voyage. Remember, those woodies are nice and warmed up near the end of the day, and therefore faster. I would suggest (for a real surprise) that you ride Voyage at night for your first ride.

Front row at night on Voyage is ridiculously good. I can ride it in other seats, but it's somewhere between really intense and too intense and sometimes feels more rough than intense.

Maverick00 said:
I totally agree with that. Top Thrill Dragster has the same restraints as Millennium though.

Not really. The Dragster iteration on the T-bar was probably the best and closest to perfect they got, if you don't mind turning away some folks of "exceptional size." The improvement from Millennium Force was the bend in the vertical bar, so the restraint touches your thighs before it touches your balls, and it also puts your knees a bit higher than your butt, making it nearly impossible to get out. It's a shame that they finally got it right, then stopped using it.

Jeff, couldn't agree with you more: I think I remember specifically saying how comfortable I was riding Millenium Force during my CP trips. However, neither Millennium Force or Dragster has the amount and intensity of airtime of Toro or Skyrush, so I wonder if those restraints would be enough...it is definitely something that requires some thought before doing.

Apollo Andy and Coaster Demon, thank you for the suggestions! Voyage is really NOT my favorite choice for my 100th (that honor will probably go to Bizarro in New England as it is way closer and universally loved...four hours away rather than 10+ away), but I would like to get out there in the next couple of seasons. I think I would adore a night ride on Voyage, and I so wanna do it soon.

Carrie, you're not alone. Skyrush definately has a huge design flaw. Of the 220 coasters I've ridden, I've never ridden a coaster with so much potential that was so painful, and the fact that it's only 2 weeks old adds insult to injury. I wanted to enjoy it, but could not bear the pain through each element. I sat on the wing, so maybe sitting in the middle with a floor would have helped. I also wonder if the problem could be fixed by having the restraints lock before dispatch, so that the lapbars can't pull down by the G-Forces.

Trackmaster said:I also wonder if the problem could be fixed by having the restraints lock before dispatch, so that the lapbars can't pull down by the G-Forces.

Would adding *big fat monster padding* to the underside of the lap bar help the situation?

I think ANYTHING would help. Even the pictures of the restraints make me wince in remembered pain. Skyrush could probably unseat Toro for me, but I have no true idea for sure because all I could think was: "weeeeeeee...oww...OWW! Wth?! WTF?! Ow!" I actually had swelling in my one foot and huge purple bruises behind my knee two days after I rode, and I think it is because my thighs were smashed that hard. At least there was no possible way to black out because the blood couldn't GET to my legs. Lol

I also sat on the wing, Trackmaster, so I don't know if that contributed. My husband who sat in the middle didn't think so, though. He also felt a lot of pain from his seat.

CoasterDemon, unless that padding is a pillow, I doubt it would help. Trackmaster may be right that locking the restraint from coming forward any further before dispatch might help as the forces just kept pushing the thing further into my legs. Who knows?

On Sunday, June 3, they were not "stapling" the restraints down as tight as they were earlier (according to one ride op) because of all of the complaints about the pain. Not sure if this would allow the restraints to lock tighter from the forces or not. I was pretty well stapled in order to get the belt latched and pulled to the "white line" of stitching, so I don't know if the restraints went closed anymore at the bottom of the drop.

For what it is worth, I thought the ride was a real let down. I was expecting / hoping for greatness... but got only "meh". It wasn't because of the pain (I noticed some pressure, but not really pain), but rather that the ride just wasn't fun. With more comfortable restraints, perhaps it would be... I don't know.

Would it be better or worse for the thighs to be stapled on this one?

I mean, would there be less discomfort in having the bar already pressed against you with the air pushing you into it harder or would it be better to have the sapce and have the air slam you into the bar?

Just wondering. I've always been someone who fully 'closes' the restraint until it's touching me and I don't seem to have problems on rides where other people complain. I've sometimes suspected that what some consider 'stapled' is a more comfortable way to ride - especially when high forces are involved.

That depends a lot on the amount of negative G-force as well as the nature of the restraint. I've been saying for a decade that the secret to comfortable Magnum rides is pulling the belt as tight as possible, because it conforms to your shape and takes the brunt of the force instead of the lap bar. The B&M clam shells, I would assume would be comfortable as well. The Intamin T-bar, the Dragster iteration, I thought was nearly perfect. I don't know why they keep changing stuff.

Agreed... I like the restraints pushed tight too. The bouncing around you get from a loose restraint isn't worth it. I however didn't have a choice on Skyrush... It was either staple or don't ride. My wife who said they didn't push them down extremely tight was complaining about the pain... like I said, I only felt the pressure of my legs against them on the air hills. There was however one turn that felt like it was going to throw me out of the left side of the train. Oh... we each rode in one of the wing seats.

I also tend to ride with the restraint touching, so that wasn't the issue. I'm telling you...this experience was something different.

Carrie J. said:
I also tend to ride with the restraint touching, so that wasn't the issue. I'm telling you...this experience was something different.

I like to be restrained very tightly in my seat, and I stapled myself into Skyrush, but I swear the restraints got even tighter as the ride went on. I don't think you're nuts at all, Carrie. It was horrendously painful, to the point where I would see the next airtime hill and go "no...no no nonononono!" my friend and the other riders were also yelling out a bunch of "ow's" and yelping, and NO ONE around me was laughing or smiling or screaming "wooooooo!" or anything.

I have been considering this for two weeks, and I think between the bars tightening from the forces and the shape of the plastic wedge restraints, it was a mistake. If the plastic was more rounded and a little thicker, or a little softer and thicker, it may have helped. The thin hard wedge was actually thin and hard enough that I believe it was actually digging in, like a hard plastic table smushing the hips and thighs against a wall. If they can indeed retrofit these trains with even a slightly different lapbar profile and stop the restraints at a certain period, this coaster would be short but super fun.