Hersheypark will install 220-foot roller coaster for 2020 season

This is probably the most excited I have been about any coaster addition to a local park in 10+ years. Nitro and Diamondback are 2 of my favorite steel coasters and to have a similar type ride at Hersheypark will be great. The park could use another high capacity coaster with 2 out of the last 3 coasters really not great for handling the crowds the park gets (Laff Trakk and Fahrenheit).

I'm also looking forward to seeing a season pass line at the entrance. Most times I visit the park later in the day when there is no wait to get in but on days I get there for opening, even on a slow day, the entrance can get very crowded.

Kinda light on coaster details. An interesting approach...

I was hoping the B&M would be a giga. Oh well...

Given the coaster is two years out, I'm assuming a more robust announcement will come later.

Can't wait to ride it at CoasterCon 43!

So, Hersheypark is spending $150,000,000 in the same year as Cedar Point is celebrating 150 years...How's CP gonna top that? LOL

I'll begin by saying that I'm a huge Hersheypark fan, and am thrilled the owners are investing serious money. But am I the only one a little underwhelmed by what they're getting for 150 mil? I know they helped relocate a road, and I'm sure a lot of the infrastructure improvements are with the next 10 or 20 years in mind... But a roller coaster... And a restaurant, ice cream parlor, and kettle corn stand? All of that and the new entrance should be, what.... 50 mil? Where's the other 100?

There's a fountain shaped like a Hershey Kiss. You think that's free?

What that video says to me is "White people love Hersheypark."

TheAcrophobicEnthusiast said:
Kinda light on coaster details. An interesting approach...

The whole approach seems bizarre to me. "Here's a bunch of shopping and eateries and a fountain, and oh yeah, a big ass coaster, and..."

I'm also kind of mystified by the choice to put a second hyper in the park. Don't get me wrong; I'll always welcome a B&M hyper, but even if Skyrush is a vastly different experience, I'd bet on the GP saying, "another 200-ish foot coaster that doesn't go upside down? Why?". Maybe I'm not giving enough credit, but...

Hershey's choices kind of mystify me often. I didn't "get" the three drop tower thing, getting rid of the rapids ride to put in...water stuff, etc. this seems to be the most well thought out thing they've done in a while, but it still seems slightly random or something. I'm not even sure how to explain why it doesn't make a lot of sense to me (except for the new gate...good lord they needed it).

Yeah, because everyone says, "This park has too many coasters."

bunky666 said:

I'm not even sure how to explain why it doesn't make a lot of sense to me (except for the new gate...good lord they needed it).

I think the word you are looking for is strategy. They don't seem to be executing a clear strategic vision for ride capital and as a result, many additions don't appear to be cohesive.

Completely agree. This park has made some weird choices in the past that collectively cause me to scratch my head. This announcement makes much more sense and feels a major step forward for the park. Good for them.

Forgive my ignorance, but is the dark ride still part of Hershey's Chocolate World? And will Chocolate World remain as part of this plan? I loved that. Almost like Epcot had a chocolate pavilion.

Yes, the dark ride is still in Chocolate World, although it was updated within the last year I believe. It looks to me like Chocolate World will be a part of this new area, but still outside the gate.

No GP ever say “but Fury is just a bigger intimidator”.

Because they’re just there to ride it.

Agreed. But why not something different? A flying coaster, perhaps?

Because the GP, for whom all decisions are finally made, will ride it and feel it's completely different from anything else in the park...which it basically is.

Comparing Skyrush to a B&M is just silly..If capacities were equal, the B&M would have a higher ridership than Skyrush because more people can ride the B&M's over and over again. If CP had only gone 299 feet high with MF, would you people still be asking why CP would just build 2 hypers. BTW, Hersheypark has 4 different wood tracks in their park and none go upside down. I think HP needs to just say that Skyrush is technically only 199.9 feet tall instead of the 200 ft it is.

"Carowinds and Canada's Wonderland are the sux0rz, because they each have two 200+ foot coasters."
-No one ever