Hersheypark's Roller Soaker to be replaced with "sprayground"

If Lightning Racer has a poor reputation, I've never seen it. I've seen consistently filled trains almost every time I've been on it, and people seem to love it. The length of the line is irrelevant if seats are filled, save for when the line is closed.

My personal experience was that on my most recent trip to Hershey, I just didn't want to walk all the way out there. I rode Wildcat with the MF's because it was new to me, but (since LR doesn't really pop my tarts) I never felt the need to walk to LR. I was admittedly rather short on time, but there was a noticeable thinning of crowds on the midway in that direction.

Lightning Racers is the biggest reason to go to Hersheypark. It's one of the best coasters in the country. Like Andy, I think it's out of the way and a pretty long walk from everything else. It's becoming apparent that that park has a terrible layout.

Its 100% fact that LR is not going anywhere. Hersheypark loves that ride. LR only 'failed' in the marketing dept's eyes opening year, as some suits thought it would generate the same Great Bear buzz. Of course, most of us would probably love a new wooden racing coaster in their home park vs. a suspended anyday.

LR is the anchor of Midway America. Obviously the waterpark gig changed the face of the area, but I enjoy 2 efficient train operation and no wait. Its my favorite coaster in the park.

As enthusiasts, you could only wish for top of the line trains, smooth pulse trim brakes, a track that screams speed, and a mile long q.

Yeah, Hershey's layout was pretty terrible and confusing for a first timer. Yet at the same time, it made it exciting to find new stuff scattered about for me.

I don't think LR is going anywhere for the foreseeable future. They'd be silly to get rid of one of their best rides. But, I don't think the bulk of Hershey's customers will ever recognize it among the park's best.

The only way I'd foresee a massive increase in ridership would be if the park painted a gold trail from Hershey's entrance to LR, with a plethora of signs that advertised it as the best & most fun ride in the park. And with the exception of some deranged enthusiast, that's not going to happen.

Is it because of Cedar Point that I don't find Hersheypark to be particularly sprawling in the least?

^^Jeff, I have no idea. I'm baffled by that. Cedar Point seemed easily negotiable in layout and not all that big for all it has in it. Much better layout, I think.

Between the hills, the random pathways that sometimes lead somewhere and sometimes don't, and the inability to cut through certain areas of the park instead of walking around them, Hershey seems to be a gigantic navigation clustereff. One of the only parks I've ever been to where, while I love the park, I still have trouble finding cue lines and specific rides. It is a mess.

[The first part to Jeff...You got in there while I was typing, Bunky. :-) ]

Hmm...so you're saying that you think CP is a sprawling layout? Maybe it's because it has been my home park for 25 years, but I always thought it was such a simple layout. If you basically keep walking straight forward, you'll run into just about everything, with easy entrances off the main path.

With all Hershey's trees and changing elevations, we were getting confused, even with a map in hand. The worst part was finding the ride entrances though. We'd find clusters of coasters mangled together like Great Bear, Sky Rush, SDL, and Comet , but we'd end up practically circling them before finding the entrance. Getting from Roller Soaker to Zoo America was the challenge of the day, and looking back at the map, I can see why. In the end, getting on 12/12 coasters on my first ever day at the park was satisfying.

Back to the water park though...it has probably been discussed in the past, but why didn't Hershey just build a separate water park on a nearby plot of land? They had more than enough people to support the place as a dry park with water rides.

Cedar Point certainly is sprawling. As the park I grew up with, I expected that all parks were like that (and that every major metro had something like it, which turned out to not be true). If you start at the front gate, loop around the beach midway, go up through Corkscrew, passing Magnum and Gemini, through Frontier Town, down the trail, and back to the front gate, you'll walk two miles. Round trip from Sky Rush to Lightning Racer at Hershey is about 1.25 miles.

Cedar Point is sprawling, but it is a very uncomplicated layout. More important, it is built from old-fashioned midways that showcase the rides.

Hersheypark was re engineered and redesigned during the post-Disneyland theme park boom, with the planning done by the same consultants who designed many of the other theme parks of the era, so they made many of the same mistakes: long, twisty paths with no short cuts, ride entrances hidden away from the midway, no practical expansion path, that kind of thing. The same kind of nonsense you see at Darien Lake, Carowinds, and some of the Six Flags parks...

Today, the parks designed in this way are having to adapt, so those big loop designs have turned into big loops with dead-end spurs leading to the rides that have been added over the years. Add in a site that is decidedly not flat and has a creek running through the middle of it, and you get Hersheypark.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I disagree completely, especially labeling long, twisty paths as mistakes.

Fascinating, Dave. Park layouts is one reason I got into the amusement park hobby in the first place.

The Kings Island of ten or so years ago is my idea of a perfect layout. Six Flags America is my idea of the worst layout.

The reason I dislike Hersheypark's layout is because of things added over the last decade or so. It was fine, in my opinion, before all these new additions placed on top of each other. They just keep adding stuff in the stupidest places. It looks so cluttered and confusing.

Cedar Point has a really interesting layout. Very wide midways and a great view of the rides make it awesome, in my opinion.

I think Cedar Point in reality is sprawling, but it's superior layout keeps it from feeling that way. While Hershey isn't necessarily what you would think of as sprawling, but its horrible layout and design make it feel like it is.

I've been going to Hershey Park for over 35 years and I have NEVER once thought that the "layout" was anything but brilliant. It's one of the many things that gives HP its personality ! It's what brings it to life ! It's one of the main reasons why they've separated themselves from just about every other wannabe amusement park around. I find it funny how most of the whining and sniveling you hear about the layout being terrible, is coming from the the so-called enthusiasts. What's even more ironic, is that those very people are no doubt the same ones who are just plain too lazy or too out of shape to do anything except sit on their couch, click the remote control and complain about every stupid, little thing they can come up with. And regardless of what they would have you think, the enthusiasts are NOT the be all end all of the industry, and their (in most cases) insignificant opinions usually don't mean squat - or better still, make them a fact. The bottom line is this: Hershey Park; its rides; its food; its shows; its theming; AND most of all; its layout, are simply awesome ! And sorry to break this to those in denial ... if your name isn't Hershey park and/or are not associated with them, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, Anheuser Busch or Disney, you're nothing but a distant second !

Wow.

Lol Thanks. I also thought that after I re-read it. Probably stepping on some toes with that one, but since it's true and since I consider myself an enthusiast as well, I figured it was my civic duty to speak up.

I've never found Hershey's layout to be a detriment to enjoying the park. No one here has explained why it's bad either.

I didn't find it significantly worse than any other park, and the Comet Hollow area and the Storm Runner/Fahrenheit areas are fine. I just thought the walk out to LR was way too long for the payoff but I would have happily ridden it if it were closer. (And before Superstew makes assumptions about people he doesn't know...oh wait, too late...I'm running a 5K tomorrow and shooting for sub 20:00, so I'm far from out of shape.)

Jeff said:

No one here has explained why it's bad either.

I don't think anyone has to. It just is.

I don't have to understand the mechanics of why I find something hard to use and annoying, I just know I do.

I'll make a quick stab at what's wrong with HP's layout - simply "everything" to the left of Founder's Circle...