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

How many times have I heard that, only to watch the person come back for another helping?

I was going to reply to a "Peace Bro" PM from Stew privately and directly, but maybe it should be here to add to the awesome soap opera that is CoastrBuzz...

I'll accept your apology, Stew, however you need to understand that about 90% of the things you said about me are not in any way true. You shouldn't generalize about people you do not know. I am strong and work very hard. I'm not too much out of shape, and I am definitely not lazy, but someone else who is overweight and lazy could read what you said and really be upset over it. You don't know me, but comment about me like you do. I pretty much ignored all of your other generalizations.

Look how smart the comments in this topic were until you chimed in. Compare them. There is a line where the smart comments turn into the stupid dramatic comments, exactly in the fifth sentence of your first post in this topic. You brought heat to a very interesting discussion. I was fascinated with the conversation and would have loved for it to continue the way it was before you started calling everyone who disagrees with you fat and lazy.

And respectfully, maybe that's why you do not belong here. I'm not saying that you are not smart. I'm saying that maybe a more dramatic message board would be a better fit for your personality.

Edited to add the missing letter "o" and the missing word "calling".

The short version is that it really doesn't matter much what the people here think - it very much DOES matter what the average park guest entering Hershey's gates thinks. A dozen years in, we've got a pretty good handle on who thinks in terms of "average guest", and how that might impact a variety of factors including ridership, impressions, profitability, maintenance costs, etc. These in turn affect park decisions regarding future installations, locations, ride removals, and the rest.

Superstew said:

I didn't say anything to you. I wasn't talking to you !

Um, you do realize we can all read what you post...and respond to it?

I'm growing tired of this being about personalities.

I done talking about it after this post. I wish there was a page we could link to that said all this when this happens. Something just a little bit more in depth than the TOS page. Then the discussion could move along naturally with very little interruption.

Good enough

I thought a PM was the more appropriate way to go, but if you want to continue it on here for everyone to read and see, I'm fine with that.

Without trying to drag this thing out any further because it's long since reached the point of redundant (among other things), let me just say again, I never called or said anyone was "FAT." That was an assumption on your part. You know what the word *assume* stands for. I said, "out of shape." Big difference there. And it wasn't meant to be insulting or degrading.

My comment, being a generalization about some people who I don't even know, and that you and a few others seem to be so troubled by, was a type of remark that is an everyday occurrence on these boards and has been going on so for some 12 years now. Maybe not as "colorful" (for the lack of a better word) in some cases, but none the less, just as direct. You can comb back through the thousands and thousands of topics and comments to see evidence of that.

I may have brought some "heat" to a very interesting discussion, but the thing you need to realize and understand is that whether you liked it or not - whether you agreed with it or not, doesn't make it any less valid. I'd also bet there was more truth to it than you're probably willing to admit.

It sounds like there's a concept here you need to start coming to terms with ... Sometimes things are going to be said that offend people. Whether it's by accident or on purpose, certain individuals are going to take offense even if it was sugar coated to try and prevent it. That's just the way it is. I might consider something completely harmless and no foul committed, while in turn you think it's outrageous and heinous. It's all ones perception.

Now, respectfully, I am more than capable of functioning and fitting in on these boards and have been doing so for over a decade. Even if I haven't made my presence known on a daily basis or logged thousands of posts, I follow the discussions in depth and I've carried on plenty of interesting and informative conversations in the past with people I don't personally know and will look forward to a lot more of it in the future. Hopefully you'll be involved. And even though 90% of what you said about me isn't true either, I'm in no way, shape or form bothered by it. The sun will come up tomorrow; I will still DJ and and play 80's tunes; My dog will still love me; And come May, I will be visiting CP, HP, and any other park I can be a fanboy of and riding coasters I'm not too "fat" to get on.

And after all of this...Hersheypark's layout?

Still sucks.

SF America's layout sucks too. I wonder what they were thinking when they did that? SFA's layout didn't have to suck like HP's did though. It's possible that HP might have less choice when it comes to placement of rides and paths; less than SFA's anyways.

I think it was Jeff who said a few pages ago that he enjoyed the little winding paths that took you out of the action for a while. I do like that about HP, and the Disney parks too. I recall a comment recently that a lot of parks are taking out these paths for expansion reasons, which I find to be a shame.

Another thing that I do like about HP's layout is the bridges. In one area of the park, you have a bridge going over the creek and another smaller path. While it does make getting from one place to another a little more confusing, it's still kind of neat.

My biggest problem with HP is where they put new attractions.

They put the new attractions in where they had to go given the available space at the time. I suppose a few things could have been flip flopped around (maybe even Skyrush), but HP has been steadily moving out into what was once a huge, wide open field for the last 30 years. I'm not sure the footprint of Pioneer Frontier, Midway America - basically everything beyond Music Box Way, could have looked all that much different than it does now.

As much as Six Flags America has a terrible dead end layout, they still have the opportunity to make it work through well thought-out expansions to create a midway extending from the new kids area to the Apocalypse midway. With that said I don't have much faith in them to close the loop.

Lord Gonchar said:

I have said for years, I don't consider myself a coaster enthusiast - especially compared to the average people who make up enthusiast groups. I just don't care nearly as much. It's an interest.

*Chuckling*

Gonch, I couldn't help noticing while looking back through - according to CB, this was part of what was your 13,898th post. Well like you said earlier, WOW !! Almost 14,000 posts ! Boy, if that isn't considered an enthusiast and someone who cares, I don't know what would be. In any event, it sure is one hell of an interest ;)

Stop it, Stew. Seriously. We are trying to have a conversation here.

Seriously dude, come off your high horse. Did you not notice that I replied to your last comment accordingly ? How about addressing that as it is in perfect confines of the conversation.

rollergator said:

The short version is that it really doesn't matter much what the people here think - it very much DOES matter what the average park guest entering Hershey's gates thinks.

Very true. Hershey Park has been floating around the 3 million mark in attendance the last few years now. I would love to see the numbers from an exit poll showing us the percentages of whether the GP likes the layout; they hate it; or somewhere in the middle.

I would bet that most people wouldn't even think twice about the layout but could tell you whether they made it down to LR or not. Perhaps an analog is when I go to a baseball game (something I am thoroughly GP at), I haven't the foggiest idea who the starting pitchers are, but I can tell you which one got blasted a couple of times and whether the home team won.

Krause is on high horse

Stop talking about people

Get back to coasters

:)

Nice Andy. Maybe the better poll would be to ask guests if they were able to find LR or not.

I don't think the regular non-enthusiast type is stupid. I'll give them credit for knowing where LR is. I think it's possible that they just might intend to get back there to ride it, but other attractions distract them from that. Storm Runner and Fahrenheit , for example, is easier and closer to get to, and is more visable from anywhere in the park. The Comet/SkyRush/SooperDooperLooper area is more familiar to parkgoers because it's closer to the entrance.

One could argue that Lightning Racers/Wildcat area is very busy because of the waterpark, but riding them would require a change of clothes.

I do remember a press release stating that one of the main reasons for building Skyrush where they did was to try and get some of the "traffic" back to that end of the park. The boardwalk and LR area apparently have been drawing enough of the crowd that they wanted to balance it out more.