Hydra Media Day

Revenge is Sweet!

After a year and a half of waiting, I got the chance to test the monster that took down Hercules.

Many have said that "it's too small" or "the Jo-Jo Roll is just a cheap gimmick", but I have to disagree on both parts. Let's start with the Jo-Jo Roll: it was a very unique feeling, and like I imagined, it feels very different on each side of the coaster. It was not uncomfortable at all, like some had feared, mostly because B&M are the masters of the comfortable seat. The front is the best place to experience the Jo-Jo Roll, and don't forget to smile for the camera when you are up-side-down . After a quick turn around, Hydra wastes no time scurrying up the lift hill and dropping you into the canyon below.

The inclined dive loop gives you a good disorienting feeling and has a nice snap right at the peak. With no time to think, you are thrown into the zero-g roll that delivers a feeling of weightlessness perfectly. The first flat spin might be the most tame inversion on the ride, but it is followed by the the very tight cobra roll, that also has a little snap to it at both peaks.

Don't think Hydra doesn't have air, because it does, just not where you think. The little change of direction hill right above the Jo-Jo Roll gives a nice little pop of air no matter where you sit. Believe it or not, the bunny hop only delivers air in the back. That's the little break you have before you slam into the 7th and final inversion, another tight flat spin that makes you realize that the beast is not done with you yet. Finally you hit the highly banked helix before turning back into the station just in time to see the train ahead of you drop through the Jo-Jo Roll.

While the front (and on the right side) is the best place to experience the Jo-Jo Roll, if you really want a wild ride that starts right from the first drop, you need to ride the tail of the beast. Don't let the 105' drop fool you, Hydra packs a punch from beginning to end.

All I can say is, Dorney has another winner, and it was worth the wait!

What rides other than Dragster do have the cheek rippling effect?

I can't wait to ride Hydra, thanks for the report!

I really wanted to go today, but couldn't justify driving six hours to ride one ride. Still, great to hear you like it. I suspected that hop after the cobra roll would be a money spot.

---

GoliathKills said:
What rides other than Dragster do have the cheek rippling effect?

I can't wait to ride Hydra, thanks for the report!

---

Kingda Ka...;). Sorry, just had to point that out.

---

GoliathKills said:
What rides other than Dragster do have the cheek rippling effect?

---

Besides the other few coasters that go so incredibly fast, I was just trying to say that it will be a very different photo. No hair flying back, no cheeks deformed, rather, it will probably have fair that appears to be spiked.

The camera is in the Jojo roll? Is it just me or doesn anyone else speculate that there be a lot of blacked out on-ride photos due to women's low cut tops?

How quickly, or slowly, does the train take the infamous Jo-Jo Roll?

joe, yes it is just you. How much could you expect to see with OTSRs? Although the idea of "fuzzy" on-ride photos is quite funny. People who weren't even on the ride would be buying pics! (We need 5 more of Row 4!)

All in all, it sounds like a great ride for being so small. It's "only" a 100' loop you know.

The speed through the Jojo is just about right. It is not so fast that you get banged around, and not so slow that you hang forever in the restraints.

The ride has two photo spots, once in the Jojo, and then again just before the colbra roll.

It is a very good ride. I was disapointed by the bunny hop and the last part of the ride. After the quick series of elements before it really seems to slow down at that point. But the Jojo really makes the ride, it is just surpisingly fun and unique. Overall I think the ride is an eight out of ten.

Yeah, the bunny hop was slow, but allowed you to catch a quick breath before the final flat spin. I would imagine, as the season goes on and the weather warms up, it will pick up a little more speed and give a little air over the bunny hop.

I'll re-evaluate it this weekend;).

Exactly my thinking. Give it a few months and some time to break in and I think it will fly over that hop a bit faster.

It is a personal opinion, but I like a coaster that doesn't let up, that is why I was dissappointed a bit with Hydra, it has that slow down, and aside from the nice corkscrew, it really doesn't have a kicking ending. I think had the helix been lower to the ground, it would have made for a nice forceful ending. That doesn't mean it isn't a fine ride, it is a fun ride and a perfect fit for Dorney, just not as intense as its sister at the other end of the midway.

BTW, you can find photos I took HERE.

I tend to think that loopies + float=Gooooooooood.

CoasterMadness '05:

PM ERT: Talon or Hydra???

NEVER had a conflict like that in the past 3 CMs! :)

Jo
'00 '02 '03 Raptor Crew

NICE shots Cyclonic!

I was there today, it was about 10 degrees warmer, and it did seem a little faster.

Has Hydra made the May crowds any bigger than they were the last couple of seasons? (nonexistent)

During the 12 o'clock hour today, I waited 15 minutes for the back and 30 minutes for the front on Hydra. Didn't have much time to stay long today, mainly because I was up waaaaay too late last night.

I'd say the May crowd is still rather light. Looking forward to power riding Hydra tomorrow.;)

---

joe. said:
The camera is in the Jojo roll? Is it just me or doesn anyone else speculate that there be a lot of blacked out on-ride photos due to women's low cut tops?

---

LOL. Well, we'll just have to see if this turns out like Splash "Flash" Mountain ;)

It happens at PKI all the time. Specifically on Beast, where the camera snaps right as you hit a positive-G pullout.

It used to happen more. On Tomb Raider when it had it's camera in 2002. it's a spin-and-flip (or should we say "spin and SLIP") ride, and it made a flip or two before the photo was taken.

They take your photo on Tazmanian Typhoon water slide too... i heard of quite a few "problems" last season!

I was also surprised by the lack of a large crowd today. We were there from about 10-2 and the crowds just never seemed to show up. I don't think we waited more than 5 minutes for any of our Hydra rides. BTW, I really enjoyed the ride. The highlight was definitely the JoJo Role. I was surprised by how slooooowly it turns you over. Fun stuff:)

A 5 minute wait at Dorney in may IS a long wait. :)

Seriously. That park was just dead in May the couple of years we lived over there.

Yeah, we last went to the park on Mothers Day two years ago and the place was absolutely dead then to. I thought for sure that with a brand new coaster opening, there would have been at least some crowds. I guess everyone waits for Wildwater Kingdom to open. I'm looking forward to hopefully the same kind of crowds in two weeks at Coasterbuzzcon.