Memorial Day Weekend Coaster Adventure: Hersheypark (5/22 - 5/23/2025)

Preamble:

Back on Memorial Day Weekend 2023, I set out on a solo coaster adventure that would take me to two parks I’d never been to before: Carowinds and Kings Dominion. I had such an incredible time that I decided to repeat the trip again this year and make it an annual event going forward. But while my first adventure was solo, this year I was joined by fellow CoasterBuzzer, TylerWS. He and I have become close friends in the last year, not only visiting Cedar Point and Kings Island a few times, but also hanging out in our respective cities once a month, too. Still, this would be the first time he and I traveled together. Would our friendship survive? Let’s find out…

This year, we nixed Carowinds from the trip because Tyler suggested we visit Hersheypark instead. I agreed given that I’ve never been there and wanted to hear what the hype was about. After that, we’d visit Kings Dominion and end our trip with Busch Gardens Williamsburg (another park I’ve never visited). Additionally, the first coaster I rode at Hersheypark would mark my 100th coaster!

The Park:

(Quick note: Tyler found out that Hersheypark offers a park preview. The day before your visit, you can enter the park 2 hours before closing for free…no charge for parking or entering as long as you have a ticket. We took advantage of this and while most of the rides were down due to rain, we still got to ride a bit. Our full day had amazing weather and massive crowds).

Hersheypark is quite the conundrum. Despite its recent renown and collection of world-class coasters, the park feels incredibly quaint and inviting. Tyler mentioned that it feels like trolley parks of old with its retro vibe that feels authentic. He compared it to Kennywood (another park I’ve not been to yet despite its proximity). There was something familiar about the park even though it was my first visit. The layout was interesting given that the park seemed to rest on a slightly hilly terrain. One ride on the Kissing Tower showed how small the park was with coaster layouts interweaving with each other. Still, the park never felt cluttered or overstuffed, likely due to the massive amount of trees that never let everything be seen all at once. Parks should do everything they can to keep their trees (looking at you Cedar Point)!

Another conundrum is that Hersheypark has a LOT of product placement, but not once did it come off as cheap or over-the-top and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because we know who owns the park, so it makes sense they would name the rides after products. But somehow it felt authentic, unlike the kinds of branding seen at a Six Flags park. Tyler and I started measuring the vibes of the parks based on whether we’d go there if riding a coaster wasn’t an option and we both agreed, we’d enjoy just walking around Hersheypark.

The Staff:

While Hersheypark itself was inviting, the staff, sadly, was not. Don’t get me wrong, they were never rude, but I think I expected a warmer demeanor akin to Kings Island, Dollywood, or even Dorney Park. Instead, it didn’t seem like the staff wanted to be there. When we rode Candymonium, Tyler said all of the ride operators looked confused and he wasn’t lying. Not only that, the operations were pretty terrible. Apart from Wildcat’s Revenge, there was never any sense of urgency in dispatching trains. And given the large holiday crowd, Fast Track was a necessity.

Skip-The-Line:

Hersheypark’s Fast Track uses bands with an RFID, if I’m not mistaken. No need to hope that a scanner can read a QR code like at Cedar Fair parks. Fast Track queues merged pretty close to the station, which resulted in most of our wait times being 20 minutes or less even on this very busy day. We were able to pick our seats on every ride because ride ops almost never assigned seats.

The Food:

I’ll be honest, the food was pretty bad. They charge the same as Cedar Fair, usually around $18-22 for the meal, but the quality was low. I had a dry chicken sandwich from the Overlook Food Court, a dry cheese burger and surprisingly good cheese curds from 1906 Grill, and way-too-salty boneless wings from Chickie’s and Pete’s.

The Rides:

• Wildcat’s Revenge (3x | station wait): My 100th coaster! I rode this during our park preview in the rain and despite the pain, I had to ride it again (Tyler sat out the second ride because he is smart). While not as epic as Steel Vengeance or Iron Gwazi, I think Wildcat’s Revenge is what happens when RMC balances their coaster’s acrobatics with a mostly comfortable ride. One can easily marathon WR without a head or back ache. I enjoyed every second of this coaster and never felt like I had to endure it like the end of SV. The lockers are well placed and easy to use. There is a bit of an honor system when it comes to emptying pockets. Ride ops are there to make sure you remove everything, but there are no metal detectors to verify. This also seemed to be the only ride in the park where ops were focused on getting trains dispatched.
• Storm Runner (2x | 10 min): I will always say that TT2 is a far superior coaster than TTD, but damn it, I miss that launch. Storm Runner reminded just how powerful it was. I was honestly surprised at how forceful Intamin’s hydraulic launch is. The top hat followed by the Cobra Loop was just pure insanity. But then the flying snake drive was the best kind of disorientation. I know WR gets most of the love, but I think Storm Runner might be my favorite in the park. The station was pure chaos though.
• Sky Rush (2x | 20 min): After my first ride on Sky Rush, my initial thought was, “I don’t think I enjoyed this as much as other enthusiasts.” Tyler agreed and started what would become a pillar of his reviews, “_____ rode better than Sky Rush.” I’m not one to be sensitive to “rattles” or “roughness” but I was a bit shocked that the coaster wasn’t as smooth as other Intamins. Our second ride, however, was dramatically improved. The first drop on SR is bonkers. On both rides, I thought we had hit the steepest point of the drop and the coaster was like, “Nah, let’s go a little steeper…” What followed was an absolutely crazy ride over the water. Both the wing and central seats were intense. And unlike B&M wings, there was nothing slow or lumbering about this one.
• Candymonium (1x | 15 min): We caught this one as we were waiting for the rest of the park to open. It was a better than average B&M hyper. Loved the first drop (rode it before SR). It was smooth and the pops of airtime were great. The turnaround in the entry plaza was beautiful from the ground, but low in forces on the ride. This is likely due to the trim brake, which I think is unnecessary. Still, it’s a great addition and different enough rom Sky Rush to warrant its existence.
• Fahrenheit (1x | 10 min): Another fun and intense Intamin with slightly more rough moments, especially in the cobra roll. But the layout, particularly the inversions, were a lot of fun. But the low capacity mixed with the slow ops meant a sloooow regular line.
• sooperdooperLooper (1x | 20 min): We love a Schwarzkopf and this one delivered. So smooth that Tyler said, “sooperdooperLooper rode better than Sky Rush!” It features that signature, forceful Schwarzkopf loop with some fun turnarounds.
• Comet (1x | 15 min): You guessed it… “Comet rode better than Sky Rush!” For a coaster that’s so old, they’ve maintained it extremely well. It was pretty cool seeing a coaster that still uses friction brakes instead of fins. And this one has some speed to it. Sure, it’s dwarfed by Sky Rush, but the lines for this one were long all day. The people obviously cherish this classic coaster.
• Trailblazer (1x | 5 min): A fun little Arrow mine train without a wooden support system. Not as fun as adventure express, but a surprisingly good time with the right amount of awkward transitions.
• Great Bear (1x | walk on): Another one we rode during our preview time. This one was so weird, but so good. Loved the fake drop before the actual drop. There are a decent amount of foot choppers, enough to make me lift my legs even though I knew better. I was tempted to ride this one again, but we had other re-rides to do instead.
• Laff Trakk (1x | 15 min): Tyler skipped this one and I don’t blame him. I usually don’t ride a coaster just for the credit…I have to actually want to ride and I typically avoid spinning coasters. But I also love indoor coasters, so I did this one solo. I’d say this is less of a spinner and more of a shifting of perspective as you traverse the course. The props and set pieces are silly and it adds to the feel of the ride. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t want to test my luck with another ride.
• Lightning Racer (1x | walk on): This was such a fun dueling coaster! It was great battling the other train without both having identical layouts. I also think different trains win each time instead of it timing up to be a tie. I do think this one needs a re-track, but I hope they don’t RMC it. Let woodies be woodies!
• Reese’s Cupfusion (1x | 10 min): This was an indoor shooter that reminded me a lot of the Men in Black ride at Universal. Tyler got a higher score than me because I didn’t quite understand what I was supposed to shoot, but don’t worry, I got my revenge at Kings Dominion.
• Monorail (1x | 45 min): Relaxing way to see the park. Unfortunately, they were only running one train, so we spent a lot of time in line. But we got to see Storm Runner come down the top hat right as we went by. SO COOL.

Overall:

There was a moment when Tyler and I seriously considered skipping Kings Dominion to have a second day at Hersheypark. It was such a great experience, despite the crowd, staff, and food. But any park that leaves me wanting more is a great park to me. I will likely return for another visit later this year when school is back in session. It was truly an awesome experience.

Skyrush>RRR

That's a shame about Sky Rush. I always got a smooth ride on it, but the restraints guillotined my legs. I was hoping the new trains would make it the great coaster that it has the potential to be, but if they run janky then I guess that's not to be.

Agreed on food, I usually leave and go to Troegs brewery, which is literally right next door. The BBQ place near the mine train is the only place I've found with anything better than school cafeteria food.

I had a bad ride on Skyrush in the back and a good ride in the front. The ride was rough before and the chassis are the same as before, so it's not surprising to me that aspect wasn't resolved. The new restraints are great, however.