Skyrush Update

Mulfinator:

I've never wanted a ride on a coaster to end more than on Skyrush.

I take it you never got on Son of Beast?

I think this is a good move by Hershey, and will probably cause those that had sworn it off to try it again. I'm looking forward to giving the new seats a try when I'm out at HP next.

Touche. I must have blocked that out.

Well I’ve ridden thighcrush and SOB and neither are my most painful rides. That honor goes to SFOT’s boomerang, on the first pass through the station my OTSR stapled down two more clicks on me compressing my spine and gave me sharp shooting stabbing pain down both my legs everytime the ride had positive Gs. Repositioning on the second lift did not help.

That was the ride I learned to always make sure that Arrow OTSRs are snug on me before leaving a station, preventing them from slamming down multiple clicks on positive G portions.

RCMAC:

I guess I’m missing a lot of details but flow through loading will be the biggest benefit.

Is this happening? Did I miss it? That would be a much bigger deal for me than new restraints. I enjoy the ride, but skip it if there's any kind of line due to the slow load. Wouldn't be an easy reconfiguration, that's for sure.

If they're going to replace restraints, I'd vote for Storm Runner. Any ride with that vintage restraint crushes my spine. I loved it when it first opened, but not anymore.

Hypersonic XLC at Dominion will always be my most painful. After waiting two hours, I hurt for three days. No joke, it was that bad. The radius of that top hat was way too small to allow for any variance from the ideal speed. That it did not last was no surprise at all.

BariMan:
Is this happening? Did I miss it?

I don’t know for sure, I’m missing details.
But they do state that the station will change and I have to hope they’re not talking paint and banners.

I don't think there is room for any kind of useful changes to the station.

I reread my last post and realized it was sounded like annoying complaining. I am sorry about that. I should add that some people might really enjoy this kind of coaster. It can probably only get better, so whatever they do to improve this ride will be welcome.

Don't you load and unload on the same side in that station? If they find a way to flush load that'd speed up the throughput a lot. Not sure if there's room for that, though.

There isn’t in the current configuration. The train storage bay is directly behind the wall on the opposite side.

RCMAC:

I don’t know for sure, I’m missing details.
But they do state that the station will change and I have to hope they’re not talking paint and banners.

I don’t recall where I saw this, but Hershey replied to someone on social saying it’s getting paint, lighting effects, and a new “soundscape.” So basically giving it the Jolly Rancher Remix (boomerang) treatment.

We got a lap in today. Waited an hour and forty minutes. The new restraints really improve the ride experience. Thigh crush is a thing of the past. Same restraints as Velocicoaster.

The effects added in the station with audio of a jet taking off when leaving the station is a nice touch. That will be better at night.

I saw this on Facebook and found it amusing. Intamin posted a news release promoting their work with Hershey on the ride, admitting that "the only thing missing was to ensure that all guests enjoyed a comfortable ride experience." That's all fine and dandy, except you were the ones who screwed it up in the first place! The marketing tries to make it sound like the original restraints were a result of making such an innovative ride, but in reality we all know they should have never left the design phase.

The full quote is "The only thing missing was to ensure that all guests enjoyed a comfortable ride experience, which the first-generation lap bar system had inhibited for certain guests." Not sure that there's any nefarious or shady marketing going on here. Besides, as one who never found the restraints all that uncomfortable, I'm proof that the implication in the statement is true: the first gen lap bar system did not inhibit a comfortable ride for certain (other) guests.

They were **** and 99% of people hated them. I will cede many things but that's not one of them.

You don't have to cede anything, but the statement you took issue with is still factual and not really misleading in any way that I can see. Maybe it's downplaying the issue, but what are they supposed to say? "We at Intamin designed a **** restraint that 99% of people hated [citation needed], yet the coaster carried thousands of riders every year for more than a decade with them anyway. Now we're finally changing them."

For the record, just because I never had a problem with the lapars, I'm not saying the change isn't warranted.

Add me to the list of folks not bothered by the initial restraint. I doubt Vater and I are enough to reduce the estimate of 99% to 98%, but hey, it’s a start!

Make it 97%

I, for one, hated the original restrains. My thighs were sore for a couple of days after one lap on that ride.

PhantomTails:

I will cede many things but that's not one of them.

Not only were the restraints too tight on the upper thighs, but the forces of being jolted from side to side made it even worse. Why does Intamin think that is fun? That's not something new trains are going to fix.

Hersheypark is a great park, one of the best. Skyrush will still feel out of place even with new restraints.