Springtime (?) In Hershey

We were there last night, got early leave from work so we drove down. I was expecting problems because of the cold temps, correct me if wrong, but I remember last year being gorgeous for Springtime in the Park.

My first shock was the crowded parking, but was glad to see that alot of it was for some Christian thing at the Giant Center. You can see the construction for the new parking project is underway when you enter the parking booths.

We arrived just after 5pm, got our two day flex ticket and headed off for Great Bear to start the season, figuring Storm Runner would have at least an hour queue. Sadly the only flaw with B&M coasters are they don't seem to be cold weather friendly. We started off with Super Dooper Looper, which I though standing in line to ride was nostalgic. I have not had to wait to get on a train on this ride in years. One plus to the single train ops was that the block break was close to off... so the helix finale was awsome. Have always loved this coaster, one of my favorite classic loopers.

Our intent was to ride Comet, but for some reason it was stopped on the lift for the 20 mintues or so we were waiting for SDL, and was still not running after. We decided to head over to Storm Runner, but stopped over at Subway to get some food. One complaint I have always had is the prices at these places. For two 6" subs, not drink or cookies, we had to pay $11!! Not to mention that they are not hurting themselves by the application of toppings/veggies. I have never seen a Subway sandwich look so sad.

We then headed off to Storm Runner. Now with Great Bear closed due to temps, I was shocked SR was running. The attendant was advising guests that there was in excess of an hour wait, but with consistant dispatch intervals and no down time from 5 - 9pm the line moved quickly. Did seem a little slower, and a few times really did look like it would roll back from the tophat. I still think Hershey does they best of any park I have been to with the operations of this ride, but the line cutting is gettin to be TERRIBLE! They need security to be in somewhere in the park other than the new Dunkin Donuts at the entrance... LOL.

We decided to skip Concussion... I mean Sidewinder, I think Boomerangs are a great ride for the unsuspecting, but I never get anything but sick and a miagrane...enough said.

We noticed a large migration of families out of the park as it got to be after 7, so we headed over and were please to see no queue for Traiblazer. Good ride, I have always liked this coaster for some reason.

Seeing that Wild Mouse was running and the Ferris Wheel was as well, we decided to head over to Midway America, if only to see the new trains on Wildcat. After hiking across a newly paved path past Tidal Force, we got to see the Boardwalk contruction. So much for the theory Midway America would be closed due to contstuction, as it is not even close to being an issue. We got to Wild Mouse, just to find out they closed it a few cycles earlier, apparently the due to the cold the brakes were locking up. One family was sitting on a beanch near by and the mother was all exited that they got stuck on Wild Mouse.

We rode the Ferris Wheel to get a view of the overall park, and turned back to go to Comet once again. I will note the new trains on Wilcat look awsome, I am hoping for it to open this weekend. Getting up to Comet, it was running with one train, was not even in the swtichback, but had at least a 45 min wait. No way for me, that coaster in not worth the time. We caught a ride on the Carrousel and Scrambler, and headed out for the night. On th way we stopped by guest services to inquire about Great Bear. They advised us of the cold weather issue, but that other attractions may open if the crowds warrant it. I am hoping for that as we are going back Saturday.

I was there yesterday too....I was dissapointed by the size of the crowd, it seems this is always a problem at the park latley. I use to love this park alot more in the 80's and 90's. I don't know why they weren't running more than one train on anything....I thought the wait times were ridiculous for the coasters. And my other favorite ride the Falcon, was closed all day.

The wait times weren't incredibly bad for single-train operation, EXCEPT on Comet. I don't know why dispatches are always slow there.

I missed Comet stopping on the lift (I was eating at that time) and the Wild Mouse getting stuck, but saw lots of other breakdowns, which I posted about already.

I agree on SDL being much better than usual!

Part of the problem with Comet is the station design. It's so narrow that people don't see that some rows are empty or close to empty and the train sometimes get sent out with an empty row. Regardless, 45 minutes and not even into the switchbacks? That is ridiculous. In October it was slightly into the first switchback with 2 trains and it was a 15 minute wait so dispatches must have been ridiculous to have that long of a wait.

IMO, the problem with comet dispatches are the redundant restraints plus the seat dividers. Inevitably at least one person per cycle sits on their seat belt (usually it's me). Plus the things are so darn short anyway it takes forever just to work enough slack into them that you can sit and buckle them. It's a bitch to try it while standing, even worse for those already sitting down.

It also seems they have to release the bars an awful lot for whatever reason. I guess that ride was made for a much more slender population.

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I was dissapointed by the size of the crowd, it seems this is always a problem at the park latley.

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That's always my biggest complaint with the park. We've gone three times and everytime the place is just packed to the point where it sucks to be there. Probably bad timing on our behalf, but it doesn't make the situation any better.

In fact, if you were to ask my wife what her least favorite park is, she'd most likely tell you Hershey.

(possibly also proving yet again that what my family tends to look for in a park isn't usually what enthusiasts look for as Hershey is generally regarded as one of the best parks out there)

I couldn't agree more. With some major coasters down, other closed because of the cold, and 2 closed because they weren't slated to be open, I think it should be a guest service to all the people who were there to run 2 trains on comet and sdl, just to show they were trying.

And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who saw a problem with line jumping. I think if you want to be with ppl in line they should come back to you, not you up to them. I wouldn't have the nerve to try such a thing.

And I'm sorry but I cant wait til regular season when the prices go up. The crowd was 'rough' to say the least, and I never saw so many mis-behaved children before.

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Gary B said:
I couldn't agree more. With some major coasters down, other closed because of the cold, and 2 closed because they weren't slated to be open, I think it should be a guest service to all the people who were there to run 2 trains on comet and sdl, just to show they were trying.

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I somehow missed the long line at SDL. Yes, there was a line, which was unusual, but it wasn't bad. Also, the coaster was running fast. When I was there at Halloween last year, there was an annoying brake before the helix. (Someone on another forum suggested that this was to run both trains, but I don't remember the second train running then.)

Comet dispatches are so slow that I don't think a second train would manage get the line down to a sensible length when the park is crowded like it is for special events.

ok, maybe 2 trains on SDL was a strech, but when I was there friday, the line was down the steps and into the que.

Comet, 2 trains no brainer. Don't use slow operators and bad dispatch times as an excuse. With the line que's half full, 2 trains should have been used to atleast make the guests feel as if they are trying.