Hersheypark - June 3, 2024

My wife and I were Hershey season passholders last season and decided not to renew for 2024, figuring we had worn out Hershey a bit. We instead bought Six Flags Diamond passes and have been more than a little disappointed in the quality of the Six Flags chain this year. We were invited to a weekend in Hershey with some friends and decided to jump on the 2024 "Summer Fun Card" deal, essentially a mini-season-pass with admission through the weekend after Labor Day, for $95 each.

We had a fantastic time over the last two days at the park. I'll talk rides first, then get into crowds, operations, park quality, etc afterwards.

• Wildcat's Revenge - This is my #1 RMC ahead of Steel Vengenace, Wicked Cyclone, and Jersey Devil. An absolutely fantastic ride from start to finish. Relentless pacing, an absolute smorgasbord of ejector airtime, hangtime, and laterals. It's everything you expect from RMC but Draves' designs are just a little bit different from Schilke's.
• Storm Runner - Formerly my #1 at this park, this is still an elite coaster. My favorite launch of any ride including Kingda Ka. From the front of the train, you get great ejector over the top hat, and of course the absolutely incredible flying snake dive. Short but sweet.
• Skyrush - I was so curious to see how Skyrush's new restraints and seats were going to ride, and overall I'm fine with the changes. While the new seats have tamed the psychotic laterals, the airtime is as strong as ever, and it's a much more comfortable ride overall. Less crazy but more refined, and I think it has already started paying dividends for ridership, as it seemed like more GP was willing to ride this than in the past just based on my observations. Back left wing seat still offers a fantastically crazy ride, and the drop is as good as ever. I'll take it!
• Fahrenheit - The most underrated coaster at Hersheypark. A great vertical lift, beyond-vertical drop, and several intense inversions including the rare Norwegian loop. There's also a surprise pop of ejector at the ride's finale which turns this coaster from good to great. There was a little rattling on the cobra roll, but overall riding great this year.
• Great Bear - A Hersheypark classic. B&M invert with a fantastic setting over the Hollow. Great views. Interesting pre-drop helix, and Great Bear's roar can be heard throughout the park. Hershey has this running like a dream this year - no B&M rattle to be found.
• Candymonium - Apparently a GP favorite, commands super long lines at the beginning of the day but clears out significantly mid-afternoon. This is my top overall B&M hyper ahead of Nitro and Diamondback. It runs glass smooth and offers a ridiculous amount of airtime from the back. I find this ride to be the least intense of Hershey's big coasters, but my friends found this one to be very intimidating.
• Lightning Racer - I thought this was running a little rough last year, but Hershey seems to have smoothed it out some. My ride in the front of the Thunder side is the smoothest I've had on this in years, and it actually was a bit forceful!
• Jolly Rancher Remix - After riding Flashback at SFNE last week, it feels like a minor miracle that this Boomerang runs as well as it does. It runs smoother than most Vekoma clones, and the vest restraints are a major improvement over the old OTSRs. The Jolly Rancher theming, scent fog, and music are all welcome additions.
• Comet - Another ride I was interested to experience with its new trains. It seemed to be having issues throughout the weekend, as I saw many empty trains run on this, along with a train stopped on the lift hill as well as another stopped on the turnaround's trim brake at various points. I managed to snag back-to-back rides to end the night on Saturday and didn't even have to leave my seat. The new trains unfortunately remove the buzz bars in favor of individual lap bars, but this ride does not offer much in the way of airtime anyway. I think perhaps it's the weight of the new trains causing issues, as the ride seemed to shuffle and bounce around more than with the old trains. The cars are cushioned enough that the ride doesn't hurt or induce a headache, but it's not smooth. That being said, it's the first big coaster I ever rode, so it's always a pleasure for me. Hands up, gorgeous runner lights, white paint, wood track, grinning ear to ear.
• SooperDooperLooper - I've said in the past that if you ride Looper on a normal operating day, there's a strong chance you're on it with a kid who's about to experience their first inversion. This has one excellent loop followed by a solid mine-train-esque terrain coaster, with a tunnel and helix included.
• Laff Trakk - I often avoid this one due to the long waits, but the line for this wasn't that bad when we hit it. It's a fun spinner ride, especially when it's not Halloween and you can actually see the funhouse theming with the lights on. A family-friendly favorite and a welcome reprieve from the summer heat.
• Wild Mouse - Somehow it feels as though this ride has actually improved since last year. It's just a very good Wild Mouse, and it doesn't hurt to ride.
• Trailblazer - My first non-kiddie coaster when I was a little kid. Runs fantastically smooth for a 70s Arrow. Gets long lines, but has super long trains, so it works out.

Hershey also has a nice collection of flats:

• Scrambler - I'm at the Scrambler.
• Pirate Ship - I'm at the Pirate Ship.
• The Claw - I'm at the combination Scrambler and Pirate Ship.
• Coal Cracker - My favorite non-coaster in the park. 1970s Arrow log flume with a great last drop. We fit five adults in the boat and it was bonkers.
• Monorail - Hershey classic. Relaxing ride around the park and zoo, and buzz by Hershey HQ.
• Carrousel - Beautiful vintage merry-go-round with a working band organ that may be in need of some tuning.

Hersheypark's always busy on weekends and this past Saturday was no exception. With that said, the ride lines were more than manageable, and it was not difficult to ride everything at least one over the course of the 11am-9pm operating day. School groups and water park guests cleared out after 5 or 6pm, which lightened up the crowds even further. Sunday's crowds were surprisingly light, with many of the popular rides sporting short lines or even walk-ons. You don't need a Fast Pass to conquer Hershey - rope drop Fahrenheit then start your day at the back of the park with Wildcat's Revenge. You'll get on everything else after that as long as you don't walk at a snail's pace. Additionally, if you have the opportunity, every ticket comes with a free 2-hour preview the night before, and that's worth the extra effort if you can afford to stay a night.

I usually only come here with my wife, so coming with a group of friends was fun and different. I'd consider the two of us to be leaning more towards an "enthusiast" mindset as far as how we attack a day at a park, so it was interesting to see how a regular group of folks handles it. The pace was different, but we still managed to get on everything, and didn't get back home to Long Island too late.

Hershey's much-maligned slow ops were nowhere to be seen on this trip. Lines moved consistently, crews were in good spirits, and I even overheard other guests praising how efficiently they were getting people loaded on the rides. Suck it, haters.

Hershey offers some good food from inside the park. There are plenty of places to get park staples like burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and pizza, but also terrific hand-rolled pretzels near the Skyway, fresh-cut fries by the Kissing Tower, and even some unique options like an empanada truck by the Boardwalk or acai bowls by the log flume. There's also food available just outside the park both in the gift shop building (Milton's downstairs and the Chocolatier upstairs) or at Chocolate World. And of course there's the can't-miss free chocolate tour ride in Chocolate World.

The aesthetics of this park are so damn good. There aren't many parks that do as good of a job of cramming rides into a compact space. Skyrush is built right on top of Comet, and also flies by the kiddie rides and Scrambler in Founder's Circle. Great Bear, SooperDooperLooper, and Coal Cracker intertwine at various points. Storm Runner, Trailblazer, and Dry Gulch Railroad all occupy the same land.

I absolutely adore Hersheypark. The rides are well maintained, the landscaping is nicely manicured, the atmosphere is friendly and jovial, and overall it feels like the park is operated with care. Each year you come in and things are well-refreshed from the year before. It stands in stark contrast to other northeast competition like SFGAdv or Dorney. Dorney seems to have turned over a new leaf this year and is actually having quite a nice season so far, while SFGAdv has had a really rough go of things since opening day. I think we'll be buying Hershey season passes again next year. I always leave here happy.

TL;DR:

• Hershey is an elite park with a top notch coaster lineup
• Overall park quality is outstanding
• Come here and have a great time