Date: Saturday, June 15, 2002
Weather: Ominous Cloudy Skies in the morning – sunny and warm in the afternoon & evening

We set out from Allentown on Saturday morning, where we had visited Dorney Park the day before. The weather reports called for scattered showers and that was a signal that this had the potential to be a great amusement park day.

The park opened at 10:00AM. We arrived at 10:30AM and the place seemed to be mobbed. Knowing how crowded this park could get, I was a bit concerned. We did, however, park VERY close to the gate, so I there was hope. Despite the crowd, the lines at the gate were short. We moved through quickly and moved with the crowd. As I had been to the park on many occasions before, I had a plan.

We skipped the Comet and SooperDooperLooper, which are the first two coasters anyone new to the park rides, as they are closest to the gate. We headed straight to the Great Bear and walked on twice for two great front row rides. Because the skies didn’t look promising and the crowds looked punishing, we were determined to ride all the coasters at least once first thing and savor any extra rides we could get. We moved quickly to the Trailblazer, which was a walk on. From there, we went to the Sidewinder, which was also walk-on. My plan (although not exactly brilliant) was paying off nicely. We seemed two steps ahead of the crowd. We headed to the Wild Mouse, where we waited about ten minutes, and then to the Wildcat, where we waited 20 minutes for the front row. We then headed toward the Lightning Racer and found the queue near empty. We waited for the front, which prolonged our wait as they were only running one train on each track. We had our front seat ride on Thunder and got right back on line for Lightning.

Dark, dark clouds were appearing in the west and we figured, if we are going to get soaked by rain, let’s go on the Roller Soaker – at least we’ll be dressed for it. Roller Soaker wasn’t quite what I had envisioned when I heard about the premise. The line was nominal and we were on in less than ten minutes. The rain came down lightly as we exited, so we kept our "wet wear" on and headed for Comet & SooperDooperLooper.

As expected, the lines for these two coasters had died down considerably. Comet wait was about 15 minutes and SooperDooperLooper was walk on. We had accomplished our initial mission and had ridden every coaster at least once (Great Bear twice) by 1:30PM.

The crowds continued to pour in, but the lines on the rides never materialized. Nothing was more than a 20 minute wait for the remainder of the day. We rode Great Bear another two times, the Wildcat another time, Lightning racer twice more and the Comet and Sooperdooperlooper an extra time as well.

The Park
Hershey continues to be one of the premier family parks in the country. Although hardly a "theme" park, it is an amusement park in the more classic sense of the word.
We found the park and rides well staffed. The ride operators were well-trained and moved the crowds at a good pace. In most cases, they operated all trains on all rides. The food selection is excellent and covers every taste and price range. Like Cedar Fair parks, Hershey is attune to the guests desire and knowledge of quality. Landscaping was gorgeous and plentiful and an abundance of pathways allowed for a sense of exploration through out the day – even when revisiting park sections. The entry area is one of the most beautiful and is designed in a European/Tudor village motif. An excellent park, an excellent value and we BEAT THE ODDS and encountered no crowds!

The Coasters (rated 1 – 10 10=best)
Great Bear (10)
I give this ride a high rating because it is so original in layout and design. To look at it from afar, you can’t see the entire ride and have to guess where it is coming from or going. It has a wonderful helix/faux drop of the lift hill before plummeting to the lake below. It’s interaction with the Sooperdooperlooper and water flume as well as its water’s edge scream back to the station (including reverse directional change) are just wonderful. It doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before; it just does what it does with originality and good effect.

Lightning Racer (10)
This is a classic for now and future generations. It gets its "10" for the wonderful train designs that help make this an incredibly smooth ride. It gets a "10" for possibly the most beautiful wooden track layout in existence. And, it gets a "10" for a ride that is furious, relentless, and comfortable. Exhilarating is the best way to describe it.

Wildcat (10)
Perched on a hill above the Midway America section of the park, this is one of the most majestic sights in the coaster world – especially at sunset. From its sweeping, spiraling first drop to the reversal of directions and wild banked turns – this is a winner and a coaster to emulate. GCI may very well be THE best wood coaster designer around. It is worth mentioning that this company was born out of CCI and does what they do with a greater sense of aesthetic. We need to see A LOT more from them.

Roller Soaker (4)
I was totally disappointed in this much-hyped coaster. It reminds me of the Pteradon Flyers at IOA with a giant bucket behind each seat to dump on people below. The track is pretty much level and uncomplicated. It picked up a nice speed, but as it got going the ride neared its end. I wasn’t impressed.

Sidewinder (5)
Boomerang – one of the better ones with a custom station and elaborate landscaping. Six Flags take notice – even clones can be attractive and unique with some sense of creativity.

Trailblazer (4)
A lovely terrain mine train. No great swoops, no great turns. An effective helix to end it. Nice theming and the squeal of children’s laughter to let you know it delivered what it was built to do.

Wild Mouse (7)
One of the better one’s out there in my opinion.

Sooperdooperlooper (7)
Not a beautiful ride, but to look at it is to understand from whence all of our multi-element free forms were born. Still a good ride after all these years and makes great use of the terrain and lake. We’ll miss Mr. Schwarzkopf.

The Comet (7)
This ride would score higher if not for the mid-ride trim brake that seems to bring the train to a complete halt. Looking at the brake on the second turnaround, we wondered if this could have possibly been in Herb Schmeck's original design for it wasn’t the modern shoe brakes we are used to. Truly bizarre and a disappointing aspect to this beautiful, lovingly maintained classic. I especially like the first drop suspended over water. This is a design nearly fifty years old. Everything these days is recycled.

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Nothing like a big woodie first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night.

Thanks for the nicely written trip report. It is always comforting to hear such nice comments for one of my favorite parks. Did you see the new 3D show at Hershey's Chocolate World? I've heard a few positive comments about it, and I am looking forward to visiting later this summer.