| Hershey Park (Storm Runner!)5/15/2004
It started out a long trip from Staten Island New York. A little under 3hrs later we (me, my parents) arrived at Hershey, P.A. I started out thinking this trip may not be the best because my father gets sick,and Im 18yrs old hanging with my parents at Hershey. But I wouldn’t go out to Hershey alone, because the trip is too far, and most of my friends either had no money or had to work. So next up my parents. They where all for the trip, so here I am.Plus I learned at the end my parents can be cool too, becuase growing up they took me to all the parks they could, and they acutally missed going.
At first I felt 13 again because I was sitting in the backseat of our car, but it was cool. Our first ride was Storm Runner! We started the line out right before a set of train tracks. We queued back and forth on a hill for about 15-20mins before we entered under the SR sign. Beyond that point it was another 25mins. The line was long, but the staff on the ride was great at moving the line, and I think the alternating sides in the station helped moved some people out the line and into a spot for seats.
I then went straight to the seat before the front seat in the first car. Less then 5mins and a good thing to remember is those 2 seats over look the first seats because they have that Intamin stadium like seating, so you get a front seat ride. My parents sat behind me. The first thing I noticed was the seating position was very upright. It’s hard to slouch. Also the headrests are kind of short. I’m only 5'11 and my head was above the headrest, which kind of sucked during the launch. Another thing is the restraints are hard to pull down.
A lot of people struggling to get them down, but I guess its a good thing because even if by some catastrophic event that the restraints unlocked, the weight of it plus the seatbelt, and the shortness of the ride would save your life.
Now to the ride! The Launch is so amazing. It’s very fast, when going up the tower it feels like you going off the track, and the height is nice and the airtime is a plus. Then into the half loop. Again it has great height. After that you’re zipped into the barrel rolls, and before you know it a quick S turn and the ride is over.
Overall the ride is fun, but too short. Its like the ride time of Batman and Robin The Chiller, but without going backwards! Also the restraints aren’t that comfortable. I have a bruised left shoulder from them. Ontop of that in the S turn after the barrel rolls if you don’t keep you head back you get your ears smashed in. Personally they could have gone with more traditional restraints or lap bars, but I think if anyone wanted horscollor restrainets it was Hershey.
Next up was Sidewinder. Before that I stopped for a Pretzel, which was great. As soon as I sat into my seat on sidewinder. It broke down! Got off, and didn’t turn back. We then went to Wildcat, This ride has gotten so much better, and I like it better then Lighting Racer. The turns kick butt, and the airtime is great, it also feels a lot smoother then when I first rode it. Afterwards I deiced to be a hog, and enjoy every ride without a line (since everyone was at SR) I jumped onto Lighting Racer. My parents wherent going to ride, but they did anyway. After racing each other we all got sick.
I don’t know what it is about LR but it just has a lot of dips, and a lot of turns that just make me feel very sick. We then sat down, and I sent my parents to go nap in the car while I finish out my run. I headed over to Roller Soaker, but it was broken down. I then headed over to Great Bear, but the line was too long. It was at least 45mins. By that point I was too tired, and too hot to go on anymore. So I rode SuperDoublerLooper, and sat down. I thought for a minute and needed to ride SR one last time to get a feel for the ride. I did, and it was what I said earlier in this post. I then headed to some nasty Burger place called I think Sliders, and their burgers sucked! I then called to check on my parents and my father needed more rest before the drive home. So I asked my mother if she still wanted to go to Chocolate World! Of course so I headed over to meet her, but before I met up with her I rode that double Ferris wheel looking ride with two wheels on a huge arm. It was a lot of fun because you get to turn you car around, and you can see the whole park, plus you get a cool breeze.
After a long walk I stopped at a gift shop, and bought some cool Hershey Park collectables, and met my mom. We did the Hershey chocolate tour where you sit in a little pod, and it was fun because they throw the scent of chocolate into the air. But it was kind of making me sleepy. At the end where they take a picture I’m smiling at the camera and my mother is on her cell phone!
Afterward we did some more gift shopping, where I found the same stuff I had bought inside the park for on average of $2-$4 cheaper then what I paid! Over all it was a fun day, but the only thing that made it a drag where the long lines, and the heat. We ended up leaving Hershey, P.A around 4PM. On our way home we hit a huge storm, and we where home by a little before 8PM.
If you going to Hershey soon. I would seriously suggest going on a day other then Saturday, and to just take your time and have fun. If you don’t already know that. If you go to Hershey Park to get the counts on your coaster list your going to have a bad trip because the level of intensity in the park is much higher then it may seem. There are tons of people everywhere; the rides are all a lot of fun plus there are shows, stands, and food shops to try. Beyond that the entire park is also physically challenging because its rough terrain. 80% steep hills, and stairs.  | 
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