News: Hersheypark heats up for its 2008 season

Posted at 5:05 PM EDT (2105 GMT)

Sep. 27th, 2007 -- (HERSHEY, PA) — Hersheypark hosted a record-breaking Centennial season in 2007 as guests were introduced to The Boardwalk at Hersheypark, the perfect spot to cool off. Now the heat is on as construction begins on the Park’s 11th roller coaster, “Fahrenheit,” which is scheduled to open next May. The new ride will cost approximately $12.1 million.

Known in the industry as a “vertical lift inverted loop coaster,” Fahrenheit will position riders on their backs as the coaster train begins a 90-degreeascent to the summit of a 121- foot lift. As the cars crest the hill, riders will lean forward and see no track visible below— only open space— before plummeting down a staggering 97-degree first drop, the deepest drop of any coaster in the United States.
The coaster cars will feature stadium seating, which will elevate riders who sit in the cars behind the front row and offer them an unobstructed view of the steep descent.

At the bottom of the first hill, the coaster will be traveling at 58 mph as it begins an ascent that will then drop riders into a 107-foot inverted loop. Coming out of the inverted loop, the track will twist though an inverted corkscrew roll, a cobra, an airborne inverted S roll and a second inverted corkscrew roll. Just as riders think they are slowing down, they will experience an airtime hill, a high-speed/banked curve, a second airtime hill and a final high-speed/banked curve before arriving back in the station.

Traveling over more than 2,700 feet of steel track in 85 seconds, Fahrenheit will feature three four-person vehicles per train and a capacity of about 850 people per hour.

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