Hersheypark
1st June 2010
Our visit to Hersheypark today was planned as a two hour rest stop during a long drive from our overnight hotel towards Cedar Point. We elected to cut our visit even shorter due to the after effects of the long day yesterday, taking in just two rides in a ninety minute visit to the park. Fortunately we'd managed to arrange complimentary admission tickets, preventing any inconvenient thoughts of wasted money.
Today the park was positively rammed with school children, who were clearly not deterred by the overcast skies and scattered showers. Fortunately most of them were not in the queue for the newest coaster. Fahrenheit (#1512) is Intamin's attempt at a coaster with a beyond vertical first drop, and it's a rather good one, awful restraint design notwithstanding. The six inversions on the course are negotiated without any jarring, though there was some noticeable (albeit steady) vibration throughout. The operators today wouldn't win any awards for efficiency, though they were just about managing to keep at least one train out on the track.
Lighting Racer was experiencing technical difficulties as we approached, though all these really served to do was to clear out the queue completely. The few people waiting for the front seat bailed out moments before operations restarted, allowing us to enjoy a lap from the best possible location. This ride would probably have higher ridership if it wasn't located in the far corner of the park, a long way from just about everything else; it remains an absolutely top-notch coaster.
