I finally managed to visit Hershey Park and their Attached Zoo on a rainy day, was it worth the trip?
With record cold and rain on my trip to Pennsylvania I was forced to schedule Hershey Park on a partly rainy day. Luckily, it only rained during the midday and left the morning and afternoon clear to enjoy the park! The weather also did not reduce the crowd one bit. The entire place was absolutely slammed from the moment we arrived and the new restaurant was booked completely, long before I asked about reservations.
Before my trip, I did my research and took the advice of most people in the coaster community, I started with Fahrenheit and then worked my way around the park in a clockwise direction. Due to limited time and large crowds I stuck mostly to the roller coasters but was able to make a few deviations.
In the morning I was able to hit the entire back half of the park in a single go. I made it in time to be on the 2nd dispatch of Fahrenheit, however, due to my height I was only barely able to squeeze into the seat restraints with the help of the attendant crushing me down. This didn't impact me negatively though as I found the ride over all to be very enjoyable.
We then proceeded to knock out Wildcat, which did basically nothing for me before jumping into line for Laff track. This indoor family friendly coaster would no doubt be the longest wait during the rain that was coming so I wanted to make sure to get it done early. This is the most enjoyable spinning coaster I've been on, smooth, well themed and it didn't spin enough to make me nauseas at all.
We got onto Lightning racer just in time to be hit by a small drizzle but managed to ride both sides of this awesome racing coaster without it being uncomfortable. This wooden racing coaster definitely doesn't get the credit it's due. It was smooth, well paced, felt long and finished close enough that you really think the Thunder side can win ; )
Storm Runner, a highlight of the park, was closed while we were there. This is one I've wanted to ride for some time... oh well, just a good excuse to return some day. We instead got to ride the boomerang located next door. Named "Side Winder", this is a model of coaster I dislike and this was no exception. We finished the rear of the park with a quick trip on Trail Blazer which might be the least exciting of the Arrow Mine Train coasters I've been on.
With the rain rolling in we stopped for some lunch at the BBQ located near Trail Blazer. It was quite expensive since we purchased most of the menu, but I have to say this is by far the best BBQ I've had at any theme park and rivals some chain locations in the North East. Very impressive for what it was. The Monkey bread was especially delicious but the corn bread was more of a muffin and I suggest passing it up. I had the half chicken and it was juicy and the skin was crispy.
The rain never really came down hard but many attractions were closed at this point. With the drop towers still open though I figured it might be fun to ride in the rain. The view from up top was fantastic but the rain, not so much. It was at this point that we retreated to ZooAmerica which is included for free with your pass. Despite the rain, many animals were happily sleeping as it was midday. The highlight of this area was definitely the wolves and I encourage anyone that needs a break from the rides to take a walk through here. I included a decent walk through of the zoo in my video above if you're curious.
Our next ride was Great bear, an unconventional layout for an inverted coaster that I had heard was highly underrated. We had a station wait and I thoroughly enjoyed this coaster. It's also quite photogenic and made for some lovely footage as it weaved in and out of a large chunk of the park. It actually intertwined with our next ride, the Super Dooper Looper. This was shockingly our longest wait of the day and was a classic experience. It seems well maintained but the one train operations were killing things here.
The only coaster that totally took me by surprise the whole day was Comet. I had heard such good things but the day we rode it, it slammed us around violently, made a screeching sound like I've never heard on a wooden coaster and spit us out worse for wear. There were a number of people actively inspecting it at the time so who knows?
With both Candymonium and Sky Rush closed due to the weather we figured we had time to grab a snack. I went out of my way to buy the largely over priced fancy milk shake that is advertised everywhere. Was it good? Yes! Was it $15 good? No. This is a knock off of the fancy milkshake craze at many restaurants around the country. I've had those, this was significantly smaller, and of lower quality. It was still delicious but the price is only justified by the fact that everything in a park is more expensive.
Finally Sky Rush opened and we were able to secure a spot in the line that afforded us a station wait. I was really curious if I would like this coaster since it's so divisive online. The fact is, those restraints really aren't pleasant and ruin the experience for me personally. I think the layout is great and forces felt awesome, but at no point did I feel safe! I know I definitely was secure, I trust the design on that, but the way it held only my thighs down made every turn on this ride feel like I was going to fly out of my seat in a very unique and unpleasant way. It's really hard to describe since I've never experienced anything like this before. I'll definitely give it another shot in the future and I can see why so many people love this coaster.
Candymonium on the other hand was exactly what I expected out of a B and M. The air time was great, the forces fun and the entire experience clearly family friendly. We actually sat next to a family of 6 who were having the time of their lives. This was definitely a smart investment on Hershey's part and with 3 trains running it absolutely cannibilized the line. As soon as we got off though, it broke down. This apparently was happening quite a bit when we visited and I'm not sure why.
So, overall the park lived up to expectations, but sadly I missed Storm Runner and that alone is reason enough to return. Our hurried day means I also missed out on the popular dark ride and trying any of the flats. A definite recommendation for this park and a must return for me!
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