KKR05's Pennsylvania Excursion!

[KingdaKaRuler05]

So, I recently went to PA for a nice weekend in Hershey and Lancaster. It was a very relaxing weekend, and we happened to go to Hersheypark! Throughout this trip report you will share my experience through the style of descriptive writing, including such attractions as Storm Runner, Great Bear, Lightning Racer, and the park's newest ride, the Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge!

I'll post the first few parts tomorrow because I'm about to fall asleep on my keyboard...stay tuned!

-KKR05

[KingdaKaRuler05]

Here's the first couple of updates all...enjoy!

DAY 1

Chapter 1: The Road Ahead!

As I woke up at 7:20 A.M., I thought about the bad news and the good news. The bad news was I had to get up early, which is one of those things I hate to do. However, the good news was that I would soon be leaving on a 3-day Pennsylvania Excursion, AND would be visiting Hersheypark! Since I was phyched about my mini-vacation coming up, I jumped out of bed and proceeded to get ready. I quickly took a shower and pulled my overnight bag out of my closet. I packed all the necessities for a 3-day trip, which isn't much. I threw a few pairs of shorts, some shirts, some socks, a stick of deodorant, a toothbrush, etc etc into my bag for the trip ahead. I didn't need THAT much stuff, considering it was only a 3-day trip. Once I was done with all of my clothes and stuff for my overnight bag, I went on to pack a bag for the 3 hour car ride ahead. I grabbed my orange handbag and stuffed in my iPod, wallet, cell phone, glasses, handheld Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! games, hat, and sunglasses. I was just about ready to go. I continued to make sure I had everything and I ran through the house. After a quick-check, I knew I was ready to go. After I was done, we started to put everything in the car. My dad and I stacked everyone's personal bags in the trunk. Then, we proceeded to put the necessities for our the trip to PA, like the cooler, hand-bags, and pillows in the back seat. I already claimed the back seat, since I would have the most room back there and would be right near the cooler Anyway, we were mostly ready to go. My mom and brother went to drop the dog off at my grandma's house, where he would be staying for the next 3 days. We couldn't leave until they got back. So, since we were all basically ready to hit the road, I just chilled on the couch until the finally arrived home around 8:30. Once they came home, my parents went around the house to do a final check and made sure we had all the necessities for our 3-day trip. Since that took longer than usual, as it ALWAYS does, we ended up pulling away from the house a little before 9, which was still good timing. Since we weren't hitting Hershey this day, and couldn't check in into the hotel until 3, we were in no rush. Anyway, we pulled away from the house, said good-bye, and set out for the about 3 hour drive in front of us.

Our drive to Lancaster, PA (where we were staying) wasn't bad at all. Since I was still pretty tired, (I'm not used to getting up this early...) I rested my eyes for the first part of the 3 hour drive. About 15 minutes later, my sister pulled out her Portable DVD player. We persuaded her to put on Everybody Loves Raymond, Season 5. This made our trip even that much easier. ELR is definitely my favorite sitcom. We watched 3 episodes on one of five discs, which landed us with around a 1 and half hour drive left. After the 3rd episode, my sister wanted to watch one of her movies, so we agreed to let her have a turn. I played a few rounds on my electronic Wheel of Fortune game, which was extremely addicting! I played about 4 times, and won everytime against the computer  After playing that for 15 minutes or so, we stopped at a rest area once we arrived in Pennsylvania. We always seem to stop at this rest stop on our way to PA for some reason?odd. Anyway we took a quick bathroom break for 5 or so minutes, and returned to the road. For the next half hour or so, I continued with my Wheel game, and whipped out the iPod for some nice Red Hot Chili Peppers. The half hour was over quickly, and before I knew it, we were in areas I KNEW. I knew we were in the Amish Country. I put my Wheel game to side and took off my iPod so I could enjoy the amazing scenery yet to come. Once we were in the Amish Country, you didn?t need any iPods or handheld machines, the countryside itself was your form of enjoyment. The landscape of the area is beautiful, the numerous amounts of animals was amazing, and the Amish people themselves were amazing to watch as they went through their everyday lives. I just wondered to myself how different it would be if I was Amish, and how different that car ride would have been. Hey, we would even be in a car, we would be in a house-and-buggy! (which we saw numerous amounts of during the trip) You have to give props to how they live their lives. Just think, how different would your live would be if you were one of them? Heh, some of us wouldn?t survive one day  Anyway, we made our way through the beautiful countryside and FINALLY arrived in Lancaster Country about a half hour later. However, before we made our way to Lancaster, we went through Bird-in-Hand. This is where our hotel was. On our way to our favorite lunch spot in Lancaster, since it was lunch-time already, we passed-by the hotel. I was the only one who even noticed it! I?d seen photos of the hotel on-line before the trip, and it was brand new and looked very nice. I knew it would be a great place to stay. Anyway, we continued on to the Lincoln Highway, which was definitely the ?main? road in Lancaster. This long road includes many restaurants, stores, outlet centers, hotels, and entertainment venues (including Dutch Wonderland). The road is basically the tourist trap of Lancaster, and not exactly the nicest area to be in. However, it is a great spot to get a bite to eat, stay the night, or do a bit of shopping. However, our little classic restaurant wasn?t on this road. We continued to pass by the Highway and head a few miles down to our classic sandwich stop. We had been going to this place for years, and everyone in one family absolutely loves it. However, when we finally pulled into the restaurant?s parking lot, we had the major shock of the trip. What happened?

Chapter 2: Miniature Golf, Amazing Ice Cream, and MONSTER FISH!!

So anyway, what happened at the restaurant place? Well, this is what happened. We drove right into the parking lot, only to see the place ALL BOARDED UP. It was gone. We drove around the back of our favorite sandwich stop, only to see NO action at all. It was gone, and there was nothing we could do. It was rather disappointing to see it go, but luckily a sign hung in the window saying that a new restaurant would be coming soon. I just can?t believe it closed. The place did AMAZING business. It was always packed when we went. Oh well, at least it wasn?t gone for good, and new owners were coming in. Hopefully it?ll stay as good as it always was. Anyway, we were stuck. We just decided to head back to the Lincoln Highway to grab a quick bite to eat. It was around 12:30 now, and we still had 2 and half hours to go before we checked in. So, we headed back to the Highway, and decided to check out what they had to offer. We followed the road all the way down, and came to the decision to head to Fuddruckers, great place for burgers. While driving down the road, trying to find a place to turn-around, we passed Dutch Wonderland. The park seemed to be pretty crowded, but that?s not what struck my attention. What struck my attention was the atrocious new color of the Sky Princess. The coaster now looks just disgusting and wrong. I just don?t understand why they couldn?t re-paint the coaster white, as it was before. The coaster just looks hideous. I don?t know who came up with that idea, but indeed a bad one IMO. Anyway, DW still is an excellent place to go with the little ones. The Sky Princess is a decent ride, despite its new hideous color, and the black side of the Plunge is great. It?s definitely one of the best place for kids in the area, up there with Sesame Place. Anyway, we made our way back to Fuddruckers. Everyone got burgers, and we shared two baskets of fries. Fudds is definitely a great place to go for a great, quick (The service is great) lunch. The food was excellent, but the one here was much bigger than the one in North Brunswick. Anyway, after our stop for lunch, we realized we still had 2 hours to go before we would head over to check-in. So, decided to go over to what seemed to be a brand-new miniature golf course (It wasn?t there when we were here 3 years ago). The course looked amazing, with a huge waterfall and lots of caverns. The course ended up being very good, but very challenging. Many of the holes were Par 2, so it was very hard to stay in line with the par of each hole. Anyway, the course we played (there were two) had one hole that was right by a stream of water. The stream of water went into some sort of rock formation and the stream vanished under the hole. I knew exactly what to do, hit in the water of course. Sure enough, I hat my ball in the water, and hit ended up right near the hole. I?ve seen this kind of trick hole before in Myrtle Beach. It is very cool, and the course ended up being great. I recommend it!

After a round of golf, we decided to head over to our hotel in Bird-In-Hand. We decided to head over and see if they had our room ready already. Fortunately, they did. We entered the hotel lobby and they told us we were all ready to go. We got our room key, and headed back out to the car to get all of the luggage. We lugged one of the carts out to the car to fill it up and then back inside and up to our room on the third floor. Then, we entered our room for the first time. The room was great. It was nice and big to fit us all in. We relaxed in the great room for a while then headed down to check out the rest of the hotel. They had a nice exercise room where I stayed for a while to work out and a nice pool area. Overall everything seemed to be great. After we made our way around the hotel, we headed back out to the car and decided on what to do next. My brother and I went over to the near-by Water?s Edge mini golf for another round. However, since the last time I was there I got a hole-in-one on the last hole; I had a free ticket to get on the course! So my brother and I played a round on the new blue course, and I ended up winning  The course was nice, but I think I liked the red course better that we played the last time. After that, we met up with the others and headed down to the on-site little lake. There, we found ourselves on ?Attack of the Fish?. Seriously. Once we paid 25 cents and started to throw the food into the water, I?d say at LEAST 50 fish waited in the water for us to throw the food in. Once we did, the madness began. They ALL fought for the food as hard as they could, equaling HUGE amounts of SPALSHING. I thought they were going to jump up on to the dock. These fish were just crazy. So, I took another quarter, and took a BIG handful of the food. Then, I took it, and threw ALL of it in the water. This, in turn, created one of the craziest things I?ve ever seen animals do. They all began jumping out of the water, and tried the hardest they could to get some of the food. After that, I was ready to leave  Anyway, we headed to our next stop, a little shopping village called Kitchen Kettle Village. They have a nice amount of old-fashioned shops. We stayed a while there, and tried some free-samples of some of the food in the shops. The fudge in one of the stores was great, but I resisted from buying.  After a quick stop there, it was around 7, so we headed to Strasburg and to find a quick bite to eat. We found a local pizza place, which had some excellent pizza and garlic bread. After dinner, we headed over to one of the best ice cream places I?ve ever been to, the Strasburg Creamery. If the ice cream wasn?t good enough, the fresh waffle cone made in even better. I got the Oreo flavor, which was great. After ice cream, we headed back to the hotel. It was now around 8:00. Once we got back to the room, we decided to head down for a quick swim in the pool. The pool wasn?t that crowded, which was very nice and relaxing. It was a nice way to end what seemed to be a long day. Once we got back to the hotel, it was around 9. We decided to get ready for bed since we would be hitting Hershey the next day. I watched some of Rush Hour 2 and Men in Black on TNT before finally falling asleep. Ah, sleep felt good after getting up so early. I went to sleep thinking about an amazing Hersheypark trip to come ahead, and it turned out to be just that, amazing.

More in next post...

-KKR05
Posted on: July 29, 2006, 11:02:49 pmDAY 2

Chapter 3:The Great American Chocolate Tour Ride!

On the second day, I got up early once again, and proceeded to get ready for a huge day at Hersheypark! It was a little before 7:30, so I went and got dressed so we could head down to eat a complimentary breakfast held by the hotel. They had a very nice breakfast display of the usual items you eat and drink in the morning. I enjoyed some delicious waffles cooked by the chef they had working in the food area. Not many people seemed to be up yet, as we were some of the few people in the dining area. After everyone filled up on a great breakfast, we headed back up to the room to get everything ready for the big day trip ahead. Once we were all finally ready to go, it was only around 8:00. We planned to get there early so we could go to Chocolate World and check out the new Chocolate Tour dark ride, since it opened at 9:00. So, we trekked out to our car and hit the road to Hershey, PA which was only a 30 minute drive from our hotel. So, we set out again through the beautiful PA landscape, which again, kept us occupied as we made our 30 minute journey to the sweetest town on earth. I knew we were getting close when we began to see posters promoting the brand new Reese?s Xtreme Cup Challenge, which I?ll have more about later. Pretty soon, we were finally in the town of Hershey, PA. Tons of signs now pointed us to the park as well as other Hershey Attractions. We just followed all of the signs until, only about 5 minutes later; we were entering the main gate of Hersheypark! We continued to follow the entry road to the ticket booths. Once we arrived at one of the booths, we paid the fee of 8 bucks for parking, and I collected my first of many park maps I would receive that day. After a stop at the parking booth, we followed the EXTREMELY long entry road to the parking lot (I believe it was reconfigured after they put in the Giant Center). Finally, we found our way to an EXCELLENT parking space. We were right by the Hersheypark Arena, which is basically the closest you are going to get to the park itself. So, I guess it was a good thing we got to the park early. It was now around 8:45, and there was about NO ONE in the parking lot. Excellent. We made our way over to Chocolate World, which had a small line extending down to the tram route. The line wasn?t that bad, especially since the doors hadn?t opened yet. As we waited enter Chocolate World, they had the Hershey?s characters out to entertain us while we waited. After about 10 minutes of waiting, they opened the doors, and allowed everyone to enter Chocolate World. As we made our way to the doors, it was pretty obvious that everyone was going to the Chocolate Tour ride first. No worries, we would make up for it later on. As we finally entered the building, about half of the people in front of us made their way to the ride?s queue line, but the other half either went a different way or began to wait for the rest of their party. So, we passed all of these people and soon found ourselves at the Chocolate Tour?s brand new entry sign. As we made our way through the queue, we realized that the queue stayed the same. However, there were plenty of changes to be seen once on the ride. Once we approached the downward stairs, we realized the separate line to the way left had basically NO one in line, and the other two lines had PLENTY of people in line. Hmm?I wonder which line we would pick. Oh, I know! The right side! I guess this was another instance like Medusa?s station. They are tons of people in line for the back few rows, and NONE for the 2nd and 3rd rows  Anyway, it only took a few minutes or so for us to board the ride. In my mind, I pointed and laughed at all the others still waiting in the other two lines. We were in our car in no time, and began to make our way through the brand new Great American Chocolate Tour ride!

The classic Chocolate Tour cars we rode in were the same as always. However, as soon as the ride began, we were about to get blasted with the ?new? this ride had to offer. Once we finally entered the ride?s building, we were greeted by the singing of the three new musical cows. Instead of the replica of the Hershey?s factory that used to be in this first scene, the singing cows have now taken that spot. The new recording programmed into the ride?s vehicles introduces you to the new cows, named Olympia, Gabby, and Harmony, as they sing a greeting song about Hershey?s Milk Chocolate in this new barn scene. After we pass the cows, the tour really starts to begin. There is where the old part of the tour kicks in. Nothing much has changed from here to the ?roasting? tunnel, except a few new touch-ups, most notably a conveyor belt overhead and big new blue signs that label each part of the tour. Nothing has changed in the roasting tunnel either, which I?m happy about. The roasting tunnel is one of my favorite parts of the ride, and I?m happy they kept it the way it was. Oh, and before we move on, let me just say that the cows are VERY loud. You can still hear them singing as go you through the roasting tunnel. I think they should turn down the volume just a notch. Anyway, tour goes on, with again, not much changing until we hit the part of the tour where the milk is added. And, yes, and cows are back to sing the same song as sung in the first scene again. You won?t see them again during the next of the tour, though. The cows in this area were formerly occupied by the barn scene, with that other, old cow saying, ?smooooth?.  I never forget that line for some reason. Anyway, moving on, you soon move into a part of the ride that was TOTALLY re-done. Remember the computer room part of the ride which took you through a big U-turn? The only thing that?s left of that is the big U-turn the ride takes you through. The room now shows many different tubes of ingredients being mixed in huge new blenders. Also, they show the REAL thing on big new TV?s on the wall. This is one area that was totally re-done. So, after this room, you move into another part that wasn?t changed much. This was one area that didn?t need to be changed, though. This was the area with the rollers, and where you can smell the delicious Hershey?s chocolate in the making . Mmmm?.love that smell! Anyway, let?s move on. So, basically the entire rest of the ride is new, and for the better. I was very impressed with this new area coming up. The new area is the packaging area. It starts off by showing you a chart of how many Kisses, Hershey Bars, Reese?s, etc. have been made that day. I thought this was an extremely cool addition to start off this brand new area. The new area shows you all of the Hershey products getting wrapped and shipped out. Tons of conveyor belts fly over-head with numerous Hershey?s products, as well as rotating wheels full of Hershey products. The new area is literally FULL of basically ALL Hershey products, with their logos all over the walls! Moving on, you get a glimpse of the Hershey Kisses. The roll-like thing they are on is the same, but remember that big Kisses mountain they used to have? It?s gone. They now show the Kisses coming out of a huge pipe, wrapped and ready to be shipped out! I loved this new area of the tour, and it actually now might be my personal favorite part. After this room, unfortunately, our tour is almost over. The next small room holds the huge wall posters of basically every Hershey?s product, from Reese?s to Jolly Rancher and from Bubble Yum to the original Hershey Bar. This room has stayed the same, but new posters have been hung with the newer products such as Kissables and Take 5. After this, you move on to the ride?s final scene and room. This room has also changed a very lot. As you enter the brand-new room, you see brand-new HUGE TV screen that stretch around the ENTIRE room! The HUGE, and I mean HUGE TV screens show Hershey?s products all over the world, from the Big Apple to Hawaii! And of course, the tour couldn?t be complete without the classic Hershey?s chocolate song. ?Hershey?s chocolate, Hershey?s chocolate, it?s a Hershey?s chocolate world?? Well, you all know the song  Anyway, after this room, the ride comes to a close with you getting your picture taken as always. As our ride came to an end, I overall thought the improvements to the ride were great. They changed the ride is where it needed to be changed, and kept the same what needed to be the same. Also, the ride is now easier to follow, as signs indicate all of the parts of the chocolate making process. As I said, it was a great improvement, and I liked what Hershey has done to give the ride a new life.

We finally got off after our long journey and headed up the exit stairs. We followed the path down to check out our picture, and then proceeded down to get our free sample. The chocolate tour wouldn?t be complete without a free sample. This time, they were giving out small packs of Kissables, which are great. Once we were back at Chocolate World?s main floor, and it was already around 9:30, we decided to take a quick stop at the restrooms and then head out get in line to enter the park. Luckily, we already had our tickets, so we could go to a separate line to get in quicker. Anyway, when we finally got in-line around 9:40, we had a boring 20 minute wait in front of us. It was time to just wait it out.

Chapter 4: "Now get ready, here we go!"

So, had we quite a wait in front of us, 20 minutes to be exact. While we waited, I just looked around the area to try to get an estimate of how crowded the park today. Since the lines for the gates were already pretty crowded, and it was 20 minutes before opening, I guessed that the park was going to be pretty crowded. Luckily, operations were great and the lines didn?t pick up that much during the day. However, that?s for later in the report. My eyes wandered to the ?These rides are temporary closed? sign, only to see nothing posted. Great! Operations at Hershey are always excellent, and the ride that I ever see closed is the Roller Soaker. Anyway, we continued to wait it out. About 10 minutes later, a band set up and began to play some tunes for us as we waited. This is another thing I love about this place; they are always trying to entertain you. After the band played a few more songs, the gates began to open. However, they wouldn?t begin to let people in the park until every gate was open. Within one minute of two, each gate opened separately until every gate was open, and after that, it was time to enter Hersheypark! We decided earlier that the first ride we would try to go on was the brand new Reese?s Xtreme Cup Challenge. This seemed like a good plan, because lines for it were sure to get long especially since it was a new attraction! So, after we handed our tickets (which we already had) to the guy in the booth, we entered the park. I grabbed a few maps (I collect them!) and threw them into a handbag. After that, all that was in front of us was that huge hill that the park makes you climb. I prefer the steps over the hill, personally  After the large climb, we made our way into the deserted Founder?s Circle (not that many got into the park yet) and up into the Music Box Way, where the new Reese?s Xtreme Cup Challenge was located. We climbed one last hill and approached the ride?s entrance. Then, my eyes came in contact with the dreaded big blue sign situated on the ride?s entry sign. ?This ride is temporarily out of service?. Ugh, my luck. Anyway, since the ride didn?t seem to be opening after a few minutes, we decided to split up, and head over to the park?s newest rollercoaster, and maybe the park?s best, Storm Runner!

We made our way through the Music Box Way and to the bridge that would take us over into the Pioneer Frontier area of the park, where Storm Runner is located. Since I hadn?t seen any trains on SR go up the tower, I was starting to get skeptical of this ride being open as well. We made our way through the Food Court in Pioneer Frontier, and finally received a great view of SR?s launch and tower. And, right before my eyes, I saw the train move back, got ready for what could have been the first launch of the day for all I knew. Then, you hear that bone-chilling launch recording, and then out of nowhere, you?re gone. I couldn?t wait to get on the ride again, considering I hadn?t been on it in basically a year. We made our way towards the entrance, expecting a minimal wait at most. The area itself in general was dead. Finally we entered the queue line, and made our way through. We weren?t stopping anywhere in this line to wait. We climbed the stairs and made our way into the station. I looked down from the top of the stairs to see the most minimal waits I?ve probably ever seen on this ride. It was just amazing, and basically what I expected. The first thing I noticed however was the ONLY 2 train wait for the front. I knew this was an opportunity that I wouldn?t get again today, so that is what we did. We soon realized that dispatches were taking a much longer time on the left side, our side, than the other. I guess the operators on our side were just slow. This made our wait a bit lengthier than I expected, but it didn?t matter. Since the wait was only 2 trains, we couldn?t be waiting for the ride THAT long. By the time we sat down in the train, our wait was about 10 minutes. It was definitely not bad at all, especially for the front row. The operators checked everyone in the train, which again took a while because they were pretty slow. Finally, we were ready to go. We made our way out on to the launch track and got ready for my number 1 steel coaster in the world.

It was time FINALLY to ride my favorite steel coaster once again. It had been just too long since I rode it last. I was ready to experience one amazing ride. We sat with the launch track in front of us, waiting to be pulled back so the catch car could connect (4 C?s ) We waited, with the adrenaline pumping, for the ride to finally pull us back. And finally, it did. This was finally it. I really just realized now much scarier the ride is in the front seat. You can really see everything that?s coming, adding more to the amazing effect. So, there we were, only SECONDS from our launch. Then, out of nowhere, comes that deep, deep voice yelling that small catchy phrase? ?Now get ready, here we go?. As soon as you hear the guy finish saying the word ?go?, you?re gone down the launch track at 72 MPH. That?s how quick it all happens. The launch happens all too quickly. So fast, so intense, so amazing. Since the launch track itself is pretty short, it seems to be even more intense. This thing just never, ever lets up. Ever an amazingly intense first launch, you go straight up the 150 foot top hat. You really up there in NO time, and once you crest the top, you get surprised with a very sweet treat. And this time, believe it or not, it isn?t candy! It?s Mr. Ejector Air saying hello. This thing is covered with a few great seconds of amazing airtime. Man, I love it. Great view, great airtime, great ride. There really is not bad to say about this ride. After a few seconds of some amazing ejector air, you?re going down a 180 foot drop into the valley below. You have to love the 90 degree vertical drops straight-down. It?s definitely an amazing feeling to be thrown downward to earth at 70 MPH. After a brief moment in the valley, you are thrown upwards into the ride?s first inversion, the cobra loop. This inversion throws you up just like a regular loop, but then down to earth in a cobra-roll style action. Up, up, up some more we went. Once we reached the top, we received some awesome hang time before we flipped out of the inversion and continued on our way. The cobra loop to me is an awesome element and unique, which is another thing about this ride, it is unique. Also, you have to love the sweet hang time in at the top. After this element, you go back down towards the river in the valley for a few moments, before coming up to the ride?s 2nd and 3rd inversions, the Zero-G roll and the flying snake dive. To enter the 2nd inversion, you go up yet another hill to enter. When you crest this hill, before you enter the ride?s amazing Zero-G Roll, you receive some AMAZING ejector air, which again, is just amazing. Immediately after this, you?re into the Zero-G roll has to be one of my favorite inversions ever, and this one has to be one of my favorites. You enter with sick speed, and then make the full, horizontal twist. The Zero-G just feels awesome to go through, and overall is just a cool and fun inversion. After the Zero-G, you enter what seems to be another Zero-G roll, but this one throws you for a surprise. The first half of this element is just like a Zero-G, but then, you pull out going back down to the ground. The Snake Dive is another one of those unique elements, which make this ride even better. Overall, the snake dive is a great new inversion, and really surprises you when you fall back down to earth after the first half of the element. After the last two inversions, the ride finishes you off with a rising, awesome finale. As you rise in the sky, you?re hitting some amazing banked turns, which were nice and forceful. As you crest this upwards element, which proves to be a little rough at times, you come down into the downward brakes. Wow, what a rush, and what a ride this is. The ride in the front seat seemed to be even more intense, and I loved how you could see amazing while riding. Overall, the ride is just amazing, and has everything a coaster should have. It has airtime, it has inversions, it has speed, it has intensity, and even some height. All of what I just said accounts to why SR currently sits at my number one steel coaster. It is just one amazing ride.

Finally we arrived back in the station after our first amazing ride of the day. What a ride to start off our day of riding! We exited the train and preceded down the exit stairs. As we exited, I realized the ride still had basically NO wait and even had some empty rows. I knew that we couldn?t give up the chance of not being able to ride it later because of long lines. After we exited, we all decided to jump right back in the line. You can never have enough Storm Runner.

More to come...

-KKR05
Posted on: July 29, 2006, 11:03:53 pmChapter 5: Storm Runner...Take Two

After an unbelievable first ride on SR front row, I was craving another ride, especially since the line was so short. We decided to skip looking at our picture and got right back in the queue. Once again, nothing had changed from before. It was still COMPLETELY empty, which how all queues should be  We continued our way through the queue and up into the station, which was still empty. I really couldn't believe how uncrowded the station was. Anyway, I opted to go on the right side of the station, since as I observed before, operations were running more smoothly on this side. I found every row to have a only about a one or two train wait, which was excellent. I quickly spotted that the 3rd and 4th rows only had a one train wait. It was closest to the front I could get with a minimal wait, so I quickly made my way over and got in the line. Better yet, as we entered the separate queue for our row, the train was boarding. So, as soon as the train returned, it would be our turn to ride. I was very happy at the moment with the 2 minimal waits for SR. I just thought to myself how nice it would be if the lines stayed like this all day. I would simply love it, but since it was a weekend, I knew the lines would get longer as the day went on. Hopefully not by much, though. Anyway, in no time, our train was back in the station after about 3 minutes of waiting. Excellent. I was ready for another ride on my favorite steel coaster in the world, Storm Runner.

The air gates soon opened and we proceeded into our seats. We quickly sat down and continued to pull down our OTSR's. I really like this type of OTSR on SR as well as other Intamin Rockets (Ka for example) mainly because it is very open, and gives you some nice room to move around with your upper body. I continued to secure the restraint in a good spot and buckled the seat belt. I was ready to ride. The operators, as I've said, were great on this side of the station, so we were out of there before we knew it. We made our way from the transfer track to the launch track, and got ready for the amazing ride ahead. As you sit there, the launch track intimates you, with the large straightaway in front of you as well as the large top hat. You sit there, waiting, waiting, waiting to be launched. And as soon as you move back so the catch car can attach, you know it's any minute now that you'll be launching at 72 MPH. Before long, that classic ride recording plays, and you know it's now a matter of seconds before you're out of there. You hear over the loudspeaker....

"Now get ready, here we go!"

Then, just like that, you're gone, speeding down the launch track gaining speed by the second. Faster, faster, faster you go, with the forces pushing you back into your seat. Your arms up in the air begin to feel the strength of the launch as you speed down the straightaway. SR's launch is more powerful than it would seem. It really packs a punch and slams you hard into your seat. That best thing though is that it never lets up. You continued at full force down the extremely powerful launch track and move on to the first element, the top hat. After the powerful launch, you get for first experience of vertical horsepower. The top hat sends you straight up into the sky, 150 feet up to be exact. Higher, higher you get into the Hersheypark skyline you get, until you finally reach the top. Then, it's time to be ejected. SR's top hat offers plenty of sweet ejector air as you slowly crest the top hat and enjoy a quick view of the park in front of you. For the few seconds it lasts, the air on the top hat is very, very enjoyable. No one can hate the sensation ejector air brings to the table. Anyway, after cresting the top hat, you're on your way back down into the valley below. The vertical drop into the valley is excellent, but it just seems to be over so fast unfortunately. The 180 foot drop is great, and the pull-out into the valley is very strong and forceful. After finally exiting the top hat, it's time to head into the ride's next element and first inversion, the cobra loop. This inversion is very interesting and unique. At first, it feels like a regular loop, but then pulls out at the top in a cobra roll like fashion. We made our way through the valley and back up into the sky. As I said, we went straight up into the sky, just like entering a regular old vertical loop. However, this thing is completely different. Once we finally reached the top of the inversion, we enjoyed some sweet, sweet hang time. After a moment or two of nice this great feeling, it was time to fall back down to earth in a cobra roll-like fashion. Even though the pull-out of this inversion is quite odd, I love the uniqueness of it. After the unique cobra loop, we charged back down towards the river below, only to come up yet again and into the ride's next two inversions, those being the Zero-G Roll and the Flying Snake Dive. To enter these inversions, we must climb yet another ascent. And, as a sweet surprise at the top of this ascent, we were greeted with another great sensation of ejector air. Ah, what a great way to start the next few elements. As soon as the moment of great ejector air is over, you're immediately thrown into the Zero-G. The Zero-G roll is always one of my favorite elements on inverting coasters, and this one is no different. Around and around you go, creating an amazing sensation as you complete the 360 degree horizontal twist. This element creates a feeling like no other, which is why I really love it. After the amazing Zero-G, you go directly into the next inversion. This ride doesn't waste anytime. The next and final inversion is the Flying Snake Dive, which again, is a unique element. The Flying Snake Dive throws you upside-down just like a Zero-G at first, before pulling out and heading straight down to earth. As soon as you exit the Zero-G roll, you enter the Flying Snake Dive, which seems to be just another Zero-G, but it isn't. It's a whole new kind of inversion. The uniqueness of the element is excellent, and really provides a different experience. The pull-out of the element is very strong, and before you know it, you're back towards the ground and heading into the ride's twisted finale. Banked turns are left and right as you make your way upwards in this again, unique ride finale. You really speed through this element FAST, and soon, unfortunately, you find yourself in the downward brakes and heading back into the station. It all seems so fast, but it's one of the best minutes you'll ever have riding a roller coaster. Storm Runner overall is just a spectacular ride, and has everything a coaster really should have. However, it is it's uniqueness that really stands out. This ride is basically the definition of the word unique, which I love as well. When you're at Hersheypark, make sure you don't miss this excellent coaster.

After our nearly one minute journey, we returned to the station. We finally came to a halt and proceeded to exit this excellent ride. Once we exited, we headed back to the midway and decided to meet up with the others and possibly try to get on the park's newest attraction, the Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge. However, we knew that the ride would have a line if it was open, considering there were people waiting when we were there earlier in the morning. So, we headed back to the Music Box Way and check out what was going on, and to see if we could finally get on the RXCC!

Chapter 6: Blazin' Through Hersheypark!

So, after two excellent, excellent rides on Storm Runner, we made our way back to RXCC and the Music Box Way section of the park. While walking through Pioneer Frontier, we received a call from the others. They said that they got on RXCC! They also said that the ride opened up basically 30 seconds after we left for SR  After hearing the ride was open and running with passengers, we power-walked our way back to the ride to find the others and try to receive our first ride on the RXCC. We approached the ride's entrance and saw the others waiting in line for RXCC...which was already out of the only switchback. Ugh, we missed our chance. The wait would be at least 30 minutes from here. We decided to wait for a bit and see how much we would move. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. 5 minutes went by and we hadn't moved in line at all, so we decided to ditch it and come back later. So, we decided to walk down back towards Pioneer Frontier and decide what attraction to hit next. We decided to hit the Trailblazer for no particular reason. Since we knew Midway America never had any lines, it didn't matter when we hit that. So, we decided to back-track through the park and hit all of the attractions in the front of the park first before the heavy crowds would come in. You may say that all of the people do that, but we did it in a different fashion. We started at the back of the park, and would make our way towards the front eventually. Seemed like a good plan. So, we made our way through Pioneer Frontier and down the HUGE hill near SR. This thing sucks to walk up, and is even hard to walk down because it's so steep. As soon as we reached the bottom of the valley, we made our way towards Trailblazer's entrance. The ride's sign is actually pretty hidden all the way back towards the station, but a sign points the way to the station and entrance. We approached the brand new sign (well, not that new anymore) which looks great. We made our way up the stairs and into the station. Trailblazer's station is actually very large, as it holds two big switchbacks. However, those weren't being used. We saw that some rows in the middle didn't have any wait, so we immediately went for those. They were only using one train, so we had to wait until the one on the course came back to ride. I'm surprising they weren't using two, considering it was a weekend. However, it wasn't that much needed, considering the ride itself isn't very long. So, after about two minutes, our train finally arrived in the station. It was time to ride.

The train came to a halt and the current passengers made their way to the exit. After they all left the station, our very tiny air gates opened and we jumped in our train for our voyage. I love the new restraints they have on this ride. They are extremely comfortable and really help older people ride, not just the kiddies. I pulled my restraint down and released it in a comfortable spot. Ah, very, very comfortable. The operators quickly checked the rest of our train, and we got ready to ride. We finally heard the "dispatch", and moved slowly out of the station. We were first greeted by a small, 5 foot dip before entering a sharp left-hand turn. We made our way through the ride's car shed before finally encountering the lift hill. the lift hill isn't very large on the ride, but there are things to look at, the most notable SR's twisted finale just on top of us. As we made our way to the top, we spotted a train full of screaming riders passing by. What a great ride SR was. Anyway, the top of the lift hill comes all too fast on this ride. While your glaring up at SR or the looking around the surrounding area, your at the top of the lift hill and finally starting your ride. The ride starts off with a small slanted straightaway, which eventually ends up being the ride's first element, a nice helix. The turn into the first helix is nice and strong. It really whips you to the side before making your way downward in a very fun helix. What I love about this part of the ride is that you just keep on getting lower and lower, until you find yourself in a trench! While in this trench, if you have your hands up, you can almost touch the ground! I expect that a person with long arms can easily touch the ground, considering you are just that close to it. The helix is in its strongest part here, and I'll just say it was pretty strong here for a kiddie/family coaster. Anyway, we finally parted out of the first helix, and into a short straightaway right by a fence. This fence happens to be the same fence that separates SR's queue and the Trailblazer itself! Anyway, after a nice tame left hand turn, you fly right up into a not-needed MCBR. I still don't quite understand why they have a MCBR on this ride, but whatever. It is actually quite long, and slows down most of your speed unfortunately. However, the ride goes on, with a nice curving drop to the left, which follows that very same path we went down to get to the ride. After a nice relaxing drop, we come back up a few more feet and into a small straightaway. Then, after that, the ride enters its strongest point, a sweet double helix. We quickly turned to the right and entered the ride's strongest point. Around and around we went, circling the trees inside the ride's double loop. The first helix is a little slow, but then you continue to pick up more and more speed, leading into, as I said before, strong second helix for a kiddie/family coaster. Finally we gained the most speed we would ever get during the the ride, and unfortunately, it was time to move out of the very fun double helix. We climbed another ascent and went into what seems to be an old mine shaft with again, some good speed. Unfortunately, once entering the building we saw that our ride was unfortunately over. We hit the brakes, and shortly came to a complete stop. The ride ends so quickly! Before you know it, it's over. Overall, Trailblazer is a very fun coaster, and excellent for the kids. Also, it offers a nice break from all the bigger rides in the park, and even a nice breeze 

Finally we arrived back in the station after our very fun excursion on the Trailblazer. We waited for the train to come to a halt and then released our restraints. Then we followed the exit stairs and path back into the midway. Ah, the Trailblazer is such a fun ride and very relaxing. After the great small coaster, it was time to go up yet another huge hill and into the Minetown section of the park, where we would find the Kissing Tower, Antique Cars, and the most unique B&M invert at least in the United States, Great Bear. All of these rides would be our next hits as we nicely strolled through the amazing Hersheypark!

More coming up...

-KKR05
Posted on: July 29, 2006, 11:05:18 pmChapter 7

Part 1: Pucker Up!

After a ride on Trailblazer, we went on to the Minetown section of the park. So, to do so, we needed to climb the big, steep ascent right below SR's Zero-G and Flying Snake Dive. Climbing these large, steep hills can take a lot out of you, and the "older" part of Hersheypark has a lot of them. However, the rides in the "older" sections of the park (Comet Hollow and Minetown, mainly) use this special terrain to their advantage, which really adds more to the attraction. Anyway, I power-walked up the large hill as I looked up at SR, seeing trains whiz by overhead as I made my way to the top. Once we all got to the top of the large hill, we decided to spend some time in this section of the park, that being Minetown. We passed the Flying Falcon, which had just gone under a large rehab. The ride wasn't open yet, but it would later on in the day. I heard some rumors that the Falcon was on its way out, but I think those rumors have been put to rest now that the ride is back open. We passed the Falcon and made our way to the little section of the park that holds the Kissing Tower and the Antique Cars. Both of these attractions are great classics, and both would end up being next on our hit list. We soon came into a nice, shady plaza at the top of Minetown. This section of the park is a great area to relax. The area is basically covered in trees, and there are many tables around for sitting opportunities. We made our way over to the Kissing Tower first to see if we could grab a quick ride. When we encountered the entrance, there was no one in line, but we just missed the ride going up, which was only a few feet off the ground. Oh well, we would be first on the next ride. I love this old classic ride. It is gives an excellent view of not only the park, but the entire town. While we waited for the other guests to complete their ride, I looked around the queue line. As I said before, I love this section of the park because it is FULL of trees and shrubbery. Also, they have the classic signs hanging up in the station, saying "No eating, drinking, or smoking...only smooching!" or something along those lines. Anyway, we waited less than 5 minutes for the cabin to return to the station. Those few minutes went by in no time, and now it was our time to ride. The ride operator lifted the chain and I was the first one to go into the A/C blasted Kissing Tower . Ah, it felt so amazing and refreshing just to be in the air conditioning on such a hot day. I followed the operator's instructions and walked all the way around the ride capsule, finally ending up basically where I entered. Since there weren't many people waiting in line, and on the ride in general, we had lots of room to enjoy the sights through the unique Kiss-shaped windows. Once all of the other guests took their seat, it was time to enjoy our ride on the Kissing Tower. Once we started to lift off the ground, we started to rotate and the classic recording started to play. Once we reached the tops of all the trees, we received an amazing view of the park. As we rotated around, we could see the park from Founder's Circle all the way back to Midway America and everything in-between. It really is spectacular how great the views are from the tower. Anyway, we rotated around and found ourselves now looking at the town of Hershey, PA. We received a great view of the town, including the factory, and I even spotted the classic Kiss shaped lamp posts. It really is remarkable how far you are able to see from this classic tower. In no time, we found ourselves at the top of tower, looking down at the central area of town of Hershey. Once you're finally at the top of the tower, you rotate quite a few times, giving some amazing views of the entire area. I really think that if you're in Hershey, you shouldn't miss this attraction. The views are simply stunning, plus there really isn't much of a wait for the ride. I'd say it's worth a cycle or two to enjoy the views of Hershey, PA. Anyway, we enjoyed the excellent views some more as we rotated at the top of the tower. After taking in the excellent views, it was time to make our way back down again unfortunately. However, it was an excellent break and offered an excellent experience, especially with the air conditioning! Definitely a great way to take a break from the other bigger rides. Anyway, we enjoyed the last few moment we had inside the amazing air conditioned cabin before finally coming to a complete halt back on the ground. Ah, what a relaxing ride the Kissing Tower was. However, it was time to get off now, and head to our next attraction. We slowly exited and headed back into the extreme heat, which was much different from what we just experienced on the Kissing Tower.

Part 2:The Prolonging Pain

After the Kissing Tower, since we were literally right there, we decide to do the driving cars. Since I wanted to drive my own car, we decided to do the Sport Cars instead of the Antique Cars. If we wanted to do the Antique Cars after the Sport Cars, that would be possible, considering there was no line for either of the attractions. We walked straight through the switchback, which was empty, and up on to the bridge. There was just a bit of a line on the stairs leading down to the loading section. It would only be about a 5 minute wait or most likely less. As we waited, I looked down from above at the cars below. I thought to myself that I would be starting driving in only a few months, and this would be at least some sort of practice for that occasion coming up  We quickly made our way down the stairs in about 5 minutes, which wasn't a bad waiting time, mainly because the lines for the Cars can be HUGE at times. Anyway, I finally stepped on to the yellow "A" and waited for my car to arrive. Sure enough, it did within a matter of moments. Once my car came to a halt, I quickly hopped in and buckled the seat belt. The ride operator finally told me to go, and I was on my way. I hit the gas hard and pulled away from the station on my short little excursion through Pennsylvania, as the signs indicate. I hit the gas and first encountered a nice short straightaway before the first big turn. I noticed a small replica of a Sunoco station to the right-side of me, which is actually very nice looking and realistic. However, I didn't have much time to look around. I had to keep my eyes on the road! I soon encountered the first turn, it being a long U-turn to the right. I tried my best for my car not to hit the railing in the middle, and actually did very well as I rounded the bend. About half-way through, I encountered the almost pointless on-ride photo. I'm not exactly sure why they have an on-ride photo for this ride, but hey, it's one ride of few where you can basically control the expression on your face. So, I guess it really could add some more fun to the ride. I really wasn't even paying attention to it as I completed the turn and saw the flash. When I rode, and really forgot all about the camera being there. Oh well, I needed to keep my eyes on the road! After the nice U-turn, I went straight into a nice, long straightaway. I kept my car nice and straight, not touching the railing in the middle of the track. I kept my foot steady on the gas as I quickly went down the straightaway. I noticed the small green signs by the track noting all of the different towns inside Pennsylvania, which are a nice small touch to the ride. Anyway, I completed the very long straightaway and went right into a small left-hand turn. I perfectly kept my car in line with the railing in the middle of the track as I successfully completed the turn. Now it was time for yet again another straightaway. This one was shorter, but during it, I noticed the cramping of my foot/leg from keeping my foot on the petal. Since the car is pretty small, I had to bend my knee just to get my foot under the "hood" and on to the petal. Since my leg was really getting cramped up as I made my way down the straightaway, I took my foot off the petal and rested for a few seconds. I stretched out my leg and then finally get my foot back on the gas. Ah, that felt better. However, I knew that pain would be back. After completing this straightaway, I again headed into a small left-hand turn. I successfully completed it, and headed down a very short straightaway. It was time for the sharp U-turn to return back to the station. I tried my hardest to successfully complete the turn as best as I could. However, the pain was soon back. I went through about have of the turn and then lost control. I tried to straighten out my leg, which didn't work at all. So, I switched to my other leg just to complete the very sharp turn. By doing this, I couldn't keep my car in line, thus slamming it into the railing in the middle. However, I kept going, until the turn finally ended and I encountered one final straightaway before arriving back at the station. I did my best to keep my car in line with the track, which I now did. After a small turn to the right, I crawled up a small hill and saw the traffic light sign telling me to "slow down". I came down off of the small hill and returned to the station area. I slowly crawled up to the ride operator, who finally told me to stop. Since the pain was starting to come back yet again, I quickly hopped out of the car and proceeded to the steps so I could exit. I climbed the stairs and proceeded to exit. Overall, the Sports Cars are very relaxing, except for the leg cramps. The ride itself is very nice and is right in the trees, creating an excellent atmosphere. And, as I said before, it would have even been better if my leg kept cramping up. At the top of the bridge, I waited for everyone else to finish, who weren't that far behind me. Once they all came up, we headed down to the photo booth to check out our pictures. Since I didn't have my glasses, I really couldn't see my picture  Oh well, I didn't even know they were taking it! After everyone looked at their pictures, we proceeded through the exit and back into the nice little plaza.

After the Cars, I was really craving to get on a coaster again. Who knows what coaster is in the general area? Why, Great Bear of course! It was time to conquer the most unique B&M invert I've ridden to date, and a very fun one at that.

Yes, the next update will consist of Great Bear! Stay tuned!

-KKR05

[WadeJ]

holy crap - detailed TR LOL

Enjoying very much - I'll wait to comment until completion

[KingdaKaRuler05]

Ha thanks Wade. I'll try to have the next update (Great Bear) up here for you all tomorrow...

-KKR05

[KingdaKaRuler05]

Sorry for the delay all. Here's the next part-

Chapter 8-An Extremely Strange Occurrence

After the Cars and the Kissing Tower, it was time to ride the park's B&M inverted coaster, Great Bear. I forgot to mention before that the ride had broken down earlier in the day, and I watched it do some test runs while on the Kissing Tower. By the time we were off both the Kissing Tower and Cars, the ride was open and ready to go. So, we made our way over to Great Bear's entrance to find an empty switchback, as viewable from the path in-between Wok and Roll and GB's entrance. Anyway, before we rode GB, we stopped at a near-by Coca-Cola cart for a few bottles of Dasani. Ah, water. It felt so refreshing when it was just blistering hot outside. I quickly took a few sips and then made my way over to the Great Bear entrance. Before I start with Bear though, I have to tell you about a very strange occurrence. While sitting on a park bench taking a few sips of water, I viewed Great Bear's entrance. I was just sitting there, relaxing, waiting for everyone to finish so we could ride. And then, out of no where, I'd say a mob of about 100 people come along and go straight the GB's entrance. I just watched with a puzzled look on my face. How were this many people coming at this certain point in time!? People just kept swarming in for a good couple of minutes. After watching this extremely odd occurrence, which really reminded me of running of the bulls, I quickly made my way over to the entrance before another mob came and the line got even longer! Fortunately, before the mob arrived, there wasn't really anyone on line waiting for the ride. However, after the mob showed up, the line stopped at the vending machines by the small "shower" in the queue line. As I stopped in the line by the vending machines, I was still in awe at this extremely strange occurrence. Oh well, good thing the operators on this ride were absolutely excellent. I said the line was out to the "shower" correct? Well, because of the awesome operators, I was IN the station in only 10 minutes. I was amazed at how well the operations were on this ride, especially with only 2 trains. Our wait really went by in no time. We just kept moving and moving and moving...we would really only stop for a few moments at a time. Finally, we arrived in the very nice looking station. The interior of the station itself is very nice, and I love the blue windows at the top. Anyway, we decided to look for the shortest row to ride, and it ended up being row number 2, surprisingly. Well, row numbers 2 and 3 had about the same wait, so we opted for row 2. The wait itself was only about a 2 train wait. Since again, the operators were doing an AWESOME job, I knew we would be on in no time.

From when we boarded the separate queue for our row to the time we boarded our train, it was a whopping 5 minutes. The operators were cranking out trains in no time, luckily for us. So, we were on the ride in no time. Our air-gate finally opened, and I made my way all the way down to right-hand seat. I always try to get the end seat on all B&M's. I love how you have much more space and a much better view than sitting in the middle. Anyway, I pulled down my restraint and made sure it was nice and comfortable, then secured the seat belt. I was ready to go as the operators quickly made their way around and checked all the restraints. Wow, they were fast. They were in and out of there before you knew it. After they quickly checked the train, it was now time to ride the Bear. we proceeded towards the lift as we made our way our of the station. We soon got hit with sunlight, which is almost completed blocked in Bear's station. We continued to pull up the lift, and as we got higher, we received more of an amazing view of the area. You notice the surrounding Coal Cracker flume, the classic Sooperdooperlooper coaster, and basically all of the Comet Hollow section of the park. However, this excellent view is soon over, as before you know it, you're at the top of the lift and getting ready for the ride to really begin. The first element on the ride is a very nice starting helix. I love the placement of this element. It really gives the ride a nice, strong start and can really grab you by surprise. Down and around we went, through the ride's first element. I found some decent forces towards the mid-point of the helix, which felt great as we continued our way towards the first major drop. We now went into a curved straightaway, moving along towards the first drop. Closer and closer we traveled, until we finally got pulled to the right and down the first very nice first drop. I felt a nice breeze as we made our way down towards the small little river in the park's Comet Hollow section of the park. Even though most of the ride itself is in the Comet Hollow part of the park, the entrance is in Minetown. It would be a better fit in Comet Hollow, but since most of the ride goes through that section, it doesn't much matter. Anyway, we traveled down to the ground below in a very nice, relaxing drop. GB's drop is very nice and enjoyable, and you gain some nice speed that carries you through the rest of the course. After a nice first drop, we sped into the first inversion the ride had to offer us, a nice vertical loop. Even though the element is forceless, you have to love the feeling the vertical loop gives you. No inverted coaster would be complete without a sweet vertical loop. We quickly went up, around, and back down again. As I said before, the element is very nice and relaxing, but shows no force. We continued to travel adjacent to Comet Hollow's stream until we came to the next inversion on our journey, a pretty strong Immelman. Since the ride had been pretty forceless so far, this element was a nice surprise. We came right up into the sky just like a regular vertical loop, but then flipped over and came falling back to earth. As we reached the element's apex, the forces were moderately strong, which was a nice surprise. What I love about the Immelman is how it really whips you back to earth. You go straight up, thinking your going to come right back down again like a regular loop, but no! The Immelman flips you over and sends you flying in a whole new direction. After a very nice Immelman inversion, you encounter one of my favorite inversions of all time and one of my favorite parts of this ride, the Zero-G roll. Before I continue, let just say that I love the feeling this inversion creates. I simply love the execution of this inversion, and it's definitely one of my personal favorites. After the Immelman, that ride throws us down and back up again into the 3rd inversion, the Zero-G roll, right over the Comet Hollow midway. We soon encountered the inversion, which really whips you 360 degrees around just like that. Before you know it you're in and out of the element. Since you have some very nice speed before entering the element, you quickly complete it in no time. Once again, the feeling the element creates is just awesome. I can't even begin to describe this feeling. All I'll say is that is unique and awesome. Anyway, after the Zero-G, we continued on our journey on Great Bear. We soon encountered a sharp left-hand turn, and we swooped over the river below. Now we would continue our journey on the other side of the river, with the water RIGHT below us. After the nice, sharp turn, we went into a straightaway along the river before going on to the ride's final inversion, a flat spin/corkscrew. After the straightaway, and upon entering the corkscrew, the ride quickly throws you to the left in a sharp turn. Then, out of no where, you speed into the final inversion. I love how they throw you to one side and then the other, which creates a really cool effect IMO. This corkscrew is like any other corkscrew. It quickly whips you around the bend, and sends you flying into the ride's last element, a slow S-Bend. The ride finishes off slow unfortunately, as you complete an S-Bend up above in the skies of Minetown. By the end of the S-bend you crawl into the station, and encounter the ride's on-ride photo. I still don't understand why Hershey decided to place the on-ride photo right here, but the only thing coming into my mind is to see the people's expressions as they slam into the brakes. And yes, after the S-Bend, the ride is complete. We slammed into the brakes and make our way around a sharp right-hand turn and back towards the station. As we waited in the brake run waiting to get off, I thought about the ride I had just ridden. Overall, Great Bear, to me, is a solid invert, and perfect for this park. The ride isn't about being tall and high or giving extreme G-forces. It's about giving an enjoyable and fun ride in a great location, and it does that well. I really like the ride and love the experience it gives. With that said, I'll give this ride a rating of 8.5/10. (Yes, I will be doing ratings for now on!)

We finally returned to the station after our long journey above Hersheypark. The train soon came to a halt and the floor came up. Our harnesses unlocked and we got out of the train. We continued down the exit ramp right by the Coal Cracker, the park's great log flume, which we unfortunately didn't ride during this trip. Anyway, we proceeded to the photo booth, and I just went straight through. I had no intention of buying a photo, plus I didn't have my glasses on me. Anyway, we went back up towards the Boardwalk Fries stall and met back up with the others. They had bought some Boardwalk Fries, which are so freaking good! All of us had some as a snack as it was around noon now. I also went to near-by Nathan's to pick up an RXCC souvenir cup which was only 6 bucks, with 99 cent refills of course! (What a bargain!) You have to love those on a hot day like that one! Anyway, after we finished up a quick snack (we would be going to the BBQ place by Trailblazer for sandwiches later...they are so good!), we headed back out to the midway. What would be our next destination? It would be the only part of the park with two woodies and current construction going on...Midway America!

I'll try to get one more update for you all tomorrow before I leave for WDW on Thursday!

-KKR05