On Sunday, July 31, I was visiting Hersheypark for the first time in 2022. It was great getting back to the park and spending time with the Flight Crew. Little did I know, less than two weeks later I’d be back again with Renee. It was spur of the moment, but I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.
Our trip took place on Friday, August 12 with us literally deciding to go the day before. Renee hit me up to see if I was free on Friday and thankfully, I was. She hadn’t been to the park all year herself and saw that she had a free ticket perk set to expire in early September. She offered me the ticket and I gladly accepted.
Imagine Dragons Perform at Hershey Stadium
When Renee and I pulled up Hersheypark’s parking booths, all seemed normal. Fridays can be hit or miss at Hershey, but I usually find crowds to arrive later in the evening, if they arrive at all. As we drove around the circle we saw signs saying the pass holder lot was closed. We were shocked. I’ve never seen them closed, even when there wasn’t a spot to be had.
Everyone was being sent to general parking and when we pulled in, I was stunned to see just how far out we’d have to park. We parked all the way out by the foot bridge over the roadway between the Hersheypark and Giant Center lots. Wow! We knew we’d be in for some long lines once we got into the park.
While getting out of the car, Renee found out there was an Imagine Dragons at Hersheypark Stadium that night. It explained the pass holder lot being closed with all the buses and trucks surrounding the stadium. Maybe, just maybe the park wouldn’t be as crowded as it appeared. And maybe, just maybe, some of these people were only going to the park until the concert began. Both those things came true, but there was still a good crowd at the park nevertheless. Not the worst I’ve seen at an amusement park by any means though.
Mix'd
Since I didn’t get to experience the new Mix’d ride a few weeks ago, Renee and I decided to check it out. Neither of us have experienced a Zamperla NebulaZ before and were quite intrigued. Little did we know, we’d be in line for just under two hours.
When you take into account this ride features two loadings per ride cycle, there is a lot of downtime. Loading guests seemed pretty slow too, which meant people up top were just stuck there waiting halfway through the ride. It also meant all of us in line were at a standstill too.
On top of that, with only 16 riders loading at a time, the Fast Track queue can easily fill up a good portion of the available seats. Long story short, there are times when only a handful of riders from the main queue can even board this ride. I think maybe six or eight guests boarded on our loading cycle with the rest coming from the Fast Track. Maybe Hersheypark should have done what other parks do for new rides and not include it on the Fast Track during its opening year.
Was the wait worth it? Honestly, no. I did enjoy this ride quite a bit, but not when you take into account the two hour wait time. Will I ride it again? Yes, but I will surely be taking a look at how long the line is before making that call.
Storm Runner
Our original plan after riding Mix’d was to catch a show at the Aqua Theater. The slow loading of Mix’d killed those plans, so we made our way to the Storm Runner instead. We both love this ride and Renee was looking forward to getting on it for the first time in a while.
Like Mix’d, Storm Runner had quite the line. We knew this going in and waited in almost the entire queue. That being said, it was a shorter wait than Mix’d. Of course, when we were boarding, only about one-third of the queue had a line. I think that’s when people began leaving the park to go to the concert.
Renee and I got in a back row ride since it featured the shortest line once we made it into the station. This was perfect for me as I love the extra yank you get over the top hat and through the inversions in the back. Renee certainly agreed telling me how she forgot how awesome the ride truly is. I know some people even say this is their favorite coaster at Hersheypark.
Candymonium
Just like the July 31 visit, Renee and I ended this visit hitting up both hyper coasters back-to-back. The park’s app claimed Skyrush had a 45 minute wait. I don’t even think we waited 20. I don’t put must faith in wait times found on apps. They’re always off and sometimes by a large margin. With such a short wait, we boarded, rode the back row, and were on our way to Candymonium.
Candy’s wait time was listed as 90 minutes when we walked up to the building, but we waited a little over and hour. The front of the queue was empty, but the area in the back right portion was full. This would surely be our last ride of the night no matter what. The park closed at 8 p.m. and it was just after 7 p.m. when we got in line.
Once again, I had a polarizing ride on Candymonium. Ever since this coaster opened, I’ve had some amazing airtime experiences on this ride. I also love the hand chopper spot heading into the hill before the helix around the Kiss Fountain. All that said, the ride just feels too short with all the brake runs after the helix. I’m starting to get over the trim brakes, although I’d still like to see them turned off.
This coaster just leaves me wanting more. It could have been one of the best Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) hypers built, but instead I feel the interaction with the Kiss Fountain might have forced into the layout, sapping the ride of an enjoyable ending. What you get is a slow run over two brake runs with a short, shallow dip between the two. That dip can be see in the image below. Talk about returning with a crawl.
What do you all think? I see people calling this one of B&M’s best and I also see people ranking it down at the bottom. It has certainly grown on me, but unless the ride’s finale is reworked, I can’t see myself saying it’s among the company’s best. And no, I don’t see that happening.
Final Ride Counts
Candymonium (1)
Kissing Tower (1)
Mix’d (1)
Skyrush (1)
Storm Runner (1)
Another Day with Renee Soon?
While we don’t have anything planned yet, Renee and I are looking to visit Hersheypark again before the end of the year. Maybe during Halloween or Christmas? We’re not sure yet. I’d certainly welcome at least one more visit to this park before the end of 2022 though. Until then, I’ll be waiting patiently to see what they announce with Wildcat’s replacement. I have a funny feeling that I’ll be getting in a lot more visits again in 2023. Fingers crossed!
Hersheypark Photo Gallery - August 12, 2022
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Renee
Commander
New Credit(s): n/a
