Editor’s Note: This trip report was reformatted in 2021 to match the current style, including photo galleries and ride counts. Older trip reports, however, detailed every ride of the day, whereas newer reports only touch upon a handful of rides. In order to preserve what I wrote, you will still find each ride detailed below.
So, a few days ago I published the blog, “July 2020 – The Summer of Sam?” In it, I talked about how my friend, and fellow wingman, Sam, was looking to overcome her fear of roller coasters by conquering some of the larger, more intense rides out there. Well, we made our way to Hersheypark on Friday, July 3, 2020 and Sam did manage to pick up some new credits. The day wasn’t perfect, however, but was overall, still an enjoyable day with someone who I enjoy spending time with. Here is how our day went.
In the days leading up to our trip, Sam told me that she didn’t want to jump right into Candymonium or Skyrush. She wanted to ease her way into those larger rides, which totally made sense. Her vision was to go immediately to the back end of the park, to Lightning Racer, and work our way back up to the new entrance and to Candymonium. That’s sort of what we did, but with a stop at Comet along the way.
Starting Off Slow
In the days leading up to our trip, Sam told me that she didn’t want to jump right into Candymonium or Skyrush. She wanted to ease her way into those larger rides, which totally made sense. Her vision was to go immediately to the back end of the park, to Lightning Racer, and work our way back up to the new entrance and to Candymonium. That’s sort of what we did, but with a stop at Comet along the way.
Comet - The Park's Oldest Coaster
Sam had never been on Comet and I had told her that since she had been on both Wildcat and Lightning Racer in a previous visit with her friends, Comet would be an easy ride. It would also be a more enjoyable one than Wildcat, for sure.
The line took about 20 minutes to cycle through. We had a fifth row seat, and with every other row being closed for social distancing due to Covid-19, it made the train feel empty. After the ride op told everyone to put their masks back on in the rows one and three, we were off and up the lift hill.
Our ride was a smooth one, which Sam seemed to notice as well. She asked me how old the coaster is and I told her it was built in the 1940’s. She was surprised, which is a testament to how well Hersheypark takes care of this classic ride. It was my first “adult” sized coaster, and on this day, it was Sam’s first new credit.
The Long Walk
After taking a few photos of Comet, we put Sam’s plan into play. We made the long walk all the way back to Lightning Racer, stopping only for me to shoot some photos and video of Fahrenheit. Man, does this coaster look so nice with its fresh paint. For years that faded orange and blue just didn’t do the ride justice. Now, however, it’s quite beautiful, as you can see in the photo above.
As we progressed past The Boardwalk region, we began to notice a sad trend – coasters being down. On the left, Wildcat. On the right, Wild Mouse. We already knew going in that both Storm Runner (closed for the season) and SooperDooperLooper would be down. There were no test runs being done, nor anyone on the platforms working on either coaster. Luckily, Sam had already claimed the Wildcat credit, but Wild Mouse was one we were going to get for her. Oh well, maybe next time!
Lightning Racer - Lil Bit of Lightning, Lil Bit of Thunder
Finally, we were at Lightning Racer. As usual, it was a walk on. I know this ride gets overlooked by many enthusiasts, but I have always loved this Great Coasters International (GCI) creation. People are constantly saying, “Save Wildcat and ‘RMC’ Lightning Racer.” I’ll tell you what, I think I’d be quite upset if that call is ever made. I’m sure Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) would make a masterpiece, but there’s just something about this ride that I love. I have many memories on it and it probably ranks a lot higher on my list of favorite wooden coasters than most enthusiast’s. Lightning Racer also happens to be Sam’s favorite wooden coaster at this time, so she also said that she’d hate to see RMC convert the ride.
After losing our first ride on Thunder, we circled back around to ride Lightning (Sam’s first time riding this side). We won that time. It looked like it was winning on every cycle by about a half to a whole train’s length. I don’t remember that being the case years ago. As a matter of fact, during one trip, James and I rode the ride six times in a row, going back and forth between the two side, and won every time. It was insane. Maybe something in the timing or track is causing this to occur?
A Turn for the Worse
Sadly, after this ride, things took a turn for the worse. Sam said she was feeling a little sick. She didn’t think she was going to get sick, but she just started feeling off. We took a break and got something to drink and got out of the unbearable heat for a while. She felt a little better, but was not ready to ride anything just yet. Instead, we walked around Lightning Racer so I could shoot some more content on my GoPro.
Thinking that she might need to eat, Sam and I walked back to the region of the park where the carousel used to sit pre-Chocolatetown. There, we grabbed some food and sat in the shade for a good long while. Sam only nibbled on some of my fries and wasn’t feeling much better. Trying to kill time to let her relax a bit, I began posting a bunch of photos I had taken onto the site’s Instagram page (@WeWereInverted_IG). Be sure to check those out.
Laff Trakk - Clowning Around Credit
Eventually Sam decided she wanted to head back and give Laff Trakk a try. She knew the coaster wasn’t too intense, although the spinning did worry her. I assured her that she’d be alright, so we got in line, which gave her another half an hour or so to take a break.
Ultimately, Sam did enjoy the ride, as well as all the circus music that played inside the line queue (sarcasm). With her third new credit in the books (yes, counting one side of Lightning Racer as a credit), we began walking back toward the center of the park. On the way, Sam needed a break again. I was starting to feel bad. I was hoping that it wasn’t her nerves since she told me she was going to ride all the coasters, but she assured me it wasn’t. She sat under some trees next to the back end of Fahrenheit and while she rested, I grabbed some more footage of the orange and blue Intamin beauty.
Trailblazer - Following the Trail
Once Sam was ready to go, we worked our way over to Sidewinder and Storm Runner for me to shoot more content. I thought about jumping on Sidewinder because it has been years since my last ride. I saw a fair number of people in the station, however, and decided to just use my time shooting both neighboring coasters.
As we walked under Storm Runner’s launch, Sam said she’d be up for riding Trail Blazer. She knew it was a tame family coaster and she had never been on it before. After a quick ride, Sam had her fourth new, and final, credit of the day.
Great Bear - Flying Solo
At this point, Sam said she wanted to try to eat because now she was actually feeling hungry. We went to a spot over by Great Bear and Sam went inside while I got in a quick ride on the B&M invert. It was a walk-on and Sam was bummed she couldn’t ride because Great Bear is her favorite roller coaster, as evident by this blog’s main photo. She just didn’t want to chance it, however. I understood, but was really feeling guilty staying at the park with her not feeling well. She told me to ride the other coasters and record some footage though. She said she was fine sitting and waiting. That’s pretty much what we did for the rest of the evening too.
Skyrush - No Thigh Crush?
I got on Skyrush and shot a bunch of video of Great Bear upon leaving the exit. Sadly, the walkway along Spring Creek was closed. I wanted to get a bunch of footage of Skyrush around the creek, but with the gate closed, that wouldn’t be happening. I’m guessing they have it closed due to the ongoing construction? Oh well, I still got an amazing ride and my thighs weren’t mad at me for the rest of the day.
Final Ride Counts
Comet (1)
Great Bear (1: Patrick)
Laff Trakk (1)
Lighting Racer: Lightning (1)
Lighting Racer: Thunder (1)
Skyrush (1: Patrick)
Some Shopping & More Photos
After my ride on Skyrush, Sam and I did a little shopping as we walked our way back toward the front of the park. There was only one last ride to tackle – Candymonium. I had only the one ride on the King-Sized Members Pass Preview Day on June, 29, so I was looking forward to another chance to ride this Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) creation. I’ll just have to look forward to doing it another day, but more on that in a minute.
After hitting a few shops, I stopped to shoot some more content of Skyrush and Comet. I squeezed between the kiddie rides and got a few videos and photos of both coasters buzzing by. With that done, I worked my way back to Sam.
No More Rides Today for Either of Us
Within a few minutes of meeting back up with Sam, the skies turned gray and the wind picked up. A storm was coming, and since it wasn’t Storm Runner, we weren’t happy. The park even fell silent, as most of the rides stopped, including the coasters. With only an hour and a half left until park closing time, and the storm slated to be in the area for over two hours, I knew I’d have to get my follow up rides another day. Guess it’s good that I got that season pass, huh?
With that, we grabbed a pizza on my meal plan and hit up the new store in Chocolatetown on the way out. I was left very underwhelmed by that store as there are literally no shirts or pins to be found for any of the coasters. As a matter of fact, the only shirts I saw for any of the coasters all day were a few saying “I Survived SooperDooperLooper,” which is a classic shirt they’ve been selling forever, as well as some new Candymonium logo gear. That’s it. How disappointing! Had they had some shirts and pins for other coasters in the park, I would have left with a large bag full of goodies. Instead, I bought nothing. Sam, however, found herself a Great Bear hat and some Great Bear socks. I told you, Great Bear is her favorite, didn’t I?
So while the day wasn’t perfect, it was still fun. Sam got in her four new credits and was happy. We’re going to be going back for our work’s annual amusement park trip on Monday, July 27, so she’s swearing that the first ride she’s going to is Great Bear. Then, from there, she’s going to try some other new ones. I hope so, Sam. I hope so. It’ll be so fun to see you get on these new rides. And speaking of which, tomorrow at noon we have a date with Six Flags America (SFA). It’s her first visit and we will be meeting up with Chris and Carrie from the Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS) Facebook group. That should be fun!
Hersheypark Photo Gallery - July 3, 2020
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
Sam
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): Comet, Lightning Racer (Lightning), Trailblazer, & Laff Trakk
