Last week I saw that Hersheypark announced on their Facebook page that on Labor Day they would be doing some extra perks for their King and Full Sized Season Pass Holders. Upon entering at the gate, each King and Full Sized Pass Holder would receive a scratch off ticket. Every ticket would result in a prize. In addition, 30 percent discounts on retail would be given throughout the park’s shops. I had no plans, so I went ahead and reserved myself a visit. I had planned to go alone, head in for the 10 a.m. Sweet Start (hour early entry), and stick around for a few hours.
A few days before Labor Day, however, I decided to ask Sam if she would be interested in coming along. I know she had just started college, but I figured even with online classes right now, they would still be off on Labor Day. I turned out to be correct. Still, I wasn’t sure if she would want to go since we had been three times already this year. In addition, we have plans to go to Fun Land Fredericksburg, Go Karts Plus Williamsburg, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg with Greg this coming Friday. To my delight, she still wanted to go to Hershey nonetheless.
With Sam coming along, I wouldn’t be able to take her into Sweet Start, but I didn’t care. I had sent Hersheypark a message asking about the scratch offs and if they’d be doing them all day. If not, I wanted to know if I showed up at 11 a.m., if they thought they would still have them available. I was told they were going to do them until they ran out, but entering at 11 a.m., I should have no problem. Awesome! I didn’t want to enter early and tell Sam to meet me in the park later. All sounded great!
Arriving to a Crowded Park
It was Labor Day. I fully expected there to be crowds. We pulled into the lot just before 11 a.m. and the Season Pass Holder lots were already full. This is my first of my seven visits where those lots were filled and the park hadn’t even officially opened yet, except for the Sweet Start event. Oh well, a little walking never hurt anyone. Plus, it was about 78 degrees at that time.
Upon entering the park, I asked the person at the gate about where to get the scratch offs. I was told they were already gone. It was 11:03 a.m. Wow! The members must have came in droves for Sweet Start. Instead, they gave all members a free game voucher card. I’m sure that probably meant that since all the scratch offs were a winner of some kind, this was probably the lowest tier prize and one that most people got anyhow. Oh well!
The Weird Smell at Great Bear
The day’s plans were to try to secure all the credits at the park that Sam did not currently have. Those consisted of: Skyrush, Fahrenheit, Wild Mouse, Sidewinder, and Cocoa Cruiser. She also needs Storm Runner, but it’s down for the 2020 season, so that will have to wait. Still, instead of going to those rides first, Sam wanted to jump on Great Bear for a ride that she knows she will love.
We entered the line and there was about a 20-25 minute wait. As we approached the turn around area after the final brake run, Sam asked me if I smelled a burning smell. I did. To me, it smelled like sparklers or fireworks. It was odd and came a couple of seconds after one of the trains rolled around the turn area leading back into the station.
The train that was in the loading station dispatched. They unloaded the train that had just passed us and let the next group board. This put us a few dozen people shy of going into the station ourselves. Then, ride ops forced everyone off the train and back out of the station. They were making everyone back up. About 20-30 seconds later, they yelled the ride is closed and everyone has to leave the line.
I thought it was weird as most parks will say you can wait, but there is no time table on when the ride we reopen. This is the first time I’ve seen a park say, leave the line. It created such a mess of people trying to pass the word along all the way back to the back of the line to tell them to leave. Since we were close to the area where the HP Go holders can skip the line, we exited out of that line instead. The rest of the line, however, was a mess!
I didn’t think about it, but Sam pointed out to me that the car that was in the station when they closed the ride was the same one that passed us when we noticed the fireworks smell. We both hoped the ride would open and claimed we kicked things off with a “Six Flags Day” at Hersheypark.
Obviously, rides will go down and parks will fix them. The whole “Six Flags Day” reference is an inside joke between some of the flight crew and myself. On numerous visits to Six Flags parks we seem to have our first coaster choice of the day either be down, or go down as we’re in line. It’s a weird coincidence, but it happens regularly at Six Flags parks for us.
One Down, Two to Claim
Knowing Sam wanted to try Skyrush, and we were close, I asked her if she wanted to do that instead, or wait a bit for that one. She said she’d prefer to wait. That’s when I said, “Let’s go get Cocoa Cruiser!”
We walked back across the bridge and waited less than five minutes for a ride on the park’s Zamperella kiddie coaster. I noticed how the ride shares the same paint scheme as Skyrush and said that I wished they had placed this by Skyrush and called it Ground Rush. That would have been awesome! Plus, putting another coaster in The Hallow would be amazing.
Once we finished up getting Sam her first new credit of the day, we were onto her next. Until this point, the Wild Mouse coaster had not been running during any Sam’s prior visits to Hershey in 2020. The first time I saw it open was during the August 23, 2020 visit when my brother and I visited the park. You can read about that day in the blog, “Hersheypark – Day Out with My Brother.”
Just like with Cocoa Cruiser, we practically walked up and onto Wild Mouse. Hershey’s Wild Mouse is nuts as it has multiple cars going at once and utilizes the constantly moving trains on the platform. It keeps the people moving.
A Ride Where People Weren't Moving... Literally
Since we were directly across from Wildcat, I asked Sam if she wanted to go ahead and ride it. She hadn’t been on it in years, and knows all too well how most enthusiasts wish Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) would rework the ride into a hybrid.
Sam’s last rides on Wildcat were rough, but we jumped in line and were greeted to seeing the train stuck on the lift hill. People were leaving the queue, so we turned around and left too. Sam secretly cheered inside, I know! She thought she was saved from the fun that is, Wildcat.
Back-to-Back Loses on Lightning Racer
When Sam was just an Ensign when this site launched, Lightning Racer was her favorite wooden coaster. As of August 20, 2020, however, she changed that to El Toro after her first-ever visit to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv). Read about that day in the blog, “Summer of Sam – Six Flags Great Adventure.” Still, this ride is one she loves and has many memories riding. We were over on this side of the park, there was no line, so why not grab a ride on both sides.
When we entered the line and made our way into the dividing station, I saw someone had turned in two scratch off tickets for free skip the line passes for one ride. Wish I had gotten myself one of those! I digress.
We started with Thunder and lost before going back up and riding lightning. We also lost on Lightning, but only barely. It’s good to see the them back to being competitive now. At the start of the season, Lightning was smashing Thunder on every ride by about half a train’s length. Then, on a return visit, Thunder was doing the same. It’s more fun when you know the race is going to be even and down to that finish line.
You Can't Escape the Wildcat, Sam
Just when she thought she was going to get to leave this section of the park without a ride on the Wildcat, she was wrong. Plus, the line for Laff Trakk was spilling all the way out onto the walkway approaching the queue line. No thanks! It’s fun, but not worth that wait if you already have the credit. Wildcat it was!
Since we were over this section of the park early, I was able to get some footage of Wildcat without the sun being in the background and killing all the lighting. That has been the case all season for me. For Sam, that was about the only positive of the experience. I, on the other hand, didn’t think this ride on the Wildcat was the worst. It certainly wasn’t great, but the one I had with my brother a few weeks ago was much rougher.
Out of the Ordinary Things #1 - Zoo America
The night before this visit, I bought tickets for a 6:15 p.m. showing of the 4D Chocolate Mystery movie out at Chocolate World. I had always wondered what the movie was like, but I had never bought tickets to watch it. I figured, since I had been to Hershey six times already, why not give it a try on the seventh? I texted Sam to tell her and said I was game for whatever, even some things we normally don’t do. She had never been to Zoo America or been on Reese’s Cup Fusion, so I said if we had time, we should try those too.
After riding three wooden coasters in a row, we decided to go ahead and go to the zoo. We saw mostly vultures though, which apparently are invading the zoo’s exhibits. They’re literally everywhere! The zoo even has signs saying they are trying to find ways to get them out of the zoo. Strange, never had seen this in past visits to Zoo America. Wonder what is bringing them into the area?
Front Row Ride on Great Bear
Once we left the zoo, we ate and made our way to Great Bear. They were running both trains, so whatever happened earlier, they fixed. Sam was happy since this is still her favorite ride at Hersheypark. She was also wearing her Great Bear shirt and said it would suck to have worn the shirt and not be able to ride it.
We waited about 20 minutes this time around and weren’t turned away. What made extra special was Sam decided to try the front row. This is something else that she’s always back off from in the past, but on this ride she decided to go for it.
Much like something else that happened today, she learned how much she loved it. Now she’s eager to get a front row ride on Alpengeist later this week. I’m betting that Alpengeist might become one of her new favorite rides.
Out of the Ordinary Things #2 - Reese's Cupfusion
Once we finished our ride on Great Bear, I asked Sam if she wanted to do Reese’s Cupfusion, or try to get in Fahrenheit. We were keeping an eye on our time left due to having to be out at Chocolate World for the 4D movie by 6:15 p.m. Sam decided to do Cupfusion. I said okay and we made our way to the interactive ride. On the way, however, I told her she shouldn’t pass up on Skyrush this visit. She agreed.
The wait Cupfusion claimed to be around an hour. We waited about 45 minutes. We jumped into the front row of our car and I kicked Sam’s booty when the final scores were shown at the end of the ride. It was only my second time on this ride and Sam’s first. Since it normally has long lines, I don’t find myself wanting to wait with so many other great rides in the park. I do enjoy these interactive rides, however.
Sam Loves Skyrush!
All the times that Sam has been to Hersheypark, one of the rides that she just couldn’t bring herself to ride was Skyrush. Even earlier this year when she was first getting over her fear of coasters, Skyrush was one of the rides she was hoping to be able to build up to. Well, that build up has come to and end because Sam braved Skyrush and loved it!
We waited about 20-25 minutes for Sam’s fifth hyper coaster credit. We were seated third row from the back, which meant we were going to experience some of the whip this ride has to offer. We did just that going over the first drop. After we banked right following the turn, that’s when I began hearing Sam laughing. She was loving the ride and it was evident. By time we reached the final brake run, she was spilling her guts on how much fun she had and how she loves the ride.
Just Enough Time to Ride Great Bear Again
Since we made good time on Cupfusion and Skyrush, we knew we had enough time to get in one last ride on Great Bear. We didn’t wait for the front this time, but had another great ride on the Great Bear. It is such an under appreciated Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) invert. It’s not the longest, and it’s not the most intense, but it is unique in its layout and the setting is unmatched on all the other inverts I’ve ridden.
After leaving Great Bear, we grabbed a pizza and hit the Hersheypark Supply Co. Store. It’s no secret that I don’t care for this store’s haphazard layout. It’s a mess of people trying to shop, leave the park, and find their kids. With social distancing a thing, it can’t be in this store. They have merch stands in the middle of all the hoopla of these people being everywhere and you cannot move. I also feel like the merch isn’t replenished, unless all the roller coaster shirts managed to sell out when they first debuted in the store back in July. The same few shirts in XXXL have been on the shelves for weeks on end. Guess they were limited supply? Sadly, I never got my Skyrush shirt I wanted when they debuted them. And now that Sam loves Skyrush, she wanted one too. Luckily for her, she nabbed her Great Bear and Wooden Coasters shirts back in July while I was riding Candymonium with Elaina and Mailyn during our work trip. Read the blog, “Summer of Sam – Hersheypark: Work Trip” for info about that day.
Out of the Ordinary Things #3 - 4D Chocolate Mystery at Chocolate World
Generally, I always plan to hit Chocolate World upon leaving Hersheypark. I prefer to scoop up some chocolate at the end of the day because there is no way it will last out in the car if we go mid-day. This is why I booked tickets for the final show of the day, at 6:15 p.m. The movie page said the movie is 30 minutes in length, so that would be close to when the park closed anyhow. It was perfect.
It’s been years since I’ve been in a 4D theater. My last experience with one was in The Adventuredome in Las Vegas years ago. I saw a Happy Feet themed film. So yeah, it’s been a while.
This film was cute for what it was. They play off the Hershey chocolate brand and you have to help save their factory from an evil-doer and his robotic minions. It was worth the $7.95 ticket and kids would surely love it even more. I’d probably do it again if they change the movie at some point.
Now that Labor Day has passed, many of the parks in this region are moving to limited schedules, with most being weekends only. Still, I might venture out to the parks from time to time before it gets cold. I have the upcoming trip to Virginia with Sam and Greg Friday, but after that, should you head out one weekend, or for one of the holiday events…
You can be my wingman anytime! (Top Gun, 1986)
Patrick
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Commander
New Credit(s): Cocoa Cruiser, Wild Mouse, Skyrush
