AuTom's Spectrum

Yesterday, September 8, 2024 was my 34th Birthday. To celebrate, my Parents, Aunt and I all drove 2 1/2 hours to Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Right off the bat, let me just say: I LOVE THIS PARK! First off, Elysburg is in the middle of nowhere. The whole Park is in the wooded hills, so you can’t see ANY rides or attractions until you are in the Parking Lot. And speaking of the Parking Lot, there really isn’t one. You park in a grassy unpaved field and walk to the Park, or take a tram. Knoebels is kind of unique in that it is free to enter and park your car. Yeah…you read that right. You don’t have to worry about breaking the bank eating, shopping or parking. Hell there’s not even a freaking fence! I am 99% sure even after Knoebels is closed, anyone could just walk in. The one “Con” is that you cannot ride the rides for free. You either have to pay per ride or buy a Wristband. BUT even that isn’t all that bad. The most expensive rides are the Roller Coasters that cost $4.50 in tickets. My Mom, Dad, and Aunt bought $50 worth of tickets and all 3 of them were able to ride PHOENIX, TWISTER, GIANT FLUME, SCENIC SKYWAY and HAUNTED MANSION. The food was cheap too! I got Gator Bites and a Drink for $13. That’s unheard of at an Amusement Park! I opted for the Wristband which allowed me to ride everything except the HAUNTED MANSION. That cost $57 but even that isn’t all that bad when compared to “mainstream” pay-per-ride Parks. (Looking at YOU, Coney Island and Morey’s Piers!)

Now let’s move onto the Ride lineup and determine whether the rides are any good. Spoiler Alert: YES! First off, I wanna talk about the GRAND CAROUSEL, Knoebels’ classic Carousel. You are able to reach for metal rings and throw them into Lion’s mouth. And if you get the Brass Ring, you get a prize! How many Carousels can say they double as a competitive game?? THAT is freaking cool! Next up is SATELLITE, one of the only Roll-O-Planes left in the US. This ride is INSANE! First off, the ride spins on 2 separate axis. It’s kind of hard to explain, so I have attached a video I took of the ride, linked below.

While the Ride looks like it spins upside-down countless times, you never actually go upside-down. You rotate upright at the last possible second to prevent you from inverting. This Ride is insanely fast and disorienting. Video does not do this Ride justice!

BUT if you want to go upside-down, look no further than IMPULSE, Knoebels’ only “Adult” Steel Coaster. This is a Zierer Vertical Lift Coaster with 4 Inversions, meaning you go upside-down 4 times. After the Vertical Lift and Vertical Drop, you go through a Cobra Roll (which is 2 Inversions), a Vertical Loop, and an Inline Twist. There is only a Lap Bar holding you in, and you get a lot of Hangtime during the Loop and Inline Twist. You are left dangling upside-down for a few seconds. This ride was fun, and I was actually going to ride it again on my way out of the Park, but it was closed. So I only got one ride in on IMPULSE.

If you want scenery, look no further than the SCENIC SKYWAY, Knoebels’ Chair Lift Ride. This is a leisurely 15 minute aerial Chair Lift that takes you up the hill surrounding Knoebels and back down. The views you get descending are FANTASTIC! You get a panoramic view of the whole Park! Oh, and you are allowed to take your phone and cameras on the Ride and take all the photos you want.

Next I want to talk about the COSMOTRON, the Park’s Indoor Himalaya spinning ride. I have been to New England and I am somewhat familiar with the Northeast’s propensity to enclose their Scrambler Rides. But this is a different ride type. Now the Ride itself is nothing unique, BUT the effects in the Show Building are OUTSTANDING! You have fog, lasers, strobe lights, and a Disco Ball all going simultaneously. It really is a cool visual!

Let’s talk about Knoebels’ HAUNTED MANSION Dark Ride. This Ride has won awards in the past. This is the only Ride I had to use tickets on, as the Ride does not accept Wristbands. This Ride is 51 years old, so it’s retro. From what I understand, Knoebels updates the scares every few years to keep it fresh. I get that this Ride is a classic, and there were a few jump scares, but I personally thought the Ride was OK. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun Ride and I get that it is a classic of the genre, but I have personally experienced scarier rides.

Next is a Ride I underestimated. This is DOWNDRAFT, Knoebels’ Spinning Flat Ride. Unlike COSMOTRON, where the seats are stationary, DOWNDRAFT has seats that bounce while spinning at an insane rate. It takes a lot for a ride to get me dizzy, but this and SATELLITE accomplished that feat.

One Ride I did twice was GIANT FLUME, the Park’s Log Flume. This Log Ride is scenic! It takes you through the woods, up a hill, and culminates, per usual, in a splashdown drop. The first time I did this I did it alone. I got wet, but not drenched. It was refreshing…then I did it with my family. This time, I got SOAKED! I maintain, the heavier the boat (or log) the wetter you get.

One Ride that you should NOT miss when you visit Knoebels is the FLYING SCOOTERS. These are where you have a “sail” that you control, determining how high you go. If you generate enough slack in the cable and let it loose, you go FLYING! It honestly feels like you’re cheating Death. This is called “Snapping” but Knoebels’ official policy is against doing this. BUT the cars go so fast, it’s inevitable to snap at some point.

Knoebels also has a Drop Tower called STRATOSFEAR. This is one Ride you SHOULD NOT take for granted! The views ascending are incredible! And then you drop…and unlike a lot of other Drop Rides, you don’t pause at the top. You immediately fall, and you fall fast and hard! It caught me off guard! This is probably one of my favorite Drop Rides I’ve ever done!

Knoebels is known for their Wooden Coasters, and the one I was most excited to ride, contrary to what some of you might expect, wasn’t PHOENIX. The Ride I wanted to try more than any others was FLYING TURNS. FLYING TURNS is the World’s Only Wooden Bobsled Coaster. Knoebels actually designed, built, and tested this Coaster themselves. So it took a whopping EIGHT YEARS to get this Ride open! I was hoping it’d be open and not have that long of a line, so I did this Coaster first. Let me tell you, this Ride is pretty freaking cool! There is no “track” per se. You are enclosed in basically a trough rolling down in a cart. Yes, the Lift Hill sections are Coaster Track, but that’s it. You sway up the sides of the trough and it’s kind of a freaky sensation.

Remember how I said snapping on FLYING SCOOTERS felt like cheating Death? Well this next Coaster cranks that feeling up to Eleven! This is the Park’s claim-to-fame Coaster, PHOENIX. The Airtime on PHOENIX feels like you cheat Death, spit in Death’s face and insults its Mother. PHOENIX has won the Golden Ticket Award for World’s Best Wooden Coaster six times! I first rode PHOENIX years ago when my Sister was in a volleyball tournament near the Park at Penn State. So my memories of it were kinda hazy. Now, at 34 years old with a better memory…OH MY GOD! This might be the single most insane Wooden Coaster I’ve ever done! (I am not counting RMC Coasters, purely Wooden.) I have done El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. That has insane Ejector Airtime on the first 3 hills, then kind of fizzles out and then regains greatness. PHOENIX is glass smooth, has standing Ejector Airtime on ALL the Hills, AND as an added bonus, only has Buzz Bars. No Lap Bars or seat belts. So the only thing holding you in and preventing you from literally flying out of the Ride and dying is a bar that rests at least 6 inches above your Lap. Like, the restraint doesn’t even touch you! As a result, you go FLYING out of your seat! And that was the FRONT Row! In the Back Seat, it is even crazier! My first Ride, I rode up front and was laughing my ass off at what was happening. I am generally not scared riding any Rides or Coasters anymore, but I was genuinely terrified to ride in the Back Car. Mostly for the crazy Airtime, but also because the Back Seat of any Coaster tends to be rougher since you are above the wheels. But my Aunt and I rode it in the Back Seat and I legit thought I was a goner. Linked below is a POV I took of my first time on PHOENIX in over a decade. This is NOT staged!

Later, my Dad and Aunt rode with me. I rode up front with my Aunt and both she and my Dad could not believe what they had just experienced. We got off and my Dad goes, “That was wild! I haven’t ridden a Roller Coaster in probably 20 years!” Well, welcome to my world, Dad! All in all, I got about six rides in on PHOENIX. Honestly, I would have ridden this thing all day if there weren’t other Rides I wanted to do.

I want to highlight an oldie but goodie at Knoebels next. This is PIONEER TRAIN, the Train Ride through the Woods, Campground, and the layout of TWISTER Roller Coaster. While most Parks try to deter wildlife from getting involved with the Rides, Knoebels does things a little differently. Knoebels allows Pets into the Park, so it is not uncommon to see Dogs riding the Train with their owners. That’s a cool perk. But the Park goes a step further and has Squirrel and Bird Feeders set out to attract Wildlife to the Train’s layout. This is a fun and scenic way to spend 10 minutes.

This brings us to the last Ride I personally did at Knoebels, TWISTER. TWISTER is the Park’s other major Wooden Coaster. TWISTER is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year in 2024. The cool thing is that the Knoebel family owns a Lumberyard so they are going all-out with it. Don’t think because this Ride is 25 years old and made of Wood that it is rough. It’s actually not that bad. It is a little bumpy, but nothing major. The Park re-tracks its Wooden Coasters every year to keep them smooth. While PHOENIX has amazing Airtime, TWISTER is known for its Laterals. TWISTER has a lot of turns and Helixes, so you are pinned to your seat.

So that was my day at Knoebels. Do I recommend this Park? HELL YES! I 100% suggest you go here! Even if it’s just to walk around, take in the sights, and eat. There really is no other Park like Knoebels. It is family owned, family-oriented, has GREAT food, amazing rides, and just a fun atmosphere! Thanks for reading!

-Tom

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite movies is THE CROW with Brandon Lee. The original movie was released in 1994 and, after 2 sequels I didn’t bother to see, here we are 30 years later in 2024. The 2024 film was 16 years in the making. Not gonna lie, I had MAJOR reservations about them remaking one of my favorite films. It hardly ever works out. Plus critics absolutely panned this film. So yeah…I was skeptical.

Bill Skarsgard, aka PENNYWISE THE CLOWN from Stephen King’s IT movies, plays Eric Draven. This was the role Brandon Lee played in the original 1994 movie. FKA Twig plays Shelly, Eric’s Girlfriend. I was worried this was gonna try to one-up the 1994 film or worse yet, do a shot-for-shot remake. But to my surprise, the 2024 CROW movie seems like its own entity. There are ZERO references to the original. And while a little Easter Egg is cool, I am actually really glad there were no CROW 1994 references. I think it’d cheapen the films.

Unlike the 1994 film, Eric and Shelly aren’t together at the beginning of the film. Eric is in a drug rehab facility. Shelly has ties to the Mob in the city. Shelly is locked up in rehab and meets Eric. They escape together and are on the run. This is as opposed to the 1994 version where Eric and Shelly are engaged right off the bat in the first scene. In the 1994 version, Eric is a musician. This is sort of referenced in the 2024 film, as Eric writes to kill time in rehab and Shelly played piano.

I know I keep referring to the 1994 film, but inevitably, that is what most people are gonna compare it to. In the original 1994 film, Eric is shot and killed after walking in on a gang raping Shelly. Eric gets shot and thrown out the window. Shelly survives but hangs on for 30 hours. When Eric is revived, he inflicts revenge on those who are responsible for his and Shelly’s deaths.

In the 2024 version, the Mob finds Eric and Shelly and suffocates them with plastic bags. Eric finds himself in a kind of purgatory. He is given the opportunity to go back and kill the members of the Mob. Instead of guns, for some reason, Eric uses knives and swords. In the 1994 version, Eric used martial arts and guns. Also unlike in the 1994 film where Eric is seemingly invincible, 2024’s Eric actually dies multiple times and returns to the purgatory location.

A major difference is the 2024 film has a more paranormal feel to it. The main antagonist literally gets inside peoples’ heads and makes them do bad things. He has all of the City working for him and bowing to him, basically. In the 1994 version, the main antagonist also kind of controls Detroit, but this is through gang relations.

The 2024 film has a comic-book style feel while the 1994 film has a grittier, more “realistic” feel. The 1994 film is set in Detroit and it feels more dark than the 2024 version. So yeah…the 2024 film is more sensationalized than the original. But I don’t really mind. The film(s) are based on a graphic novel by James O’Barr published in 1989.

In the end of the 1994 version, Eric dies after being shot at the end of the movie and is reunited with Shelly. At the end of the 2024 film, Eric and the main “villain” both die and are taken to the Purgatory location. Eric trades his soul for Shelly’s in an act of love and he dies. Shelly wakes up in the hospital and survives. In the 1994 version, Eric dies and Shelly stays dead. The main antagonist is dragged into a lake by a tentacled creature and seemingly goes to Hell in the 2024 film.

So did I like the 2024 CROW? Controversially, yes! As I mentioned, I went in expecting the worst. But I liked that THE CROW 2024 doesn’t try to pretend to be the 1994 film or better. I like that Bill Skarsgard didn’t try to embody Brandon Lee’s character. I was impressed. So do I recommend seeing The Crow? Yes, but I think you need to get your expectations right. If you go in expecting the 1994 film, you’ll be disappointed. If you go in knowing this is its own thing, you might like it.

In the end, I do think I prefer the original over the 2024 version. I have watched the original SO MANY TIMES so I am more apt to like it more. But that’s not to say the 2024 film isn’t good, too.

So those are my thoughts on THE CROW 2024. Did you see either the original or remake? Or both? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!

-Tom

I want to talk about my pseudo-Home Park in HersheyPark. I want to rank the rides I have personally experienced. This will include Flat Rides, Water Rides, Observation Rides, and, naturally, Roller Coasters. Note that this Ranking will include both Defunct Rides and Rides that are still currently operating. In Last Place is the FERRIS WHEEL. There is nothing inherently wrong with this Ride. It’s a slow-moving, albeit well-lit at night, Ferris Wheel. As a Photographer, I enjoy this Ride. It offers great aerial views of the Park. It is a fun Ride and I would do it every visit…except for the fact I often visit Hershey alone and the Ride does not allow Single Riders. So a good Ride, but something had to come in Last and for me, that is the FERRIS WHEEL.

While we are on the subject of Ferris Wheels, up next we have the first Defunct (or no longer operating) Ride on the List. (Please don’t murder me, Hershey Enthusiasts!). This was the famous GIANT WHEEL, the multi-armed Ferris Wheel. This thing was an absolute icon for Hersheypark. So if it was such an icon why is it coming in Second-To-Last? Well, the Ride closed in 2004. As of my writing this, on August 5, 2024, I am 33 years old. So I was 13 or 14 when GIANT WHEEL closed. As such, I only have vague memories of this Ride.

Next we have TIDAL FORCE, the Shoot-The-Chutes Water Ride. This Water Ride is as simple as it gets: Lift, Turn, Drop, Big Splash. That’s it. Kids have an absolute BLAST with this thing though! The Final Splash is HUGE and there is a designated “Splash Zone” where people can stand, watch the Ride drop, and get absolutely drenched. And that’s my issue with TIDAL FORCE. You get SOAKED! Walking around in waterlogged clothes is not exactly comfortable. But having said that, I did have a unique experience a few years back on this Ride. I got a Ride Vehicle to myself and Hershey actually let me to ride this in nothing but my Underwear. That was memorable!

Up next is another Ride that no longer exists at Hershey. This was CANYON RIVER RAPIDS, a White-Water Rapids Ride. Like TIDAL FORCE, this Ride also got you drenched. But I think this Ride was better because it had a longer Ride Duration. Oh, and did I mention there were Cameras on the Ride? As in, Hershey installed Video Cameras and recorded you on the Ride and sell you the videos.

Following CANYON RIVER RAPIDS we have the only still-operating Ride at Hershey’s Water Park, BREAKERS EDGE WATER COASTER. This is a Ride I have only done once. I am not a fan of Water Parks to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, I like this Ride, but I am basing my Ranking off my one experience.

Actually, up next is the Ride BREAKERS EDGE replaced. This was ROLLER SOAKER, a rare Coaster by manufacturer SetPoint. You would hang back-to-back underneath the Track and go through Water Features. Think a Water Slide meets CANYON RIVER RAPIDS. You could dump Water on the onlookers below you. But they, in turn, could use Water Cannons to fight back. I wish Hershey had kept this simply because of how unique it was. But I imagine their Water Bill was astronomical with this Ride.

Up next is TILT-A-WHIRL. There’s really nothing much to say about this Ride. It’s your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill Carnival/Amusement Park Flat Ride. BUT much like the aforementioned TIDAL FORCE, I had one ride in particular on TILT-A-WHIRL that stands out. HersheyPark let me take a full can of Beer and attempt to drink it on the Ride. Bad idea? Um…yeah probably. Memorable? HELL YEAH!

Following TILT-A-WHIRL, we have SCRAMBLER. This is another fun but everyday Carnival/Amusement Park Ride. Now let’s talk about a Ride I call “Half-Defunct”. This is actually a Ride that got a retheme. Let me introduce you to REESE’S CUP CHALLENGE/REESE’S CUP FUSION. This is Hershey’s only Dark Ride…at least, in the actual Park. It’s a Shooting Dark Ride. I’d put this Ride higher if it wasn’t for one issue: THE CAPACITY FREAKING SUCKS! Seriously, I think a Snail moves faster than the line on this Ride! It’s a cool ride to do with friends, but sure as Hell not worth the hour plus line it always gets.

Speaking of crappy capacity, up next we have LAFF TRAK, Hershey’s Indoor Spinning Coaster. First off, the Cars only seat 4 Passengers facing back-to-back in single Cars. The Queue is cool. It’s themed to a Fun House, complete with wonky mirrors. The Ride itself has Blacklight cutouts, spins, and has quite a few Brake Runs. It’s a fun Ride, but not really worth the long wait.

Next is another relaxing ride in MONORAIL. This is a nice, leisurely, relaxing Ride through HersheyPark as well as Downtown Hershey. After the MONORAIL is PIRATE, the Park’s Swinging Pirate Ship. There’s a caveat to this Ride, though. You need to be on either far end of the Boat. You get better Airtime on those seats. Towards the Middle Rows, I’d Rank this below FERRIS WHEEL.

The next Ride is one that has dropped in my Ranking after my last visit. This is MIX’D, the Flat Ride themed to Jolly Ranchers. This Ride is fun, but takes FOREVER to Load! The Ride itself lasts roughly 2 minutes. But it takes another 7-8 minutes to Load and Unload. My last Ride on MIX’D, no exaggeration, lasted a whopping TWELVE MINUTES! And 10 of those minutes were spent at the Top of the Ride waiting for the other Riders to load! Honestly, this Ride is mesmerizing to watch and more fun to watch than it is to Ride.

Speaking of Rides that are Better To Watch Than Ride, we have THE CLAW. This is a Swinging Pendulum Ride. And I’m sorry, but but whenever I say the name THE CLAW or think about it, I always use the Green Alien from Toy Story voice. THE CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!

Up next is a type of Ride I usually enjoy, but is underwhelming at Hershey. Plus these Rides took the place of my all-time favorite Ride at Hershey. This is TRIPLE TOWER. There are 3 Towers all in varying heights with HERSHEY TOWER being the tallest. It’s tall, but but the Drop is tame and leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, as I said, I am still a little salty about this mediocre ride replacing a beloved Hershey Ride I will get to in a minute.

Next we have another Roller Coaster that is still operating…minus a retheme. This is JOLLY RANCHER REMIX, Hershey’s Vekoma Boomerang Coaster. This used to be called SIDEWINDER and, the year before the Ride got a new name, I got a Solo Ride on this thing. These types of Ride are fun, but they are a Dime-A-Dozen model of Coaster.

It pains me to put this Coaster so low, but next we have TRAILBLAZER, HersheyPark’s Mine Train Coaster. I have a Soft Spot for this Coaster. It is the first Roller Coaster I remember riding. It kickstarted my love of Coasters, so I have a sentimental attachment to this Ride. All it is is just 2 short Lift Hills and a few Helix turns. That’s it. Tame, but still sentimental.

Next is a Ride in the Hershey Chocolate World. This is the HERSHEY CHOCOLATE DARK RIDE. I like this ride. It is a slow-moving Dark Ride that takes you through the process of how Hershey Chocolate is made, complete with a trippy Light Tunnel at the end. Plus at the end of the Ride, you get a FREE piece of Chocolate. I mean, C’MON! How can you go wrong with that?????

Next is another slow Ride in KISSING TOWER, the Park’s Observation Tower. You are slowly raised 250 feet in the air and your vehicle spins at a leisurely pace allowing you to take in the Park from 250 feet in the air. As a bonus, you can take all the photos you want up there, so as a Park Photographer, I love this!

The next Ride is the first Looping Roller Coaster on the East Coast in SOOPERDOOPERLOOPER. I like this Coaster. It’s a great introductory Coaster for kids and people a little apprehensive about going Upside-Down. It has one Inversion in the famous Sooper Dooper Loop. And that Vertical Loop is an icon at HersheyPark. The reason this Ride is ranked so low is because Hershey has A LOT more Coasters, and as a Thrillseeker, I prefer higher-octane Rides. Still a fun, long ride though.

Next was WILDCAT, the World’s First GCI Coaster. This Coaster had a demonic layout complete with multiple near-misses and cross-overs. So this Coaster was actually a milestone in the Amusement Industry. So I have to give credit where it is due…BUT this Ride got unbearably rough over its 20+ years of operation. Thank God Hershey did something with this Ride! But we will get to that later…

Next up is WILD MOUSE, the Park’s Wild Mouse Coaster. This Ride consists of almost nothing but tight hairpin turns and a few short Drops. The Ride is borderline painful, so I tend to not ride this one too often.

This next Ride also pains me to put so low. This is Hershey’s Log Flume, COAL CRACKER. This Ride is a nice, relaxing meandering Log Ride with a final splash followed by an Airtime Hill. Oh and did I mention there are ZERO Restraints? The COAL CRACKER is not tall, nor fast, so it it fine. But my last time riding this, I got a genuine pop of Airtime on the Airtime Hill. That was a nice surprise! Also as with TRAILBLAZER, I have a sentimental attachment to this Ride. I have an old On-Ride Photo of my Mom, Aunt, Grandfather and me on the Ride when I was a little kid.

Following COAL CRACKER is a Ride I adore but unfortunately, has dropped in my Ranking. This is LIGHTNING RACER, the Dueling GCI Wooden Coaster. The Racing aspect is neat, and it is good to talk trash and get competitive juices flowing. But much like WILDCAT, LIGHTNING RACER has gotten a little bumpy. Not rough, but you can tell it isn’t as smooth as it used to be. But it is a long Ride and I still love it!

Next we have Hershey’s oldest operating Coaster. This is COMET. COMET is a Hershey Classic. This is one of the Rides that immediately comes to mind when you think of Hershey. And prior to the 2024 Season, COMET would have ranked higher. COMET used to have single-position Buzz Bar Restraints. Meaning it had a Lap Bar that stayed about a foot above your Lap. The only thing holding you in apart from that was a seat belt that you could loosen as much as you want. In the Back Seat, or any Wheel Seat, the Ride was a little rough. But it was built in the 1940s so that’s to be expected. In 2024, Hershey got new Trains for COMET. Now COMET has regular Lap Bars that restrict the Airtime. So it’s a shame, but it is still a smooth Ride.

After COMET we have GREAT BEAR, HersheyPark’s B&M Inverted Coaster. This is where you hang below the Track. There are many B&M Inverts out there, but this one is kind of unique. The Lift Hill is 90 feet tall but the Drop is 124 feet since it dives into a Trench. But the Drop isn’t your average Drop. It starts with a Helix that pulls some good Positive G’s. From there, the Ride traverses a Vertical Loop, Immelman, Zero-G Roll and a Corkscrew. I am torn as to where to ride GREAT BEAR. In the front row, the visuals of flying through the layout is pretty cool. But the Line for the front row is usually pretty long. In the Back Row, the Ride is more forceful. So it’s a pick-your-poison kind of thing. It all comes down to personal preference, like all the Rides on this List.

STORM RUNNER is next. This is Hershey’s Intamin Launched Coaster. It rockets you from 0-72 mph in 2 seconds. Its Top Hat Hill is 150 Feet tall, but drops 180 Feet into a Ravine. Following the Top Hat, you traverse a Cobra Loop and the World’s Only Flying Snake Dive Inversion. This is a Barrel Roll followed by a Half Roll, half Dive-Loop. The Ride is exhilarating, but is over in 30 seconds. Short but sweet.

OK, now here’s where it starts getting good! Next we have FAHRENHEIT, one of 3 Intamin Coasters at the Park. FAHRENHEIT is 121 feet tall, has a Vertical Lift Hill, Beyond-Vertical Drop at a 97 Degree Angle, six Inversions including the unique Norwegian Loop, Cobra Roll, and two Corkscrews. That plus an Airtime Hill that offers some great Ejector Airtime. That First Drop also has some great Airtime in the Back Row. Even the Front Row gets some Airtime! While I love this Ride’s power and intensity, unfortunately, so do the rest of the Park. This line get LONG! And it takes awhile to get through the Line. Lines for FAHRENHEIT can exceed 90 minutes.

After FAHRENHEIT we have the Top Three Coasters. And honestly, these Rides could switch positions at any time on any given day. But as of August 5, 2024, here’s how I Rank the Top Three. Taking the Bronze we have Candymonium, Hershey’s B&M Hyper Coaster. This is HersheyPark’s Tallest, Longest, and Fastest Roller Coaster. It stands 210 Feet tall, has a First Drop of over 200 Feet, has 4,636 Feet of Track, and goes 76 mph. This Ride is so photogenic! The Coaster is part of the New For 2020 Chocolate Town expansion and is the first Ride you see when you enter the Park. CANDYMONIUM circles around the Kisses Fountain and is a nice, smooth ride with plenty of Floater Airtime!

So here’s where it gets really controversial. I switched these around so many times thinking about this Ranking. I put a lot of thought into this. Having said that, here we go… Taking Silver is WILDCAT’S REVENGE. (Sorry, don’t cancel me Hershey Fans!) This is a RMC redo of WILDCAT. Rocky Mountain Construction put steel track on WILDCAT and added a Pre-Lift, heightened the Lift Hill to 140 feet,steepened the Drop to 82 Degrees, and added 4 Inversions. The first Inversion is pretty cool for what it is. RMC turned the original Drop on WILDCAT into the World’s Tallest Step-Up Underflip Inversion. So in essence, they turned the First Drop into an Element where you go Upside-Down. Now THAT is pretty cool! WILDCAT’S REVENGE is full of Ejector Airtime, is smooth, and is a long Ride! But why does it only take Silver? Well like I said, the Ride is full of Ejector Airtime…POWERFUL Ejector Airtime. While that is definitely a Pro, the Con is it can actually be kind of painful with how strong the Airtime is. Still, this is a Ride I HAVE to do every visit to HersheyPark!

One more Ride I am adding as a Gold Runner-Up is the sorely missed FLYING FALCONS Ride. I grew up riding this Spinning Ride and have a soft spot for it. Spinning around in the air while getting a GREAT view of the Park was truly special! Hershey if you are reading this, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BRING BACK THIS RIDE!

So that can only mean one thing. Taking the Official Gold Spot is SKYRUSH, Hershey’s Intamin Wing Hyper Coaster. This Ride is Balls-To-The-Wall INSANE! Its pseudo name was THIGH-CRUSH because of the old Restraints. These Restraints would sit really snug on your Thighs, essentially bruising them in the process. I never found the old Restraints “Painful” per se, but they were tight and that mixed with the AWESOME Ejector Airtime this Ride delivers could cause discomfort. BUT for the 2024 Season, like COMET, SKYRUSH got new Restraints. They are similar, but are looser and more freeing. Having said that, the Ride is still kinda shaky. The inside seats are fine, but the “Wing Seats” where you sit on the outside of the Track are kinda rattly. So the Million Dollar Question. Do the Restraints make the Ride better? I say yes, but not by much. They are more comfortable, but the Ride is still INSANE! And if you go to do SKYRUSH, do yourself a favor. RIDE IN THE BACK! OH MY DEAR SWEET EVER-LOVING JESUS! To quote Canobie Coaster on YouTube, the First Drop in the Back Row is “A Car Accident Gone Right”. It is a bumpy impact, but Oh My God is it worth it!

So that is my Ranking of all the Rides and Coasters I personally have experienced at HersheyPark. How do you Rank these Rides? Let me know and thanks for reading!

-Tom

This weekend, Friday June 28-July 1, 2024, I got the opportunity to visit a park I’d been wanting to go to for AWHILE! I got to visit Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina…technically. The Park is on the North Carolina/South Carolina border. This is one of the COOLEST entrances ever! First off, you can pick whether you want to enter in North or South Carolina. And that’s the ticket booth! Walking up to the Park is even more exciting! In case you don’t know, Carowinds is home to the legendary B&M Giga Coaster FURY 325. You can see this ride (among others) from miles away! Walking up to the Park, FURY is literally flying at 95mph all around you and even diving under the bridge you cross to get into the Park! AND the bridge has plexiglass windows so people can just sit and watch this thing fly thru in awe.

Before I get to the Park itself, I feel I should give some backstory. I have a Bucket List of Parks I want to visit. Some seem better than others. Honestly, I really wanted to go to Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. But my Mom’s friend is in South Carolina, so she decided to drive from her house and meet us in Charlotte. My Mom and I flew from Baltimore to Charlotte. The flight was a whopping…45 minutes. I bought a 2-day pass for Carowinds for Saturday and Sunday. But when we got to our Hotel (Springhill Suites) I basically abandoned my Mom and her friend to go to the Park on Friday night. See, our Hotel is basically on Carowinds’ Parking Lot. There is a dedicated pathway from the Hotel to the Park.

I thought the Park would be crowded, since it was a beautiful Friday night. BOY WAS I WRONG! I arrived at around 5:30 or 6pm, paid my admission, and was greeted by WALK-ON RIDES! Like, all night! Seriously! Even the world-acclaimed FURY 325 was a walk-on! As a result, I marathoned the Hell out of this ride! I even got close to a solo ride! I rode in the front row with nobody next to me or in the row behind me! (I have the photo to prove it!) After my 6 rides on FURY, I explored the Park. I rode THUNDER STRIKER aka INTIMIDATOR aka IN-TRIM-IDATOR a few times. Personally, I don’t get the hate around the trim brakes on THUNDER STRIKER. Yes, there are an excessive amount, but the Airtime was great regardless. One ride I did that is getting to be a pretty rare model of ride nowadays was SCREAM WEAVER, the Park’s Enterprise ride. This ride is WILD! If you are unfamiliar with how these rides work, allow me to fill you in. You sit in a capsule where the roof comes down over your head. You then spin insanely fast, tilting upwards before spinning upside-down and returning a minute later. Oh, and did I mention the lack of restraints? Yeah…you heard that right. This model of ride has ZERO restraints holding you in! “So how do you not fall out?” you ask? Simple physics. First off, you are enclosed. And the ride spins so fast, the positive G-Forces keep you pinned to your seat. I also got a ride in on the Observation Tower, the CAROLINA CYCLONE Looping Coaster, and CAROLINA GOLDRUSHER, the Park’s Mine Ride. While I am on the subject of CAROLINA GOLDRUSHER, I have to say: I’ve been riding TRAILBLAZER at Hersheypark literally almost my whole life. This was a longer, faster version of that ride. In my POV video I took, you can hear me say “This is TRAILBLAZER on Steroids!” After exploring the Park, I headed back to the Hotel for the night.

Saturday I got to Carowinds right at Park open at 10am. I had a FastLane so lines weren’t an issue, which was good because unlike Friday, on Saturday, the Park was BUSY! The first ride I did was NIGHTHAWK, a Flying Dutchman model coaster. We have a similar ride back home in Maryland at Six Flags America called BATWING. It’s the same ride, just with a slightly different ending. BATWING ends with 2 in-line twists. NIGHTHAWK has 2 Corkscrews. This ride was a kind of one-and-done. The beginning is fun. It flips you into the Flying position from laying on your back. The Vertical Loop was good. The ride was fairly smooth…until you hit the Corkscrews. OH DEAR GOD! These things are out to kill you! And that’s a shame, because I actually like BATWING. While I am on the subject of one-and-done rides, I think the same could be said for a few of the Coasters and rides at Carowinds. They’re fun, but you can ride them pretty much anywhere else, too. CAROLINA CYCLONE was jerky, so I only did that once. After my ride on NIGHTHAWK, I walked over to the Park’s Mack Launching Coaster COPPERHEAD STRIKE. Mack coasters are not known for their intensity. In fact, they’re often seen as boring. So I kind of went in expecting the worst on the launches. Maybe it’s because it was my first Mack Launched Coaster, but I personally felt a little, tiny kick to the Launch. Nothing amazing, but fun. The rest of the ride is WILD! First off, the ride starts out with a Jojo Roll, or a slow-motion roll directly out of the station. From there, you turn into a barn. And this is where it gets confusing. You hear the word “Copperhead” and you assume it’s a Snake themed ride. But in reality, it’s themed to you having to escape Granny’s Moonshine operation. What the Hell does that have to do with Snakes?! But confusing theming aside, this ride is GREAT! The Vertical Loops were slow and offered hangtime beyond belief! The Ejector Airtime was legit! And it seemed like a long ride, too! Following 2 rides on COPPERHEAD STRIKE, I walked over to AFTERBURN, the Park’s B&M Inverted Coaster. This is a model of ride where your feet hang beneath the track. I have been on MONTU at Busch Gardens Tampa and ALPENGEIST at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and of course my most ridden Invert, GREAT BEAR at Hershey. So I was looking forward to riding AFTERBURN. The ride was fast and intense, but it did have a little bit of roughness to it. I rode AFTERBURN twice in about an hour and that gave me a slight headache. After doing a few flat rides, I saw a show. It was a magician named Brad Ross. This guy was GOOD! He put on a long show, too…by amusement park standards, anyway. His show was about 35 minutes in length. One thing I saw that had to suck for the people on the ride: FURY GOT STUCK! Not a few feet off the ground, not halfway up…no, no, no. FURY 325 is named because it is 325 feet tall…and these poor people were stuck in 90some degree weather with a heat index of 101 Degrees 325 FEET IN THE AIR! After getting a few re-rides in on THUNDER STRIKER, COPPERHEAD STRIKE and FURY once it opened back up, I headed back to the Hotel for the night.

Sunday my Mom, her friend and I went to Biscuitville for breakfast. My Uncle suggested this place and it had good food! It’s kinda like a fast food place like McDonald’s or something. But they have home-made biscuits and gravy. The gravy was REALLY GOOD! A little peppery, but good! After that, I headed to Carowinds for my final day there. It was extremely hot! At noon, it was 96 degrees with a heat index of 105! So yeah…pretty damn hot! I rode a few rides, including the Stand-Up Coaster VORTEX. This ride I don’t really recommend. It’s intense, which is usually a good thing. But here, it’s lose-lose. See, on Stand-Up Coasters, you have basically a bicycle seat to rest on. DON’T DO THIS! The Positive G-Forces will all go straight to your groin! And if you’re standing straight upright without the seat, all those forces go through your legs. Plus the Over the Shoulder restraints cause a lot of head banging. I actually rode VORTEX twice. Once up front, which was bad, but not unbearable. THEN my curiosity got the better of me. I wondered, “How bad is it in the Back Row?” And…that was a mistake. After riding VORTEX, I saw a show at Harmony Hall, a food hall. The show had PEANUTS characters and was called THE MUSIC GOES ‘ROUND AND ‘ROUND. It was kinda corny, but I sort of liked it seeing as I am a PEANUTS GANG fan. Following the show, I headed into the kids’ area for the WOODSTOCK EXPRESS family wooden Coaster. This was a fun little ride with a nice pop of Airtime or two. After sweating my ass off for awhile, I walked back to Springhill Suites to get in the pool. This felt AMAZING! After maybe a half hour, I went back to the Park. After spending more time in the Park, my Mom, her friend and I went to a brewery in Charlotte called Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. This place was REALLY GOOD! The beer was good, the German-style food was good, service was good….it’s all good! The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the potato salad. It was cold. Like, too cold to enjoy. Apart from that, though, no complaints. While we were at the Brewery, it started storming. This was the only rain we had had all weekend. We had electrical storms, but no rain. So what did I do? I went back to Carowinds hoping the park would be somewhat empty. And that turned out to be a good idea. CAROWINDS WAS DESERTED! The only people in the Park, basically, were myself and some other crazy Enthusiasts who kept marathoing THUNDER STRIKER over and over and over and over again. There was no line, so the ride ops just kept sending us around! It was incredible! A B&M Hypercoaster in the rain is surreal! Going 80 mph in the rain hurts like Hell, but I didn’t mind! After about 7 consecutive rides on THUNDER STRIKER, I headed over to FURY 325 for my rain ride on that. FURY goes 95mph and I rode in the front row in a downpour! And OH MY GOD! THAT HURT SO MUCH! Each raindrop felt like a needle piercing my skin! After the first drop, I pulled my shirt over my head to protect my face. IT WAS WILD! It was painful, but I wouldn’t change it for anything! After 4 rides on FURY, I rode HURLER, the Park’s Wooden Coaster. Rain always makes Wooden Coasters run faster, and HURLER was no exception. BUT there’s a caveat there. HURLER is kind of bumpy, so when it’s hauling through the course like it was in the rain, it becomes even bumpier. Still not that bad, though. After getting soaked, I headed back to the hotel to shower and turn in for the night.

This past weekend (May 3-5, 2024) my Parents and I spent a weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey. We left Friday May 3 around 9am and spent awhile in Philadelphia with my Sister and her in-laws. I hadn’t seen them since my Sister got married in Morocco a year and a half ago, so it was nice to see them again! We went to lunch and hung out for a few hours. Around 5pm, we left and headed for our Hotel in Wildwood.

Speaking of our Hotel, we stayed at the Biscayne. I am pretty sure we were the only ones in the Hotel! It was kind of divided into sub-buildings and we got a free upgrade. I didn’t see one other person anywhere on the Hotel’s property!

I wish the Weather was better, though. All weekend, it was dreary and rainy. BUT that kind of worked out to my advantage. The next day, Saturday May 4, we went to Breakfast at Sun’z Out Cafe. This was a REALLY FREAKING GOOD Breakfast! I got Scrambled Eggs with Bacon bits mixed in, and Potatoes. The portions were MASSIVE! I booked a Whale Watching excursion out of Cape May, New Jersey. This was EASILY the highlight of my weekend! We saw SO MANY WILD DOLPHINS! It was insane! It was a 2 1/2 hour tour from the Harbor of Cape May into open waters. We saw one Whale towards the end of the Tour, but it was a few hundred feet away and was a little hard to see. BUT the Dolphins more than compensated! We saw Dolphins literally everywhere! AND they were really close to the Boat! I was on Cloud Nine seeing these things in the wild! Having said that, it was FREEZING on the Water!

After the Whale Watching, we walked around the shops in Cape May a little. We drove back to Wildwood and I did the Boardwalk and some of the rides. The downside with this was only one Pier was open and only about half the rides on that Pier were open. So I spent $100 to ride a few rides and walk around the Boardwalk. Most Boardwalk Parks (Coney Island, Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, Santa Monica Boardwalk in California, etc.) are pricey. But it did kind of piss me off that a lot of rides were closed and I spent all that money.

After a few hours on the Boardwalk, we went to Dinner at Lobster House. Like Breakfast, the portions here were MASSIVE! I got Soft Shell Crabs and they were big Crabs! My Mom got a bowl of Chowder and I’m 99% sure it was enough to feed all 3 of us and fill our bellies in one serving! After Dinner, we headed back to the Hotel to sleep.

Today, May 5, we woke up, got packed, and left New Jersey to see my Sister in Philly again. From there, we headed home and concluded our Weekend.

Thanks for reading!

-Tom

I want to talk about my most “Unique” Roller Coasters. Note: This is NOT a ranking of these Coasters. So no “First Place for Most Unique” or “Least Unique”. Some of these Coasters are on here for pure nostalgia, so heads up. You may see one or two Coasters on here that aren’t that “Special” or “Unique” to the average Coaster Enthusiast. With that in mind, here is my personal List of the most Unique Coasters I have ridden.

First up is the first Roller Coaster I ever rode outside the United States. This is DRAGON MOUNTAIN at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada. This Steel Coaster is long! The ride as a whole has 4 Inversions and is about 3 minutes in duration. That is EXTREMELY long for a Roller Coaster! The last 2 Inversions are actually the only kind in the World with the Bowtie Inversion.

Yes, DRAGON MOUNTAIN is tall and long (that’s what she said!) but it is not particularly forceful or fast.

Next is probably the World’s Most Famous Wooden Coaster: THE CONEY ISLAND CYCLONE. Even if you know nothing about Roller Coasters, I’m willing to bet you’ve heard of this ride. The CONEY ISLAND CYCLONE has been standing in Brooklyn, New York since 1927. It has been closed and was actually slated for removal and demolition in the 1970s until a coalition saved the ride due to its Historical Significance. This is the definition of an Old Wooden Coaster. The ride is a little rough around the edges, but the trains are so well-padded and you get SO MUCH AIRTIME that it really isn’t that bad. Really, to me, the only downside to the CYCLONE is the price. It cost $10 to ride when I rode it a few years ago! I rode it 3 times, so I spent $30 basically to ride one Roller Coaster. But it was worth every penny!

The next Coaster is at my pseudo-home park. This is TRAILBLAZER at Hersheypark. It’s not tall, nor long, nor fast, or thrilling. It’s essentially a kid’s Coaster. So as a Thrillseeker, not gonna lie, this ride is kind of boring. BUT TRAILBLAZER makes the list for one reason: Pure Nostalgia. This is the first Roller Coaster I remember ever riding.

Keeping with the Nostalgia theme, up next is ANACONDA at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. I haven’t ridden this Coaster in years, but it is the first Coaster I ever rode that went upside-down. Plus it has that “Cool” factor of diving underwater into a tunnel.

Next is a Roller Coaster I feel INCREDIBLY lucky to have ridden. This was ULTRA TWISTER at Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, Texas. And actually, I feel lucky to have been to Astroworld as a whole. I visited Six Flags Astroworld back in 2005, about a month before it closed down. ULTRA TWISTER was probably the weirdest Coaster I have ever ridden. It was the only one of its kind outside of Japan. The layout was simple. Lift, steep Drop, Airtime Hill, 3 Inversions. What made this ride so unique was how it was built. Look at this thing!

Yeah…there were ZERO Lateral turns! The whole layout was linear! So after the first Roll, you enter a Switch Track, roll backwards, and do 2 more Rolls. To my knowledge, only 4 of these Coasters exist, and they are all in Japan.

Next up is another “Historic” Coaster. This is MILLENNIUM FORCE at Cedar Point. This was the World’s First Giga Coaster, or Roller Coaster 300-399 feet tall. This ride is 310 feet tall, drops you 300 feet at an 80 Degree angle, hits a Top Speed of 90 mph, is over 6,000 feet long, and is-no joke-my personal favorite Coaster at Cedar Point. It’s not as intense as other rides, but it is just pure fun!

Following MILLENNIUM FORCE is another “First”, also at Cedar Point. (And Spoiler Alert, the one after this is, too). This is MAGNUM XL200, the World’s First Hyper Coaster, or Coaster 200-299 feet tall. This Coaster is rough around the edges. It feels sketchy as it was built in 1989 without the help of computers. So it feels borderline “dangerous”. Of course, it’s perfectly safe, but it feels kind of janky. The Airtime Hills are Triangular, not Parabolic like today’s Coasters. So it feels almost unnatural flying out of your seat that way with just a loose Lap Bar. I had legit bruises on my legs after 3 rides. That’s how insane the Airtime is on MAGNUM!

The last Coaster at Cedar Point I want to discuss was also a “World’s First”. This was TOP THRILL DRAGSTER. I say “Was” because the original DRAGSTER was shut down after a tragic accident where a piece of the ride flew off and actually hit someone. In its original form, this was as simple as can be. Launch, 420 foot Hill, Brakes. The whole ride lasted about 15 seconds. That Launch blasted you from a standstill to a whopping 120mph in 4 seconds! I got lucky enough to get a Rollback my first time riding this thing. That’s where the Train doesn’t have enough speed to make it over the Hill and rolls back. This was the Holy Grail Experience for DRAGSTER fans. Oh, and the only thing holding you in was a flimsy Lap Bar.

Let’s go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia for the next ride. This is LOCH NESS MONSTER. This is the only Coaster in the World with interlocking Vertical Loops.

Even though the Trains do not go through both Loops simultaneously, it is still cool to look at! AND the last time I rode this ride, I was fortunate enough to get a Solo Ride!

It was during the Howl-O-Scream event in the midst of Covid and it was rainy. So I have kind of a soft spot for this Coaster.

Let’s go further South for our next Coaster. This is LIGHTNING ROD at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Until the 2024 Season, this was the World’s Only Launched Wooden Coaster and it was RELENTLESS! A TON of Ejector Airtime! My thoughts might change once I re-ride it with a conventional Chain Lift, but until then, this ride is perfection!

Next up is BOARDWALK BULLET in Kemah, Texas. This thing is incredible just to look at!

It is over 3,000 feet long, goes 60mph, and yet takes up ONE ACRE OF LAND! That is astounding! And that’s just looking at the ride! The experience is even better! I rode this thing about 6 times in the course of an hour! And it feels like it never slows down and lasts awhile! So to say I have a borderline obsession with this Coaster might be kinda an understatement.

Lastly, we have 2 Coasters in New England. SUPERMAN at Six Flags New England is among my all-time favorite Coasters! It’s probably in my Top 5. Tall, fast, a long duration, Airtime Galore, and smooth! I know people complain about the U-Brick Lap Bar restraints, but I don’t care. I LOVE THIS COASTER TO DEATH! I had a full-on marathon on this Coaster! I rode the absolute Hell outta this thing!

The last Coaster I want to discuss is BOULDER DASH in Connecticut. Pro Tip: RIDE UP FRONT! It is kind of rough in the Back Row. Pro Tip #2: RIDE IT AT NIGHT! BOULDER DASH is literally built on the side of a Mountain and flies down the side of said Mountain at 60mph. At Night, it feels even faster! And since it’s in such a secluded area-it’s in the Woods-it’s Pitch Black! Like the “I Can’t See My Hand An Inch In Front of My Face” Dark. You can’t see the Track in front of you so this ride at Night feels totally out of control!

So that’s my abridged List. I have a TON more I have ridden that I adore, but if I went into detail about all of them, we’d be here all day. For example, MAKO at SeaWorld Orlando is my favorite B&M Hyper. STEEL VENGEANCE at Cedar Point is an INCREDIBLE RMC Coaster! These are not all the Coasters I have ridden, just some of the most memorable. Thanks for reading!

-Tom

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I think we take our Pets for granted. Dogs and Cats are kind of “staple” animals to keep. And don’t get me wrong. I have 2 cats and love both of them more than words could ever say. Bella is my Cat Baby. Boh is crazy and likes to lick my eyes for some reason while I sleep. But what about the more unique Pets for more “unique” People? Well then, we might consider a Reptile as a Pet. I think everyone has some kind of fascination with Reptiles, love ’em or hate ’em. For example, my Mom is freaked out by Snakes. Last Summer, we had a Black Snake on our Patio at my house. My Dad and I were getting videos of it. My Mom was kind of freaking out but couldn’t stop looking at it until it slithered away. A few years ago, there was a baby Garter Snake in our basement. My Mom wanted me to catch it and take it outside so Bella wouldn’t eat it. But again, she doesn’t like Snakes all that much.

Face it, whenever you see a Crocodile, Snake, Iguana, et cetera in Zoos or Aquariums or in the wild, you can’t help staring. “WOW! LOOK AT THAT THING!” I have been to the Florida Everglades. I have seen Alligators in the wild. NOW I should preface this. I LOVE REPTILES! As long as you leave them alone, 9 times out of 10, they’ll leave you alone. I’m not saying all Reptiles are harmless, they’re not. Don’t get me wrong, some Reptiles have the capacity to kill you. But the myth of Snakes sizing you up to eat you or all Turtles will give you Salmonella is just that…A MYTH! But to me, I think that kind of adds to the appeal. Crocodiles and Alligators are AMAZING Reptiles! They have been around for literally millions of years! They’re living Dinosaurs! AND if you aren’t trained or just plain idiotic and try to touch one or get too close, yes…deadly. And yes, I know what you’re gonna say. “What about that kid at Disney a few years ago?” It was unfortunate, BUT in my opinion, the Parents should have kept their child away from a body of Water that was clearly marked to have “Dangerous Wildlife” living in it.

I have been to Mexico and have seen Spiny-Tailed Iguanas in the Wild. I was in Reptile Heaven! BUT did I get bit? No. Did I get close to these Reptiles for pictures? Yes BUT I knew better than to try and interact with these Lizards.

OK, OK. I feel like I have dragged this out long enough. What am I getting at with the title and not addressing my Bucket List Reptiles? As an Animal lover and a Reptile Keeper myself, I have a List of Reptiles I would LOVE to keep. I will tell you the name of the Reptile and why I’d love to keep one.

The first one is kind of cheating since I had one of these as a Teenager. I would LOVE to have a Bearded Dragon. These are hands-down, bar-none the friendliest Lizards you can keep! They are so chill! If you put a Bearded Dragon on your shoulder, what do you think it will do? NOTHING! They will literally just sit there on you and hang out with you for a LONG TIME! I loved holding my Bearded Dragon, Gex. My Mom loved this Girl! Even my Grandparents fell in love with Gex! She was so sweet! They eat Fruits, Lettuce, Worms and Crickets. My favorite thing with Gex was hand-feeding her Mealworms. She took them from my had very gently instead of biting like crazy. And that’s the other thing. Bearded Dragons are VERY unlikely to bite you. If they feel threatened, they will flare up their “Beard” and open their mouth. Gex only did that a few times, and that was around my Dog. It’s funny. If you have a Male Bearded Dragon, they will bob their head at you. If you have a Female Beardie like Gex was, they’ll actually wave at you with their front foot. It’s adorable! So if I love these things so much, why are they last on the List? The care. These things are often touted as a “Beginner” Reptile. They can be, but it’s more involved than the Lizard I have now. Bearded Dragons need a UVB Bulb, a Heat Lamp, Basking Area, and they eat…alot. Oh, and the main reason they’re last and the reason I don’t have Gex anymore…the Females can become Eggbound and can actually get Impacted and die if the Eggs aren’t fertilized by a Male. If you can facilitate all this, these things are AMAZING Pets!

Next we have the first Snake on the List. These are Kenyan Sand Boas. These Snakes are BEAUTIFUL!…when you see them. From the research I’ve done and the Sand Boas I have held at Reptile Expos, they are super chill, beautiful, and docile.

I love the look of these Snakes! They are kind of goofy looking. And they don’t get big, either. Males only get *maybe* 18 inches fully grown. Females get up to 2 1/2 feet long fully grown. They’re basically the perfect small Snake. So why are they low on the Bucket List? What are the Cons? Well, in case you can’t tell…it’s a Snake. That’s a Con for some people. Not me, but I live with my Parents and they flat-out denied me the chance to get a Snake. Maybe when I move out… Another downside. They eat Rodents. That adds up. Frozen Mice are about $3-$4 where I live. And one Frozen Mouse per week is a little pricey. One other downside…they burrow. So you’ll really only see them if you dig them out of the substrate and/or if you are feeding them. And even when they eat, they only stick their heads up. That’s a Con for me because I think these Boas are gorgeous!

Up next is the “Go-To Beginner Snake”, or one of them anyway. The Corn Snake. These Snakes get 5-6 feet long and can be extremely friendly! AND they can be found in North America, so that’s cool to me. AND they are cheap to buy!

At Reptile Expos, Corn Snake breeders basically give away “Normal” looking Corn Snakes. They sell for about $30. They’re easy to take care of, docile, beautiful, only eat Rodents, and cheap. So why don’t I buy one if they have all these things going for them? Well, again…it’s a Snake. And a 6 foot Snake, while not that big compared to other Snakes, is still pretty big. I am 5’10” so they can get bigger than I am tall. And like most Snakes, they eat Rodents. That’s a Con…to most people. One more Con that is also a Pro: The Price. As I said, they are dirt cheap to buy! And that can be a problem. Like the next Reptile on the List, I think these Snakes are kind of “impulse buys” for people. “Oh, it’s only $30.” But they don’t factor in the 120 Gallon tank you need, and the Lighting, and food and Lifespan. In Captivity, Corn Snakes can live for 20+ years, with the longest Lifespan confirmed at a whopping 32 years, 3 months. So that’s basically half a lifetime, give or take a few years.

The next Reptile is a Ball Python. These are the Reptiles in captivity I have sympathy for the most. These AMAZING Pythons are often seen as “throw-away” Pets. Meaning they, like Corn Snakes, are next to free to buy from Breeders. The “Normal” ones, like the one seen below, sell for, no joke $20.

Having said that, different variations or “Morphs” can go for more money. Look at this design.

This one sold for $6,000. So they vary in price, but if you want a Normal looking Morph, yeah. They’ll basically beg you to take them. And, like the aforementioned Corn Snakes, this is a Con as well as a Pro. People, again, buy these as an impulse buy Pet for their kid or for themselves from Petco or Petsmart and not do research because (1: They’re cheap and 2) Misinformation. These tiny little baby Ball Pythons grow up. They get up to 6 feet long sometimes. They eat Rodents. They need Heat Lamps. So yes, the Snake itself is cheap but people don’t factor in Enclosures, Food, size, etc. But I will end my Ball Python section on a Positive note. Look at the video below I took at ReptiCon.

Ball Pythons are essentially Bearded Dragons in Snake form. They sit there and don’t move, and if they do, they are slow. They are called Ball Pythons because they curl up into a ball. And they just sit on your hand or on your lap…and it’s really cute.

OK let’s take a quick break from Snakes for a second. The next Reptile on my Wish List is the Uromastyx. These things have spikes on their tails.

From the research I have done and the Uromastyx specimens I have held, they are, again, very docile. Note I said the ones I have held. Not all of them are like that. Some can be shy and not that social. It depends on how you raise them. They don’t get that big (up to 2 feet) and are very reluctant to bite. Instead, they will wedge themselves under rocks with only their tail sticking out. No predator wants to eat spikes. If I could facilitate the Care Requirements for these things, I would 100% have one! They sell for about $50 at Reptile Expos and are often already socialized. And they are vegetarians. They only eat plants and seeds. Seems simple, right? Well…They need a VERY high Basking Area of over 100 degrees. That’s too hot for me to give. So that’s why I don’t have one.

Next up is the Blue Tongue Skink.

Why are they called Blue Tongue Skinks? Yup…they have Blue tongues. They are smooth Lizards and eat Insects, Salad Greens, and (I kid you not!) Dog food. So they will eat basically anything you give them. Cons: They are too expensive for me to afford. Typically they are around $300 at Expos. But if I had money, yeah I’d have one.

Taking Bronze we have Rhino Rat Snakes. I personally have never seen these at Expos but I haven’t really looked for them either. These things are SO COOL LOOKING!

They are Arboreal, meaning they like to hang out in the Trees. They are cool looking and eat Rodents. They get up to 5 feet maximum. They seem pretty chill from the videos I have seen. But I do not know the Care Requirements or anything like that, so I will probably never own one. They’re still cool, though.

Taking the Silver is my dream Snake. This is the Hognose Snake.

These Snakes, to me, are ADORABLE! They have little upturned faces and are goofy. AND they don’t get big. Females get up to 3 feet, and that’s a BIG Female. Males only get a foot and a half. So Male Hognose Snakes can fit in a smaller Enclosure. AND they have another thing that adds to their “Cool” factor to me. They’re mildly Venomous. Kind of. They are Rear-Fang Venomous. That means you need to let them chew on you in order to be get any Venom in your system. And even then, it’s not serious unless you have an allergic reaction. Think of getting stung by a Bee. It hurts, but not medically significant, unless you’re allergic. But to my knowledge, nobody has ever died from being bitten by a Hognose Snake. And that’s the other thing. They VERY RARELY bite. They roll on their back, open their mouths, stick their Tongue out, and play dead. It’s hysterical to see! And if that doesn’t work, they mock bite. They lunge at you with their mouth closed and kind of headbutt you with their nose. It’s really funny!

And taking the Gold is (again) kind of cheating since I currently already have one of these. This is a Crested Gecko. My Crested Gecko, Stumpy, is ADORABLE!

Why is his name Stumpy? Well, in case you can’t tell from my video, he doesn’t have a tail. He dropped his tail and when Crested Geckos do this, they don’t grow back. It doesn’t impact their well-being at all or quality of life, so don’t feel bad. Crested Geckos have sticky pads on their feet, so they can climb walls and their Enclosures. Stumpy climbs up the side of his cage all the time! It’s really cool to watch him climb! And he is so friendly! He, like Gex, will gently take Worms from my hand. And Crested Geckos jump. Which can be a Con. It’s adorable when he does it and I can anticipate when it happens because his hind legs fold back and he sort of wiggles his butt like a Cat. It’s really freaking cute! I said he eats Worms but that is kind of a slight exaggeration. He gets Mealworms as a treat. His staple diet is Crested Gecko Diet. And yes, that’s the real name of the food. It’s a powder you mix with water and they lap it up. Really Stumpy’s only “Con” is I have to spray his cage with a spray bottle twice a day and feed him twice a week. But it’s SO worth it! I love my little guy and I’d LOVE to breed him! But I am not going to. I can only facilitate one right now, and my Parents were hard to convince to let me get Stumpy to begin with.

So those are my Dream Reptiles. What Animals are on your Bucket List? Let me know and thanks for reading!

-Tom

This past Sunday (April 21, 2024) I took my first trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey for the first time in years. This place is neat! So in this post, I will review Six Flags Great Adventure and tell you if I recommend it or not. First off, I visited on a Sunday in April. Most Coasters were on a one-train operation. Hence, the lines moved fairly slowly. BUT to compensate, the Park was not all that crowded, so it kind of canceled out.

My first ride of the day was the famous Intamin pre-fab Coaster, El Toro. This ride has had its share of incidents, but it seems more reliable now. As the Park had just opened, El Toro was a total walk-on. There was a little bit of a wait for the Front Row, but screw that seat! Every Coaster Enthusiast knows to ride El Toro in the Backseat. Although there is a slight drawback to riding in the very back row. That is a wheel seat, so it is a little bumpier in the back row of any car. So if you want a smoother ride but still get some AMAZING standing Ejector Airtime, ride second-to-backseat. But I was willing to take a little bit of shakiness for what this awesome Coaster offers! I’d forgotten how crazy this ride is! Normally, Coasters need awhile to warm up. But right off the bat, El Toro was HAULING! And yes, it felt even faster as the day progressed. That, to me, makes it a damn near perfect ride! I got two rides in the morning on El Toro.

From there, I went to what is considered the Heart of the Park: the Safari. Yes, Six Flags Great Adventure has a 350 acre Safari ride with REAL animals covering every Continent excluding Antarctica. So we saw Bears, Ostriches, Lions, Tigers, Deer, Kangaroos, and Emus. Funny story about the Emus. Some of the animals are free-roaming and have the right-of-way before vehicles. So an Emu decided to block our route during the ride, which caused a 5 minute delay in our ride. Eventually, a Park Ranger had to corral the Emu out of the way so our ride could continue. That plus we saw 2 Bears “having fun”. We also saw baby Bears which were ADORABLE! They were SO TINY! And the Safari ride lasted about 40 minutes, so that alone was well worth the admission!

After the Safari, I went to ride Medusa, the World’s First Floorless Coaster. This ride opened in 1999 as Medusa, then was rethemed to Bizarro, only to be changed back to Medusa. While it ran as Bizarro, the ride had mist and fire effects. Nowadays, Medusa has basically nothing along the course…except for a spiky cylinder during the last Corkscrews. And let me tell you about this cylinder. GIGANTIC spikes aimed right at your face while you are upside-down. I swore we were gonna hit it! But that’s the point of it, to freak you the Hell out! Of course, it’s perfectly safe, but still…

Following Medusa, I headed to Green Lantern, Six Flags Great Adventure’s Stand-Up Coaster. This is one ride that I see both sides on. It is a fun, forceful ride. BUT you have to get the Standing aspect *just* right for a comfortable ride. And I didn’t get the optimal position. So my nuts were crushed and I thought one ride was enough…this time.

After Green Lantern, I got in line for Superman Ultimate Flight, the Park’s Flying Coaster. This ride is just fun! It’s not that tall, nor that fast. But you ride it for two reasons. One: The riding position. You lay beneath the track. Not sit, like an Inverted Coaster. You are lying on your stomach in a prone position, making it look and feel like you are actually flying. They have a variation of this model at my “Home” Six Flags park in Batwing at Six Flags America in Maryland. But I prefer this version. And the other reason to ride it? The Pretzel Loop. This Inversion is INSANE! It’s like a Vertical Loop, except you dive down and dive up again. The Inversion looks like a Pretzel, hence the name of the element. I remember this ride being fun but not that forceful. This time, though? It felt faster than I remember! This ride is just pure fun!

Of course, no trip to Six Flags Great Adventure would be complete without a ride on the World’s Tallest Coaster, Kingda Ka. This ride is a statistical monster! It is 456 feet tall and reaches a top speed of 128 mph in 3.5 seconds. The layout is nothing that special. One 456 foot hill, Spiral Drop down, Airtime Hill, Brakes. That’s it. The whole ride is roughly 20 seconds from Launch to Brakes. If you want the ultimate thrill, RIDE UP FRONT! I have done this ride before, but it had been years since I had. Staring down that ENORMOUS Hill at Ground Level before the Launch, even I, a seasoned Coaster Enthusiast, was going “Um…I’m kinda nervous.” If you are freaked out by heights, this ride actually isn’t all that bad. You are over the top and back down before you know it. After the ride, all I could think was, “WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!” I was actually shell-shocked after the ride. I cannot remember the last time any Coaster had done that.

After Kingda Ka, I rode its “Ride Roommate” in Zumanjaro Drop of Doom. Why do I call this ride Kingda Ka’s “Roommate”? It is literally attached to the 456 foot Hill of Kingda Ka! Granted, it is not as tall at “just” 415 feet tall. But this is an arguably scarier ride. It’s a Drop Tower, so it takes its time getting to the top. And from the top of the structure, on a clear day, you can see the skyline of Philadelphia. Oh, and to add to the freakiness, Kingda Ka decided to launch while we were ascending the tower. As a result, the ride gondola on Zumanjaro started swaying side-to-side! I thought New Jersey had a law that both could not operate simultaneously. But I just got lucky, I guess. Oh, and the drop from the top is unnerving, too. The top speed on this Drop Tower is a whopping 90 MILES PER HOUR! That is insanely fast for any ride, let alone a Drop Tower! Plus the ride vehicle kind of shimmies when the Brakes engage. So this ride is WILD! I rode it twice just for the experience.

One thing I will say kind of confusing about Great Adventure is their Loose Articles policy. As with most, if not all, other parks in the US, you cannot have Loose Articles (phone, keys, wallet, cameras, etc.) out on any ride except the Ferris Wheel and the Safari. But it isn’t always enforced that well. All the rides say NO LOOSE ARTICLES but rides like Green Lantern, Superman, Zumanjaro, the Park’s Flat Rides, Nitro, and Batman, you could have stuff in line with you in a pocket as long as it didn’t interfere with the Restraints. BUT on other rides like Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Jersey Devil, they have Security basically interrogating you about having stuff in your pocket. The lockers were transferable ride-to-ride and cost $10 all day or $2 per locker per ride. Jersey Devil unfortunately was closed, so I didn’t get a chance to ride it. DAMN!

Next I rode Houdini’s Great Escape, the Mad House ride. This ride is a little bit of a rare ride model, at least here in the US. The ride is themed to Harry Houdini and one last trick: Escaping Death. This ride is cool. It feels like you are being rotated upside-down. In actuality, the room around you is spinning and you merely swing a little bit. It’s still a very convincing effect, though.

I decided to ride Batman the Ride next, Six Flags’ B&M Inverted Coaster. This ride is INTENSE! Five Inversions back to back. I think I mistook this compact ride as “just another clone”. And while I was partially right, (it is a cloned layout) this thing HAULS through the layout!

Next was my most ridden Coaster on the trip: Nitro! I don’t care what people say about Nitro. I freaking LOVE this ride! This 230 foot Hypercoaster is so tall, so fast, and so comfortable I could ride it all day! Sure, the Airtime isn’t as crazy as El Toro, but the Floater Airtime on this ride is legit! Especially in the Back Row. There’s no pre-drop on Nitro unlike most other early B&M Coasters. As a result, you are hurled down the First Drop! I am more familiar with Candymonium at Hersheypark as my pseudo-home Hypercoaster. And while that ride is more photogenic than Nitro, Nitro has a cool setting in the woods of New Jersey. Candymonium is out in the open, but Nitro is more secluded. If I go back to Great Adventure, I’d love to get a Night Ride on this thing! I mean, how cool would it be flying at 80 mph through the woods in total darkness? I got 6 rides in on Nitro in the course of about 20 minutes. So to say I liked this ride is just a little bit of an understatement!

Next up I rode Wonder Woman, Six Flags’ Giant Frisbee ride. This ride was fun, but nothing special to me. I prefer the version at Six Flags New England because it seemed to last longer. After that was probably the longest line I waited in. This was for Justice League Battle for Metropolis. This is a shooting Dark Ride themed to saving the Justice League from Lex Luthor and The Joker. The ride was fun, but my Gun didn’t really work properly. The ride had physical sets and props as well as screens to shoot at, so that was pretty cool.

One ride I forgot to mention riding was SkyScreamer, Six Flags’ 242 foot tall Swing ride. The views were cool, but the ride did have a very short duration. Again, I have done the version of this at Six Flags New England in Massachusetts during Fright Fest last year and I preferred that to this one. Why? Well, New England ran their SkyScreamer backwards and doubled the ride time. So it was still fun, but I was left a little underwhelmed.

At this point, I headed back to the Front of the Park to get ready to leave. But as I was leaving, I noticed El Toro was a walk-on. Um…HELL YEAH! I opted (again) for the Back Row. I only allotted for one last ride then leaving. BUT since there was nobody in line, Six Flags sent us around again…and again…and again. Seriously, getting three to four consecutive rides on arguable the Best Wooden Coaster In the World as the Sun was setting was AMAZING! The Airtime was even crazier than earlier! My thighs were throbbing from all the insanity of those consecutive rides!

One last thing I did before leaving was Daredevil Dive, the Park’s SkyCoaster. This was an upcharge at $20. But I figured it’d be worth the money. This particular SkyCoaster is 155 feet tall. I love these types of rides! It’s a simple concept. You are put into a Flight Suit, hoisted via cable up however tall the Tower is, and drop and swing. Oh, and it’s up to you to initiate the fall. You pull a Ripcord and you drop like a rock! I ride these things for one reason: The initial drop. This is a true free-fall until the cable catches you. I have had the honor of doing the World’s Tallest SkyCoaster in Kissimmee, Florida a few years ago. This cost me $40 if I remember correctly. That particular one was 300 feet tall, so nearly double the height of the one at Great Adventure. After the initial Drop, the ride is “fun”. It’s nothing too crazy. To me, it feels like laying down on a swing in your backyard. But still, the visual of dropping head-first towards the ground is terrifying!

After conquering Daredevil Dive, I headed out to go home. We had a 2 hour drive ahead of us back home to Baltimore and my Mom had to work the next day. So to answer the “Would I Go Back?” question, YES! I 100% recommend this Park! If nothing else, the Safari alone made it worth it!

So that was my day at Six Flags Great Adventure. Thanks for reading!

-Tom

This is gonna be a tough List. Hershey has SO MANY rides, and I find it damn near impossible to rank them. As a note, this List will include both Coasters and Non-Coasters (aka Flat Rides). Starting off the List, we have Breaker’s Edge Water Coaster. This is a fun Water Coaster. It is fast, has a pop of Airtime at the start, and gets you wet. It’s fun, but I am not a huge fan of Water Parks or Slides, so that is why it is coming in Last place.

Up next, we have Tidal Force. This is a Shoot-the-Chutes Water Ride. Its layout is simple. You go up a Lift, turn, and drop into a pool of Water, getting you drenched. The only thing holding you in is a bulky shared bar between the rows on the Boat. It’s a good ride on a hot day, but again I am not the biggest fan of getting soaked on rides.

Following Tidal Force, we have the Carousel. This is a typical Carousel. It’s good for a break from the big rides and is a great Family ride, but it’s average for the genre.

Coal Cracker is coming in next. Coal Cracker is Hershey’s Log Flume. I know I said I am not a huge Water Ride person, but this ride is different. I have a soft spot for this ride. I have a photo of me, my Mom, Aunt and Grandfather all riding this together. So yeah. This ride has sentimental value to me. Plus that little hump after the Drop gives legit Airtime. With no restraints. Oh, and my buddy and I had a unique experience on this ride awhile back. A Ride Op was eating Crackers on the ride’s platform before the Main Drop. HE GAVE US FOOD WHILE WE WERE RIDING!

Following Coal Cracker, we have Dry Gulch Railroad. This is a Train ride that takes you through a section of Hersheypark. It’s a relaxing ride and offers some cool views, but personally I am into more high-octane thrills.

The Ferris Wheel is next. I gotta be honest. This ride would be higher if I rode it more often. It has AMAZING views of the Park and surrounding areas. And it’s a long ride, too. This is my favorite ride to take pictures from. So why don’t I ride it every time I go? Well…that’s where it loses some points in my book. The Ferris Wheel, like a lot of them, do not allow Single Riders. And 9 times out of 10, I am by myself at Hersheypark. So that’s why it’s not higher.

If we are ranking ALL the Rides I have ridden at Hershey, I’d be an idiot if I didn’t include Roller Soaker. This was a rare Water Coaster. Not like Breaker’s Edge, though. This was a legit Roller Coaster with Water Cannons aimed at riders. Riders could drop gallons of Water on people walking by, soaking them. This was a fun ride, but I only rode it once.

Frontier Flyers is next. This ride is still at the Park. These are Flying Scooters. You can control how high you go based on a paddle you operate the ride with. The one downside is that, to my knowledge, Hershey does not allow “Snapping”, or making the cables snap to go really high and really fast.

The famous Kissing Tower is coming in next. This is an Observation Tower standing 330 feet tall. Having said that, the gondola “only” goes up 250 feet. BUT unlike the Ferris Wheel, this ride DOES allow Single Riders, so I try to ride it every time I go to Hershey. The ride gondola spins slowly, so you get a panoramic 360 degree view of the Park and Hershey, Pennsylvania as a whole.

Mix’d is up. This is a Flat Ride by manufacturer Zamperla. The ride spins up, down, forwards, and backwards. It offers weak Airtime and is fun. BUT it takes FOREVER to load and you more often than not will get stuck at the top of the ride for 5 minutes waiting for the ride to load and start.

Next is the Scrambler and Tilt-A-Whirl. These are typical Flat rides found basically anywhere you can find rides. The main difference is not with the rides themselves, but with what I was allowed to do. The Ride Ops actually let me take a FULL BEER onto the rides. Like, I hadn’t even taken one sip and they let me on the rides with it! Um…WHAT?!?!

Following them, we have RESSE’S CUPFUSION shooting Dark Ride. This is a fun Shooting Ride, but my GOD does it get a long line! I have seen lines approaching 2 1/2 hours for this ride, and no that’s NOT an exaggeration. Fun, but not worth the excessively long waits.

Up next is The Claw. I’m sorry, but whenever I say this ride’s name, I think of the little Green Aliens from TOY STORY. “THE CLAAAAAAAAAAW!” It’s a fun spinning, swinging ride but nothing special.

Speaking of special, Hershey’s first still-standing Coaster to make the list is next. This is Trailblazer, Hershey’s Mine Train Coaster. This ride does nothing special nor is it too fast or thrilling. It’s just 2 small Lift Hills, and a Helix. That’s about it. BUT like Coal Cracker, this Coaster holds a special place in my Heart. It’s the first Coaster I remember riding as a kid.

Following Trailblazer is ANOTHER Coaster. This one is historic as the First Looping Coaster on the East Coast. The is SooperDooperLooper. The only “thrilling” part of this ride, to me, is the Loop following the First Drop. The Loop is forceful and absolutely pins you to your seat. But after that, the ride does a lot of meandering. But I can see the appeal for families and kids wanting to test the Waters with going upside-down.

Wild Mouse is next. It’s a standard Wild Mouse model. You go around a bunch of Hairpin Turns and drop back down. That’s it. Fun, but…yeah.

Next we have ANOTHER scenic ride. This is SkyView, Hershey’s Sky Ride. This ride is a guilty pleasure ride of mine, especially around Christmas. The Ride gives you a bird’s-eye view of The Hollow section of Hersheypark. It’s cool getting that close to Great Bear. During Christmas Candylane, this ride becomes extra special. Give it a ride at night and you can see ALL the lights around the Park.

Laff Trakk is next. This is Hershey’s Indoor Spinning Coaster. This ride is fun, but again, gets horrendous lines! DEFINITELY hit this one early if you want to avoid a long wait. The Queue is cool, though. It is themed to an old-time Fun House. They have a Laffin’ Sal statute on display in the line, so that’s neat to see. That plus wonky mirrors. Laff Trakk is fun, but it takes FOREVER to get through the line!

Jolly Rancher Remix is coming up next. This is a “Plussed” Vekoma Boomerang Coaster. What I mean by that is it’s a standard Boomerang model. You go up a Hill, go through a Cobra Roll and Vertical Loop, go up another Hill, and do the whole thing again backwards. What makes this one unique is the theming. Hersheypark themed this ride to Jolly Rancher candy. The Station has cool theming and then there is a Scent Tunnel after the Vertical Loop that smells like different flavors of Jolly Rancher. And the scents are random, so it gives the ride some re-ride value. Too bad the Coaster can only run one train.

Hershey Triple Tower is next. These are a trio of Drop Towers varying in height from 80 feet to 131 feet to 180 feet tall. The Hershey Tower is the tallest, so you’d assume it’d be the most thrilling, right? Not exactly. The view is good, but the Drop is kinda weak. The other Towers, in my opinion, offer better Airtime.

Next up is another ride that is (sort of) no longer at Hersheypark. This was Wildcat, a Wooden Coaster by Great Coasters International (GCI). The ride was fast, had Airtime, and was twisted as all get-out! BUT…it became almost unbearably rough over time. Personally, I didn’t have an issue with Wildcat if I rode up front. In the back row, GOOD GOD! It was BRUTAL!

Now we are getting into the good rides! Next we have Fahrenheit. Fahrenheit is legit a good ride! It features a Vertical Lift Hill, a beyond Vertical 97 Degree Drop, six Inversions, (meaning you go upside-down six times) and an INSANE Ejector Airtime Hill to end out the ride. It is short, but it is oh, so satisfying!

Lightning Racer is next. This is actually 2 Wooden Coasters that race each other. The ride(s) are smooth, offer some Airtime, and are long Coasters. But the racing aspect is what makes the ride for me! There’s something about racing another Train, talking trash on a ride that makes it special. Plus my Mom and I both like this ride, so again, it has some sentimental value.

Two more defunct rides are next on the List. The Giant Wheel would have claimed the next spot. This was a rare double-arm Ferris Wheel. You could spin the gondolas. I have vague memories of this ride. BUT the next ride I remember vividly and have VERY fond memories of. This was FLYING FALCON. You rode in one-person vehicles and were lifted into the air while spinning, offering amazing views of the surrounding area! PLEASE HERSHEY! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BRING THIS RIDE BACK!!!!!!!!!

Great Bear is next. This is Hershey’s Inverted Coaster, meaning you hang underneath the track. The ride is unique in that it is 90 feet tall but has a 124 foot Drop. BUT before the Drop, you go into a Helix 90 feet in the air. Then Great Bear goes through three Inversions rapid-fire, a Vertical Loop, Immelman, and a Zero-G Roll. After that, the ride sort of wanders around before going through a Corkscrew to end out the ride. It is fun, fast, and intense. And not to mention smooth! This is one of my favorite Inverted Coasters out there!

Next is a Classic. This is Comet, Hersheypark’s oldest operating Coaster. This Wooden Coaster opened back in 1946 and is still running GREAT! If I had one critique for Comet, it’s actually a recent one. For the 2024 Season, Hershey gave Comet new Trains. Sounds like a great thing, right? The Trains look AMAZING! And they did make the ride a little smoother, BUT they have individual Lap Bars as opposed to the Buzz Bars on the old Trains. Comet is not too fast, nor intense, so the Buzz Bars and Seat belt combo was sufficient for this ride. Plus the belt was adjustable, so thrillseekers like me would loosen it as far as it would go to optimize the Airtime. With the Buzz Bars, you’d go flying! With the new restraints, you do get Airtime, but it isn’t the same. Comet is still remarkably smooth after 78 years of operation. Hershey takes GREAT care of this ride!

Here’s where the List gets a little controversial. The last few rides are all Roller Coasters that are absolute rushes!

Just barely missing the Top Three is Storm Runner. This is an INSANE Launched Coaster. 0-72 mph in 2 seconds. It is SO freaking fast! From there, you go up a 150 foot Top Hat Hill, drop 180 feet, and go through three funky Inversions. They are a Cobra Loop and a Flying Snake Dive. My only gripe with Storm Runner is its length. It is over in about 30 seconds. Still, those 30 seconds are memorable!

Taking Bronze is Candymonium. This is Hersheypark’s second Hypercoaster (any Roller Coaster between 200-299 feet tall). I think the General Public were kind of intimidated by the raw power of SkyRush, Hershey’s Intamin Hypercoaster. So Hershey built another one by B&M. Candymonium is 210 feet tall with a 216 foot drop. Unlike SkyRush, (which we will get to shortly) Candymonium has Clamshell restraints. They are bulky Lap Bars, but very comfy! Ride ops have “Stapled” me in the past, meaning I was barely able to feel the ride’s Airtime. But more often than not, they do not do this and the ride is just pure fun! Plus that iconic turn around the Kisses Fountain? C’mon!

Here’s where people will start arguing. I know people’s List at Hershey changes perso-to-person. Hell, mine changed as I was writing this post! But here is what I decided on for the Top Two.

Taking Silver is SkyRush. SkyRush used to be almost universally hated for its Restraints. The Coaster Community nicknamed the ride “ThighCrush” because its Restraints would literally make your Thighs feel crushed into Oblivion. Now did I think the Restraints ruined the Coaster? No. Were they uncomfortable? Yes, but I could look past that. This ride is sheer speed, Airtime and raw power! Like Comet, SkyRush also got new Trains and Restraints this year (2024). Hershey themed the ride to an aviation theme. The Station looks INCREDIBLE! As for the Restraints? They’re better in some aspects but worse in others. The Restraints are a Hell of a lot more accommodating and comfortable. BUT in my opinion, they detract from SkyRush’s Airtime. The Airtime before was sheer, raw, OMFG I’M GONNA DIE! Airtime. I LIVED for that! The Airtime now is still amazing, but it seemed a little dialed back to me. Maybe it’s the new Trains being smoother on the Track, I have no idea.

So finally, we have my #1 Ride at Hersheypark. My vote is for Wildcat’s Revenge. Remember how I said Wildcat was good as long as you were up front? Well, Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) redid Wildcat. They gave it a steel track but kept the wooden supports. How is the ride now? AMAZING! Unlike Wildcat, where the back row would compress your Spine like an old accordion, I WANT to ride in the back row on Wildcat’s Revenge. AIRTIME GALORE! Oh, and as a bonus, the Ride Ops NEVER STAPLE! They leave a few inches of room between my lap and the Lap Bar Restraint. This Airtime is on par with, if not better than, what SkyRush offers. Really my only real gripe with this Coaster is the Loose Article policy. Unless you have zippered pockets (and even then it depends on the Employee) you cannot have ANYTHING with you in the Station. Phone, wallet, keys, bags…NOTHING! Everything has to go in a locker. BUT to compensate, the lockers are free. I wish Cedar Fair would implement this with their Top Thrill 2 ride. The ride is long, fast, and wild! Actually, my favorite part of the Coaster isn’t actually the ride itself. It’s the view you get in line for the ride. The Queue takes you right next to the Coaster’s craziest parts, so you can take some AMAZING photos of this Coaster before you put your phone or camera in a Locker.

So those are my Ride Rankings at Hersheypark. What is your ride order? Let me know and thanks for reading!

-Tom