Hersheypark is a family theme park in the eastern United States in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.
Shoot the Chute is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day Shoot the Chute ride generally has larger boats seating at least four across.
Raging Waters are a chain of four water theme parks in Sacramento, San Dimas, San Jose, California, and Sydney, Australia. The parks are operated by Palace Entertainment and owned by its parent company Parques Reunidos, but they each contain different attractions. The parks are generally closed during the winter months.
Great Bear is an inverted roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, with additional design from Werner Stengel, the roller coaster opened on May 23, 1998, in the Minetown section of the park. Great Bear was the first inverted looping coaster in Pennsylvania and cost $13 million, the largest project Hersheypark undertook at the time. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 90 feet (27 m), a maximum speed of 58 miles per hour (93 km/h) to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h), and has a total track length of 2,800 feet (850 m).
Comet is a wooden roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Hollow section of Hersheypark, next to Skyrush. Built in 1946 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the coaster features a double out and back track layout. When built it was jointly owned by Hershey Park and PTC. The maximum speed is 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).
SooperDooperLooper is a steel roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 8, 1977. SooperDooperLooper is located in The Hollow section of the park and cost more than $3 million to construct and build. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 70 feet, with a maximum speed of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h), and a total track length of 2,614 feet.
Jolly Rancher Remix is a steel shuttle roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. A Boomerang model manufactured by Vekoma and designed by Peter Clerx, the roller coaster originally opened as the Sidewinder on May 11, 1991. The roller coaster debuted in the Pioneer Frontier section of the park and cost $4.2 million. The Sidewinder was the first roller coaster installed in the park in 14 years since the SooperDooperLooper in 1977 and the fourth roller coaster in operation to be built. The roller coaster has a maximum height of 116.5 ft (35.5 m), with a maximum speed of 47 mph (76 km/h), and a track length of 935 ft (285 m).
Roller Soaker was a suspended roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Manufactured by Setpoint Inc., the roller coaster was announced on August 8, 2001, and opened to the public on May 11, 2002. The Roller Soaker was located in the Boardwalk section at the park and cost $7.5 million to $8 million to construct. In December 2012, Hersheypark announced that the Roller Soaker would be removed to make way for new water attractions in 2013. The roller coaster's station was reused by Breakers Edge Water Coaster, a water coaster added in 2018.
Rim Runner was an Arrow Dynamics Shoot-the-Chutes located at Adventuredome theme park at Circus Circus Las Vegas and was one of the world's longest and tallest indoor water flume rides with a height of 65 feet and a drop of 60 feet. The ride ceased operation on February 3, 2013 to make way for El Loco which opened in February 2014.
Perilous Plunge was a shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. The ride opened on September 15, 2000, and closed on September 3, 2012.
Fahrenheit is a steel roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Pioneer Frontier section of the park, the roller coaster was manufactured by Intamin and opened on May 24, 2008. It features six inversions and became the steepest roller coaster in the world when it opened with its first drop of 97 degrees. Fahrenheit briefly held the record until Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach, which featured a 111-degree drop, opened several weeks later on July 5. Fahrenheit is also one of the only coasters in the world to feature a Norwegian Loop.
Valhalla is a large indoor dark flume ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire, England. Opened on 14 June 2000 at a cost of £15 million, it is one of the longest indoor dark rides in the world at a duration of just over six minutes. Both a dark ride and a water ride, Valhalla uses special effects which incorporate fire, water and snow. Following a £4 million refurbishment beginning in 2019, the ride re-opened for technical rehearsals on 12 April 2023.
Skyrush is an Intamin prototype Wing Coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened to the general public on May 26, 2012, as Hersheypark's 12th roller coaster and the park's third coaster made by Intamin. Skyrush features a 200 ft (61 m) cable lift that raises the train at 26 ft/s (480 m/min). The roller coaster is located in the Hollow section of Hersheypark, next to the Comet wooden coaster; Skyrush itself is mainly set above Spring Creek.
Mini-Comet was a kiddie roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was situated near Comet in The Hollow section of Hersheypark from 1974 through 1975. It was relocated to Kissing Tower Hill in 1976, where it remained in operation until its removal at the end of the 1978 season. The ride was purchased used at a public sale; it was constructed by B.A. Schiff & Associates, some time before 1974. The coaster featured an oval track with a series of small hills. It completed the circuit five times before the ride cycle ended.
The history of Hersheypark begins with the founding of the town of Hershey in 1903. Milton Hershey, The owner of the Hershey Chocolate Company surveyed a nearby area of land, which was to become a leisure park for the employees of his chocolate company. People began visiting the grounds of the future park in 1904 and 1905, while the park's first pavilion was built in the fall of 1905. The park was formally opened on May 30, 1906, when it opened as Hershey Park. The park slowly added rides until 1923, when the first roller coaster, the Wild Cat, was built. From then on, rides were regularly added, except during World War II. The park was redeveloped into Hersheypark in 1970, through a multi-phase project. Since then, it has added ten roller coasters, expanded to over 110 acres, and features many other attractions including shows with sea lions, well-known acts including Weird Al Yankovic and Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in the Hersheypark Amphitheater, and a short-lived laser light show.
The Flume was a Log Flume at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. It opened in 1981 and was rethemed in 2004 coinciding with its sponsorship by Imperial Leather. The ride was a bath time themed log flume with three drops. It was the longest log flume attraction in the world at the time of opening. The attraction closed in 2015 and was replaced by the Wicker Man rollercoaster.
The Mill Chute was a ride at Hersheypark from 1929 until 1972. Milton S. Hershey purchased the ride from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company when the decision was made to build a new pool and drain the existing pool and neighboring lake in Comet Hollow. In 1963, the ride was renovated and rethemed. It was renamed Lost River and maintained that theme until 1972. During the 1972 season Hurricane Agnes struck Hershey, and the resulting flood of the park caused irreparable damage to the ride. As a result, the ride was closed for the remainder of the 1972 season and was torn down in the off season.
Candymonium is a steel roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride was announced in 2018 and opened on July 3, 2020. It is the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster at Hersheypark. It was introduced with a newly-themed section of the park called Hershey's Chocolatetown, adjacent to Hershey's Chocolate World.
