Hersheypark Wildcat closing

[Oldiesmann]

If you're a fan of Hersheypark's classic Wildcat wooden coaster, you've got until the end of the month to ride it...

https://www.facebook.com/Hersheypark/photos/a.165822924356/10160195150919357

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Last to ride alert!
Wildcat will close Sunday, July 31 so be sure to visit this month for one final ride.
Any suggestions on what we could do with 3,100 feet of wooden track?

Stay tuned for details later this year.

Grab tickets now to plan your July visit: https://www.hersheypark.com/tickets/

[IndyGuy4KI]

RMC conversation?

[Orion742]

20 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

RMC conversation?

RMC replied to the tweet, “We have a few ideas.” Be on the lookout I think something is coming.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Just now, Orion742 said:

RMC replied to the tweet, “We have a few ideas.” Be on the lookout I think something is coming.

That is cool. With some of the more extreme coasters they have at Hershey, I'm sure they're going to let RMC go wild!

[Rivertown Rider]

I am surprised they aren't letting GCI do the Titan track on it.

[Orion742]

2 minutes ago, Rivertown Rider said:

I am surprised they aren't letting GCI do the Titan track on it.

I assume they want to go the safe route.

 

9 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

That is cool. With some of the more extreme coasters they have at Hershey, I'm sure they're going to let RMC go wild!

I hope it has yellow track. It would fit the theme perfectly.

 

KI hopefully will get a RMC Son of Beast someday please!

[Shaggy]

The Wildcat is long overdue for a rehab.  It was already rough by its 2nd or 3rd season - and that was over 25 years ago.  They did replace the trains sometime in the past 10-15 years or so with millennium flyers, I think that helped a bit.  (I havent ridden since that change was made) But man oh man was that thing rough with the original PTC's.  If this is a hybrid conversion, it will be a wonderful change.

The underrated wooden gem in that park, however, is Lightning Racer.  I love that ride, and boy is it beautiful to look at and fun to ride.

[Oldiesmann]

I rode it when I visited Hershey in 2018. I thought it was fun, but unfortunately haven't been back to Hershey since then and won't have time to make it back out there before it closes.

[silver2005]

I'm actually really sad about this. I like Wildcat in its current form and I thought the Millennium Flyers were really making it run well.  I'm annoyed I can't get back in time for a last ride as a woodie.

Also, this is THE original GCI, another knock from me against RMCing it.

[KIghostguy]

Goodbye and good riddance. Even an empty plot of land would be an improvement. 

[MDMC01]

6 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

RMC conversation?

Yes please! Compared to the amazing Lightning Racer, Wildcat was just ok. Fix the restraints on Skyrush and you have a great coaster lineup!*

*I mean, IMO they totally do (LR, Great Bear, Storm Runner, Comet, Sooperdooperlooper, Wild Mouse + a good supporting cast with Fahrenheit, Laff Track, and whatever Sidewinder is called now ), , but IMO these changes would make the rides better. Also, a trimless (or at least less brakes on ) Laff Track would be great, but that might make it less of a family coaster and more of a thrill coaster!

Also, yes, I understand the history behind Wildcat, but I'm also very much a fan of RMC'ing it.
 

EDIT: As a note, I have not yet ridden Candimonium as my only trip was in 2015.

[SonofBaconator]

Last time I went to Hershey, it rained so much that they had to shut down a lot of the rides. Does the park of the park where Wildcat is get a lot of foot traffic? It would bring a lot of people to the back of the park if it’s not as packed back there.

[Buckeye Brad]

I was there last Saturday, and expected Hershey to be packed.

 There were lots of guests in the front half of the park, but that back section with Wildcat and Lightning Racer seemed very desolate all day. 
 

I rode both of those coasters in the late morning and early evening, and it was always a zero-one train wait. 

[silver2005]

I will say that the back end of the park REALLY needs something new as it does get pretty dead, even with Laff Trak being new-ish, plus there isn't a lot of room back there to add anything that big (Lightning Racer takes up a TON of space).  I'd also argue that a 2nd entrance should be back there, too. 

[Shaggy]

1 hour ago, silver2005 said:

I will say that the back end of the park REALLY needs something new as it does get pretty dead, even with Laff Trak being new-ish, plus there isn't a lot of room back there to add anything that big (Lightning Racer takes up a TON of space).  I'd also argue that a 2nd entrance should be back there, too. 

There was once a long-standing rumor that the park was considering "flipping" the main entrance to the back-side.  It never came to be, of course, but the idea was you'd enter in the Midway America area and the current entrance area would become the back end of the park.

Obviously things worked out for the best - they eventually got a much improved/expanded entrance area and were able to acquire the old golf course area - hence Candymonium.  But back in the day, the park grew to a point that the original entrance area was a terrible bottleneck.

Fun fact - Hersheypark originally had an Intamin Double-arm ferris wheel right inside the original main entrance.  It was just like Kings Island's Zodiac but Hershey's Giant wheel predated the KI one by a few years.  When KI expanded Coney Mall, they used pictures of Hershey's Giant Wheel for promotional purposes. (you can tell because the Hershey wheel had the unique pinwheel logo in the center of each wheel.)

I first went to Hersheypark in 1984.  The park was only about 1/3 the size that it is now.  The Comet still used its original trains and had hand-brakes.  I also seem to recall that it might have had a 2-point unload/load process where you exited the train in the curved part of the station - then a ride op sent the train forward where it loaded.  The Superdooperlooper was the "big" coaster in the park (there were only 3 then.)  I was obsessed with the SuperDooperLooper - and must have ridden it a dozen times that first visit.  I still love that coaster and it holds a special place for me.

[silver2005]

^Glad to see a fellow SDL lover in these forums.

I also love Comet.  Superb ride everytime I've been on it, and its a gorgeous older wooden coaster (with a giant yellow eyesore above it, I think Skyrush is very overrated).

[Shaggy]

9 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

^Glad to see a fellow SDL lover in these forums.

I also love Comet.  Superb ride everytime I've been on it, and its a gorgeous older wooden coaster (with a giant yellow eyesore above it, I think Skyrush is very overrated).

SDL is highly HIGHLY underrated IMO.  A Schwarzkopf gem.  I haven't been to Hershey for nearly 20 years (I was supposed to go to the ACE Con there last year - but concerns over Covid deterred that), so I hope they are maintaining it well.

I'm a sucker for those original Schwarzkopf full-circuit loopers - my top 10 steel also includes Mindbender at SFOG and Shockwave at SFOT.

[Buckeye Brad]

Shaggy, I also rode SDL last Saturday (my first ever HP visit).

You will be pleased to know that it ran just fine. I appreciate these oldies and had a great ride. The smiling riders on my train did too.

It almost looks like a toy with it’s tiny track and little orange trains snaking around a spaghetti maze of huge B&M track, log flume troughs, and pathways, and feels like an oversized Junior coaster in a fantasy RCT land. I’m glad it’s still here. Great visuals and a refreshing break from the crazy coasters. :^)  

My son and I had fun imagining the board meeting to name this ride a name in the ‘70s.  I personally would have vetoed “Superdooperlooper” in a heartbeat for something more fierce sounding, but now I’m glad that this name won the day. It’s perfectly ridiculous, honest, and charming. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

SDL is an awesome coaster. I rode it 1 year ago today. I can't wait to get back to Hershey. Skyrush was the only credit I did not get at that park. 

If they improved their food offerings, they could be as good as KI. It is a good Intamin park as well. The Intamin coasters there are very fun, (as long as they are open of course.)

 

[TombRaiderFTW]

On 7/8/2022 at 11:17 PM, Shaggy said:

I'm a sucker for those original Schwarzkopf full-circuit loopers - my top 10 steel also includes Mindbender at SFOG and Shockwave at SFOT.

I knew I liked you.

Have you been on Mindbender since the refurb? I haven't, but it looks much slower to me, and that makes me afraid for Shockwave's future.

[Shaggy]

3 hours ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

I knew I liked you.

Have you been on Mindbender since the refurb? I haven't, but it looks much slower to me, and that makes me afraid for Shockwave's future.

I have not.  I'd like to  - its been way too long.  I believe Shockwave has nearly faced the wrecking ball a few times, but managed to survive.  I too worry because at some point cost outweighs worth.  

[BoddaH1994]

According to Reddit, the idea for Titan Track was pitched but Hershey rejected it. 
 

 

[SonofBaconator]

1 hour ago, BoddaH1994 said:

According to Reddit, the idea for Titan Track was pitched but Hershey rejected it. 
 

 

They might want to go the Steel Vengeance/ Iron Gwazi route

[DiamondbackFan]

19 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

They might want to go the Steel Vengeance/ Iron Gwazi route

What do you mean?  Titan track with infinity flyer trains can do the same things as RMC I-Box track.

[Browntggrr]

As mentioned earlier, RMC responded with an interesting Tweet:

 

[SonofBaconator]

4 hours ago, DiamondbackFan said:

What do you mean?  Titan track with infinity flyer trains can do the same things as RMC I-Box track.

Correct but RMC has more experience building hybrids over 200ft with steep drops and inversions. Perhaps Hersey Park wants something like that with Wildcat.

[BoddaH1994]

I believe that GCI pitched Titan Track as an improvement over the current state of Wildcat, but it would still be the same Wildcat. They selected RMC (presumably) because they want a “new” ride. That’s how I’m interpreting this story. I do not believe that the layout would have changed with Titan Track. 

[BeeastFarmer]

16 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I believe that GCI pitched Titan Track as an improvement over the current state of Wildcat, but it would still be the same Wildcat. They selected RMC (presumably) because they want a “new” ride. That’s how I’m interpreting this story. I do not believe that the layout would have changed with Titan Track. 

Either this, or the cost to make Wildcat a "new" coaster with Titan track was much more expensive than the RMC route.  I would guess that GCI's Titan track, since it is new and sparingly used, is simply more expensive to fabricate.  RMC, however, has done multiple conversions and has the specialty down.  If it is RMCd, I hope it is reliable.