The Sky Ride at Hersheypark 1974-1992

After buying a book on Hersheypark's history I came across this one ride just like the Skyview. The sky Ride traveled from Rhineland to Minetown from 1974-92. Becides the pics in the book I am looking for more pictures and info about the ride. When I was little I loved these rides.

-Chris-

I may have one or two old postcards that show the ride, but that's about it.

As you probably know, the Rhineland station still sits there. While it no longer has cable cars going in and out of it, it is home to the Central PA Kosher Mart! Featuring a Chalet theme, it (it being the Rhineland Skyride station) reminds me of the two SBNO Chalet themed skyride stations in Fantasyland at both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. Both of them are used as stroller parking lots and/or character greeting areas.

As for the ride itself, I vividly remember its path climbing over the Comet's trim brake curve, over Spring Creek, and then down into Minetown on the exact site now occupied by the On Ride Photo complex that services both Great Bear and Coal Cracker.

Of note was that this was a very tall Skyride- at least 100 ft tall. Not the longest, though. It may have had 4 main towers or so.

-Mark

Thanks. A while ago I heard a rumor of another Skyride going back into the park that would use that same Rhineland station and have a station over where the Rodeo is. As you can see it is not true because the station is like facing Great Bear so curving is not possible making this rumor false. It's sad though because the Sky Ride was the only transport ride in the park and being a big park it does a number on your feet. Trust me after going from Roller Soaker to the front in a swimsuit is 5 minutes, they really need to put another one in!

It's sad though because the Sky Ride was the only transport ride in the park and being a big park it does a number on your feet.

Come to think of it, it is a bit odd that a large, hilly park like Hersheypark has 3 transport rides that go...nowhere (Skyview, Train, Monorail).

-Mark

I remember it vaguely, but it was VERY high up over the creek. Also half the cars were painted with German style decorations (kind of like a wave swing), and the other half were painted as ore carts.

I, too, remember it vaguely. I don't remember the decorations as GA has stated.

It was a very tall one, as I remember, and that is not the little kid talking either.

The part of the ride that I remember most is it over near Comet. There is just something about it. I remember it very well.

From what I've heard, the ride has been moved to Dream World Park in Thailand Here's a few pics taken of the ride at it's new location and some at HP from the Dream World website, rcdb.com, and hpslappy.com

Also, on the side on the ore bucket cars there is wording. Does anyone know what the wording said? This is one of my biggest questions I'm wondering.

If you can see it in the distance, you can tell it's the ride because it has those large arms on top of the supports. Pic from rcdb.com

Here's a close up of one of the cars. I can tell that the bigger wording says COAL. Pic from HP Crazy.com

This is what the cars look like now in Thailand. Pic from the Dream World website.

A view from comet hollow. Pic from hpslappy.com

I remember going on the ride I guess in the late 80's/early 90's but don't remember much other than thinking it had similar cars to the ride at WDW (as opposed to the ride still at Hershey and Dutch Wonderland where your feet hang).

Here is a shot that a member posted to CoasterFanatics:

Picture I took of the station on my last visit:

If you're looking for some historical looks at Hersheypark, buy "Hersheypark: Sweetness of Success" by Charles Jacques. It's full of nice stories and a lot of historical photos. It's a very well put together book.

I have that book. As matter of fact I looked at it so much I ruined it and had to get another!

By the way that colored photo of the ride kind of makes it look like it was 200ft up there! I think the tallest one was either Southern Cross or Eagle's Flight at SFGreat America in IL. That one was 135ft tall.

After going there back in 2004 riding the Giant Wheel, I think I remembered seeing some painted marks on the floor of the loading/unloading platform for the ride. This summer after going with my school on the edge of the station the floor curves down right where the car exited. This is possibly for the short catwalk and for the cars.

By the way, is the Kosher Mart ever open? Everytime I go there it is always closed.

This is what I'm talking about. If you see right along the floor, you can see it curve down. Pic from hpslappy.com

This has to be the greatest pic of the ride, it shows the ride, the car, and the queue line. Pic from hpslappy.com

It took me a while to find a pic of the minetown station. long ago I think I remember it. Seeing it was the first time I heard of this great ride. Pic from hpslappy.com

Another car pic. pic from themeparkbrouchures.com

This is a really good pic of the cars. I just can't get over how ugly the characters are compared to now! pic from themeparkbrochures.com

Taken from the Kissing Tower, Comet hollow has really changed. Pic from hpslappy.com

As you canm see the decline angle kind of looks small. The ride also ran real close to GW. Pic from hpcrazy.com

I'm not sure what questions I could answer, but the Sky Ride was just one of the many rides I worked while working at the park from 1979-84. This ride was not a lot of fun to work, as you had to manually stop the cars, unload, then push it around to load people on the other side. Usually there were two people at each station, but sometimes staffing problems had only one person on each side. You got your exercise on those days.

dt

I taking a bet that you must hurry like heck to unload 1 car then hurry to fill up the other car while watching for another car to come in and try not have it crash into the second car.

Did it have like a storage track on it like the one at CP?

If anybody has some great pics of the ride, I am interested to see them.

-Chris-

It did indeed have a storage area.

I'm sure buried in a box somewhere around here are tons of old pictures of Hersheypark. Some time over the winter I'll have to go through them and post any interesting ones.

dt

i have always loved the sky ride....

went to Busch Gardens in VA this past summer and rode on theirs a half dozen times or so (saving up : )

the one i remember the most was at a park we had here in Pittsburgh that closed in 1977, West View Park....it was such a sad day. we always went there for our school picnics. i had never been to Kennywood until 1974 (when i was a senior in HS). West View's sky ride was just like a ski lift, where you simply stood in painted rectangle and sat down when the chair came around. your feet would dangle as you went over those below...i remember thinking that was the coolest ride they had!

also was mad that they got rid of them at Disneyland and WDW Magic Kingdom.....the Fantasyland stations are still there, and at least the Tomorrowland Station at WDW...one can always hope!

Wow, some of those picture bring back so many memories. I remember that ride when I used to go there when I was a kid and thinking you were in the clouds...lol...It was a really high sky ride! Good picture finds!

^^ If I and correct the BGE skyride is the only one with a circuit because there is no turn around on it.

This December I'll be heading to Hersheypark one and even possibly 2 times so I could probibily look for more small details and info.

After looking through my old drawings I came across a tracing I did from my sweetness of success book.

After going to the bookstore I came across new book about Hersheypark. It includes some old pictures that were never in the Sweetness of Success book.

But anyways I found a great close-up of one of the Rhineland cars.

The car.

What companies make sky rides now?

-Jake

The only one that comes to mind now is Poma because from what I heard that they don't just do ski lifts.

Von Roll did, A company called Doppelmayr took over it. These things are going the way of the dinosaur...What a same.

I'm raising this thread from the grave since I found something suprising that I never saw before.

When I went to STITP I found something on the Skyide building that I never saw before in the nearly 14 years I've been going to the park and looking at this building. When you look inside the Rhineland station building, for the last couple of years all I would see is the old ceiling lights, the slopeing at the edge of the station for the buckets to enter and the old exit and the old entrance balcony over the Kosher Mart ordering window.

On Sat. just as I was about to exit the park at closing time when out of luck I looked up to the old Skyride station and looked inside to see if I could see anything that I never saw before. Hanging over the old exit doorway was a sign saying EXIT. Just now a friend of mind who just got back from the park yesterday found another sign on the wall closer to the

bucket entrance and exit doorway saying also EXIT, but with an arrow pointing to the doorway.

I am wondering if anyone could tell me if this has been here when the ride was around or did they just put this up?

Here's a pictures of the station and thesign my friend took yesterday. I editted the view of the exit sign to get a better look of it.

Photo by HPCrazy at c-net.

Photo by HPCrazy at c-net.

If you're looking for some historical looks at Hersheypark, buy "Hersheypark: Sweetness of Success" by Charles Jacques. It's full of nice stories and a lot of historical photos. It's a very well put together book.

My husband heard recently that Charles Jacques has since died. I Hope thats not true. I always loved his books.

Does anybody remember that TV show from the 1970's that was taped on location from Hersheypark? The show was seen in many markets up and down the east coast, even on stations as far south as Virginia. I think it was called "Al's Showcase" or something like that

I remember one show they did where the host was on the sky ride and they filmed the entire journey. If tapes exist of this show it should be very interesting to see what the park look like back then.

On a similar note over the years I have heard that Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV 4 has in their vaults tapes of a show they did on location at Kennywood the day they opened Thunderbolt back in 1968.

I wonder if WPXI channel 11 has tapes of the wrestling shows they did at West View Park back in the 1960s in their vaults?

^^huh? What is your question?

Are are asking if HP put up an exit sign on the interior of a ride station years after the ride closed?