Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread

Glad to see construction coming along despite the recent flooding of the park.

The only time I can ever recall LR's overflow being used was when the ride first opened. I haven't seen it used since then. It's a nice piece of real estate that could definitely be used for a new flat.

I thought the same thing about the flat.....or drop tower of some sort. I usually avoid the park in peak season anyhow, but I have never been more than a 1/3 of the way down the ramp from the station on any visit, mostly a train or 2 wait.

Awesome pictures! Hersheypark will always remain one of my top parks.

AMEN! I think I might actually rank it #1 overall for quality, performance, and atmosphere.

Yeah, I think the longest I've waited for LR was to the small kink in the last ramp up to the station. And that's only when they're running one train per side, or blocking off the five middle rows of each train even though there are enough people in the station. Hershey could definitely use a drop tower, or at least a brand new flat, though. For sure.

It's really uncommon to see any line for LR except for the very busiest of days. I think it's just a combination of being in the far corner of the park, and being a monster in terms of how many guests it can cycle.

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Frank O'Connell, General Manager of the Hersheypark Entertainment Complex. Those of us who knew Frank professionally recognized that he possessed the wonderful qualities of wisdom, strength, intelligence and compassion. Those traits were matched by Frank's deep commitment to family, friends and community.

 

A longtime member of the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts family, Frank first joined our company in 1978. He worked in a number of positions throughout his tenure, including his long-held leadership position as GM of the Hersheypark Entertainment Complex. He was most recently promoted to GM of Attractions and Entertainment in 2010.

 

An inspirational leader to those he worked with, Frank will certainly be remembered for his love of and dedication to the Hersheypark Entertainment Complex. He often said how blessed he felt to work with such outstanding individuals, day in and day out.

 

A loss like this is felt on so many different levels; Frank was a husband, father, family member, friend and coworker. The qualities that he brought to us as both a person and a professional will be sorely missed by everyone in the Hershey family.

 

Please keep Frank's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Source: Hershey Park's FB

Sad News indeed. Hershey Park is by far my favorite park.

This is sad- it was under Frank's leadership that HP rose so brilliantly to be a bright and shining star of the theme park universe, and he will be missed. He knew how to run a park, and run a park right.

Damn.

Wow, such a long time working in the park too. He leaves a fantastic legacy in one of the best parks on the east coast.

This is very terrible to hear. I recently saw O'Connell two or three weeks ago right before I was about to start my shift. He seemed perfectly normal and didn't look like he was ill.

He has helped Hersheypark over the last 10 years grow into what it is today. We have seen Roller Soaker, The Claw, Frontier Flyers, Founder's Circle, a new Music Box Theatre, Storm Runner, Reese's Extreme Cup Challenge, Fahrenheit, but most importantly The Boardwalk, the Seaquel, and Skyrush added when he was GM. He has played a very big role in turning Hershey from just a one-day destination to a multi-day family vacation destination with a lot to offer. He will be missed.

This was definitely a shocker. My thoughts and prayers goes out to Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, as well as Frank's family on this terrible loss.

Sad news, How old was he?

Before I begin, here is my silent moment to remember the passing of Frank O'Connell.

Now I want to write about last Saturday when my friend and I went up to Hersheypark for their Hersheypark in the Dark!. Because we arrived at around 11:30 and the park didn't opened up until two, we hung around Chocolate World, took the Chocolate Tour, saw the 3-D Adventure Show, and looked around until the park opened.

Talk about the crowds (It was CROWD-DED!!!). In all, we only got to ride ten rides and saw one show (The Screaming Mummies - it was a great show), plus we had dinner at the Wurstburg Grill ( And I thank it all to the wonderful deal I found online in which you can get admission to the park, plus a meal for only $38!!! You cannot beat that, especially since my friend loved sausages). Despite seeing the construction crews working hard to repair some of the restrooms that were damaged during the recent flood, the whole park operated and appeared like the flood never happened.

But what did happen that day happened on the Fahrenhite and I'm glad we got to ride it before the ride got stuck, leaving a few hapless, unlucky riders stranded on the lift hill. The line for Lighting Racer was the longest I've ever seen during the years I've been to the park, and despite that they were only running one set of trains, we still managed to get on within fifteen minutes. The coaster with the longest wait time had to be the Sidewinder due to the fact that the train had four sections taped off. The rides we rode were The Comet, The Great Bear, The Sportscars, Fahrenhite, Showtime - The Screaming Mummies, Lighting Racer, The Slide, The Wildcat, Dinnertime and trip to my car to put some stuff away, Storm Runner, The Sidewinder, and my friend rode The Claw ( Because he's skinny and can fit within the restraints and I cannot) as I rode the Pirate.

Despite the huge crowds and the low number of rides, we still managed to have a great day. We also did our Halloween game we call "Costume Spotting" in which we spot a costume and put them into several categories. The category that had the most were the superheroes, followed by the spookies, with video game characters into third place. In last place ( and this was a surprise!) we only spotted two characters from Star Wars as they were beaten by three babies dressed as jack o'laterns! If there were more Jedi Knights roaming throughout the park, then WHERE WERE YOU? You all got out numbered by babies being wheeled in their baby strollers dressed like jack o'laterns!

Well, I think I wrote enought: somebody is getting impatient with me.

"You got that right, mister. By the way, did you see anyone at the park dressed as a pillow?"

I think I did, but I put them down as spooks. I thought they were ghosts.

"Ghosts? How can anyone mistaken a pillow for a ghost? That is so sad."

^You do know that your posts are hard to read when you use all those colors. It breaks up the flow of what you are writing and draws your eyes to far ahead and you miss the content.

^ Well, I do apologize to anyone who finds my posts hard to read just because I like to use a lot of colors whenever I submit a post. I also apologize that I tend to write long posts while others just submit a line of two. And I also apologize that I don't use acronyms because I find that distracting whenever I read a post and someone uses an acronym rather than spelling out the full name ( for example, they would use "KD" instead of "Kings Dominion"). Half of the time, I have a hard time figuring out what they are writing about?

Since I'm on this thread once more, I noticed that the Tilt-a-Whirl ride has been taken out (it probably was removed so they could have an entrance to SkyRush), so will this ride be relocated to another area of the park, or is it gone for good?

"I too would like to make an apology that palmerleeberry should stop typing all those long posts and join me in bed. Gee whiz, am I the only one who sleeps around here?"

Tilt-A-Whirl will re-open at the current spot of Tiny Tracks kiddie train ride in Founder's Circle beginning in the spring. From what I've heard, Tiny Tracks may be moved to the location of Tiny Timbers, which would then be retired. I'm not sure how reliable the info about Tiny Timbers being removed currently is but I'm just referring from what I do know.

^^ I like your funny multi-colored posts Palmerleeberry

A big construction update has been posted to Keystone Thrills:

http://keystonethrills.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/hersheypark-skyrush-update-47-10-16-10-20-11/

This week's track theme is the top of the lift.

So many footers have been done.

The 2nd lift hill footer is ready for concrete.

But what's this for???

Here's an approximate map on what footers are done, being worked on, and are being dug.

Utilities, I presume.

^^ I have to agree with Synshine: that area is probably reserve for utilities. As for the rest of the area, it looks like a mess, but that is always the case whenever a new ride is being built. It may not look pretty now, but just wait until opening day ( not to mention the weeks, months, and seasons that will follow after it ), then that area will look SUPERDUPER!!!

One final note: thanks you jzoole for liking my multi-color post, so this one's for you:

S K Y R U S H - - - 2 0 1 2

HERSHEYPARK USA!!!

"Oh wow, I wish he was good for sleeping with me just like he is typing in code all those multi-color fonts. He has to get tired sometimes."

Awesome Palmerleeberry! All that color makes me even more excited for Skyrush!!

Is Hersheypark in the Dark nice and crowded this year? I'll be there on Sunday, so I'm hoping that it isn't too bad - I've been lucky in years past (or I just never go on a Saturday!) so hopefully it'll be fine!

Doesn't look to promising for HPITD this holiday weekend!!!!!!

http://times-news.com/latest_news/x783645711/Heavy-snowfall-to-cover-much-of-Northeast

^The temperature is supposed to be around 40 midday tomorrow, so let's hope that the snow centers around there and doesn't stick too much. I'd hate to have my annual trip to HPITD cancelled!

They announced an a hour ago that they'll be closed today (Oct 29th) due to the inclement weather. Yuck.

The Park is open today, But, no coasters will be operating.