dougdrummer

I remember almost throwing up on the Rotor way back in the day!

The monorail works well at Hersheypark, and when they first opened at Christmastime a few years back, admission was free and you paid for ride tickets. The monorail was always a big attraction. With a one-price admission, you are correct that a monorail would not directly bring in money. Unfortunately I think we now live in a society where the rides have to have some level of danger or excitement, and something timid like a monorail just doesn't fit that mold. Personally I think a park like this needs to have either a monorail or a train like Busch Gardens. Maybe that's because I love trains, or maybe because I'm old now (55). LOL

Interesting topic - I first attended GA in June 1979 as part of a senior trip. I lived up in NY State then, and it was a 2+ hour trip there. IIRC, we got there during the day but I remember being at the park until very late. I don't think we got home until after midnight. But I'm not sure it was part of any special Grad promotion though.

I'm sure the foundation for the parachutes goes pretty far down into the ground!

these aren't the droids you're looking for.....LOL

I travel 537 all the time and have never seen a junkyard, so it must not be visible from the road. My daughter worked there at one point so I'll ask her if she ever saw the junkyard on the way in to work.

We went on January 6th this year, and had a really good time. It was frigid temps, but we bundled up. We appreciated all the fireplace stations. They made a lot of improvements from the previous year. I found it interesting to read on this site that in the first year (1974), the park stayed open through December, mostly because they got such a late start to the season (opening July 1).

I rode this at Great Escape back around 2009, and loved it. I never got the opportunity to ride it at GA. There a similar ride a Knobels in central PA, called Flying Turns. The ride had quite a few problems related to ride smoothness over many years, and unfortunately I was there at a time they hadn't brought the coaster on line yet. As described in Wikipedia: Construction began in January 2006. In July 2007 the maintenance crew ran the first test car test runs which were completed successfully. Then in October 2007 the same crew ran the first powered complete test runs of the same test cars, and gave the roller coaster enthusiasts a tour during the Phoenix Phall Phunfest 2007. Later that month they began to run test runs of a five-car test train which will be the full length of the train. An initial delay was due to an issue with the roller coaster car's wheels. The wheels were shipped back to their manufacturer in California and the issue was corrected. However, the ride did not open by the end of the 2008 season due to the cars travelling too quickly for passenger comfort. According to Knoebels' website, the ride was to be opened during the 2009 season. The ride was re-tracked and profiled to accommodate new trains. In June 2011, Knoebels posted an update to their blog, stating "We've been testing the newest version of the Flying Turns ride vehicles and are VERY encouraged. There's still plenty of work to do but this is a very positive step in the right direction." They also posted to their Facebook page a video shot from a camera mounted on a prototype chassis. As of 26 May 2012, a section of track at the brake platform, as well as the brake platform itself, had been removed. As of 30 July 2012 the removed sections have been rebuilt to accommodate the newest trains that are being delivered. As of 21 August 2012 Knoebels said that they planned on beginning testing for the newest trains soon, and that they believed they finally figured out how to get the trains to run smoothly. On October 5, 2013, the ride officially opened to the public, though the ride actually began operating the previous evening on 4 October 2013. It operates three trains with three cars apiece, and each car accommodates one large rider or two small riders, with a weight limit of 400 pounds per car. One train is painted green, one is painted yellow and the third is painted mauve. A fourth train is planned.

Agree about the strobes. Interestingly I rode DKC in 2015 and then again in 2016, and I seemed to enjoy it much better the first time than the second time, when I thought it jerked me all over the place. The best part about the ride when you visit during winter is that you can thaw out because it is inside. LOL BTW - the opening video in the que area has to go - it is so lame it needs to be updated or just get rid of it.

I rode Skull during Fright Fest 2015 and then again during Winter 2016/2017. For some reason I enjoyed it much more the second time. Perhaps because I knew what to expect and how to handle the g-forces without needing a chiropractor afterwards. LOL

Unfortunately we live in an A.D.D. world where people have to be entertained or plugged in 24/7. Just playing music doesn't cut it any more - there has to be TV monitors playing all kinds of "entertainment" while people wait in lines.

I remember riding Lightning Loops in the spring of 1979. I could not believe how much the structure moved and swayed during the launch and ride phases. Standing on the platform it felt like there was an earthquake. Obviously the structure was designed to take that movement. My love of coasters was one of the reasons I went into the civil engineering field and have worked there since. I've worked on lots of bridge projects, but unfortunately never anything at an amusement park.

I need help clearing something up, hoping that I have not lost my mind or am making things up in my head. I distinctly remember, as a high school senior, taking a trip to GA and seeing the Garden of Marvels. I have always been a model train buff, so that is why this area of the park impressed me so much. But the problem is, the school trip I took there would have been in May/June 1979, which was my senior year. According to the info on this site, the Garden of Marvels was already dismantled for the 1979 season and converted into a mini-golf course. The change in the 1978 to 1979 park maps reflect that change to the park. So the question is, if the miniature village was already gone by 1979, why do I so vividly remember seeing it as a teen? So much so that I did a search and found this website! Is there any possibility at all that the changeover took place midway through the 1979 season, and perhaps the Garden of Marvel was still around in May/June? If not, I cannot explain why I have such distinct and vivid memories of this attraction. Someone help me!