Ride Profile
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– or 18mph/29kph. Upon cresting the track’s peak, passengers plunge down an 85° descent and rush into the first of four high-speed, high-banked turns as they reach speeds in excess of 75mph. Riders feel the intensity of five zero-G airtime hills and transition from positive to negative gravity as they cross over the Comet. The ride then travels over Spring Creek, the body of water that was a park centrepiece when chocolate magnate Milton S Hershey opened the facility in 1907.
Stumpf has ridden Skyrush many times. “My favourite seats are the back outside seats which provide quite a thrill as you crest the first hill,” he reveals. “That quick climb up and over the hill is amazing.”
The 12th rollercoaster in Hershey and the third Intamin coaster in the park’s arsenal, Skyrush joins crowd favourites from the same manufacturer including Storm Runner, built in 2004, and Fahrenheit, from 2008. It delivers the same high- intensity thrills, even more so.
The rider experience is intensified as Skyrush interacts with Comet, a classic wooden out-and-back coaster that dates back to 1946, SooperdooperLooper, which opened in 1977 as the first steel looping coaster on the US east coast, and Great Bear, which debuted in 1998 as the first looping, inverted steel coaster in Pennsylvania.
Significant impact
“Skyrush will have a significant impact on the park in a number of ways,” explains Stumpf, “in attendance, guest flow within the park, on the other rides close to it, the food locations in the Hollow area, as well as the on the rest of the rides and areas of the park. A ride of this magnitude changes the entire feel and look of the park.”
Construction of Skyrush was even more of a challenge than the park expected. “The biggest challenge was because most of the ride is above a creek,” recalls Stumpf, “and we had historic levels of rain during the erection, which caused flooding. It was going to be a challenge to build Skyrush over the creek without heavy rain and flooding.” “We’ve worked with IntaRide on Storm Runner and
Fahrenheit, the last two coasters added to Hersheypark,” he continues. “There is a familiarity we’ve developed with them which is reassuring when building an attraction as complex as Skyrush. We asked them to give us a coaster like nothing else we had at the park; something that would be unlike anything else out there. Because Hersheypark is a family park, we wanted a ride that offered choices to the riders. The winged seats meet those specifications, and I can tell you our guests are enjoying it.”
hersheypark.com
Old and new
Hersheypark is well known for blending the past with the present. To accommodate Skyrush, management reclaimed about three acres of land that had been closed to the public since 1972. The land was the site of the park’s former Sunken Gardens. The area is now transformed not only by the new coaster, but also by a scenic path. The new area allows guests to reflect on the park’s history whilst watching riders on a state-of the-art coaster.
AUGUST 2012
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