Special Feature: Vintage Hersheypark

I figured since I things seem to be a little on the dull side with not alot of recent park news happening at the moment, I thought that now would be the time to share with you all with some scans of some old photos that I have from previous trips to the park beginning in 1995 and going up through 2000. Let's get started shall we:

CHRISTMAS CANDYLANE 1995:


The main entrance back when they actually outlined it with Christmas lights. I'm guessing as they began to expand further into the park, they recycled some of the lights as the main entrance gate is currently no longer outlined during Christmas Candylane.


Hmmm we didn't have Milton yet, but we had two gigantic toy soldiers dominating the entrance into Candylane.


HERSHEYPARK 1996:


I want some Dunkin Donuts! Oh wait....the Dunkin Donuts isn't there, nor will it be for another eleven seasons.


Remember Comet Hollow BEFORE Great Bear?


The first GCI woodie to ever debut in all of its splendor!


How about that big splash....an nothing else around it.


Let's take a ride on the Dry Gulch Railroad. Wait a second, we don't have an Intamin rising into the heavens about our peaceful train journey.....




Now let's take a drive around the park. Hmmm, I wonder where everything is? Wait, our beloved GCI woodie IS the only everything that exists....for right now.


HERSHEYPARK 1998:
Sure, a new constillation may have landed in Hershey, but let's take a look at some other things:


Walking back out to Midway.


Haven't seen a milennium flyer fly past me yet. Hmm...I guess we have to wait for two more seasons.


What's here now? How about an ENTIRE Boardwalk!




More of our beloved GCI woodie.


HERSHEYPARK 1999:
A county fair has set up shop within the park, bringing us five brand new rides.


And here you go, the Hersheypark Fair, that is!


I don't see those duelling lift hills back there yet.




Frog Hopper in its proper location.


Some Wild Mouse madness.






How about some 1999 aerials to bring back some memories.


HERSHEYPARK 2000:
Looks like some lightning and thunder are in the forecast for the new millennium.


Remember the old parking entrance? Well, there you go!


Look, no water play structure to obstruct the view.


Lightning Racer overview. For all of you CRR enthusiasts, you'll be happy to see that it's there and better than ever with the new "Canyon Pass" behind it.




And I leave you with two remembered rides that will never be forgotton - GIANT Wheel and Cyclops.

I'll be at the park this Sunday (2/6) and will have an off-season photo update to share with you all. For right now, enjoy this look back in time!

Truly an amazing update. I really enjoyed the photos. It's great to see what the park once looked like, and even better the way you posted it in succession. Those photos bring back memories! Too bad I never took any of my own back then.
Once again, great post!

Yeah this is a pretty great update. Now that I see the 5th picture down why on earth did they make the queue line so sprawling and extensive? My only other comment goes to that second picture, you can barly even knowtice where that is in Comet Hollow! They deffenatly need to plat more of those trees somewhere they're by far my favorite.

I always wondered about the queue for Wildcat myself, but that picture sort of tells you why. It seems like the entrance was a ways off the park path, so the queue had to connect it somehow, unlike with lets say Wild Mouse's queue, which ends right in front of the ride itself.
I also wonder what these queues looked like in their heyday. I've never seen a full LR or Wildcat line, or even Sidewinder. When they opened there were definitely lines, but with all the new additions to the park, the lines die down tremendously - which I'm not complaining about, of course - lol! The park was great with all the open fields out past Midway. I remember just sitting on the grass for over an hour relaxing from a long day at HP!

I also wonder what these queues looked like in their heyday. I've never seen a full LR or Wildcat line, or even Sidewinder.

The fullest I've seen these queues was Opening Day last year. LR had a 20 minute line to the bottom of the ramp, Wildcat to the queue switchbacks under the brake-run and Sidewinder with one of the switchbacks filled in the queue that no longer gets used anymore.
When you think about it, other than these rides (and Trailblazer), the other rides probably had their queue filled lately probably at least one time this season. The most notable had to be when Comet had it's queue go outside it's switchbacks and almost up to it's ride exit.

EDIT: Opps. Quote Fixed. Sorry about that!

^ Your quote may have been messed up..

But that is true, and I see it every time I visit. The farthest I've seen Comet go was one switchbacks length outside it's actual queue. Which reminds me, is the SkyView always a crowded ride? I know there's about 30 feet of a yellow marker for the queue, plus the single switchback for the ride, but the line always stretches across the main pathway whenever I see it. Was this recently fixed, or is it only a rare occurrence that the line is that long?

Fanatic wrote:^ Your quote may have been messed up..

But that is true, and I see it every time I visit. The farthest I've seen Comet go was one switchbacks length outside it's actual queue. Which reminds me, is the SkyView always a crowded ride? I know there's about 30 feet of a yellow marker for the queue, plus the single switchback for the ride, but the line always stretches across the main pathway whenever I see it. Was this recently fixed, or is it only a rare occurrence that the line is that long?

It can get long. I know a few years ago it was kind of common, but I only saw it like that once or twice this year. It usually has a 15 minute wait when it gets to the entrance. There is a bunch of empty path next to the queue that they could use to make a few more switchbacks.

That's why I figured they should do. I believe the visitors form the line at their own liberty, which is why it just sticks out, instead of switching back or going in a different direction. They should add something like those belt strap queue's that you see at banks and other stores.

On the queue topic:
About Wildcat, I've never seen the covered switchback portion with any sort of line in it. Sometimes the line may reach down the ramp to the station, but never into that little area. I believe there's a vending machine in there that gets limited use. Also, I find it the same for Great Bear, as the switchback area was only actually used once or twice when I rode it. Did they happen to remove the sprinkler heads? I thought someone on here mentioned that.
Lightning Racer's switchback area seems like a waste of space. I've never seen it used at all, even in the busiest of hours. They block it off with a garbage bin most of the time. I've never seen LR with a wait time over 10 minutes, even with a full station and ramps. I don't think those TV's have been used in a few years, as the last time they were on for me was around 2005 or so. Maybe they're on at different times of the day, I don't know.
RollerSoaker has a very deceiving queue. It makes it so close and yet so far.

When I was there on opening day last year they had some video that was played at the Hersheypark exhibit during the 100th Anniversery playing (an updated version of the Sweet Memories video I think?). I know Comet has a queue line TV, but I don't think I've saw it on before. Here's a fun fact, the old Sky Ride used to have a queue line TV at the Rhineland station.

This summer I saw:
-Wildcat's line fill the switchbacks and head towards Fun Slides.
-Lightning Racer extending 20 feet into its extra switchbacks.
-Lightning Racer's TVs working (2010 and 2009, I believe).
-Great Bear's switchbacks at least 2/3 filled.
-Pirat's line all the way past the exit of Dry Gulch Railroad.
-Trailblazer's station completely filled and to the stairs.
-Storm Runner's line nearly to the entrance, everything filled.
-Wild Mouse with all but maybe 3 of its switchbacks filled.

I don't think we see the lines at their longest because we know to avoid the Park on Saturdays.

Awesome Awesome Awesome photos! I also love the old Comet Hollow picture. Sigh..

Personally, I have waited in Great Bear, and Storm Runner's queue when they were just about to the entrance and also pouring out of the entrance into the midway. Didn't they expand Storm Runners queue after opening or something?

I remember Shipley Oil or York Hospital would always have a special event day before the park opened for the season and I vividly remember my first rides on Wildcat and Lightning Racer... all pre grass! I don't think Great Bear was open yet during those events. I miss those days. I know I have a ton of pictures from this time period back in PA.. I'll have to sort through them the next time I'm up there.

@The Storm Runner

What time during the summer did you visit? I normally go end of July-earl August. I have yet to see Wildcat be that crowded, I'm sure it would be a sight to see. I normally head to Midway around 6PM..so maybe the crowds do die down around that time.
The LR one I would like to see! I remember back in '01 or '03 I waited on a line that ended at the entrance, but never into the extra switchbacks.
The TV's were working then, but not recently.
I've once waited 2 hours for Great Bear in the early morning, but I haven't seen it that crowded since.
I find Trailblazer to be exceptionally crowded at certain points of the day, with all the switchbacks filled and it past the stairs and to the path once. It's actually a popular ride, I guess since there are so many families.
I've seen Sidewinder use up 4 switchbacks plus the ramp, but never filled. I heard they used to have a vendor back there in the early seasons, I wonder what that was like! I believe the wait for Sidewinder is 20 minutes from the bottom of the ramp, +for a front seat. One switchback tacks on about 15 minutes, so it's a decent wait if you get a long line.

-About HPCrazy's post - do you have any pre-Great Bear Minetown photos? I would love to see what it looked like then!

Yes, they were donated to this site back when it was Hersheypark Crazy and Chris didn't join up yet. I'll post them as a special feature sometime.

Ok, would be nice to see, especially since that part of the park doesn't get a whole lot of spotlight most of the time. Must be a view without GB sitting up there!

Whoever uploaded these pics thank you very much. Ive always wanted to see what HP looked like in 1995 Great

I was browsing the old old Hersheypark Crazy website that Matt owned and I figured that I could dig those old photos out and re-post them.

I guess I'll post them in sections given that there's quite a few. To start out, here are photos from his Hersheypark in the Dark 2004 Collection:

Kissing Tower doesn't look any different, but then again, it's only change was in 2007 which was temporary.


This was the last year that Frog Hopper operated in Midway America.


I'm guessing that this building was built a year ahead of time for Terbulence, but since it ended up being cancelled, it remained a Get-the-Picture Booth still to today.


Quiz time. Where was this picture taken from?


Still don't know?


The answer was Giant Wheel. Next Question. What was it called in October?


If you guessed Giant Squeal, you were correct. October 2004 was it's final operating time.


I personally only rode this my first and last time in the summer of 2004. I considered it much better than the Ferris Wheel in Midway and was easily visable outside the park.


It was removed after Christmas Candylane. The reason was because it was hard locating replacement parts.


Giant Wheel offered great views of Comet Hollow, then-Carrousel Circle, and the Great Bear.


Immelmann.... Yum.


Great Bear hasn't changed except for the restraint colors.


Haunted Harvest: Hersheypark's attempt at competing with Dorney Park. It only lasted in 2004 and the park realized that scaring people with monsters wasn't their thing. It's a real shame though because I could've pictured them having each catering area having a different haunt attraction.


By this time, the renovated parking lot was a couple of years old.


Western Chute Out won't be torn down for another 3 years.


The Main Gate Entrance sign lasted until 2007 when it was replaced with the 100-Year Anniversery sign.


meh. I think the current sign is better.


Comet's first drop was easily seen from Giant Wheel.


The statue may be there, but this area was still called Carrousel Circle at this time.


Carrousel Cone is a thing of the past.


Wildcat Catering was where Haunted Harvest thrived.


Looks like a game stall was where RECC's entrance is today. It was also where First Aid was.

That's all for now. I plan on posting two albums per week until the season begins (or until I run out of albums! lol). I should be able to post another one this coming Friday so be on the look-out!
Enjoy!

Just a minor nitpick, but Frog Hopper was in that Midway America spot through the 2005 season.

Also, you are correct about the Get The Picture booth. It was going to be the photo spot for Turbulence. They built it a year earlier to test this concept for the park, and it stayed that way once Turbulence was cancelled.

Deffenatly more great pictures! I can remember these times better and it brings back great memorys.

My family always rode the giant wheel when we went up. That was always a good ride

Two other things you messed up on:

1) That design on the Main Entrance Gate did last until the end of that year. 2004 was its final year. 2005/06 had another sign which featured the pinwheel design on it:



Then in 2007, the sign in the picture was replaced with the temporary "100 Years" sign and then with the permanent current sign in 2008.

2) Haunted Harvest wasn't just at Wildcat Catering. It started there and also went through Tidal Force and Canyon River Catering to where the exit was (where you enter to see the reindeer at Christmas). I never did it but that's how I heard how it was set up.

Nice photos. I remember always passing Giant Wheel since it was in the beginning of the parl, and I never actually rode it. With those views, I wish I did.
If I had known it's fate earlier, I definitely would have ridden it multiple times!