Hersheypark: Rough Coasters (Which is the worst and what should be done?)

After visiting the park on Friday I have found Sidewinder and Wildcat to be worse than they were a year or two ago.
Sidewinder has always been known to be a headache, but usually for me it take me two rides to get one. This time only one ride did the trick. While the restraints do have some padding on the sides, they aren't soft enough to coushin the blow when going through the cobra loop. the loop isn't extremely bad, but it does rattle a little, but the final brakes do jerk you forward violently.

What could be done to fix this? Last year the park did try out a new axel system for the cars, but I don't think it helped the ride at all as far as smoothness goes. Plus there seems to be a 1/4 inch gap where the bottom wheels don't make contact with the track.It does seem that ridership maybe dropping, but it does make me wonder if the park could buy those new Vekoma trains to use. But with the ride being in the park for 19 years, maybe it would be better off in the scrap heap and provide space for a new family or flat ride.

Wildcat was considered to be a top 10 coaster for many enthusiests (for some it still is), but after many years the ride has got rough with the PTC trains eventually being replaced with GCI's. So did it make the ride better? I guess yeah, but after my ride on Friday, it's just as bad as Sidewinder. The first drop was good, but the rest of the ride was just rattling and roughness with being slammed into the curves and bounced around like a basketball. Let me also mention that the brakes going over the queue kept making an awful screeching sound like a dying dog. Even the GP thinks it's rough after hearing some of the comments after the ride.

I'd hate to say remove ride since it was just built 14 years ago, but the ride needs something more than just new trains and new rails added to the track. I think adding new wood to the track would make the ride smoother and hopefully a top 10 coaster again. But right now, to me it's the worst coaster I've been on.

While it doesn't deal with roughness, I found that the restraints for Fahrenheit and Storm Runner aren't that friendly to people with a certain height.

Your thoughts?

I enjoyed my ride on Wildcat in October.

I hate Sidewinder. Remove it and add another Boardwalk Slide tower, with the stairs & slides going over the railroad tracks.

Something also needs to be done with SDL's breaks.

The only complaints about HP's coasters that I have are Wildcat being a little rough, but the experience has improved with the Millennium Flyers, and sooperdooperLooper's breaks packing a punch. Other than that, I really have no other complaints.

Sidewinder doesn't count, since I don't ride it with too many complaints on its roughness.

For me, Sidewinder is fine if you keep your head back. The cobra roll hurts me a bit since my head sticks out of the ride a bit. Other than that, it's a nice coaster to be in the park. If it was to be replaced, I don't want it to be by another water park attraction, but maybe a new coaster or a thrill ride flat or two.

Wildcat has always been a rough ride, and that's something for me that makes it great. It can be rough at points, but no coaster is perfect. It's unique.
The brakes are horrible and should be replaced, though.

The restraints on Fahrenheit aren't too friendly for me either, but Stormrunner is a little bit better.

I dont have any complaints about the coasters other than wildcat being a little shaky and a little rough,but that has improved since the new trains came on.

I'd call Wildcat more than a little rough. It's painful. It feels like my brain is rattling let alone the rest of me. Until last year when I decided to skip Wildcat, I had ridden it each year since it opened despite swearing I'd never ride again each time. When each new vacation came I figured I'd give it another chance, and I would usually ride alone because everyone else in my family hated it. I thought the new trains would help, but it's still too painful for me. It's a shame because it's not that old, and it should be great. If it's going to stay in it's current condition, it's also a shame it takes up so much space for so little enjoyment compared to many of the other coasters at HP that offer lots of enjoyment and make much better use of their space (sharing that space with other rides and buildings).

Wildcat I doubt is going anywhere soon. I enjoy like it and it fits nicely back in the Midway.

I think it is Sidewinders time to go. There are very few people that like it anymore and it takes up what is most valuable to HP, space. I think they should slow down on the Boardwalk for a little. If they took out Sidewinder they would need something to fill that void. The park is low on flats and thats what they need. I think a drop tower, either Intamin or S&S, would fit really nice in the park. There is also another possibility I thought of after looking at an aerial view. I almost think there is enough room to put a drop tower and a slide complex there. First of all that path should be taken out since Canyon Pass is no longer existant. That leaves even more room for two rides that don't take up much space. The slides could exit/enter on the side of the Shore and the drop tower on the Storm Runner side. This would be an epic addition that would add a ride HP doesn't have that has a lot of -Gs and be relatively cheap.

Wildcat was terrible today.

ChiefRedskin89 wrote:Wildcat I doubt is going anywhere soon. I enjoy like it and it fits nicely back in the Midway.

I think it is Sidewinders time to go. There are very few people that like it anymore and it takes up what is most valuable to HP, space. I think they should slow down on the Boardwalk for a little. If they took out Sidewinder they would need something to fill that void. The park is low on flats and thats what they need. I think a drop tower, either Intamin or S&S, would fit really nice in the park. There is also another possibility I thought of after looking at an aerial view. I almost think there is enough room to put a drop tower and a slide complex there. First of all that path should be taken out since Canyon Pass is no longer existant. That leaves even more room for two rides that don't take up much space. The slides could exit/enter on the side of the Shore and the drop tower on the Storm Runner side. This would be an epic addition that would add a ride HP doesn't have that has a lot of -Gs and be relatively cheap.

What you said is exactly what I think. I'm sick of how people downgrade Wildcat. I think the experience has improved with the Millennium Flyers, I can tell the difference. The coaster itself is the centerpiece of Midway. It's way more popular than Sidewinder (even on non-busy days, it attracts more people even if you don't have to wait long). And Sidewinder just beats people up badly. I've heard too many complaints on sore necks and headaches with it (including my father who had a bad neck after riding it and this was back in 1996), versus Wildcat. Frontier has Trailblazer, Storm Runner and Fahrenheit which all get my vote any day over Sidewinder. Like what ChiefRedskin mentioned, that is prime real estate for something else. They can easily put in two flats there and remove that path that used to go over to what was Canyon Pass. That option or another compact coaster (but Frontier has the other three that I mentioned that are way better).

That's my two-cents. You can say what you want about Wildcat, but again, IMO it's better than Sidewinder.

Wildcat is definately a hit or miss ride and you've obviously hit it on good days. The ride was very smooth when I rode it in October and I loved it, but when I rode it today, it was horribly rough. Many people were coming back holding their heads and necks and some even yelling to people in line to get out of line and not to waste their time.

tatertot3710 wrote:Wildcat was terrible today.

Wildcat is great everyday. I don't even know why, but I really like the ride. Instead of removing rides like some people above were saying, I think that the park should focus on expanding and adding new rides without removing other rides.

This past weekend during my Springtime In The Park trip, I was able to ride all 10 rollercoasters which were open, besides Roller Soaker, which obviously was not.

In my opinion, here are the top 10. thoughts?

1) Great Bear
2) Fahrenheit
3) Storm Runner
4) Super Dooper Looper
5) Wildcat
6) Wild Mouse
7) Comet
Sidewinder (smiley face is actually an 8... ha)
9) Lightning Racer
10) Trailblazer

Great Bear is amazing. Way ahead of it's "HersheyPark" time. Fahrenheit is great just for it's one main drop. Comet I have rode more than any other, so maybe that's why I place it so low. It's usually the busiest at the park however, so obviously people disagree with me. Or maybe it's just because it's the first rollercoaster that you come to in the park?

Super Dooper Looper has THE BEST loop, in my opinion, in the ENTIRE PARK. there isn't a close second.

If any ride were to go to make room, take Trailblazer. I wouldn't miss it. And Lightning Racer?? ehhhhh.

I would agree about wild cat. I remember it was alot worse when they had the old trains,it has indeed improved since then

I'm one to argue about Lightning Racer. Should be higher for reasons talked about before, but it's your list and there's no need to change it if you're happy : P
Everything else seems to be in an order I would put it.

If any ride were to go to make room, take Trailblazer. I wouldn't miss it. And Lightning Racer?? ehhhhh.

Trailblazer is Hershey's closest answer to a kiddie coaster and while I haven't ridden it in the past year or two, it is a pretty smooth ride. The park did fix that turn before the brake run (it would really jerk you sideways) and is a great family ride.

But taking Sidewinder out and replacing it with a Vekoma RollerSkater would be better than a massive headache!

There are plenty of compact coaster models that could be put into Sidewinder's footprint. Unless they would put a couple of flats there.

I agree with Ccron10 about Trailblazer. I find it to be a smooth ride and manage to get a ride in every season. I'll probably be riding it in June to get some on-ride footage with my digital camcorder.

Although I don't have any suggestions yet for what types or rides could be put in their places, I'm going to think crazy and say that they should remove both Trailblazer and Sidewinder. They can put a new kiddie coaster where Sidewinder is and they have more room with Trailblazer's footprint rather than Sidewinders to put some flats, a new coaster, etc..

It's pointless to take out Traiblazer. The way it's been built into the terrain and layout of Pioneer Frontier makes taking it out useless. Good luck finding a better coaster that fits the theme and can fit in the area of Blazer's station and helix, cause that's about as much room as you're looking at.

For all who didn't like Wildcat, what time of the day did you ride it? I've found it's really quite smooth in the morning (like 9:50...), but it gradually gets less smooth as the day goes on. I think it also depends on the weight of the train. More people, faster, the train shakes around more. I guess I've just been lucky, for I absolutely love the Wildcat.