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Hershey Park | Wildcat's Revenge | RMC Wildcat | 2023

CrashCoaster

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
Well, it's finally official, Hershey Park is closing Wildcat for good on July 31st:-

https://twitter.com/x/status/1545407406334775296

Considering the rhetorical question in the post and the markers on the footers, it's a question of will it be RMC'd or will it be GCI'd? Personally, I'm leaning towards it being a full Titan rebuild in the style of an RMC by GCI with the new Infinity Flyer trains, as it would make sense to do the first one of these coasters on the first GCI as it pays homage.
 
About damn time! Hoping for a full GCI retrack like Ghostrider but anything would be better than leaving it as is.
 
I saw a rumour a few weeks ago that it was RMC, but I could be wrong... I'm predicting RMC here.
 
They’re definitely phrasing it as if it’s the end of Wildcat as we know it. A GhostRider-style do-over wouldn’t be enough to market it as a new ride, so a full on Titan track conversion I see as the minimum here.
 
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I’d put my bets at 90% RMC and 10% titan track GCI. I think given the proximity to the closure date of the coaster and the fact that Hershey is pretty much outright stating that they have an announcement for a conversion of some type up their sleeve, RMC’s reply is part of getting the hype train going for their conversion of this thing.
 
The potential of the Wildcat structure and current layout is amazing. I think we might see a non-traditional style RMC layout, which could potentially look similar to something like Medusa: Steel Coaster. I believe there is some land beyond the top of the lift hill which could allow RMC to extend the lift hill from around 90ft to around 170ft if they really think it is needed, however the most likely option for this coaster is a lift of around 130ftish and will probably take the inversion record for a hybrid coaster.
 
To just quickly quote my views from my recent trip:

So it was time for Wildcat. GCI's first coaster - a fact I'd forgotten at the time - does have a decent layout, and is filled with some neat moments. At the same time, it does give off vibes of 'Our first coaster', but you can see what they wanted to do, and how they've refined their coasters with newer models. A decent family-thrill ride for the park.
Click to expand...

So I'm not shedding any tears over its closure. At the same time, I hope that whatever does replace it ends up being like-for-like in the thrill department; I think the park are heavy on the out-and-out thrill rides, and light on quality in the family-thrill department.

A GCI Titan track makeover would be interesting to see. I guess RMC is the most likely option, but does veer into out-and-out thrill ride territory, despite their height restrictions. Definitely one to watch though.
 
Personally, I'm 70% leaning toward an RMC Hybrid conversion and 30% leaning toward a GCI Titan Track overhaul.

In favor of a Titan Track overhaul, this was GCI's first coaster, and would align with Hersheypark's tendency to add unique and/or record-breaking coasters (in this case, the world's first full Titan Track conversion). The Titan Track and Infinity Flyer layouts are capable of much stronger forces (negative-G airtime hills) and much more twisted elements (inversions) than the standard track and Millennium Flyer layouts, so Titan Track Wildcat could be just as thrilling as an RMC Wildcat.

However, the more I think about this announcement and all the signs/teasers, the more an RMC Hybrid conversion makes sense. The only doubt I have about an RMC conversion is that Hersheypark tends to be unique and/or record-breaking with their coasters, and due to the small size of Wildcat's structure, the only record I could see RMC Wildcat break is inversions (with 6+ inversions). The available land and structure is too small and the preexisting turn radii is too tight for a hyper hybrid conversion (ala Iron Gwazi or Steel Vengeance) - if Hersheypark wanted to add a hyper hybrid, both sides of Lightning Racer's structure would be significantly better suited for one.

Regardless, I'm really curious to see what's done with Wildcat. I'd love to see the world's first full Titan Track conversion, or the unique and wild things that RMC could do with Wildcat's structure.
 
Well, I’m pleased that I got in my first and only good ride on this in the back row a few months ago. It has served me, and now it may depart.

Or transform.
 
I’ll cast my vote to the Titan Track option. Honestly feel like it’s a 50-50 coin toss on which way Hershey would go, but the notion of doing a GCI-based treatment on their OG feels most poetically just.

I’m also reflecting on the phenomenal job GCI did re-profiling GhostRider – to be honest, I feel we may have hit the RMC treatment button a few too many times and to quickly, rather than going where the straightforward steel trap conversion while keeping the original layout.
 
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