sarahsmile
Roller Poster
One of the many things that I’m massively passionate about in this world besides theme parks is eating- particularly sweets and the sugar rush that accompanies them. I have to be honest and say that Hersheypark is and always will be one of those safe havens for me where I can shamelessly indulge in rollercoasters AND candy, which makes it one of the very best. Scott and I spent the day there yesterday and got to ride B&M’s newest hypercoaster for the first time, which I’ll get into later. But without further ado, here’s some insight into our impromptu, day-and-a-half journey from Florida to Pennsylvania to do just that... and eat a lot of sugar, obviously.
The new entrance to the park is almost too classy for a park themed around chocolate, but I think I love it more for that. I’m still waiting for them to read my suggestion about changing the front fountain from water to melted chocolate—it’s only been seven years, there might still be a chance, right? The bright colors and whimsical nature of the Chocolatetown entrance are a huge improvement. Candymonium gracing the skyline is all the wow-factor it needed, though. I was also pleased to learn that I’m a Jolly Rancher based on their height measurement system, only by three inches, but I’ll take it!
Coasters in the time of COVID. It’s an odd time to have a hobby that involves constantly being surrounded by other humans; to walk into a theme park and see the Reese man in what can only be described as a miniature chocolate prison for greet-less meetings. Nevertheless, the perks of a nearly line-less park for a coaster enthusiast sort of outweigh the general shift in ambience. Naturally, you’d expect the longest line at the park to be the ride closest to the entrance; and in this case, that also happened to be the newest ride. Amongst all the 5-15 minute waits for every other ride, we endured the 70 minute socially clustered line for Candymonium right off the bat because.. duh?
To leave a little air of mystery, and because you can’t give an honest, well-backed opinion after only one ride, I’ll save our obviously unbiased opinions about the ride for later. But to sum it up in one word for now—delicious.
Skyrush, or as enthusiasts have so eloquently, and aptly renamed it, Thighcrush was a first for Scott and not for me for a change, which was exciting! I was lucky enough to ride it back in 2013 on a double-header trip to Hersheypark and Cedar Point with my high school marching band (bring on the nerd jokes). I can’t say that I even slightly recalled how wild and mildly unsettling (in a good way) this ride was! What makes the experience even more compelling is the fact that there are two immensely different ones in the same row of the same ride: the two floorless side seats and the raised middle seats. I have to say I was personally more of a fan of the middle, as it was smoother and easier on my might-as-well-be-an-old-lady back; but, if you’re in it for the full, reckless experience, let your legs dangle. For a ride of that caliber to be a walk-on, need I say more? Put on that mask and GO!
Aside from the two “big ones” for us, we managed to get on every major available coaster in the park at our leisure. Both Storm Runner and Schwarzkopf’s Sooper Dooper Looper (which utterly crushed Scott) were down; however, that didn’t stop him from repeating the name over.... and over... and over... and over again. The overall feel of the park was comfortable—I say comfortable because many of the theme parks we’ve tested out since the onset of the pandemic have felt eerie for the lack of human presence and energy. On the flip side, some have felt so crammed that the face shields and announcements that surely say “unprecedented” more than any other word in the English language are the only reminders that the world has changed. While the social distancing in lines were often so blurred that I wanted to push someone those five extra feet back, the rest of the park was the perfect balance of normal theme park ambience and safety.
For my fellow passionate eaters who are reading, I embrace you and here’s something fun to know if you don’t already—Hersheypark food, not that bad! Unfortunately, the new restaurant that we were hoping to try was postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic—which was sad, but not nearly as crushing as the news about Iron Gwazi, if you believe it. We tried out their smokehouse and enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and mac n’ cheese which, truthfully, may not have been the best decision had there not been a nice breeze drowning out the heat. More often than not, amusement park food is overpriced and to put it gently, underwhelming, but I give props to Hersheypark for sprinkling a little deliciousness into their entrees and not just their desserts. Dollywood and Epcot still reign as my favorite theme parks to indulge at, but I digress.
Bringing it back to the reason we’re all here, let’s talk some about Candymonium. Aside from growing up at the Jersey shore boardwalks and piers, my “big girl” rollercoaster journey started back in Six Flags Great Adventure on a middle school jazz band trip (cooler than marching band?) and Nitro was one of the first rides I ever loved. B&M hypercoasters have always felt special to me for how they accomplish so much by doing so little. Truly, their airtime hills resemble my childhood sketches of rollercoasters. The first thing I love about Candymonium is its name; it sounds like an idea someone suggested for a good laugh that was actually chosen, and it’s brilliant. We were lucky enough to spend the day with our amazing friend and my mom; and both of them, having no clue about the ride or what t
o expect, figured the color scheme of the ride would look like a candy cane. Cute, right?
In keeping with Scott and my usual theme of “the good, the bad, and the ugly”, I’ll address two out of the three, as we have nothing ugly to say about this ride. The very first thing I suggest that anyone should do on their first go-around is to appreciate how nice the lap bar feels. It’s almost silky—I don’t think I’ve ever been so lucky as to get on a B&M hypercoaster when it was this new. Is that too much? Anyway, try it.
We conquered both the very back and very front rows and came to the conclusion, as with nearly every coaster of its kind, that the back reigns superior. Si
mple physics puts the back of the ride flying down the entirety of the first drop which, to me, is one of the highlights. The second hill rivals Mako in SeaWorld for one of our favorite hills on any ride, and we honestly can’t make up our minds. And for lack of a better term, the “curvy air time hill” on the ride was personally my favorite moment. As far as “bad” goes, and I’m sure every single one of you that has taken this for a spin can agree, the second set of trim brakes were, in a word, disappointing. I described it as a “mood killer”. With all the hype Scott and I created for ourselves about this ride, and the fact that it was at least 50% of our motivation to take a round-trip flight to Philadelphia from Orlando in the span of a day and a half, Candymonium lived up to expectations. Never take a brand new, smooth B&M hypercoaster for granted.
To wrap this up, here a few take-aways from Hersheypark that someone out there might enjoy.
⁃ save room for sugar, it’s better than the food⁃ ride Skyrush twice, pay attention to the first drop—what’s up with that?⁃ be as obnoxious as possible to your friends on Lightning Racer, it makes for a way better memory
⁃ look around the queue of Candymonium, you might not realize how many candies are actually Hershey brand
⁃ visit the Reese man in jail, he needs company
⁃ don’t stick your hands too far out and hit a tree going 70 mph (I’m looking at you, Scott)
⁃ bring ibuprofen if you plan on riding all of the wooden coasters in a row, or if you have a friend that can’t stop saying “Sooper Dooper Looper”
Hersheypark, thank you for a sweet day. I say that because I mean it, not just because it’s punny. If you love this park as much as we do, have any questions, or want to see more of these, we’re all ears. Any guesses on where we’re going next?
Until next time goons,
your friend and fellow chocolate… I mean coaster enthusiast, Sarah.
pictured: me, mommy, & Gabby
photos by @Scottingtonville
The new entrance to the park is almost too classy for a park themed around chocolate, but I think I love it more for that. I’m still waiting for them to read my suggestion about changing the front fountain from water to melted chocolate—it’s only been seven years, there might still be a chance, right? The bright colors and whimsical nature of the Chocolatetown entrance are a huge improvement. Candymonium gracing the skyline is all the wow-factor it needed, though. I was also pleased to learn that I’m a Jolly Rancher based on their height measurement system, only by three inches, but I’ll take it!
Coasters in the time of COVID. It’s an odd time to have a hobby that involves constantly being surrounded by other humans; to walk into a theme park and see the Reese man in what can only be described as a miniature chocolate prison for greet-less meetings. Nevertheless, the perks of a nearly line-less park for a coaster enthusiast sort of outweigh the general shift in ambience. Naturally, you’d expect the longest line at the park to be the ride closest to the entrance; and in this case, that also happened to be the newest ride. Amongst all the 5-15 minute waits for every other ride, we endured the 70 minute socially clustered line for Candymonium right off the bat because.. duh?
To leave a little air of mystery, and because you can’t give an honest, well-backed opinion after only one ride, I’ll save our obviously unbiased opinions about the ride for later. But to sum it up in one word for now—delicious.
Skyrush, or as enthusiasts have so eloquently, and aptly renamed it, Thighcrush was a first for Scott and not for me for a change, which was exciting! I was lucky enough to ride it back in 2013 on a double-header trip to Hersheypark and Cedar Point with my high school marching band (bring on the nerd jokes). I can’t say that I even slightly recalled how wild and mildly unsettling (in a good way) this ride was! What makes the experience even more compelling is the fact that there are two immensely different ones in the same row of the same ride: the two floorless side seats and the raised middle seats. I have to say I was personally more of a fan of the middle, as it was smoother and easier on my might-as-well-be-an-old-lady back; but, if you’re in it for the full, reckless experience, let your legs dangle. For a ride of that caliber to be a walk-on, need I say more? Put on that mask and GO!Aside from the two “big ones” for us, we managed to get on every major available coaster in the park at our leisure. Both Storm Runner and Schwarzkopf’s Sooper Dooper Looper (which utterly crushed Scott) were down; however, that didn’t stop him from repeating the name over.... and over... and over... and over again. The overall feel of the park was comfortable—I say comfortable because many of the theme parks we’ve tested out since the onset of the pandemic have felt eerie for the lack of human presence and energy. On the flip side, some have felt so crammed that the face shields and announcements that surely say “unprecedented” more than any other word in the English language are the only reminders that the world has changed. While the social distancing in lines were often so blurred that I wanted to push someone those five extra feet back, the rest of the park was the perfect balance of normal theme park ambience and safety.
For my fellow passionate eaters who are reading, I embrace you and here’s something fun to know if you don’t already—Hersheypark food, not that bad! Unfortunately, the new restaurant that we were hoping to try was postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic—which was sad, but not nearly as crushing as the news about Iron Gwazi, if you believe it. We tried out their smokehouse and enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and mac n’ cheese which, truthfully, may not have been the best decision had there not been a nice breeze drowning out the heat. More often than not, amusement park food is overpriced and to put it gently, underwhelming, but I give props to Hersheypark for sprinkling a little deliciousness into their entrees and not just their desserts. Dollywood and Epcot still reign as my favorite theme parks to indulge at, but I digress.
Bringing it back to the reason we’re all here, let’s talk some about Candymonium. Aside from growing up at the Jersey shore boardwalks and piers, my “big girl” rollercoaster journey started back in Six Flags Great Adventure on a middle school jazz band trip (cooler than marching band?) and Nitro was one of the first rides I ever loved. B&M hypercoasters have always felt special to me for how they accomplish so much by doing so little. Truly, their airtime hills resemble my childhood sketches of rollercoasters. The first thing I love about Candymonium is its name; it sounds like an idea someone suggested for a good laugh that was actually chosen, and it’s brilliant. We were lucky enough to spend the day with our amazing friend and my mom; and both of them, having no clue about the ride or what t
o expect, figured the color scheme of the ride would look like a candy cane. Cute, right?In keeping with Scott and my usual theme of “the good, the bad, and the ugly”, I’ll address two out of the three, as we have nothing ugly to say about this ride. The very first thing I suggest that anyone should do on their first go-around is to appreciate how nice the lap bar feels. It’s almost silky—I don’t think I’ve ever been so lucky as to get on a B&M hypercoaster when it was this new. Is that too much? Anyway, try it.
We conquered both the very back and very front rows and came to the conclusion, as with nearly every coaster of its kind, that the back reigns superior. Si
mple physics puts the back of the ride flying down the entirety of the first drop which, to me, is one of the highlights. The second hill rivals Mako in SeaWorld for one of our favorite hills on any ride, and we honestly can’t make up our minds. And for lack of a better term, the “curvy air time hill” on the ride was personally my favorite moment. As far as “bad” goes, and I’m sure every single one of you that has taken this for a spin can agree, the second set of trim brakes were, in a word, disappointing. I described it as a “mood killer”. With all the hype Scott and I created for ourselves about this ride, and the fact that it was at least 50% of our motivation to take a round-trip flight to Philadelphia from Orlando in the span of a day and a half, Candymonium lived up to expectations. Never take a brand new, smooth B&M hypercoaster for granted.To wrap this up, here a few take-aways from Hersheypark that someone out there might enjoy.
⁃ save room for sugar, it’s better than the food⁃ ride Skyrush twice, pay attention to the first drop—what’s up with that?⁃ be as obnoxious as possible to your friends on Lightning Racer, it makes for a way better memory
⁃ look around the queue of Candymonium, you might not realize how many candies are actually Hershey brand
⁃ visit the Reese man in jail, he needs company
⁃ don’t stick your hands too far out and hit a tree going 70 mph (I’m looking at you, Scott)
⁃ bring ibuprofen if you plan on riding all of the wooden coasters in a row, or if you have a friend that can’t stop saying “Sooper Dooper Looper”
Hersheypark, thank you for a sweet day. I say that because I mean it, not just because it’s punny. If you love this park as much as we do, have any questions, or want to see more of these, we’re all ears. Any guesses on where we’re going next?
Until next time goons,
your friend and fellow chocolate… I mean coaster enthusiast, Sarah.
pictured: me, mommy, & Gabby
photos by @Scottingtonville
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