Ethan
Strata Poster
Looks like I'm out of the loop on this one, what plans are these? Sounds interesting...
Hersheypark | Chocolatetown | 2019/2020 Park Expansion
- Thread starter Antinos
- Start date
Looks like I'm out of the loop on this one, what plans are these? Sounds interesting...
Matt N
CF Legend
But the park already has a hyper, so why would they go for a B&M hyper? Not complaining, Mako is outstanding, but it seems like a strange decision. Unless the B&M that was submitted for Skyrush wasn't a hyper...
Intricks
Strata Poster
Back when Skyrush was not yet fully announced as the Intamin airtime monster it is today, Hershey openly talked about some of the competitors that had placed bids. Mack had proposed a spinner that would have actually had an inversion and was located up near the Kissing Tower (with rumors of it encircling the tower itself at one stage of the ride). Vekoma had proposed a project at another location within the park (I believe this would have been located around where Laff Track and their water park is, but i cant really remember if the vekomas areas was openly talked about in thqt interview, or was just rumored for that area) and B&M had proposed a hyper that would have been in/around the current location of Skyrush.
That has a lot of people scratching their heads as well; however, people are guessing that the B&M hyper would be more targetted as a more "family-oriented" hyper (read: typical B&M floater with the standard, hilly, out and back layout).
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Matt N
CF Legend
I don't see how a B&M hyper is any more family-oriented than Skyrush, though. B&M floater is still amazing, in my opinion! Or could B&M potentially be doing what they did with the invert and making a kiddie hyper that's only about 50-100ft tall? That would be cool.
You haven't ridden Skyrush, have you?
It's comparable in height and general design (four-across seats, no inversions, lap bars, airtime), but they're very different beasts. Skyrush is insanely powerful, and unlike any B&M, let alone any B&M hyper. The problem with Skyrush, in many respects, is that you wouldn't know that until you hit that first drop. It's very unassuming. I could definitely see families trying to ride thinking it was tame, only to be met with all the madness.
I should clarify, I do like B&M hypers, but Skyrush is nothing like them!
Matt N
CF Legend
You would certainly be correct there! I haven't ever been to Hersheypark or ridden Skyrush in my life!You haven't ridden Skyrush, have you?
It's comparable in height and general design (four-across seats, no inversions, lap bars, airtime), but they're very different beasts. Skyrush is insanely powerful, and unlike any B&M, let alone any B&M hyper. The problem with Skyrush, in many respects, is that you wouldn't know that until you hit that first drop. It's very unassuming. I could definitely see families trying to ride thinking it was tame, only to be met with all the madness.
I should clarify, I do like B&M hypers, but Skyrush is nothing like them!
I suppose a B&M hyper would offer a different kind of experience to Skyrush, as B&M hypers are said to have more sustained, floaty pops of air (which Mako most certainly does!), whereas Intamin hypers like Skyrush are said to have the shorter, snappier pops of air. From my experience, I prefer floater airtime, which I know is an uncommon opinion around these parts. However, I am debating whether my experience of ejector airtime is proper ejector as such.
Anyway, on an on-topic note... I don't know, something about them building a 2nd hyper sounds a bit fishy to me. Unless it was to be a giga coaster, then it would be no different to Carowinds building Intimidator before Fury 325, for example, as a giga coaster is in a different height category to a hyper. But I can see something else fitting better, personally, as good as a B&M hyper would be.
EDIT: Although I suppose they built two GCIs...
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And therein lies the problem, I think. It's clear that Skyrush rides very differently from a B&M Hyper, particularly those on the tamer side of the spectrum, but how do you sell it as different? Two tall coasters with steep drops and tall hills would look pretty much the same to the casual observer, it isn't easy to determine at a glance which of them is more forceful (maybe it would be easy if you were told to look specifically for it, but how many would?). After Skyrush, most families would look at the B&M and think "Oh help, they got another one!" instead of taking it as a less intense version.
Matt N
CF Legend
I just thought of a reason they could be going for another hyper; is Skyrush a hugely popular ride at Hersheypark, if you've visited? I was only thinking; maybe they're considering another hyper to ease the burden on Skyrush. I know many parks did that with log flumes in the early days of the ride type, and Hershey have done it with GCIs before, so it's plausible. To most visitors, I reckon it would be a case of "Oh cool, Hersheypark got another Skyrush!" as opposed to a case of "Oh god, not another Skyrush!"
Crazycoaster
Giga Poster
Skyrush doesn't exactly have tall hills though? The reason it's such an insane ride is because its hills are still ridiculously close to the ground when compared to the drop. You would certainly see the difference in a B&M with big camelback hills, as it would concentrate on the hills, rather than the turns and low to the ground profile that Skyrush has. I doubt anyone who has no knowledge of coasters would even associate the two together. B&M Hypers are big and showy (Look at how Shambhala dominates the skyline), Skyrush really doesn't all that much.
EpochEmu
Mega Poster
For the public, taller is scarier. They'd think a b&m hyper would be crazier than Skyrush.
Matt N
CF Legend
I mean, two hypers is always great, but something about it seems a bit strange to me... all a matter of opinion, though. And again, Hershey did buy two GCI woodies, so it wouldn't surprise me at all.
Intricks
Strata Poster
So a bit of a correction on my part - While Hersheypark has a height restriction due to Township, they can appeal to go beyond the 200ft height (as I believe they did with Skyrush as isnt it techincally 218ft or something?). So while this means they could potentially build a giga, Derry Township might not allow it to go up that high (my friend who lives their believes that they would allow up to 350ft, but he is certain they wouldnt approve of anything beyond 300), so we could be looking, if this is really going to be another Hyper coaster, at something between the 230 and 270ft range in height, which would be reason enough for them to go with another Hyper.
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SilverArrow
Certified Ride Geek
How can you compete with skyrush though?? (ok comfy restraints but yeah) This might be nice though. Hershey has such a good line up already so it's got high standards to meet!
Better trains, higher lift (300-ish ft?), different pacing, emphasis on longer airtimes...
The question isn't really how to compete, but how to differentiate itself from skyrush. And there is many ways to do it. Cedar Fair proved it as they have been putting two very different hyper-coasters in several of their parks.