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SeanC

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Hi all. Taking my first trip to Hershey in 23 years in a couple weeks and am hoping to hit up everything new as well as knoebels for the first time ever.

Heard Skyrush is great but the restraints can be painful. Any tips for how to ride it and where the best seat(s) are?

Also will be traveling with my wife and sister in law -- the former is not a coaster fan and the latter is but can't do inversions. Any recommendations of good attractions would be appreciated. thanks!
 
HeartlineCoaster said:
I found that if you can get the curve of the bar into your hip joint then you're onto a winner, all about increasing the surface area/points of contact.
Click to expand...
This! Try and move forward a bit so more of your upper thigh is under the restraint so there's more in contact with the restraint. Changed it from being painful to tolerable for me. Also, the wing seats are best, at least for the first drop.

Coal cracker, the log flume at Hershey is great fun. It has a little airtime "hump" at the bottom of the drop. For non-inverting rides the duelling woodie, Lightning Racer is a must-do! There's also the zoo and chocolate factory (which might be extra).

Knoebels has lots of interesting vintage attractions (like the carousel with the ring toss) as well as nice food and lots of places to chill out so non-coaster riders should be fine there too. They only have one coaster with inversions so avoiding those shouldn't be too much of a problem either.
 
Agree with the last two posts, but, putting the same thing in different words, I think, I’d say try to scoot forward so that the restraint comes down as close to your hip as possible — NOT across the middle of the thigh.

The more I learned this, the better it got, but sometimes I couldn’t seem to manage it
and it still came down across the middle of the thigh. When that happened, it felt as if the coaster were trying to break my legs, giving me deep tissue bruising that hurt for a full three days afterward.

Also, devote a full day — before opening to closing — at Knoebels, giving yourself a chance to really soak it all up in a leisurely way, stroll around, try every ride, try different foods, people watch, etc. And don’t miss Black Diamond — it’s tucked away in a corner and some people totally overlook it.

(P.S. You can enter Knoebels long before the park officially opens. Walk to the back — to the International Food Court — and have a shockingly inexpensive breakfast.)
 
SeanC said:
Hi all. Taking my first trip to Hershey in 23 years in a couple weeks and am hoping to hit up everything new as well as knoebels for the first time ever.

Heard Skyrush is great but the restraints can be painful. Any tips for how to ride it and where the best seat(s) are?

Also will be traveling with my wife and sister in law -- the former is not a coaster fan and the latter is but can't do inversions. Any recommendations of good attractions would be appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
I personally love Skyrush to death, but I know plenty of folks that hate it. As for how to ride it, the only thing I can say is try not to get stapled? Obviously you don't want too much room (you really feel those -2G's), but the one ride that I found Skyrush pretty painful on was when I got stapled. My favorite seats are the back wings, but if you want to avoid potential pain as much as possible, closer to the front's your best bet.

I would recommend Comet at Hersheypark for your wife and sister-in-law. It's really enjoyable, classic, pretty smooth and doesn't have any huge drops or fast paced, crazy moments. The chocolate factory (free to experience) is worth stopping by right after you exit Hersheypark, it's a nice place to cool off and ride the cute Hershey dark ride.

As for Knoebels, it's my favorite park I've ever been to. It's extremely charming and quirky, with lots of oddball rides that are definitely worth your time. The prices are really reasonable, from a ride on any of their big coasters costing just $3 a pop (every other ride is even cheaper), to the street-priced but surprisingly good food. Phoenix is a truly legendary coaster, and Impulse and Twister are great coasters too. Knoebels' Haunted Mansion dark ride is really strange, but a must-do, as is the skyride that goes up the side of a mountain (with fantastic views over the rest of the park) and Flying Turns.

Hershey and Knoebels are both really enjoyable parks not just for us enthusiasts, and I'm glad to be headed back there soon too, albeit in late June for CoasterCon 2021. I hope you enjoy yourself!
 
Kw6sTheater said:
I personally love Skyrush to death, but I know plenty of folks that hate it. As for how to ride it, the only thing I can say is try not to get stapled? Obviously you don't want too much room (you really feel those -2G's), but the one ride that I found Skyrush pretty painful on was when I got stapled. My favorite seats are the back wings, but if you want to avoid potential pain as much as possible, closer to the front's your best bet.

I would recommend Comet at Hersheypark for your wife and sister-in-law. It's really enjoyable, classic, pretty smooth and doesn't have any huge drops or fast paced, crazy moments. The chocolate factory (free to experience) is worth stopping by right after you exit Hersheypark, it's a nice place to cool off and ride the cute Hershey dark ride.

As for Knoebels, it's my favorite park I've ever been to. It's extremely charming and quirky, with lots of oddball rides that are definitely worth your time. The prices are really reasonable, from a ride on any of their big coasters costing just $3 a pop (every other ride is even cheaper), to the street-priced but surprisingly good food. Phoenix is a truly legendary coaster, and Impulse and Twister are great coasters too. Knoebels' Haunted Mansion dark ride is really strange, but a must-do, as is the skyride that goes up the side of a mountain (with fantastic views over the rest of the park) and Flying Turns.

Hershey and Knoebels are both really enjoyable parks not just for us enthusiasts, and I'm glad to be headed back there soon too, albeit in late June for CoasterCon 2021. I hope you enjoy yourself!
Click to expand...
helpful! thank you.
 
SilverArrow said:
This! Try and move forward a bit so more of your upper thigh is under the restraint so there's more in contact with the restraint. Changed it from being painful to tolerable for me. Also, the wing seats are best, at least for the first drop.

Coal cracker, the log flume at Hershey is great fun. It has a little airtime "hump" at the bottom of the drop. For non-inverting rides the duelling woodie, Lightning Racer is a must-do! There's also the zoo and chocolate factory (which might be extra).

Knoebels has lots of interesting vintage attractions (like the carousel with the ring toss) as well as nice food and lots of places to chill out so non-coaster riders should be fine there too. They only have one coaster with inversions so avoiding those shouldn't be too much of a problem either.
Click to expand...
thanks for this. does pushing the bar toward the hip increase the likelihood of stapling?
 
SeanC said:
thanks for this. does pushing the bar toward the hip increase the likelihood of stapling?
Click to expand...
Not sure, probably depends on the op but the bar pushes down on you during the ride so there's not really any chance of getting a gap, it's just a case of what percentage of the total squash you start the ride with. 😂
 
MestnyiGeroi said:
Agree with the last two posts, but, putting the same thing in different words, I think, I’d say try to scoot forward so that the restraint comes down as close to your hip as possible — NOT across the middle of the thigh.

The more I learned this, the better it got, but sometimes I couldn’t seem to manage it
and it still came down across the middle of the thigh. When that happened, it felt as if the coaster were trying to break my legs, giving me deep tissue bruising that hurt for a full three days afterward.

Also, devote a full day — before opening to closing — at Knoebels, giving yourself a chance to really soak it all up in a leisurely way, stroll around, try every ride, try different foods, people watch, etc. And don’t miss Black Diamond — it’s tucked away in a corner and some people totally overlook it.

(P.S. You can enter Knoebels long before the park officially opens. Walk to the back — to the International Food Court — and have a shockingly inexpensive breakfast.)
Click to expand...
Thanks all for the great recommendations! Had a blast...

After 3 rides on Candymonium and 2 on Skyrush, I was ready to declare the former surprisingly more intense. Then I sat in the back row left wing seat on Skyrush. I don't think I ever have been tossed in the opposite direction of the way a train was turning ever... let alone consistently over the course of one ride. That rivals x2 as the most out of control experience I've ever had on a roller coaster and it was glorious.

Knoebels was great but since it was raining there was a bunch that was closed: Black Diamond, flying turns, most food stands. Having said that, Phoenix back row in the rain might be the most fun I've had on a roller coaster in a long time. The airtime on that ride even with empty trains is insane. I'm sure the buzz bars had a lot to do with it but the design was conducive to it too. Only wish it was longer.

Psyched to visit Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom for the first time next weekend too!
 
Just got back from my first time at HersheyPark. Skyrush might be the most dangerous feeling roller coaster I've ever ridden. Those seats offer such little support. The restraints pin your thighs.... but THATS IT. The bottom and top of your body are totally exposed and free to move. I needed a more supportive seat in the shoulder area at the very least. I've ridden 84 coasters now, and its easily the most unsafe I've ever felt. I've ridden all manufacturers, but the seats on that are unique, and in a bad way. I sat left wing, 3rd to back row. I really feel like the ride would be improved if the rider felt safer. I could not imagine riding it hands up.
 
codeman94 said:
and its easily the most unsafe I've ever felt.
Click to expand...
And that's why I love it!

I've managed to keep my hands up, so long as I curl my legs/feet underneath the seat over the airtime hills. Once you get over that, it's incredible.

So is Skyrush open again? Thought it was down for a while due to a significant maintenance issue.
 
Hutch said:
And that's why I love it!

I've managed to keep my hands up, so long as I curl my legs/feet underneath the seat over the airtime hills. Once you get over that, it's incredible.

So is Skyrush open again? Thought it was down for a while due to a significant maintenance issue.
Click to expand...

I believe so, for about a couple of weeks now.
 
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