pHScale

pHScale t1_jaf3ico wrote

Reply to comment by PIX3LY in Three Pennsylvania amusement parks named among best in the U.S. (Kennywood, Knoebels, and Hersheypark) by zorionek0

Wildcat was famously rough. Wooden megacoasters like that tend to have lots of maintenance and structural issues that impact longevity.

RMC, the firm behind Wildcat's Revenge, is well known for their wooden to hybrid coaster conversions, that use a good chunk of the structure from the previous ride. For some examples of exactly this happening, check out these coasters:

  • Iron Gwazi, Busch Gardens Tampa (formerly Gwazi, a GCI dueling coaster, similar to Lightning Racer at Hershey)

  • Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point (formerly Mean Streak)

  • Iron Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta Texas (formerly Rattler)

  • New Texas Giant, Six Flags Over Texas (formerly Texas Giant)

And plenty more.

But don't feel old. It's partly a trend running right now among amusement parks to get an RMC coaster, and partly correction for an old trend of huge wooden coasters that didn't last.

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pHScale t1_jaeyrd2 wrote

Reply to comment by RealLiveKindness in Three Pennsylvania amusement parks named among best in the U.S. (Kennywood, Knoebels, and Hersheypark) by zorionek0

Knoebels is literally old-school cool though, probably more than Kennywood. I like Kwood's historic rides, but that's literally everything at Knoebels. Their whole deal is refurbishing historic rides, or rides that would otherwise go SBNO. They have rides there that you can count on one hand how many exist in the country, or even the world. Sometimes the only remaining model is at Knoebels.

And Knoebels is free to enter, free to park. It runs on a ticket/wristband system. It totally feels like an old school theme park.

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pHScale t1_jaex8u2 wrote

Reply to comment by lumberj73 in Three Pennsylvania amusement parks named among best in the U.S. (Kennywood, Knoebels, and Hersheypark) by zorionek0

I think Hershey is more specifically trying to draw the same crowd as Cedar Point, not Disney. Compared to Cedar Point, Hershey has much more similar operating seasons, ride offerings, and some people (e.g. Pittsburghers) are easily within driving distance of either one. During the Coaster Wars of the 80's-'00s, Hershey was heavily involved, trying to keep up with Cedar Point. That's how it got everything from Lightning Racer to even Wildcat's Revenge opening later this year.

So think of it more like Cedar Point than Disney, and you'll probably find a fairer comparison.

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pHScale t1_jadnee8 wrote

Reply to comment by No-Setting9690 in Three Pennsylvania amusement parks named among best in the U.S. (Kennywood, Knoebels, and Hersheypark) by zorionek0

Well, what is it that you hate about amusement parks? If we know that, we can give you ideas for times to go that mitigate those problems.

For example, if wandering around in the heat is a problem, then we could tell you to visit around opening day of the season, or during Halloween or Christmas events the park night have. Or, if crowds are the problem, we can suggest going on weekdays. If price is the problem, we can suggest lower admission days or discounts (not to mention, Knoebels is free to enter, and works on a wristband/ticket system). You get the idea.

So what headaches are you trying to minimize?

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