This might have been one of the coldest days that I have ever had at an amusement park. It rivals my visit to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) from a few years ago during their Pin Palooza event. That day I traveled alone, but this day, I had several We Were Inverted Crew members with me – Jen and Eric. Eric also brought his wife, Sherry. The four of us knew we were going to suffer and had no idea what rides would even be open, but we were going to go regardless. Plus, Jen had one heck of a Christmas present coming her way.
Jen's Surprise that Didn't Go Exactly to Plan
In the days leading up to this trip I decided that I wanted to do something special for Jen. She loves visiting Hersheypark. It, along with Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), are two of her favorite parks. Well, I wanted to make sure she got to visit one of them whenever she wanted. Hershey made the most sense with it being only 1.5 hours away. She had no idea and I had a plan to surprise her going into the park.
When we got out of the car I told Jen I had emailed her the free ticket for her entry from my pass. What I actually sent was a sappy email telling her I wanted her to have her own pass for Christmas and enjoy herself at the park as much as she wants in 2025. Naturally, this didn’t go as planned, even though it was so simple.
At first Jen didn’t even look at her email. I had to insist. When she finally did, she said she didn’t get anything from me. So I resent. Still, nothing. Resent again. Nothing. That’s when Jen said that I can just show them my phone. I was at a loss. I didn’t want to just come out and say I bought you a pass, but it was getting to that point. We were at the entrance plaza. That’s when I just said we had to go guest services because there seemed to be an issue. As we approached the window, however, I told her she was getting a pass and the email was supposed to say all that with the voucher she needed to use once at the park.
Jen teared up and hit me, naturally. It didn’t go to plan, but it was okay. She still got her present and was so happy. It covered the rest of 2024 as well as all of 2025, so technically this would be her first visit with her own pass. One that turned out to be very limited due to the weather, but still a good day with good friends.
Laff Trakk
The lone coaster we were able to ride was Laff Trakk. Every other coaster was closed due to the frigid temperatures. Still, at least we were able to get on one.
I have always enjoyed riding Laff Trakk. I’ve ridden a couple of other coasters of this model, but this one has always been the best of the bunch. The theming and props make it stand out. The only drawback is the long, slow-moving lines. Thankfully they weren’t too long this time since no one was at the park. I’m guessing everyone else said it was too cold?
Reese's Cupfusion
Hey, another indoor ride! You best bet we were making use of these. All of the outdoor rides left us with red faces from the cold air. And just like Laff Trakk, the normally long waits for this ride were non-existent. Guess we picked a good day to ride these two indoor rides. The waits for them are usually abysmal.
Frontier Flyers
I feel like the only times I ride Frontier Flyers is during Christmas Candylane. I enjoy these rides, but man… When it’s cold, it hurts your face! Still, I ride Frontier Flyers during Candylane because I’m an amusement park nerd. It’s what we do. I will say, however, it was after this ride that we all said we were good to go for the day. It was just too uncomfortable to ride anything with lots of motion. My face was stinging as we went around and around and I’m sure everyone else’s was too.
Final Ride Counts
Carrousel (1)
Claw (1)
Frontier Flyers (1)
Laff Trakk (1)
Music Express (1)
Reese’s Cupfusion (1)
No Wildcat's Revenge
I know Jen was super excited to get some more rides on Wildcat’s Revenge before the end of the year. When we saw the forecast in the days leading up to this trip, we wondered if it would even open. I figured Candymonium and some of the others would close. I wasn’t sure about Wildcat’s Revenge though. We rode it in the cold and even rain during past events. On this trip, however, it wasn’t meant to be. Poor Jen!
I guess she’ll just have to put that pass to use in 2025 and get in all the rides she wants on her favorite steel coaster.
Hersheypark Photo Gallery - December 23, 2024
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Jen
Commander
New Credit(s): n/a
Eric
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): n/a