For months I was itching for a few more rides on Wildcat’s Revenge before the end of 2023. With it open for Hersheypark’s Christmas Candylane, I figured I’d wait and head up on a Monday in December since my workplace is closed on Mondays. Well, with Christmas falling on a Monday this year, that left only Monday, December 18 on the park’s Christmas Candylane schedule. My date was picked for me.
As the 18th approached, the possibility of rain and heavy winds was slated for Sunday. And boy did it ever rain! I kept my fingers crossed that it would let up by 5 p.m. on Monday when the park opened. For the most part, it did. Some wind gusts were still prevalent, which saw Candymonium closed. I haven’t had much luck with Candymonium being open during Candylane since it’s addition, so that didn’t bother me all too much. Still, we had a great evening, cramming in more than 20 rides over a four hour span. Ten of those rides came on Wildcat’s Revenge, hence the title.
Heading Up Early
Tagging along for this trip were my friends Jen and Ethan who visited the park with me back in August. Ethan also brought a friend of his to the park who hadn’t been in a few years. We went up early to get a bite to eat at The Chocolatier restaurant and then head over to Chocolate World to do some shopping and of course, ride the Hershey’s Chocolate Tour ride.
Once we were done, we took my 50 lbs. of chocolate back to the car and got in line to enter the park. Hey! Don’t judge. There was a deal for four bags of candy for $20 going on. I took advantage of it for a chocolate tray I wanted to put together to take to my cousin’s house for Christmas.
Wildcat's Revenge
With Candymonium closed we made our way back to Wildcat’s Revenge. There was no one in line, so we made our way straight to the lockers and then up the steps. A back row ride came first, followed by a front row ride. Things felt very slow on these two rides. That was to be expected with the temperature in the upper 40’s and being the first few trains of the day.
We rode Wildcat’s Revenge three times initially before heading over to Laff Trakk. We’d jump back on for a fourth ride before making our way to the other end of the park. Once finished there, we came back for our final six rides of the night, putting us at exactly 10 on the evening. For those last six rides, Wildcat’s Revenge was indeed running a bit faster. It still wasn’t like my summer rides, but again, the temperature will do that to a coaster. Nevertheless, all amazing rides – my first ones at night too.
I’m glad this coaster is part of the Christmas Candylane ride line up and I know what I’ll be doing at least once a year moving forward around Christmastime.
Cocoa Cruiser
Yes. Yes we rode Cocoa Cruiser. Don’t judge. There was no line and I joked with Jen that we should do it. She said why not, especially since we did Grover’s Alpine Express at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) back in October.
Reese's Cup Fusion
This was our longest wait of the night. I’d say about 15 minutes, which is unheard of any other time you visit Hersheypark. I put up 250,000 points, which is the highest score I can remember reaching. I seriously don’t know how anyone can reach the 800,000 listed on the scoring chart when leaving the ride, though.
Final Ride Counts
Claw (1)
Cocoa Cruiser (1)
Jolly Rancher Remix (1)
Laff Trakk (1)
Mix’d (1)
Music Express (1)
Pirate (1)
Reese’s Cup Fusion (1)
Skyview (1)
Sooperdooperlooper (1)
Wild Mouse (1)
Wildcat’s Revenge (10)
Laff Trakk (1)
Exhibit: Santa’s Reindeer (1)
Exhibit: Treeville (1)
A Great Final Park Trip for 2023
While we only had four hours inside the park, I couldn’t have had asked for a better evening. Jen and I really run through rides when we visit parks together. On this visit we averaged a ride every 10.9 minutes and that’s including bathroom stops, us breaking for Ethan not feeling well, walks through both the Santa’s Reindeer and Treeville exhibits, getting pretzels, and traversing back and forth across the park several times. I can only imagine how many rides on Wildcat’s Revenge we could have gotten had we just stayed there all night. I also wonder how many we could have gotten had we not had to walk back around after every ride. That seems to be the only drawback of the separate loading/unloading station set up. I’ll take it though because in the summer, it’s a massive plus.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a great New Year’s. I’m debating on whether or not to head to a park on New Year’s Day. I have a few options, but I’m not sure just yet. The last few years I’ve been at Kings Dominion marathoning Twisted Timbers for both New Year’s Eve (2021 into 2022) and on New Year’s Day (2023). This year, however, they’re closed on New Year’s Day, but are open on New Year’s Eve until 1 a.m. With BGW open on New Year’s Day, I’m pondering doing Kings Dominion Sunday and then BGW Monday. I’m not sure yet. I guess you’ll find out soon!
Hersheypark Photo Gallery - December 18, 2023
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CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
1 thought on “Hersheypark – Christmas “Catty” Land”
I had sooo much fun!!! Thanks for inviting me again!!! Looking forward to more coasters next season!!!
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