After two fun-filled workplace trips to Knoebels in June and July I asked everyone if they’d like to head up to Hersheypark for one last trip for the summer of 2023. School will be starting back up soon and I could tell people had an itch to do something together before it does. I was planning on going to the park regardless, so I asked if everyone else wanted to go too. I had about 20 people say yes, so we picked Monday, August 14, 2023.
I let everyone figure out what they wanted to do and who they wanted to do it with for the day. I know riding coasters non-stop isn’t for everyone. A place like Hersheypark has so much to do and I think that is what had so many people wanting to go. They could enjoy The Boardwalk (water park), ZooAmerica, an abundance of flat rides, and the nearby Hershey’s Chocolate World.
Several Groups Enjoying the Park
Once everyone made it to the park, there were three main groups doing their thing. Even those groups splintered at times. With that being said, I’m keeping it simple and just listing what I rode in the Final Ride Count box. It would be too hard to list everyone. Plus, I don’t even know what everyone else did, to be honest.
While James did attend this trip, he was there with his girlfriend, Kelly, and their children. They focused on kids activities so he was not able to ride Candymonium or Wildcat’s Revenge. For now both credits still elude him. Maybe I can get him out for Christmas Candylane as both rides should be running, weather permitting.
The group I ran with for most of the day included Eric, his wife Sherry, our coworker Ethan, and my friend Jen. While Ethan did leave us for a few rides, the only thing he missed out on was Candymonium due to a late storm passing through the region.
Wildcat's Revenge
When Eric and Sherry entered the park, they made their way straight to Wildcat’s Revenge. I told them to wait for us being we had arrived an hour earlier and decided to grab a few rides waiting for them.
There wasn’t much of a line, even with people backed into the first area of the bullpen. This ride’s separate unloading/loading stations and locker system keeps its queue moving. We couldn’t have waited more than 15-20 minutes tops.
Once again, this ride impressed! We started off in the back of the train for our first ride and then came back around for rides in the front. While the yank over the drop and out of the station is unmatched in the back, I’m still liking the front for the remainder of the ride.
Eric, Jen, and Ethan all loved the ride too. As for Sherry, this is what she had to say while coming back into the station. “I don’t know if I liked that or not.”
She might be the first person I’ve heard claim to not enjoy the ride. Oddly enough, she does enjoy Skyrush. To each their own. Maybe we can get her back on it again in a future visit to see if she changes her mind.
Candymonium
After eating lunch Eric saw that the wait for Candymonium was listed at 15 minutes on the park’s app. Never one to believe wait times, I was skeptical. Thankfully it was wrong and the ride was a total walk on. We rode twice, back-to-back, with the worst wait being for a single train.
Speaking of waiting, it was great to see the ride staff pumping out trains this day. Candymonium frequently has all three trains stacked. I figured it is due to its short nature, but it looks like they can run three more efficiently. During our two rides the staff was moving quickly and had each train off and running in no time. As a matter of fact, I noticed the lift hill start out slow and then gain speed because we were out so early on our second ride. Can’t say I’ve every experienced that on Candymonium before.
Great Bear
We rode Great Bear a total of four times this trip. We rode it early while waiting for Eric and Sherry. Hours later we returned so they could also ride it. We’d hit it two more times to close out the day while we waited to see if they would reopen Skyrush or Candymonium before the park closed.
Like all my visits in 2023, Great Bear felt like it was running fast again. I thought it might just be me, but I’ve heard other people claim the same thing this year. I’m not sure if something was changed on the operational side, but if you haven’t rode Great Bear in a while, give it a try and see what you think.
Final Ride Counts
Candymonium (2)
Coal Cracker (2)
Comet (1)
Fahrenheit (1)
Giant Wheel (2)
Great Bear (4)
Lightning Racer: Thunder (1)
Skyrush (2)
Storm Runner (1)
Wildcat’s Revenge (2)
Focused on Rides, Not Photos
I apologize for my lack of photos from this trip. I pondered bringing my new camera along to grab more amazing shots throughout the park. What kept me from doing so was not wanting to slow down the members of my group. Jen hadn’t been to the park in years and I wanted everyone to have the maximum amount of time to enjoy the rides.
I’ll try to get back out to the park again soon with my camera and see what I can get. With so many photos of all the park’s rides already, I figured I could focus on my friends and all the awesome rides and settle for some cellphone shots. That being said, I still did manage some good shots.
Hersheypark Photo Gallery - August 14, 2023
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
James
Admiral
New Credit(s): n/a
Eric
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): Wildcat's Revenge
