amusementparkives

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Hersheypark Update | February 15, 2018

Hersheypark Update | February 15, 2018

Today’s Hersheypark update features news of an upcoming improvements and updates to Hersheypark over the next two seasons, as well as updates on the construction of the new Racer Corner rides being installed in The Boardwalk at Hersheypark for the 2018 season. Hersheypark Entrance Improvements and 2020 Attraction According to recent Dauphin County records, Hersheypark is working on two…

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Waagner-Biro | Double and Triple Wheels

This is a history of Waagner-Biro's double and triple wheels. Only a handful were ever manufactured by Waagner-Biro and sold by Intamin to parks.

This is a special article about the history of Waagner-Biro’s double and triple wheels. For more information about Giant Wheel at Hersheypark see here and here.  Waagner-Biro produced a new kind of Ferris Wheel in the 1970s through the 1980s that were twin or triplet wheels attached to a swivel bar to raise the wheel into the air. The first installation of a Waagner-Biro double wheel was in 1973…

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2017 in Review

Here is a look back at notable articles published in 2017!

With the year coming to a close, here is a look back at the top 10 articles published on The Amusement Parkives in the year. I’ve also included another list of some notable articles worth looking at, as well as the biographical profiles which were published earlier this year. The Top 10 The entrances of Hersheypark Miniature Train Company Monorail Track Relocation update The Opening of West View…

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Here's a video that I thought would be fun to watch.

Posted by vanalogue on YouTube, this is a look at the Pacific National Exhibition Midway in 1960. Merry Christmas to everyone! This video is from the midway of the 1960 Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, British Columbia. This is set to the music of La Boutique fantasque, or The Magic Toyshop. This was a stage show which…

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Miniature Railroad | 1910-1971

Miniature Railroad was Hersheypark's first in-park transportation ride.

The Miniature Railroad is a ride often confused with the Miniature Train, but in fact, these rides are not one in the same. Miniature Train operated in Hersheypark from 1952-1971, 1983-1996 (only during Christmas Candylane), and 1997-2014, while Miniature Railroad operated in Hersheypark from 1910-1971.  The Miniature Railroad (at times also called Miniature Trolley) was Hersheypark’s first…

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Hersheypark Update | December 13, 2017

Here is your Hersheypark Update for December 13, 2017!

Here is your Hersheypark Update for December 13, 2017. The surveying going on at the front of the park has quieted down, while construction continues in The Boardwalk continues. A lot of progress has been made on Breaker’s Edge Water Coaster. Christmas Candylane has gotten underway, and Hershey got some snow! The featured photo (which can be seen in social media posts) is courtesy of Lisa…

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Lightning Racer at Redondo Beach, CA | 1913 - 1923

Lightning Racer at Redondo Beach, CA | 1913 – 1923

Redondo Beach, California, operated a twin racing roller coaster called Lightning Racer, from May 1913 until October 1923. It was a twin, racing, out and back roller coaster, constructed at a cost of $100,000 ($2,472,586 in 2017 US dollars). The station included a $4000 organ ($98,903 in 2017 US dollars), and hundreds of lights and a number of flashing signs to represent lighting – based off the…

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Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who reads this website and my Facebook page. I really appreciate everyone who stops by and comments either here or on Facebook, shares what I write, or leaves a like. It helps out my website so much and I hope to continue writing for a long time to come. This has been a good year for the website. It has a much better name, and I was able to write a lot…

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Hersheypark takes home 4 Brass Ring awards

Congratulations to Hersheypark for winning 4 2017 Brass Ring awards!

Congratulations to Hersheypark for winning several 2017 Brass Ring awards, which were announced at the IAAPA convention in Orlando, Florida, on November 15. Hersheypark won two awards for BBLz, one for a show in the Music Box Theater and one for the best radio or streaming audio commercial.  Three of the categories were the Annual Attendance More than 1 Million except Best Theatrical Production,…

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Here is your Hersheypark Update for November 9, 2017. Hersheypark In The Dark occurred in October, while work for Sweet Lights got underway, and the park undertook the yearly tradition of setting up Christmas Candylane. More markers have appeared around the front of the park, while construction continues in The Boardwalk for the 2018 attractions. 

Hersheypark In The Dark

Last month featured the 20th season for the Hersheypark In The Dark event, which began in 1998. It originated as Creatures of the Night, an event at ZooAmerica which began in 1979. This event has continued again this year, making it the 38th season for Creatures of the Night. To learn more about the history of these events, click here.

For the last several seasons, Hersheypark has offered “dark” rides on roller coasters (rides with the lights turned off). This year, BBLz and Chick-Fil-A (on Fridays and Saturdays), both which opened in 2017, are open for Hersheypark In The Dark. The new Hershey Triple Tower is also open for Hersheypark In The Dark. It will be open during Hersheypark Christmas Candylane, as well.

Sweet Lights

Set up for Sweet Lights, an annual drive-through attraction that operates from November to January 1, is under way. Sweet Lights was first offered in 2003, making this the 15th season for the attraction.

Christmas Candylane

The reindeer arrived just a couple days in advance of the opening of the 2017 Hersheypark Christmas Candylane season.

Who’s ready for Hersheypark’s Christmas Candylane?

The Boardwalk: Racer Corner

Construction has continued in The Boardwalk for the 2018 attractions. Drillers have appeared on site to presumably dig footers for the new attractions. Some of the tubes for Whitecap Racer have been assembled and stored in Sandcastle Cove’s area.

The photos below are courtesy of Matthew Meckley.

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History

There have been three previous phases of construction for The Boardwalk at Hersheypark:

2007: The original Boardwalk opened, including four slides on Coastline Plunge.

2009: The Boardwalk SeaQuel opened, which replaced Canyon River Rapids.

2013: The third phase opened, which included finishing Coastline Plunge and adding Shoreline Sprayground.

2018 will mark the fourth phase of Boardwalk construction. If you want to see videos of what Whitecap Racer and Breakers Edge Water Coaster will look like, click here.

Whitecap Racer really fills in a lot of the unused space behind The Shore and Intercoastal Waterway. Breakers Edge Water Coaster utilizes the old Roller Soaker station.

Out Front

With Park Boulevard being rerouted in 2016, a segment of old Park Boulevard was abandoned that is adjacent the main entrance of Hersheypark. Since then, a large area of this land has been fenced off, and survey markers have appeared all over the vicinity – from the old pool area along old Park Boulevard all the way into Founders Way by Carrousel Circle.

Maps of markers in Hersheypark

More work has been done at the front of the park since September. Surveyors have been seen working on weekends in mid-September, and there have been new markers placed by companies including UGI. Orange markers, representing communications lines, have been placed behind the Ticketing Services building.

What this means for this area of what now is directly part of Hersheypark’s property remains unknown for the time being.

Take a look at the map below to see pictures provided by Matthew Meckley in the Disney Lovers at Hersheypark group on Facebook. One photo was also provided by W Geoffrey Miller who was at Hersheypark on July 10. It is a photo of surveyors doing sampling work.

This article is part of a series of Hersheypark Update articles which will be added when necessary. The updates to this area are pretty historically significant given that Hershey Park Pool, Starlight Ballroom, and Hershey Creamery used to be in this area. However, with the construction going on in The Boardwalk, in the area where Roller Soaker used to stand, I will also have updates on that area as necessary. Keep checking back for more! 

Here is the Hersheypark update for November 9, 2017! Here is your Hersheypark Update for November 9, 2017. Hersheypark In The Dark occurred in October, while work for Sweet Lights got underway, and the park undertook the yearly tradition of setting up Christmas Candylane.

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Sky Fun 1, Inc.

Sky Fun 1, Inc.

The SkyCoaster is an upcharge attraction ride at number of amusement parks in the United States, including Pennsylvania as well. The concept of the ride turned 25 this year, with the original company being founded in 1992. The ride was created by a company called Sky Fun 1, Inc., from Colorado. Kitchen & Bird Sky Fun 1, Incorporated was an amusement ride manufacturer based in Longmont, Colorado.…

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The featured image above is courtesy of Debra Brooks. The picture is from circa 1990. 

Hersheypark Balloonfest was an event held in October of every year between 1988 and 2002. This event featured approximately 50 hot air balloons that launched from a field adjacent to the parking lots of Hersheypark.

The final Balloonfest was held on October 27, 2002. It was held despite the construction of Giant Center; the building is located on the site where most of the hot-air balloons launched from in prior seasons.

2002 Hersheypark BalloonFest on the 2002 Hersheypark In The Dark map.

The event was typically held over multiple days and in some years even over two weekends. There many other events held alongside the launch of hot-air balloons. In 1998, for example, a new event was added to the BalloonFest schedule. Called OktoberSaloonfest, this was a microbrew sampling event. Food fare included German snacks and a full meal.

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Many arts and craft stands were also at BalloonFest, usually around 100 in total. Entry to BalloonFest was free, though events such as OktoberSaloonfest had a separate charge. These stands were reduced and eliminated in the last two seasons of the event.

According to Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County, Hersheypark BalloonFest was “a nationally acclaimed balloon festival, winning Balloon Life Magazine’s award for the best balloon event in the east for two years running [1997 and 1998].”

 To see more Throwback Thursday posts, click here. 

Hersheypark BalloonFest was an event held at Hershey Entertainment Complex from 1988-2002. The featured image above is courtesy of Debra Brooks. The picture is from circa 1990.  Hersheypark Balloonfest was an event held in October of every year between 1988 and 2002.

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Funny in the papers A Ben Schiff Wild Mouse was purchased by Kennywood Park in 1958.

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Haunted Harvest | 2004

Here is a look at Hersheypark's Haunted Harvest that occurred only one season, in 2004.

With various haunted attractions available within close distance of Hershey, Hersheypark didn’t try their hand at having a haunted attraction in Hersheypark. That changed in 2004 when park management decided to have one. This attraction was Haunted Harvest.  I want to take a moment to thank Roy J. Brashears for his help with this article. His input and images are great to help bring back memories…

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CTEC, Incorporated

Cable Transportation Engineering Company, Incorporated, (CTEC) was a chairlift manufacturing company formed in in 1977. Ballantyne and Leonard Mark Ballantyne and Jan Leonard were the co-founders of CTEC. Ballantyne lived in Sacramento, California – manufacturing for the company was based there. Mark Ballantyne received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and a…

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Hersheypark entrances | 1971-1972

Hersheypark entrances | 1971-1972

This is a look at the entrances of Hersheypark in 1971 and 1972, in the transition of Hersheypark being renovated into a theme park. The Park, gated Hersheypark became a gated park in 1971. This decision was made for two reasons. One was for security. The park had unfortunately been vandalized a number of times in the 1960s, and in one such case, the elephant on top of the Lost River was…

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History of Hersheypark In The Dark

Hersheypark In The Dark began as Creatures of the Night in 1979.

Hersheypark In The Dark is Hersheypark’s oldest shoulder season event. It was an event started two years after ZooAmerica opened. This is a look back at the history of this event.  Creatures of the Night (1980-present) Originally started as a one night event on October 31, 1980, Creatures of the Night, is an annual event which occurs during the month of October in ZooAmerica North American…