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Ride Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
was a very smooth installation with top notch ride. It is not too high or too fast and it is smooth as
support throughout.” silk. The consistently full queue lines are proof of
‘Sixty seconds in
"Hersheypark asked for an exciting new coaster that.”
the thrill zone’
with a wide variety of unique elements," recalls Fahrenheit is located adjacent to The Boardwalk
IntaRide president Sandor Kernacs. “The most at Hersheypark, which opened last year, a tribute to
In a move reminiscent of
challenging part was to design and fabricate the the legendary beaches and boardwalks of the
Gerstlauer’s Euro Fighter
coaster to enhance the appearance of the selected Northeast United States. Yet in keeping with the
coasters, Fahrenheit positions
part of the park, where it replaces a water ride park’s philosophy of offering something for every
riders on their backs as they
alongside a catering area.” family member, a second new ride has also been
climb the first hill and then
Though O’Connell describes the ride as “a great introduced.
offers them an adrenaline-
fit for our broad age demographic,” he has yet to The Howler, by Wisdom Industries, is a Tornado
pumping, 90-degree ascent to
try it himself. He had some minor surgery early this attraction that allows riders to spin their cars to
the summit of a 121ft lift hill.
year that has prevented him from being able to ride create their own ride experience. It has eight four-
As the cars crest the hill, riders
certain attractions. "But I can assure you," he says, passenger, sphere-shaped cars that rotate counter-
lean forward and see no track
"the moment the doctor gives me the all clear, I will clockwise from the centre. As the rotation reaches
visible directly below before
be straight on there. The public reaction has 10 rpm, the ride lifts 7ft into the air at a 20-degree
plummeting down a wild 97-
certainly been incredible. They absolute love the angle. The ride is located adjacent to the Rodeo
degree first drop.
ride in Hersheypark’s Pioneer Frontier area.
The ride boasts the steepest
“Fahrenheit and The Howler will obviously
drop of any coaster in the
increase our overall capacity and further strengthen
United States. At the bottom
our mix of attractions," observes O'Connell. "As with
of the first hill, the coaster
any major attraction, we are hoping they will
travels at 58 mph as it begins
generate an incremental attendance increase and
another ascent to the top of a
build upon last year's record-breaking performance
107ft inverted loop and then
during our centenary."
drops them straight into
another loop. Coming out of
the inverted loop, the track
twists though a cobra element
and continues into two
airborne inverted S-rolls. The
action rounds off with two
successive high-speed/high-
banked curves and airtime
humps before the brake
section.
Riders on Fahrenheit travel
over more than 2,700ft of
steel track in 85 seconds.
Because the lift is straight
up, 60 seconds of that time
is spent in “the thrill zone.”
The coaster features three
four-person vehicles per train
and a capacity of about 850
people per hour. The lift,
incidentally, uses a hydraulic
powered dual chain system.
SEPTEMBER 2008
39
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