It was an ordinary day. Reading the "Living" section of my local Sunday newspaper when I came across the column titled "LANCASTER THAT WAS". The headline across the top read in part: "Hersheypark opens new coaster in '96." The story was about Hershey's fifth roller coaster, the Wildcat, which opened for a press preview day on May 22, 1995.
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| Hersheypark's Wildcat Roller Coaster on May 22, 1996 |
Wouldn't you love to be a reporter and have the chance to try out a new ride so you can write about it in the newspaper? Well, today's column told that in 1996, Hersheypark celebrated its 90th operating summer by opening a new roller coaster - the Wildcat. It was named for the park's first roller coaster, which closed in 1945. The new Wildcat was an exercise in "Controlled terror," according to Hershey Partnership executive director Bob O'Connor. The newspaper reporter who had a chance to ride on it described in terrified detail her experience riding the coaster at a press preview day. The $3 million coaster featured an 85-foot first drop and speeds up to 45 mph - impressive numbers for a traditional wooden coaster. When it opened, the Wildcat was Hersheypark's fifth coaster, joining the Comet, Trailblazer, SooperDooperLooper and Sidewinder. The park at that time had 15 coasters. Today Hersheypark has 14 rollercoasters, the most of any amusement park in Pennsylvania. One of these is a water coaster, and can be found within the water rides section. Now, I have enjoyed a few of Hersheypark's coasters over the years, but my favorite was "The Comet" which was a wooden roller coaster that was located in the Hollow Section of Hersheypark, next to Skyrush.
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| The Comet at Hersheypark. |
The Comet was built in 1946 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Comet featured a double out and back track layout. The maximum speed was 50 miles per hour. The biggest thrill for me was the first drop which looked as if you were headed straight down until the cars made a quick upward movement to the next drop. The Comet received 6,650 individual 10-watt chaser lights which made it fun to ride after dark. In 1994, The Comet received 2 new trains named Mork's Comet and Halley's Comet. One of the old trains is currently used as seating at the Hershey museum while the other was donated to the National Coaster Museum and Archives. The Comet was retracted during the off-season in 2006, and new seat belts were added two years later. It was repainted the same color white and the station was redone during the 2012 off-season. I have many happy memories of riding The Comet at Hersheypark. Haven't been on the ride for perhaps 30 years now and I'm not sure my back could stand the rumble of the cars as they travel the track. But, my all-time favorite rollercoaster was The Wildcat at Rocky Spring's Park which is to the south of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I have written before about my experiences as a young boy riding the wooden rollercoaster.
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| Entrance to the Wildcat |
The coaster had a length of 2,500 feet and a height of 90 feet. There were two cars per train with a total of 16 people in the train. I can still remember going through the old wooden tunnel before you reached the first incline on the ride. Also remember the cars and how they had belts in them that buckled just as the belts I wear today.
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| The Wildcat Rollercoaster |
The person at the start of the ride would check to make sure you had your belt buckled and as you went through the wooden tunnel many took the belt off so they could have more freedom on the ride. Not sure if anyone every died on the ride, but it was entirely possible that it could happen.
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| Tunnel you went through first. Scary in the dark. |
When I worked at the Acme Supermarket during college, one of the other workers' granddad ran the ride on Friday evenings. When work ended at 10:00 PM., we would hop in my car and head to Rocky Springs.
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| Aerial view of The Wildcat rollercoaster |
His granddad would allow us to ride as many times as we wanted, as long as no one was standing in line for the ride. In that case we would have to stop and pick up the new riders before we began again. Some evenings we rode for an hour or more.
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| The old cars you would sit in for the ride on the Comet. Regular belts were fastened for the ride. |
Lucky my parents never knew about it! The coaster operated from 1928 to 1965 and was made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Coaster, Inc. The park closed soon after 1965 and today has a variety of condominiums spread throughout the park grounds. What a shame it had to end! A thrill a minute that will never be experienced again by me or anyone else. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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