Best Rides at Hersheypark: A Coaster Fan's Guide

Hersheypark has quietly become one of the best coaster parks on the East Coast, with a lineup that ranges from a launched wing coaster to a woodie so intense it will rattle your teeth loose. If you plan your route around the crowd flow, you can hit every major ride without wasting an hour standing in line.

Here is how I would spend a day, ride by ride.

Wildcat's Revenge

This is the newest big draw and the one that pulls the crowd at opening. It is a hybrid coaster built on the bones of the old Wildcat, with steel track laid over a wooden structure, and the result is relentless.

The first drop twists you upside down, there is a beefy zero-g stall, and the airtime hits hard in the back rows. Waits build fast here, so make Wildcat's Revenge your first stop when the gates open and you can often walk on for the first half hour.

Skyrush

Skyrush is the ride locals argue about, and I mean that as a compliment. It launches up a 200 foot hill, then throws a series of stapling, thigh-crushing airtime hills at you that feel genuinely out of control.

The outer seats hang off the side of the train with nothing but a lap bar, which is why fans call them the wing seats. It loads slowly for a coaster this popular, so ride it early or slot it in during the final operating hour when the line drains.

Candymonium

The tallest coaster in the park and the smoothest of the giants. Candymonium is a hyper coaster built for long, floating airtime rather than violence, and it is a great one to lap when you want speed without getting beaten up.

It sits right by the main entrance, so it fills up midday when people wander in. Catch it early or late, and skip it during the noon rush.

Storm Runner

Storm Runner still holds up more than twenty years after it opened. It launches you from zero to 72 mph in two seconds, straight up a top hat, and then packs three inversions into a short, punchy layout.

The launch is the whole reason to ride, and it never gets old. The line here moves quickly because the trains cycle fast, so it is a good one to grab in the middle of the day when the newer rides are slammed.

Great Bear

Great Bear is the inverted coaster that swoops over Spring Creek in the middle of the park. That first drop curls down and to the side before it dives under a bridge, and riding with your feet dangling makes it feel faster than it is.

It is not the most intense coaster here, but the setting over the water is one of the prettiest in the park. Lines stay moderate most of the day.

Fahrenheit

Do not walk past Fahrenheit because it looks small. It opens with a 97 degree beyond-vertical lift, which means the train tips back past straight up before it drops, and the norwegian loop that follows is a surprise for a ride this size.

The trains are short and it loads slowly, so this is the one ride where I check the line before committing. Hit it early and it is a walk-on.

Lightning Racer

Lightning Racer is a dueling wooden coaster where two trains launch side by side and cross paths several times over the course. Racing the other train is half the fun, and the wood gives it a rougher, old-school ride that the steel giants cannot match.

Because it runs two trains at once, the line moves faster than you would expect. It is a reliable mid-afternoon lap when the crowd bunches at the newer rides.

Comet

Do not sleep on the old wooden coaster. The Comet dates back to 1946, and the back rows still serve up long stretches of floater airtime over the ravine.

It is the kind of ride you can lap two or three times because the line stays short compared to the headliners. Save it for later in the day when you want something gentler on the body.

When to go and how to beat the lines

Live wait times are not posted for Hersheypark right now, so you cannot check a screen before you sprint. That makes route planning more important, not less, and the good news is that this park spreads its coasters across a large footprint, which keeps any single line from swallowing your whole afternoon.

The crowd bunches at three spots: Wildcat's Revenge, Skyrush, and Candymonium. Those are the rides that push the longest waits at peak, and everything else tends to stay manageable if you time it right.

My plan: arrive before the park opens at 10 AM, walk to Wildcat's Revenge first, then hit Skyrush while the front of the park is still filling up. From there, work the older section with Comet, Lightning Racer, and Storm Runner during late morning while the crowd is still stuck at the new stuff.

Weekdays in early summer and again in late August and September are the sweet spot for short lines. Weekends and holidays are when the long waits show up, especially in the afternoon.

Eat lunch before noon or after 2 to dodge the food-line crush, and use the mid-afternoon show and character times to ride the headliners while families cluster elsewhere. Save Skyrush and Candymonium for the final operating hour, when the sun drops and the lines empty out. Riding a hyper coaster with the park lit up at night is the best way to close out the day.

If you only have a few hours, prioritize Wildcat's Revenge, Skyrush, and Storm Runner. Those three show off the full range of what Hersheypark does well, from grinding airtime to a launch that pins you back in your seat before you can blink.

Based on real-time wait data from 56 US theme parks — updated daily by Thoosie.