For the last few years, the future of the Blue Streak was uncertain. The ride and NAD trains were rebuilt for the 1997 season. Built in 1937 by Ed Vettel, Sr., the Blue Streak gets "lost" in the woods from its entrance just off the park midway. The Blue Streak has classic National Amusement Devices (NAD) trains but recently has been running the original Vettel trains which provide a better ride. The Blue Streak does not have seat dividers on either train type.

New for 2004! DelGrosso's will install a Reverchon Crazy Mouse for the 2004 season.

Laser is a double looping steel coaster which was moved to the park from Brazil in 1986. Just after leaving the lift hill, you are plunged through two loops in a row. The ride continues this fast pace right up to the brake run. This is a Schwarzkopf portable ride but you might not guess it judging by its size. The ride was originally called Colossus but was changed to Lazer and then to finally to Laser. Lazer was the name of a radio station which had sponsorship there. This ride has one of the slowest lift hills which prolongs the anticipation of what is to come.

This new for 1997 Steel Coaster was originally to be built in 1996 but the approvals took longer than expected. Built by Morgan Manufacturing, this was their second non-looping steel hyper coaster. The coaster is 200 feet high with a 205 foot first drop and attains speeds of 75 MPH. It is built in the rear parking lot along side their excellent original coaster - Thunderhawk and pretty much covers the entire bottom of the park. Airtime lovers will be thrilled with this one. Steel Force has become one of the top rated steel coasters in the country.

New for 2001! Talon will be Dorney Park's new inverted coaster, built by B&M. For more information and an extensive photo set click here 

This wooden ride was originally just called "Coaster" but later gained the name Thunderhawk when Hercules (removed in 2003) was built in 1989. This is the oldest of the five remaining Herb Schmeck designed / PTC coasters in the state.

Thunderhawk is Dorney Park's second roller coaster which was built as an out and back type in 1924. In the late 1920s it was modified to include the folded back turnaround. The tunnel and station (along with the bumper cars that shared the station) were removed for the 1996 season and a new "open air" station was built.  Thunderhawk uses PTC trains.

Built by Maurer-Söhne of Germany, the Wild Mouse is located on the main midway which has also been redesigned for the 2000 season. Installed 2000.

Woodstock's Express is a family coaster built in the new Camp Snoopy kids area. Installed 2000.

Dutch Wonderland is a park for kids and as such, they wanted a roller coaster that would not be too wild for small kids yet be thrilling enough for the parents. They got exactly that ride with the Sky Princess. The ride was the first project by Custom Coasters Inc. (CCI) and proved to be a wonderful ride thus putting Dutch Wonderland on the roller coaster map. The Sky Princess uses PTC trains.

New for 1998. Manufactured by Chance.

This wooden roller coaster replaced an earlier one named Wildcat in 1946. It was the only wood coaster in the park until joined by the new Wildcat in 1996. Often mentioned by coaster fans is the drop over the creek and the turnaround over the station. Hershey has maintained this Herb Schmeck / PTC ride quite well through the years. One unique item is that Hersheypark had named the trains Lightning and Thunder until Lightning Racer opened in 2000. The Comet uses PTC trains.

A $13 Million B&M Inverted Coaster that is new for 1998. The Great Bear twists and turns through the Sooperdooperlooper trackage and the skyride.

New for 2000 Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCII - the same company who designed and built the Wildcat at Hersheypark) have created a wood racing/dueling coaster for the park that features GCII's new Millennium Flyer trains. The experience here is like no other wood coaster. Fast and smooth, Lightning Racer twists over, under and passes itself too many times to count. Another high rated ride. more info & photos

This ride lifts you up a hill, then drops you facing forward through the station and into a boomerang element, a vertical loop and then up another hill. You are then pulled up this hill a little higher an let loose to do the entire course backward. Don't let the small size of the ride fool you. This ride was manufactured by Vekoma.

Built in 1977, this was the second modern vertical looping coaster in the USA and the first on the east coast. After Schwarzkopf, who built the ride, worked out how to make a successful loop, they went on to make many more looping coasters. The ride has a ratcheting lap bar and does not use over the shoulder harnesses which makes it much more pleasant. The single loop occurs just after the lift hill and the track then twists around and later comes back through the center of the loop. This ride is one of the few that use the lattice work track construction and ends with a below ground level helix.

New for 2004! Storm Runner is the new coaster for 2004 at Hersheypark. It was built by Intamin AG and is the first Rocket Coaster to go upside down. The Rocket Coaster uses hydraulics to propel the ride from 0 to 70 MPH in under 2 seconds.

Even though it is one of the smallest Arrow steel mine train coasters, it is a lot of fun and a perfect beginners coaster. It was built in 1974. The highlight of the ride is the helix near the end. This is the only Mine Train type coaster in Pennsylvania themed as a mine train.  It received new trains manufactured by Premier Rides in 2003.

New for the 1996 season, everyone was waiting to see what this ride would be like. It was being built by a new company (Great Coasters International, Inc.) and the ride looks like someone had gone crazy with the curves. It has virtually no straight track and little of it is level to the ground. Upon first glance, it reminds you of the Harry Traver coasters which are renowned for being some of the most terrifying ever built.

The ride starts out fast and never slows down till the final brake run. It is easy to get "lost" because of the constantly curving and twisting track. There is even some air time toward evening on the ride. The Wildcat uses PTC trains.

New for 1999.

The Rollo Coaster provides a much better ride than what you would think for its small size. Because it is built on the side of a hill amongst trees, it even seems larger than it is. This is the smallest of Pennsylvania's five Herb Schmeck designed / PTC designed rides. The Rollo Coaster uses PTC trains.

Imagine a Wild Mouse Ride on steroids! This ride is a blast and enforces that traditional wild mouse feeling of flying off the edge of the track Better than most. A unique aspect of this ride is the off camber lift hill.  It is also built in a grove of trees and comes quite close at times which provides a great effect. The Wild Mouse was built by Vekoma.

New for 1999. Exterminator is a Reverchon Crazy Mouse inside a building. A Crazy Mouse is similar to a standard wild mouse except the cars are allowed to rotate part way through the ride. The entire ride is themed to exterminators trying to rid the ride of the rats (the coaster's cars). Excellent theming and unpredictability make it a winner.

The Jack Rabbit is Kennywood's oldest surviving roller coaster dating from 1920. A great example of the wooden gully coaster, it has the chain lift in the middle of the ride. The double down dip is a blast from the back seat as you feel like you are going to be ejected from the ride. The unique looking trains have only a fixed lap bar and a non adjustable lap belt.  Nothing more is needed. The station has some fantastic neon lighting at night.

New for 2001! Phantoms Revenge replaced the Steel Phantom in 2001. The new coaster will retain parts of the Steel Phantom, namely the first and (slightly longer) second drops. All loops and inversions were removed. The new ride is built by Morgan Manufacturing.

Originally built as the Steel Phantom in 1991 by Arrow Dynamics. At the time, it featured the longest drop (225 feet) and the fastest ride (81MPH). Now it is faster (85MPH) and taller (230 foot second drop)!

This is the only racing roller coaster in the US to have a single track. If you start on the left side, you will come back into the station on the right side of the ride. The two sides of the track run so close together that it is common to see people hold hands from one train to another. The 1927 vintage Racer was designed by John Miller and uses PTC trains. The ride is quite  smooth and provides a little air time on some of the hills. Mostly it is just a lot of fun.  Because of the single track configuration, they must always race the trains which is a blast in itself. See the pictures here.

The wooden Thunderbolt originally started out as a ride called the Pippin in 1924. It was designed by John Miller and later modified by Andrew Vettel into its present configuration (1968). The lift hill is in the middle of the ride and because of this, it is full of surprises. This is one of the best "Gully" coasters around. It still uses the same antique NAD trains which are well maintained by the park.

In 1991, the Steel Phantom's second drop was put under and over the existing Thunderbolt tracks without changing its ride character. The Phantoms Revenge track now takes that same basic path and also tunnels up under the Thunderbolt at another location near the station.

The Thunderbolt feels and looks like the well maintained classic ride that it is. The seats do not have dividers and because of the lateral forces, they mandate that there must be two people in every seat. You may not ride alone. The Thunderbolt uses NAD trains.

The High Speed Thrill Coaster is really a steel kiddie coaster but they allow adults to ride it. It actually packs quite a punch for it's small size. One of the few small kiddie style coasters that brings a smile to the face of almost any coaster enthusiast who has ridden it. Actually it is a look of shock and surprise.

Knoebel's has an excellent reputation for buying used rides, fully refurbishing them and then properly maintaining them. In 1984, they looked at doing the same with a wooden roller coaster. Some thought it would be impossible but Knoebels decided to do it with the San Antonio (Texas) Rocket which would have otherwise probably been destroyed. Under the supervision of Charles Dinn (of Beast fame) all the parts were numbered, transported to Pennsylvania and rebuilt. A lot of new lumber was used but the original mechanical parts were retained. New coaster cars from PTC finished the ride. In the summer of 1985, the Phoenix rose from its ashes. Because of this great success in moving this ride, many more great coasters have been moved which would otherwise have been lost to us forever.

The ride was fast right from the beginning and has only got better over the years. Knoebel's keeps the ride extremely well maintained and operates it in a way that most enthusiasts enjoy. You can usually pick your own seat which has the traditional PTC lap bars and no seatbelts. The ride is consistently rated one the best wood coasters in the world. At night it gets even faster. The Phoenix uses PTC trains.

New for 1999. Knoebel's Twister is a new wooden coaster built from the plans of the great Mr. Twister ride which operated in Denver, CO until a few years ago. The Knoebels Twister is an excellent complement to the Phoenix and gives Knoebel's two top class coasters. While the Phoenix is about airtime, the Twister is about lateral forces and fast turns. It has 2.5 times the lumber of the Phoenix and crosses over itself some 32 times. Built and re-engineered by the John Fetterman and the Knoebel's staff. Click here for more information. The Knoebels Twister uses PTC trains.

This ride is a Vekoma Corkscrew coaster which was moved from Playland at Rye, New York. It replaces Knoebel's Jet Star coaster which was in the same location.

Now operating again! Leap-The-Dips, built in 1902, is the oldest surviving roller coaster in the world. Leap-The-Dips is a "side friction" roller coaster design and is the only one left in North America. The ride is gentle with only small drops (dips), the largest of which is nine feet and averages about 10 MPH. Due to the tight curves, it feels faster.

As of 1996, the coaster was not operating and a portion of its structure had collapsed from the severe winters in Pennsylvania (see photos here). A project by the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) and Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) restored one of the cars used on the ride to its original condition. ACE and locals from Altoona have worked hard over the past few years to restore the entire coaster to its former glory.

On May 31, 1999, Leap-The-Dips re-opened to the public once again for the first time in a decade. It is just as much fun as it always had been and looks better than most people have ever seen. More information about that event is available here.

While not the most thrilling ride, it is a must ride for any true coaster fan. There are still bills to paid for the restoration however and you can still donate much needed money to the Foundation. More information is available at the  Leap-The-Dips Preservation Foundation website

When Lakemont Park was turned into Boyertown, USA in the late 1980s, they added another wooden roller coaster. With the success Knoebels had moving the Phoenix, the owners decided to move this ride from Roseland Park in New York, which was going out of business.

While the ride appears to be somewhat smaller, it still provides a fantastic ride with air time in a few places. John Allen was the designer of this 1960 vintage ride. The Skyliner uses PTC trains.

New for 1998 The first roller coaster at Sesame Place, this ride was built by Vekoma.

This is the fifth surviving Herb Schmeck / PTC coaster in Pennsylvania. Built in 1951, this ride runs through a tree lined setting near Lake Erie. The Comet uses PTC trains.

Advance Information Waldameer expects to build a new version of their long gone Ravine Flyer coaster which was removed years ago. The ride was expected to be designed and built by Custom Coasters (CCI) for the 2001 season but delays have prevented it's construction and now CCI is out of business. The ride is supposed to be on track, so to speak for the 2005 or 2006 season. A unique aspect is that it will cross over the highway adjacent to the park.

Waldameer's coaster for small kids sits next to the Ferris Wheel.

Originally called the Zipper, this ride was built in 1933 by Oscar Bitler. This ride has been tamed down in recent years by the addition of two brakes near the end of the ride. The trains are  from the renowned Palisades Park (New Jersey) Cyclone. As of July 1998, there is a lot of new wood in the structure and a new station. The last "hop" into the station is still there however. A unique feature is that the return track from the far turnaround travels directly under the outgoing track. The Wildcat used PTC trains.

New for 2001! Manufactured by Schwarzkopf. Moved to Williams Grove From Steel Pier (NJ) the ride also operated at Playland, Rye NY before that. Williams Grove refurbished it to open for a 2001 opening.