Hershey Park- New Trademark for 2020 Coaster

Hershey Park has filed a new trademark in relation to the 2020 expansion, Chocolatetown. 

Hershey Park is expanding once again for 2020. With this comes an entirely new area called 'Chocolatetown' and a new roller coaster is in the works.

Image from RCDB

This expansion is one of the largest in the parks history which included a new entrance plaza, 'Hershey' store, a 'Hershey Kiss' fountain, a new kettle-corn stand, ice cream shop, the relocation of the classic carousel. the largest restaurant in the park (full patio and bar included!)... and a brand new, B&M hyper-style coaster.

The new trademark is listed as 'Candymonium' as the 'nature of a roller coaster'. While this many not end up being the coasters final name, we've got something new to work with. As many expect, a few more trademarks will likely follow as the park decides which will be the final, working name of this newest attraction. The additional of 'Chocolatetown' looks to completely re-work the opening portion of the park in a big way, we can't wait to see what happens!

More news and photos as information becomes available, as always!

A Look Inside of Laff Trakk at Hersheypark and How You Can be One of the First to Ride!

It's been a while since we've checked in on what Hersheypark has been up to with it's newest coaster, Laff Trakk. However, I think that the wait has been worth it on this one.

Not only do we have shots of what's inside the ride building but also info on how you can become one of the very first riders to take on the world's first and only "Spinning Glow Coaster".

So, that said, let's get down to it and first up we'll go with the first rider info.

It's a pretty simple one, no charity auctions or bidding, just pure chance and a very short window. The park has set up a contest where three lucky winners will be picked at random. The winners, along with 3 guests each will get the VIP treatment for the Laff Trakk Glow Party and get to enjoy the entire park as well.

The contest runs now thru midnight tonight. That's right, just one day to get in on this, so if you're wanting a chance, head on over to the site and fill out of the form!

Now, there was that whole matter of what's inside. Got ya covered there too! Here's some lights on pictures that were taken recently during testing!

Laff Trakk Construction at Hersheypark Continues to Move Quickly

Work over at Hersheypark has been moving at a very quick pace for their 13th coaster, Laff Trakk. Billed at the world's first indoor spinning glow coaster, they're taking aim at filling not only the void left by past dark rides that have been in the park, but also adding new thrills to the park's landscape.

So far things have been moving pretty well and the ride building is nearly complete. Top that off, just a couple of weeks ago, the first sections of track arrived at the park as well!

Hersheypark has this one listed for "Summer of 2015", but at the rate their going, it's hard to think that they won't have this ready a bit earlier than that. Not sure if it'll be opening day, but I'm sure that's the goal here if they can hit it.

Well, enough of that, let's get on with the pictures and first up? The first pieces of track, which arrived back on January 28th or so.

And now for a few more...

Laff Trakk Construction Continues at Hersheypark

Hersheypark is continuing to move forward with their newest coaster as well. Coming sometime in 2015, will be Laff Trakk, the world's first indoor spinning glow coaster. Yeah, that's a bit of a mouthful there, but it's definitely cool to see a dark ride/dark coaster being built out there as they're always a good time.

That said, quite a lot of steel has been going up on the site where the ride will inhabit, but not a single piece of track yet. So far the construction has been limited to just the building that will house the ride.

This one is definitely curious and I gotta admit, I'm looking forward to it, even if it's considered more "family friendly" not an extreme scream machine like some others that are going up around the world this year. If you're curious as to just what they're up to, check out coverage of the announcement to see video and a lot more detail about the ride.

Here's just a few pictures of what's been going on over at Hersheypark, thanks to the folks over at All American Thrills. Can see more shots of not only Laff Trakk, but the entire park as a whole too over on their site.

Image via All American Thrills ALTair drone, too cool!

Hershey Park Announces Laff Trakk - First Indoor Spinning Glow Coaster!

Looks like our earlier hunch of an indoor spinning coaster was correct. After weeks of teasing, Hersheypark finally announced that the world's first indoor spinning glow coaster, Laff Trakk, will be coming to the park in 2015!

Built by German coaster manufacturer, Maurer & Söhne, the ride will honor the long and storied fun house history at Hersheypark. The ride cars will hold four riders in a back to back configuration and will be a true 360 degree experience as they spin their way through the madness.

The coaster itself will reach speeds of up to 45mph on the first drop and is being touted as a great family coaster by Maurer & Söhne. How so? The spinning motion is being described as "gentle" and not to severe like other spinning coasters out there.

Laff Trakk will be the 13th coaster for Hersheypark and is set to open in May of 2015 in the park's Midway America section.

Curious of what it'll look like? Here's the animation POV straight from Hersheypark!


For those curious of what it could actually feel like to ride Laff Trakk, check out Maurer & Söhne's Winjas at Phantasialand below!


Stay tuned for more details as the information comes out and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook for all the news out of Hersheypark and everyone else that's building in 2015!

Indoor Spinning Wild Mouse or 3D Dark Ride for Hersheypark in 2015?

Well, it's no secret that Hersheypark is planning something for 2015, the clues have been slowly trickling out on the park's website and various other places. What we do know is that something is planned for the area around where The Whip currently is. Now, while we do have semi-confirmation that The Whip won't be leaving the park, it could be moved to another location as well.

So far all the signs seem to be pointing to some kind of dark ride, or at least an indoor attraction of some sort. The latest three only make things even more confusing though. Though, I kinda suppose that's the point of all this, isn't it?

UPDATE: Looks like we were right! Hersheypark has announced an indoor spinning "glow coaster", Laff Trakk, for 2015. Click here for all the details and POV!

Now, onto to the newest clues!

This is the key to the whole dark ride idea, and it seems like it's being telegraphed a good bit

The "only dark" has to be a sign of an indoor attraction. Just what that might be is anyone's guess but there's a few more clues that just might help out on this one. 

Now, what a crystal ball and the previous clue about a card deck of red, white and blue have to do with each other? Yeah, that's anyone's guess because I have no earthly idea what kind of link could be there.

The next couple of clues that have surfaced have +Carrie H.C. and I thinking that this is likely to be one of three things. But let's examine the clues first.

Here's the more interesting part. Not only is spinning mentioned, but also a distorted view. The first thought is an indoor spinning wild mouse, but the distorted view part kind of throws that out as it definitely sounds like 3D is going to be implemented in some form or another.

There's only one other indoor spinning wild mouse that I know of, Exterminator at Kennywood. Would be interesting to see another showing up in PA.

The final clue that's been released so far has them saying that it's "not the first", so whatever it is has been done before and that leaves us with quite a few options. 

As stated above, there's the indoor spinning wild mouse idea which has been done. There's also been a number of 3D dark rides that include a lot of spinning as well. Most notably; Transformers at Universal Studios in Hollywood and Orlando, Spiderman at Islands of Adventure and Curse of DarKastle at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Something similar to Ratatouille at Disneyland Paris or even Mystic Manor in Hong Kong could be possible too.

Of course, there's the possibility of getting into something like some kind of shooter where the cars spin as well. That could be getting into the "first ever" thing though and by the clue, it's not the first of it's kind. So, right now I'd be willing to bet it's going to be something like Exterminator or one of the other rides listed above.

We'll know soon enough though as the big announcement is coming in just 5 days so stay tuned and follow us on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook for all the news out of Hersheypark and everyone else that's building in 2015!

Hershey Park- New Teaser and More Info on 2015 Attraction

Hershey Park- New Teaser Image and More Info on the 2015 Expansion

 Well on Tuesday Hershey Park released another teaser image to go with the new attraction which will be coming to the park in 2015.

 Although I'm still leaning towards from of dark ride (simply based on the bright and neon colors) I have to admit, the theme is rather confusing at this point. The park has also launched a "Clue" webpage where they will post up all the hints for the attraction as their published. They are also giving away a 2015 season pass, which you can register for on the same webpage- Hershey Park 2015 Attraction Clues

  In other news from Hershey Park, a reader to Screamscape reports that they spoke to park management, expression concerns about the possible removal of both 'The Whip' and 'Music Express'. Management responded. They told the guest not to worry, the rides would either be relocated within the park or another site for the new attraction would be found.

HersheyPark- New for 2014

HersheyPark, who has been rather quiet on the topic of the 2014 season has finally spoken up. It looks like the park will be getting three new ride additions and two new food options in the upcoming season!

  Coming to "The Hollow" we'll see the addition of a Tea Cups and Happy Swing family rides.  Both appear to be fairly stock options but it is unknown right now if they'll receive a special "Hersheys" themed make-over.

 A 'Family Coaster' which appears to be an off-the-shelf model will be making it way into "Music Box Way" allowing younger riders to enjoy some thrills. Again, no real information about this ride but it appears to be a stock kiddie coaster.

 Also coming in the 2014 season, Chickie & Petes (A Philadelphia Tradition) as well as a new Frozen Yogurt stand.  No information yet about the location of these two new food options as they haven't yet been added to the parks website.

Park Review- Hersheypark

Park Review of Hersheypark

Day: Thursday Night- Preview and Friday- Full Day

Dates: July 25th and 26th

Weather: Warm (Mid-80s)

Overall Rating: Good

Ride Rating: Good 

Opinion: Worth a visit if you've never been.

Staff: Carrie and Kitsune 

Overview: Hersheypark was built in 1905 by Milton Hershey as a picnic grounds for his chocolate factory employees, in 1907 they began adding attractions which is when it became an amusement park in truth. By 1923 they added their first roller coaster, the original Wildcat. Once that happened the park began to add rides on a regular schedule except during the years of WWII. In the 1970's the park went through a period of re-development, eventually expanding the 110 acre park it is today that features 11 roller coasters and dozens of flat rides.

Park Review- Zoo America at Hersheypark

Park Review of Zoo America at Hersheypark

Day: Friday

Date: July 25th 2013

Location: Connected with Hersheypark

Price: Included in Hersheypark Admission

Overview: Zoo America began as a private animal collection by Frank and Louise Zinner in 1899 when they moved from Germany. However, they were not allowed to keep animals in their yard but knew that Milton Hershey was building an amusement park nearby.  In 1905 when Hersheypark opened the Zinners went to speak to Milton Hershey about a zoo in his park, he agreed and the animals became part of the Hersheypark history. Other animals were added over time and Zinner served as zookeeper of his animals and others until his death in 1918. In 1975 the zoo was remodeled into Zoo America and features the animals native to the North American Continent.