Lancaster New Era from Lancaster, Pennsylvania • 58

LANCASTER NEW ERA -fe'Weekend 6 THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1998 Arms and legs will be dangling when Hersheypark unleashes its newest ride this spring by Jane Holahan New Era Staff Writer SURE, THIS Weekend usually reports on events happening, Well, this weekend. But were getting into a winter funk around here so we decided to break with tradition and fast forward to a weekend in May, when Hersheypark opens for the season, when the trees will be budding, flowers will be blooming, and a new roller coaster will be winding its way through the park, causing terror in the hearts and stomachs of its riders. At the moment, desolate slabs of concrete are sitting in the Mine-town section of Hersheypark, with imposing pieces of metal uttmg out from them and lavender pieces of steel reaching toward the sky like giant pieces of an Erector set. The trees are bare, the other rides are still, and a definite chill pervades the air. But the park is bustling with workmen as construction proceeds on the Great Bear, a roller coaster that will be like no other in Hersheypark.

The Great Bear, named after the biggest constellation in the sky, is whats known as an inverted coaster. Unlike a traditional coaster, where passengers legs and arms are secured in the car, an inverted coaster allows arms and legs to dangle. And the track is above the train, rather than below. Its sort of like being in a ski lift, except youre ride is just a wee bit more exciting. The Great Bear gets off to quite a start by lifting passengers 90 feet in the air followed by a 124-foot drop, and a 100-foot loop, which will spin riders 110 feet in the air with speeds reaching 58 mph.

Scared yet? The 175-second ride also features a multitude of high speed turns, a spiral and something called an Immelman, which is a corkscrew-type of loop. Frightening? To add to the horror, the ride intersects with other rides in the park, including the Coal Cracker and the sooperdooperlooper. It will seem like youre about to crash right into another ride, but of course you wont. At least the folks at Hersheypark say you wont. Absolutely terrified? Its all about perceived danger, says Jeff Budgeon, the managing director of planning, engineering and maintenance for Hersheypark, who is in charge of the project.

Roller coasters are no more dangerous than other rides, they ust seen dangerous. It has to appear dangerous but be absolutely safe. And inverted coasters are hot right now. Budgeon recalls riding a similar inverted coaster at Busch Gardens a few months ago, one of only about 10 in the entire country. Normally, since he knows exactly how coasters are built and all the safety features involved, he doesn't get scared.

This one was different, though. About three times during that ride I was sure my feet would hit Workers are building the new Great Bear coaster in the the Minetown area of Hersheypark. the ground, even though I knew better, he says, smiling at the memory. For now, Budgeon and his crews are concentrating on laying the foundation of the coaster. Weve hit rock, which has slowed us down some, he says.

But its a better foundation. And, he notes, the foundation is Hershey business, while the ride is the manufacturers business. Its been custom designed by Boll-iger and Mabillard of Switzerland, which only makes about four steel coasters a year. They are, he says, the best in the business. We build it from the ground up, Budgeon says.

Once the foundation is in, the rest is like a gigantic erector set. The pieces are even numbered. Of course its going to take a 250 foot crane to move those giant pieces into place. Precision has taken on new meaning with the Great Bear. It has to fit back to back to back, Budgeon says.

Things fit so tightly they even had to take a handrail off of the sooperdooperlooper. Weve got 214 piers throughout the site and if they are an eighth of an inch of placement COVER things wont fit. Its very precise, he says. The total cost will be around $13 million, makingitthe most expensive ride in Hersheypark history. But survey after survey shows that people want more roller coasters.

Hersheypark will now have six, more than any other amusement park in the region. And each one is a bit different, from the Sidewinder, which goes backwards, to the classic wooden Comet, to this new inverted ride. Budgeon says they hope to have the Great Bear ready for its May 9 park opening, but wont rush just to get it finished. "Safety is our top priority," he says. We just want you to think its dangerous.

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