After a peaceful rest in our little cabin, we packed up and headed west to Hersheypark for the second day of the Western New York Coaster Club's Coasterfest™. We first stopped at a nearby McDonald's (aren't the all nearby?) for a quick breakfast, then drove past Pennsylvania's serene Amish farmlands. This was going to a be really quick visit. At 1:00, Karen and I needed to head north to Ohio for a visit with our daughter and her family. Hersheypark opened at 11:00, so that would give us just one hour to experience the park before we met up with the WNYCC members at the park's Overlook restaurant. We arrived at the park's convoluted parking lot at 9:00. We bought our parking pass online and saved a couple of bucks, but even so it was $27. We were there early enough that we got to park in the very first spot in the general parking area. From there, it was still a lengthy walk to the park entrance. But I appreciated that Hersheypark had lined the sidewalk with shade trees, making the journey a little more pleasant. The concourse at the entrance was mostly empty. Guests were continually streaming into the park, but most were heading into the neighboring Chocolate World building. We queued up at gate two. There were about 50 people in line ahead of us. That gave me the illusion that it was worth it to get to the park that early. The illusion was about to be crushed. Within about 20 minutes, the line of people behind us stretched back to the beginning of the concourse. At 10:00 the gates were opened and we made our way through the gate and onto the midway where a brass band was playing. Since there was still another hour before the park officially opened, I figured we could head over to Wildcat's Revenge, the park's newest coaster which was closed when we visited last year. I could line up early so that I could quickly get on the ride. We walked past the park's beautifully maintained PTC carousel with its working (if out-of-tune) band organ. We headed left from there toward Founder's Way and found we were blocked by a temporary fence and security guards. There was a makeshift queue line with a security guard in front of it. The park was open -- but only for season passholders. The rest of us were corralled next to the Christmas gift shop (which wasn't open). We watched as a seemingly never-ending line of guests passed through the queue line and headed for the midway. Jim from the WNYCC happened to be standing next to us. He came to Hersheypark regularly and remarked at the huge number of season passholders. We chatted with him to pass the time. The Candymonium rollercoaster was running, but it too had a special queue line for passholders. So we couldn't ride that. We would have to stand around for an hour. After a half-hour of waiting, the backed-up crowd of non-passholders stretched all the way back to the entrance gates. Just before 11:00, the guards removed the barriers and like a tsunami, people flooded onto Founder's Way. Karen was hoping most of them were heading for the waterpark. We let the mob fly by us, since we'd never be able to outrun them. When things calmed down, we made our way toward Wildcat's Revenge. Jim said he'd ride it with me. So we walked up the hill toward the top of Founder's Way and turned left again, heading toward the north end of the park. When we finally arrived at the ride entrance, I was surprised that there were relatively few people in line. Karen wasn't interested in riding and stayed behind. For this ride, the park had initiated a strict policy that no loose articles could be taken on the ride and had to be stowed in a locker. I had my cargo pants on and my phone was in one of the heavily Velcro'd pockets. My glasses were secured with a strap. So I knew I wasn't going to lose anything. While we were waiting in line, we watched the train blast by with enormous speed through its seemingly impossibly twisted course. Within 20 minutes, Jim and I were at the steep stairway leading up to the station. Jim stopped to place some articles in one of the lockers. I waited for him at the top of the stairs. One of the attendants below called up to me and pointed at my glasses. I showed her the strap. Then she made a hand motion like a phone, and I confidently tapped my pocket. She waved me on. Jim met up with me and we queued up for the front seat. I was surprised that there were several people in the station with their phones out taking pictures and videos. None of the ride attendants said anything. In a few minutes, Jim and I were seated. The drop out of the station was really steep and long. The track bent left and sent the train over some rapid bunny hops. Then a sharp right turn sent us up the lift. From the top of the lift, the first drop looked as if it were inverted. I had grown accustomed to the coasters of Rocky Mountain Construction. They all had similar elements, just in different locations on the ride. There were the usual fake-out turns, where the track starts to bank in one direction but suddenly shifts to the opposite direction. There were many moments of extreme airtime, even on some of the turns. It was impossible to tell where we were within the coaster structure; it was all a blur. And then abruptly we hit the brake run. It was a really good ride, with a lot of action. It was also extremely smooth. I liked it, as apparently did most of the riders. It was nearing noon, so Karen, Jim and I began making our was toward the Overlook at the hilly southeast end of the park. We passed by Tidal Force, the park's shoot-the-chute ride, that was blasting out a drenching spray of water. There were so many rides I would have liked to board, from the Dry Gulch Railroad, Monorail and Skyview sky ride to the wonderful Comet (which got new trains) and Skyrush, to the Coal Cracker log flume and the Trailblazer mine train. When we arrived at the Overlook, there was a large fenced-off area nearby with a sign that read, "Don't mind us; we're twisting up something." On the other side of the fence were the remains of the old Hersheypark amphitheater where they used to perform rock-n-roll shows. Only a small portion of the theater building remained. We entered the Overlook. It was pretty crowded. Karen got a salad. I wanted a veggie burger, which was made-to-order at a little counter next to the restaurant's entrance. It took a while to get the attention of one of the attendants. They were all in the kitchen chatting with each other. After a few minutes one of them approached me and took my order. I asked if I could get lettuce, tomato and onion on the burger, and the guy told me I could get that over by the condiments. Then he disappeared again. Meanwhile, a member of the WNYCC joined me and wanted to order a veggie burger. But she couldn't get anyone's attention. The guy who took my order came back and placed an empty soda cup on the counter for me, then turned around and left without ever acknowledging the person next to me. After about 15 minutes, they brought out my veggie burger and finally took the other person's order. I went over to the condiments. Not a shred of lettuce (or any other vegetable) in sight. So I just got some packets of ketchup and mustard. Then I got my lemonade. The rest of the club members filtered in. We commandeered a set of three tables near the veggie burger counter. Eventually everyone had their order and we sat down to eat. The food was okay. I can't complain since it was already paid for with our meal voucher. We relaxed and talked. John Reaume talked about how he was going to Great Escape for their media day, where he'd be riding their new Bobcat coaster all day for the film crews. As 1:00 came, Karen and I had to bid the group farewell. It was going to take at least a half-hour to walk back to our car and we had a six hour drive ahead of us. Along the way we passed more rides that I would have liked to experience, like the Sooperdooperlooper, and some I wouldn't like Great Bear. We left Comet Hollow via the hidden path along the river, where we could see the Comet go cruising by and feel the roar of Skyrush. We headed along the shady walkway back to our car wishing we had a little more time to dwell in the sweetest place on earth, but we had a long drive ahead of us. We knew it wouldn't be too long before we'd return to this charming park again.

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