Great Bear (roller coaster)

Great Bear

Section of track before Great Bear's corkscrew element
Hersheypark
Coordinates 40°17′13″N 76°39′11″W / 40.28694°N 76.65306°W / 40.28694; -76.65306Coordinates: 40°17′13″N 76°39′11″W / 40.28694°N 76.65306°W / 40.28694; -76.65306
Status Operating
Opening date May 23, 1998 (1998-05-23)
Cost US$13,000,000
General statistics
Type Steel – Inverted
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer Werner Stengel
Model Inverted Coaster
Lift/launch system Chain Lift
Height 90 ft (27 m)
Drop 124 ft (38 m)
Length 2,800 ft (850 m)
Speed 58 mph (93 km/h)
Inversions 4
Duration 2:55
Capacity 1300 riders per hour
Height restriction 54 in (137 cm)
Great Bear at RCDB
Pictures of Great Bear at RCDB

Great Bear is an inverted roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Designed by Werner Stengel, the roller coaster was built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and opened in 1998 in the Kissing Tower Hill section of the park. Due to surrounding terrain and proximity to other attractions, the coaster was one of B&M's most difficult installations. The supports weren't permitted to be built in nearby Spring Creek, and the limitation resulted in an unusual support structure design for a B&M coaster.

Ride experience

Riders exit the station and climb a 90-foot (27 m) hill. Unique to Great Bear, there is a helix immediately after the lift, swinging riders around into the 124-foot (38 m) drop into Comet Hollow. After the drop, train enters a loop, followed immediately by an Immelmann loop, and then going into a zero-g roll. Riders continue through Comet Hollow over midway areas, making a sharp turn over Spring Creek. After a short straightaway, the train goes into a corkscrew, and then up a hill with two wide turns. For the 2014 season, the on-ride camera's location was changed to just after the corkscrew inversion, on the same pole that houses the on-ride camera for SooperDooperLooper. The train then enters a short brake run; after the brake-run, riders return to the station. Great Bear was the first inverted looping coaster in Pennsylvania.

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