Sidewinder (Hersheypark)

Sidewinder
Half of Sidewinder's Cobra Roll
Hersheypark
Coordinates	40°17′24″N 76°39′14″W / 40.289932°N 76.653773°WCoordinates: 40°17′24″N 76°39′14″W / 40.289932°N 76.653773°W
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 11, 1991
General statistics
Type	Steel – Shuttle – Boomerang
Manufacturer	Vekoma
Model	Boomerang
Lift/launch system	Cable and Chain lift hill on both towers
Height	116.5 ft (35.5 m)
Length	935 ft (285 m)
Speed	47 mph (76 km/h)
Inversions	6 (3 forward, 3 backward)
Duration	1:48
Capacity	760 riders per hour
G-force	5.2
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Sidewinder at RCDB Pictures of Sidewinder at RCDB

Sidewinder is a steel roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Pioneer Frontier section of the park, right across from Storm Runner. While the coaster itself is a standard Vekoma Boomerang, this installation is notable because it was the first Vekoma Boomarang to use Vekoma trains (previous Boomerangs used Arrow trains). For the 2011 season, the Sidewinder's trains were replaced with Vekoma's modern trains, similar to the train on Carowinds' Carolina Cobra. This ride was also the first coaster installed in the park in 14 years since the SooperDooperLooper in 1977.

With a total of 3 loops in the ride's structure, and the fact that the ride operates in both directions, a single ride involves riders being turned upside down 6 times.

In October, when Hersheypark is decorated in a Halloween theme (Hersheypark in the Dark), Sidewinder is dubbed Scarewinder.

History

Sidewinder was built on a former catering area. This moved to the area that at the time was occupied by Kaptain Kid's Kove, and became Trailblazer's catering pavilion.^[1]

Ride Experience

The ride begins with riders being pulled backwards out of the station up a hill by a cable winch. At the top of the hill, the train is released, and speeds through the station and goes through the ride's three inversions, including a cobra roll and a vertical loop. The train goes up a second lift hill and, when it reaches the top, the lift disengages, and the train falls backwards through the inversions, pressing about 5 G's of force on riders (especially in the loop) before it returns to the station. It can be noted that due to the wear of the ride, riders will experience a very rough time as the train passes through the cobra roll forwards and backwards. The over-the-head restraints have been designed with special padding on the sides to prevent any injury to the neck, however it is inevitable that riders will slam their necks into the restraints during the ride.

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  Sidewinder's dual incline spike towers

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  Sidewinder's dual incline spike towers

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  Half (end of) of Sidewinder's cobra roll

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  Sidewinder's loop

References

1. Hershey Community Archives