Amusement Park News

Hershey Park has a new ride coming this year, Wildcat's Revenge. Foundation work is already complete and new track is arriving daily, with the station and transfer table currently still under construction. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the ride adds a brand-new steel track to an existing wooden framework.

In a video released by the park, the bright red track unfolds before viewers, revealing no less than four different inversions with an upward climb on a 140-foot hill, after which a counterclockwise roll of 270 degrees takes place, followed by a fast dive down, reaching speeds of up to 62 miles. The underflip is billed as the world's largest, quite a feat for any ride, and a major draw for Hersheypark.

The wood and steel hybrid coaster will become one of 15 at Hersheypark this summer, marking 100 years since the first Hersheypark Wild Cat ride opened.

The result of RMC and Hersheypark's collaboration is an entirely unique experience. According to Vikki Hultquist, Hersheypark's general manager of attractions, expectations are running high for the new ride. The coaster itself was planned based on feedback from guests eager for a hybrid model to come to the park.



Hulquist relates that the park was “thrilled to work with RMC on a custom wood and steel coaster with a nod to our history.” The ride includes many of the exciting elements that RMC is known for, including multiple inversions, an inverted stall, zero-G roll, and a downhill roll that is also reversing. Hultquist adds that the park prides itself on offering experiences that are unique, and with that in mind, their coasters are designed to provide “industry firsts and iconic rides for every thrill level.” That will certainly be the case for the new Wildcat.

The ride is situated in the Midway America area of Hersheypark. It includes a completely renovated station with a period design reminiscent of the original 1923 Wild Cat station. It includes nostalgic low-pitched gables around the edge of the roof.

Riders must meet a minimum height requirement of 48” and will be seated in one of three trains. These custom train cars depict dimensional black, grey, and silver wild cats taking revenge on the wooden coaster that preceded them. Their facial expressions are fierce, and their claws are extended. These theming elements are unique for Hersheypark.

The ride will last 2-minutes and 36-seconds, taking guests on a wild plunge into an 82-degree drop along the 3,510-feet of track. Scheduled to debut this summer, Wildcat's Revenge will be open for all four seasons if weather permits.



Wildcat's Revenge is steeped in history. The first Wild Cat was constructed by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company as a wooden coaster.

The original Wild Cat thrilled riders for 23 seasons. In 1996, the park opened a new ride, dubbed the Wildcat, a first for Great Coasters International Inc. It ran for 27 seasons, closing midway through this past summer season in time for construction to begin on Wild Cats Revenge.

The new attraction's hybrid combo will be the first such coaster at Hersheypark and the first in the state, as well. Hultquist points out that Hybrid coasters allow parks the ability to revamp wooden coasters, taking them to a new level of excitement, and are capable of providing greater ride length as well as increased thrills.

RMC's COO Jake Kilcup paid close attention to the concept of the original ride in creating this new thriller. The 1923 coaster was purchased by Milton Hershey himself; today the new coaster will offer an exciting experience, he relates, as the wild cats “exact revenge on the wooden structure to take the rider experience to a new level.” The company took the coaster from a height of 106' to its towering 140 feet for the new iteration and built a new truss lift for the ride.

Among Kilcup's favorite coaster elements are the underflip, which was created from the old lift hill. He stresses that great views are another impressive part of the ride experience, with the attraction positioned at the very edge of the park. The ride itself will also be a standout view as the first thing park goers see upon approaching the park.



The impressive nature of the ride isn't based on looks alone, however. “Instead of just one of RMC's signature thrills, Wildcat's Revenge features the very best of all four,” Hultquist asserts, including the underflip, inverted stall, zero-G roll, and a reversing downhill roll.

To include all these thrilling elements, the ride's design layout differs from the former Wildcat ride opened in the mid-90s. For the new ride, along with increasing the coaster's structural height, the track length also expanded, growing from 3,183 feet to 3,510. And this new ride is faster, too. The former Wildcat went a maximum of 50 miles-per-hour, with the new Wildcat's Revenge increases that speed, soaring around the track 12 mph faster.

Kilcup points out that it was also necessary to add a few new foundations to the existing ones in place to achieve a new creative journey around the coaster site. Also new, a separate loading and unloading station will get Wildcat riders both in and out of the train cars using the same side of the vehicle, so that two trains can both be in the station at one time.

Hersheypark offers the biggest collection of coasters in Pennsylvania and adding this new Wildcat should be an especially bright new star for thrill seeking riders.