Last call for Tidal Force at Hersheypark
Another Shoot the Chute ride is closing.
Hersheypark announced today that September 7 will be the final day of operation for Tidal Force, its Hopkins Shoot the Chute ride that opened in 1994.
The water ride's closure comes one day after Six Flags' Carowinds theme park announced that it would open a new WhiteWater log flume ride, Rip Roarin' Falls. So it's "you win some, you lose some" for theme park water ride fans this week.
Tidal Force offers a drop with specs identical to what the new Carowinds ride will feature - a 100-foot drop at 50 mph. But the Carowinds attraction will feature a long, story-driven log flume ride before the big drop, where it's pretty much just up and down for Tidal Force.
No word yet on a potential replacement, as Hersheypark focuses on celebrating Tidal Force's final season.
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Replies (7)
Oh man...the Tidal Force pedestrian queues/bridges make the best location for pyro during Halloween Dark Nights. The flames are HUGE and synchronized.
Hope they can keep them somehow.
Tidal Force closing opens up huge potential for The Boardwalk, but Hersheypark needs to focus on cohesion. The current water park setup feels so tacky and spatially disjointed. It desperately needs a unified layout and better flow, not just more concrete.
"Hersheypark needs to focus on cohesion" is my number one problem with the park in general. Cool coasters, but aside from the main entrance space, the park feels like a carnival.
Dark Nights rocks, though, and as HHNForever pointed out above, the pyro in that space is fun to watch.
sxcymike is on point. The Boardwalk is one of the most haphazardly designed water parks I've ever visited, and not helped by its tiny footprint. This is mostly a result of the area slowly transitioning to a traditional water park from what was more of a wet play space that used to have a unique coaster (Roller Soaker). They've kind of wedged water slides, a wave pool, and splash pads into the area with little rhyme or reason. When Hersheypark made the transition to The Boardwalk theme (and took out Roller Soaker), they committed to the integrated water park concept, but not enough was done to address the area's shortcomings or anticipated the popularity of the space during hot summer days.
Taking out Tidal Force, should give them some more space to work with if they really want The Boardwalk to be successful and have room to grow with increasing demand. There's no guarantee Hersheypark doesn't swerve and do something completely different with this space, but I would be shocked if the Tidal Force footprint is not used to expand The Boardwalk.
Oh wow, I had forgotten Roller Soaker. I remember visiting the park when it was open, but I didn't get a chance to ride it.
@DangerGoat - Roller Soaker was a complete disaster. It was one of the lowest capacity coasters in the world (worse than Pteranodon Flyers at IOA), and had significant technical issues (half the time, the water tanks never filled up, so half the point of the attraction was rendered useless). The worst part was that since it was an inverted coaster and water was splashing everywhere, the grease/oil from the chain lift would constantly drip on guests and would stain your clothes/swimwear.
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One park adds a water ride while another takes one out. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of shoot-the-chutes rides unless they're elaborately themed (like Jurassic Park/World and Escape from Pompeii), but they serve an important purpose in seasonal theme parks for cooling (for guests on AND off the ride) and creating air circulation.
My guess is that this is being removed to expand the Boardwalk (integrated water park), which is one of the smallest water parks I've ever visited. Tidal Force is located along the western side of the Boardwalk and this space could be used not only for a new slide complex but also expanded locker/changing rooms.