Skyrush

File:Skyrush logo.jpg File:Skyrush 1.jpg

The concept for what is now Skyrush dates to 2007, when Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, operator of Hersheypark in Derry Township, Pennsylvania, solicited designs from five roller coaster manufacturers. Although Hershey executives preferred a proposal by Swiss manufacturer Intamin, the plan would cost twice as much as Fahrenheit, a $12 million coaster that opened in 2008.{{Cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Lisa |date=March 30, 2012 |title=Hersheypark hopes $25M coaster prompts attendance boost |volume=28 |issue=14 |pages=15–16 |id={{proQuest|1001369203}} |magazine=Central Penn Business Journal}} Intamin influenced Hersheypark officials to build another attraction in the low-lying Hollow section of the park.{{Cite news |last=Warner |first=Bill |date=May 19, 2012 |title=Skyrush gives new life to Hersheypark's oldest turf |work=The Daily News |id={{proQuest|1014262599}}}} On August 17, 2010, Hershey Entertainment presented plans to Derry Township officials for a new attraction reaching {{cvt|212|ft|m}} tall.{{cite news |last=Malawskey |first=Nick |date=August 18, 2010 |title=Hersheypark's 'new marquee attraction' to be in Comet Hollow |work=The Patriot-News |url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/08/hersheyparks_new_attraction_to.html |access-date=July 28, 2011 |archive-date=September 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918044840/http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/08/hersheyparks_new_attraction_to.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Sholly |first=Chris |date=August 19, 2010 |title=New Hersheypark attraction under wraps |work=The Daily News |id={{proQuest|745600775}}}} The ride's construction required a zoning variance because it exceeded the township's {{cvt|200|ft|adj=on}} height limit. Hersheypark officials also proposed erecting 32 supports inside an artificial pond and removing two dining structures in the Hollow, although they refused to provide further details about the new ride.

Hersheypark launched a marketing campaign, Attraction 2012, to promote what eventually became Skyrush.{{cite web |last=Malawskey |first=Nick |title=Hersheypark uses website to release clues about next mystery project, code named "Attraction 2012" |website=pennlive |date=April 20, 2011 |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/04/hersheypark_uses_website_to_re.html |access-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202123613/https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/04/hersheypark_uses_website_to_re.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=MacDonald |first=Brady |title=Hersheypark builds buzz for 2012 attraction with viral marketing campaign |website=Los Angeles Times |date=July 19, 2011 |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-jul-19-la-trb-hersheypark-coasters-07201119-story.html |access-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816143553/https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-jul-19-la-trb-hersheypark-coasters-07201119-story.html |url-status=live}} The Patriot-News wrote that the campaign included "fake Web pages, hidden messages, foreign languages and symbolism". Although Hersheypark publicly divulged little about the new ride, Attraction 2012 prompted extensive discussion on social media.{{cite news |last=Malawskey |first=Nick |date=February 22, 2011 |title=3 men try to solve riddle of Hersheypark's new ride |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/02/3_men_try_to_solve_riddle_of_h.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |website=pennlive |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414150536/https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/02/3_men_try_to_solve_riddle_of_h.html |url-status=live}} Park officials submitted blueprints to Derry Township officials in April 2011, indicating that a roller coaster with a winding layout would be built in the Hollow section of Hersheypark.{{cite news |last=Malaswkey |first=Nick |date=April 20, 2011 |title=Hersheypark uses website to release clues about next mystery project, code named "Attraction 2012" |work=The Patriot-News |url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/hersheypark_uses_website_to_re.html |access-date=July 28, 2011 |archive-date=August 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822030806/http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/hersheypark_uses_website_to_re.html |url-status=live}} Work on the coaster had begun in early 2011, when workers began diverting Spring Creek,{{cite web |last=Malawskey |first=Nick |date=August 2, 2011 |title=Hersheypark reveals plans for Skyrush, a 200-foot coaster to open in 2012 |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/08/hersheypark_reveals_plans_for.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |website=pennlive |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417155755/https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/08/hersheypark_reveals_plans_for.html |url-status=live}} allowing the ride's concrete supports to be constructed. By June 2011, pieces for the as-yet-unnamed attraction had arrived on site.{{Cite news |last=Malawskey |first=Mick |date=June 17, 2011 |title=Hersheypark fans wonder about new expansion plans |pages=27 |work=Press Enterprise |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814101/hersheypark-fans-wonder-about-new/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925215940/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814101/hersheypark-fans-wonder-about-new/ |url-status=live}} In conjunction with the Attraction 2012 campaign, Hershey Entertainment filed a trademark for the name "Skyrush" by July 2011.

The ride was officially announced on August 2, 2011. Skyrush was to be the first new roller coaster at Hersheypark since Fahrenheit in 2008. Skyrush was built on the site of the Sunken Gardens,{{Cite news |last=Dolasinski |first=Amanda |date=August 3, 2011 |title=Riders will fly on Skyrush |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814042/ 5] |work=The York Dispatch |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814033/riders-will-fly-on-skyrushamanda/ |access-date=September 19, 2022}} a portion of Hersheypark that had not been open to the public since 1972. The Sunken Gardens was redesigned when Skyrush was constructed.{{Cite news |date=May 20, 2012 |title=Join the Rush |pages=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813708/ C4] |work=Republican and Herald |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813686/join-the-rush/ |access-date=September 19, 2022}} The site was flooded in September 2011 during Tropical Storm Lee, which forced workers to remove and reinstall all of the concrete footings; this delayed construction by three weeks. The retaining walls along Spring Creek were rebuilt in conjunction with the Skyrush project, and the area received new landscaping. Because of a relatively mild winter in late 2011 and early 2012, construction crews were able to complete the ride before its scheduled opening on Memorial Day in 2012. The ride's construction employed up to 160 workers simultaneously.{{Cite news |date=June 30, 2012 |title=Free falling |pages=38 |work=Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814325/free-falling/ |access-date=September 19, 2022}}

Skyrush opened to the general public on May 26, 2012.{{cite web |last=Wesser |first=James |date=May 26, 2022 |title=Hersheypark: Riding the edge for 10 years on Skyrush |url=https://www.abc27.com/local-news/riding-the-edge-for-10-years-on-skyrush/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |website=ABC27 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925215943/https://www.abc27.com/local-news/riding-the-edge-for-10-years-on-skyrush/ |url-status=live}} The ride cost $25 million and was the 12th roller coaster at Hersheypark, as well as the third coaster that Intamin built at the park (after Storm Runner and Fahrenheit).{{Cite news |last=Woodall |first=Candy |date=April 29, 2012 |title=Hersheypark to debut new coaster, new prices |work=The York Dispatch |id={{proQuest|1010176739}}}} With Skyrush's completion, Hersheypark rebranded the surrounding section of the park from "Comet Hollow" to "The Hollow". Park officials anticipated that the ride's opening would cause the park's attendance to increase. Skyrush was one of three Wing Coasters to open in the United States in 2012, the others being Wild Eagle at Dollywood and X-Flight at Six Flags Great America.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Mekado |date=June 28, 2012 |title=Your Winged Chariot Is Ready. A Seat on the Edge? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/travel/skyrush-a-winged-roller-coaster-at-hersheypark.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617042331/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/travel/skyrush-a-winged-roller-coaster-at-hersheypark.html |url-status=live}} The three Wing Coasters were featured on a Good Morning America segment in June 2012.{{cite web |last=Gleiter |first=Sue |date=July 18, 2012 |title=Hersheypark's Skyrush roller coaster to be featured on "Good Morning America" |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2012/07/hersheyparks_skyrush_roller_co.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |website=pennlive |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925220025/https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2012/07/hersheyparks_skyrush_roller_co.html |url-status=live}} Skyrush was also Intamin's only Wing Coaster installation until 2016, when Flying Aces{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Search results |location=Wing Coaster |url=https://rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&ml=13905 |access-date=January 8, 2019}} opened at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

In 2024, Hersheypark announced via their Instagram account that Skyrush would be receiving an updated logo, new seats, and new restraints for the 2024 season.{{cite web |title=Skyrush roller coaster at Hersheypark to get new seats, restraints |website=WGAL |date=March 1, 2024 |url=https://www.wgal.com/article/hersheypark-skyrush-roller-coaster-to-get-new-seats-restraints/60027293 |access-date=April 1, 2024}}{{cite web |last=Bell |first=Mac |title=Hersheypark gets new Comet trains on track ahead of Spring opening |website=ABC27 |date=March 14, 2024 |url=https://www.abc27.com/local-news/hersheypark-gets-new-comet-trains-on-track-ahead-of-spring-opening/ |access-date=April 1, 2024}} In addition to the train upgrades, the station was "reimagined" with new lighting and sound effects.{{Cite web |title=New Seats and Restraints on Skyrush Coaster at Hersheypark |url=https://stories.hersheypa.com/hersheypark-announces-all-new-seats-and-restraints-for-skyrush/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |website=Hershey, PA |language=en-us}}

File:Skyrush Great Bear from Kissing Tower.jpg]]

Immediately after leaving the station, a cable lift carries the train to the top of the lift hill. The train then drops at an 85-degree angle, traveling through a large right hand turn and into a large airtime hill. The train next traverses a 270-degree helix before entering another airtime hill. After this, the train enters a right-hand turn that transitions into an overbanked turn. The ride drops and enters a quick transition into a highly-banked right turn, which transitions into a twisted airtime hill. After that, the train enters another airtime hill and a highly-banked turn to the left, crossing over Comet. The train enters the final brake run, then makes a right hand turn and returns to the station.{{cite AV media |via=YouTube |date=January 13, 2014 |title=Skyrush POV at Hersheypark |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpvVBDz1rXM |access-date=July 5, 2019 |author=Hersheypark}}

Skyrush has yellow track and light blue support columns.{{Cite news |last=Holahan |first=Jane |date=August 4, 2011 |title=New Hershey coaster to be fast 'n' floorless |pages=13, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814206/ 14] |work=Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814187/new-hershey-coaster-to-be-fast-n/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925215944/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109814187/new-hershey-coaster-to-be-fast-n/ |url-status=live}} The ride is {{cvt|200|ft}} tall and travels at up to {{cvt|75|mph}},{{cite web |date=August 2011 |title=Skyrush Fact Sheet |url=http://www.hersheypa.com/press_room/pdfs/2011/SkyrushFactSheet.doc |access-date=August 2, 2011 |publisher=Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company |format=Word document |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927173259/http://www.hersheypa.com/press_room/pdfs/2011/SkyrushFactSheet.doc |url-status=dead}} with a {{cvt|3,600|ft|adj=on}} long track.{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=June 10, 2012 |title=Steep thrills: Hersheypark's Skyrush |pages=N01, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813500/ N03] |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813487/steep-thrills-hersheyparks/ |access-date=September 19, 2022}} The lift hill is slanted at a 50-degree angle, with a cable lift that travels at {{cvt|26|ft/sec}}. The ride has a maximum drop of {{cvt|212|ft}}.{{cite book |last=Hook |first=Patricia |title=Ticket To Ride: The Essential Guide to the World s Greatest Roller Coasters and Thrill Rides |publisher=Book Sales |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-7858-3577-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a7vdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |access-date=November 10, 2022 |page=53}} Its first drop has a vertical angle of 85 degrees;{{Cite news |date=August 7, 2011 |title=Hersheypark coaster |pages=R4 |work=The Baltimore Sun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813862/hersheypark-coaster/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925220027/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813862/hersheypark-coaster/ |url-status=live}} the train achieves its maximum g-force of 5.0 at the bottom of the first drop. There are four banked turns and five airtime hills, as well as a Stengel dive (a kind of banked turn named after the designer Werner Stengel). The course takes about 63 seconds to complete. There are maintenance bays next to the final brake run, where the trains can be taken off the track for maintenance. In addition, a pair of employees inspects the entire track every morning for about five hours.{{cite web |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Behind the Scenes of Winter Maintenance on Skyrush at Hersheypark |url=https://stories.hersheypa.com/behind-the-scenes-of-winter-maintenance-on-skyrush-at-hersheypark/ |access-date=September 25, 2022 |website=stories.hersheypa.com |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210024133/https://stories.hersheypa.com/behind-the-scenes-of-winter-maintenance-on-skyrush-at-hersheypark/ |url-status=live}}

The roller coaster was the first Wing Coaster installed by Intamin. It has two trains, each with 32 seats; there are eight cars in each train, each with one row of four seats.{{Cite RCDB |coaster_name=Skyrush |location=Hersheypark |rcdb_number=10089 |access-date=November 9, 2022}} The trains are of extended width, with the two center seats in each row directly above the chassis and two additional seats that hang off the width of the chassis. The seats have lap bar restraints, which consist of flat plates that hold down the lower body of each rider; there are no over-the-shoulder restraints for each rider's upper body. Soon after the ride opened, guests criticized the lap bar restraints as overly painful because the restraints exert high amounts of pressure on the lower body. In 2024, the seats and restraints were replaced.

During the off-season (end of Hersheypark in the Dark and lasting through March of the following year), the queue area next to the station is disassembled. A crane then lifts the trains off the track and into the queue area, where two or three employees overhaul the trains.

Jane Holahan of the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era wrote in 2012 that she was terrified of the ride, saying that "the ascent is a doozy, swiftly climbing up those 200 feet. None of that slow, creaky psychological terror on the Skyrush, it's all intense action from the very first second."{{Cite news |last=Holahan |first=Jane |date=May 24, 2012 |title=Skyrush Ups Fear Factor in Hershey |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109813789/skyrush-ups-fear-factor-in-hershey/ 6] |work=Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47389934/intelligencer-journallancaster-new-era/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925220025/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47389934/intelligencer-journallancaster-new-era/ |url-status=live}} Conversely, Mekado Murphy of The New York Times wrote: "The winged seats significantly change a rider's perspective and make the surrounding environment more a part of the coaster [...] At some of the most aggressive points in the ride, the lap restraint felt like the only thing preventing me from flying out of my seat." James Wesser wrote in 2022: "The out-of-control feeling along with the high g-forces gives me such an adrenaline boost and a way to scream my head off and let go of some stress. It also makes me feel like I am flying!" The same year, a reporter for LNP Always Lancaster wrote that, "unlike the beginning of every other coaster with an ascent at Hersheypark, Skyrush starts impossibly fast and stays that fast throughout the entire minute-long ride."{{cite web |title=Celebrate National Roller Coaster Day with a ranking of all 14 coasters at Hersheypark |website=LancasterOnline |date=August 15, 2022 |first=Kevin |last=Stariker |url=https://lancasteronline.com/features/celebrate-national-roller-coaster-day-with-a-ranking-of-all-14-coasters-at-hersheypark/article_a2ad2224-afb0-11e9-ba22-57cf3dfa1de2.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=August 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828132104/https://lancasteronline.com/features/celebrate-national-roller-coaster-day-with-a-ranking-of-all-14-coasters-at-hersheypark/article_a2ad2224-afb0-11e9-ba22-57cf3dfa1de2.html |url-status=live}}

The original ride restraints that were used between 2012 and 2023 was frequently criticized by many Roller Coaster enthusiasts and general riders due to the potential pressure they caused to a rider's thighs while riding which could result in thigh pain. This resulted in some people using the derogatory nickname of "thighcrush" to describe the ride. The new ride restraints used since 2024 have been called more comfortable compared to the original restraints and have been praised by some reviewers.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-11 |title=Review: New Skyrush Seats and Restraints at Hersheypark - Coaster101 |url=https://www.coaster101.com/2024/04/11/review-new-skyrush-seats-restraints-hersheypark/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2017-10-18 |title=Skyrush: But What About The Restraints? |url=https://coastercritic.com/2017/10/17/but-what-about-the-restraints/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Coaster Critic |language=en}}

In 2012, Skyrush was ranked by Amusement Today{{'}}s Golden Ticket Awards as the fifth-best new ride (tied with OzIris at Parc Astérix), garnering six percent of the vote. In addition, every year between 2012 and 2015, Skyrush received a Golden Ticket Award for being of the 50 best steel roller coasters.{{r|GTA2012|GTA2013|GTA2014|GTA2015}} It also received Golden Ticket Awards in every year between 2017 and 2019,{{r|GTA2017|GTA2018|GTA2019}} as well as between 2021 and 2024.{{r|GTA2021|GTA2022|GTA2023|GTA2024}} Skyrush did not rank in the Golden Ticket Awards in 2016,{{cite web |title=The Golden Ticket Awards |website=Amusement Today |date=2016 |url=https://goldenticketawards.com/2016-gta-winners/ |access-date=November 9, 2022}} and no roller coasters received awards in 2020.{{cite web |last=Stilwell |first=Andrew |title=Announcing the 2020 Golden Ticket Award Winners |website=Coaster101 |date=September 23, 2020 |url=https://www.coaster101.com/2020/09/23/announcing-the-2020-golden-ticket-award-winners/ |access-date=November 9, 2022}}

{{GTA table

|type=steel

|accessdate=September 14, 2015

|2012=42

|2013=26

|2014=26 (tied)

|2015=25

|2017=24

|2018=30

|2019=27

|2021=33 (tied)

|2022=23

|2023=29|2024=26}}

{{Commons category multi|Skyrush|Skyrush construction}}

• 2012 in amusement parks

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{{reflist}}

{{Hersheypark}}

{{Intamin}}

Category:Hersheypark

Category:Roller coasters in Pennsylvania

Category:2012 establishments in Pennsylvania