originally posted on 8/5/2022 1:46:00 AM
Photo: Jonathan Hymes. View full-sized image.
On July 31, Wildcat at Hersheypark (Hershey, Pennsylvania) gave its last roar. While the future of the ride is uncertain, after more than a quarter century of operation, its days as a wooden coaster have come to an end.
Wildcat has some history to it. When it was built, it paid homage to the park’s first coaster, also called Wildcat (1923-1945).
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Dinn Corporation helped prompt a resurgence in the design and construction of wooden coasters. Offering a great price point, the company built 10 wooden coasters, a few of which remain today. Among them, however, were the towering giants of that era, and a significant number of Dinn coasters have been lost to the wrecking ball.
Photo: Steve Gzesh. View full-sized image.
The Dinn Corporation closed in 1992, but Charlie Dinn’s daughter, Denise Dinn-Larrick, established Custom Coasters, Inc. (CCI) and kept the momentum of wooden coaster building going. CCI built dozens of coasters, but runaway success caught up with the company. CCI eventually closed its doors in 2002, actually leaving its final project unfinished. Following the company’s closure, several of those still on staff went on to form The Gravity Group.
Wildcat debuted with PTC trains.
Photo: Dick Burch. View full-sized image.
Wildcat was huge news when it opened in 1996.
View full-sized image.
Prior to that and early in CCI’s history, however, designer Mike Boodley and builder Clair Hain left CCI and decided to form their own company, Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCII) to compete against CCI. Boodley had innovative ideas about how to shape curves, and Hain believed in his concepts. Hersheypark was willing to take a chance on the duo, and the first project, which opened on May 26, 1996, was met with rave reviews. Wildcat was praised for its beautiful curves and rollicking layout. GCII had its first coaster on the map. Its swooping dives and artistic layouts would become a trademark of the company.
[Editor’s note: The full story of Boodley and Hain starting up GCII can be found in RollerCoaster! issue 157.]
Wooden coasters, particularly those built in the last century, are known for requiring maintenance. Wildcat continued to remain popular, but four years later, a much bigger GCII woodie at the park, Lightning Racer, took the stage. As a dual racing coaster, it had twice the amount of track, and Hersheypark had a lot to take care of.
Millennium Flyer trains were placed on the ride in 2007.
Photo: Dave Jackson. View full-sized image.
Photo: Allan Reid. View full-sized image.
In 2007, GCII supplied Millennium Flyer trains to replace the original Philadelphia Toboggan Company’s rolling stock.
Stats on the ride placed it at 106 feet tall, an impressive height for a company’s first wooden coaster. The first drop was 85 feet, and riders screamed over 3,183 feet of track at 50 mph.
After 28 seasons of operation, Wildcat is now a page in Hersheypark’s history book. In today’s world, the savvy coaster enthusiast knows the closure of a wooden coaster doesn’t necessarily mean the end of an attraction. Rocky Mountain Construction made huge waves in the industry with the conversion to steel track in the past decade. GCII itself has introduced Titan Track for problematic areas on wooden coasters. Whether one of these transformations will happen — or nothing at all — remains to be seen. Hersheypark hasn’t confirmed anything at this point.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
The fact that the wooden coaster has closed in the middle of the season instead of at the close of the season could lead coaster fans to believe “something’s up.” This is the time that work needs to begin for a project for next season. Still, nothing is known for sure.
More than 600 attendees experienced Wildcat at Hersheypark last year during Coaster Con 43. For many of them, it was the last rides they would take. Others enjoyed more rides this season. While the aggressive nature of the large feline had become a bit more pronounced recently, there are countless reasons historically to remember the ride fondly.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
#ACENews