I first heard the rumor that Hersheypark would be getting a watercoaster on the Thrillride.com site. I further explored that rumor and found it to be very true. And so, when Hersheypark officially announced that they would be getting a Setpoint Swing Thing for the 2002 season, I wasn't surprised at all. This overview is just that -- an overview of the main points of interest about this water coaster.

Facts

Designer: Setpoint, Inc.
Vehicle capacity: 4 passengers per vehicle
Number of vehicles: 9
Track Length: Approximately 1300 ft. --seems quite short to me
Lift Height: Approximately 70 ft. -- about what I thought it would be
Maximum Speed: 30 feet per second ~20mph (ugh...so slow!)
Vehicle Water Bomb Capacity: 16 gallons
Water Bomb capacity per rider: 4 gallons
Rider Height Requirement: 42" (Reese's) 48" and above" (Hershey bar, Twizzler and Cookies 'n Creme)

As you can tell, this will be fairly boring if not for the whole "water" aspect of the ride. Riders will encounter several "standard" watereffects such as geysers, waterfalls, and blasts of water. Basically, the ride will have plenty of things guaranteed to get you soaked. As if those things won't get you completely drenched, non-riders on the ground will be able to fire up at people on the ride via high-power (mounted) water guns! Of course, the rides will not be defenseless. Each rider has four gallons of H2O at his or her disposal that can be dumped on unsuspecting guests below.

Let's take a look at the basic layout as seen at the press conference earlier this year...

As you can see, the ride is going to be built right next to Lightning Racer's first turnaround. The actual station will be located behind Tidal Force's turnaround. Riders will encounter the lift hill directly out of the station and then do a small drop / turn over the final portion of Canyon River Rapids.

Not only will having part of the water coaster over CRR make the ride itself more fun, it will greatly increase the entertainment / suprise value of CRR! After the third waterfall, the ride is over. The water coaster will extend the life of Canyon River Rapids by adding an element of surprise after that third waterfall.

After the turnaround over CRR, riders will encounter a portion of straight track that (looks like it) will run through the structure of Tidal Force. After clearing Tidal Force, riders will dip down into the first portion of the real "ride" itself. Next up will be a some more gentle turns followed by a wide, sweeping turn over the final portion of Canyon River Rapids. Riders will then be gently guided back to the station via a few more turns.

Overall, I'd say that this ride will be a massive success for Hersheypark. I wish they would've made it considerably longer, but it will still be fun none the less. Personally, I was hoping for a "more intense" ride, but this one will definitely do just fine.