Games and Coasters


So, you wanna learn how to operate the Wildmouse? The Wildmouse is a popular ride at Hersheypark. While not as big as the Great Bear, or as twisted as the Wildcat, the Wildmouse still packs a punch that leaves most guests coming back for more. Let's start off with the basic facts of the Wildmouse...

[Taken directly from the employee manual]
WILD MOUSE
Total number of cars: 10 (6 in operation max.)
Seating capacity per car: 4
Capacity per hour: 750
Number of Riders - 2000: 749,619
Total ride time: 1min, 58 sec
Track Length: 1214 feet
Maximum speed: 28mph
Designer - Manufacturer: Heinrich Mack GmbH & Co
Year Installed: 1999

The Wildmouse is a basic Mack Wild Mouse coaster. Nothing really different about it. For the 2001 season, Hersheypark has added an on-ride photo. And, yes, people actually buy them. ;)

Wild Mouse coasters have a different loading procedure than most standard coasters because the cars do not stop as they travel through the station. They can be stopped, but doing so results in a loss of capacity and, so, the cars should not be stopped unless they absolutely must be.

The Positions

Operator: The operator stands near the controls and checks all the lap bars of cars going out of the station. If a guest needs a car to be stopped, the operator stops the car and then restarts it. Basically, the operator has all the power. He/She can stop or start the ride, unlock/lock lap bars, and, if need be, hit the E-stop and shut the ride down completely.

Loader: The loader tells guests when to enter the cars and which cars to enter. If only two guests are loading into a car, the loader tries to find another pair of guests to fill the car up to maximum capacity. In essence, the loader is the one that keeps everything moving. If they aren't paying attention, cars could get sent out empty, thus, screwing up the flow of things. If the line is moving steadily, then there must be a good loader who knows what they're doing.

Attendent: The attendent helps guests to get out of the car and exit quickly down the ramp. Basically, the attendent lifts up the lapbars and shows guests where the exit is if they are confused. The attendent's most important job is to unload the cars quickly so other guests can get in quickly.

Front line: The front line sits on a stool at the front of the queue. He/She enforces both the heigth regulations and the no-smoking rule. If the line gets too long, the front line must chain off another section of the queue to prevent the line from spilling out onto the path. Most of the time, front line people don't really do anything.

Now that you know the positions would you like to operate? Thanks to some handy flashwork by your's truly, you can! The controls below are a pretty good simulation of how the Wildmouse handles. Obviously, it's not perfect, but every single button found on the control panel of the mouse is in the flash. Enjoy!

Wildmouse controls

The controls
Load stop: this button stops half of the tires in the station. This button is useful when you only want to stop one car, but keep the others moving. Good for letting handicapped people, old people, slow people, etc. get on.

Load start: pushing this restarts the tires in the station if the load stop button was used to stop them. If the tires are currently running, this button does nothing.

Station stop: this stops every tire after the brake run and in the station from spinning. This button is usually not used.

Dispatch: if the station stop button was used to stop the tires, the dispatch button restarts them. If a car begins to exit the station with the lap bar only partially locked, pushing the dispatch button after the lap bar is locked will send the car out.

Lap bar unlock: this button unlocks every lap bar in the station.

Lap bar lock: this button locks the lap bars of the car nearest to the front of the station. It does NOT lock all the lap bars of every car in the station. Always push this button if the lap bar warning goes off.

Emergency Stop: pushing this stops all the tires, closes all the brakes and stop every single car on the entire ride. NEVER PUSH THIS unless there is a major emergency.