Wooden rollercoasters have seen a steady decline in numbers over the last few years. Sure, they're still being built, but newer, faster steel coasters are definitely more prevalent. Most wooden rollercoasters are designed by a single person, or they're designed by a company called CCI - custom coasters inc. CCI wooden coasters have lots of airtime, but tend to be a bit on the rough side. Enter GCI - great coasters international. GCI specializes in twisted, wooden coasters. These coasters are beautiful to look at and awesome to ride.

GCI made a name for itself when it debuted the Hersheypark Wildcat. This wooden coaster totally changed the way some people view a good wooden coaster. The Wildcat is all about sharp, sudden turns and maximum G-forces. In essence, GCI is doing with wood what Bolliger and Mabillard did for steel. It's a marvelous thing.

Driving up the Hershey highway, the Wildcat is by far the most obvious rollercoaster. It stands right out and has nothing to block its view. From the awesome first drop to the final helix, the Wildcat has, by far, one of the best layouts ever.

We pay our way into Hersheypark and walk quickly through "Comet Hollow". Past the Comet, Sooperdooperlooper, and Great Bear we jog. We make it to "Pioneer Frontier" where the Trailblazer and the Sidewinder are located. Finally, near the very back of the park, we come upon Wildcat. The queue is setup so guests waiting in line always have a good view of the first drop or helix. At least we can watch the trains roar past us as they make there way through the twisted mayhem of wood while we wait in line.

At long last, our train pulls up to the station. The gates swing open and we get in. The restraints are a simple, but slightly uncomfortable, lap bar and seat belt. The lap bar comes down just a notch too far. Not enough to lessen the overall ride experience, but enough that it's noticeable. Finally, the ride ops give the "ok" and our train meanders out of the station.

We take travel down a gentle dip and a take a turn to the right before beginning to climb the lift hill. Ascending the lift hill takes a little under a minute. You can catch an ok glimpse of the track layout. Finally... we start to near the top.

This is the only time where the front seat is better than the back. As the train starts to go over the hill, the front car just sort of "hangs there" for a brief second. This gives you time to think "Whoa! Check out that drop", before you actually drop. The drop itself... well.. check out that picture to the left; it's pure heaven. It's quite possibly my second favorite drop, next to Millennium Force.

We drop hard and are shot right back up. No time to catch your breath.

We plunge back down into the structure, curving this way, twisting that. The Wildcat is an incredibly twisted coaster. We weave in and out of the support structure multiple times throughout the entire course. Finally, we enter into the ending helix. Definitely one of the best parts of the ride, the helix is intense and extremely quick. You really have to fight in order to keep your hands up. Yes, the G-forces are that extreme. After the helix, we whip up into a little dip where our photos are taken before entering the break run.

The Wildcat is still my favorite wooden rollercoaster. GCI opened with one great work of art. Since then, they've definitely gone on to create other rides such as "Roar!", "Gwazi", and "Lightning Racer", but Wildcat still remains to be beaten.