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Resort News - (7/13/10) How is the parent company behind Hersheypark dealing with the recession? Check out this in depth article that talks about the marketing opportunities and dealing with shortfalls from cutbacks from the corporate and group sales side of the business.
    (7/12/10) Hersheypark has announced the inaugural Hershey Half Marathon will take place on October 3rd, which will start and end at Hersheypark Stadium, racing 13.1 miles through the town of Hershey and through Hersheypark itself.  For details on how to get in on this, click here, as the event is limited to just 2,500 runners.
    (6/1/10) An interesting behind the scenes look at the day to day work of first aid workers at Hersheypark can be found here.
    (5/3/10) I’m glad to report that we were contacted by someone who claims to have worked on the plans for the rerouting of the roads behind Hersheypark who tells us that the Hersheypark Monorail was taken into consideration and the plans for the new roads were designed to go around it, so it will not be removed.
    (5/2/10) Could the end be near for the Hersheypark Monorail? I believe some of this may have been mentioned before but this article from March outlines some proposed road changes, relocations and an intersection removal all around the area of Hersheypark where the back section of the Monorail route goes, which is sure to have some kind of effect on the park. Specifically the bit about realigning the way Cocoa Ave. and Park. Ave connect, which you can see in the map would make the easiest way to do this to run the new road right down the same path that the monorail beam takes.
    With construction on the two year project set to begin as early as this summer, it does make it wonder if perhaps we may be seeing the end of the park’s monorail system. They could move the monorail and rebuild a new beam for it, but nothing was mentioned about that in the project’s modest $10.5 million dollar budget, so I have doubts.  Has anything more been mentioned about this since then?
    Previous rumors from last fall also mentioned a possible plan to move the western side of Park Blvd. so that it would travel through the golf course site instead, opening up that property for the next 100 years of happy expansion possibilities. Unfortunately the only really solid way to access this section of the park would be right through the current main entrance area, requiring a new main entrance area to be built elsewhere. The most likely idea could be to just simply move it over slightly to take up the location of the current backstage road and building(s) between the current entrance and the Arena, allowing them to keep on using most of the existing gift shops and amenities now in place in Tudor Square. 
    Keep in mind this is all very long term planning being rumored here… stuff that would probably take most of the next decade to see realized… if they opt to go that way. I was just thinking that perhaps some of this was a related trade-off… a bit of Quid Pro Quo if you will.
    (3/29/10) Take a look at what it takes to get Hersheypark ready for the season in this article over at Penn Live.
    (3/4/10) For those who enjoy Google Street View’s tour of various Theme Parks, you can also now check out Hersheypark and Zoo America.
    (1/15/10) Hershey’s Chocolate World will be adding a new attraction where guests can create their very own candy-bar. Groundbreaking has taken place this week to build a two-story, 1,800 sqft expansion area onto the building and will be ready to open by this Summer.
    (11/16/09) A reader sent in a link to show off pictures taken at the park this past weekend for Christmas Candylane. Enjoy!
    (10/7/09) The Hersheypark Carrousel was honored this past week by the National Carousel Association when they presented the park with a plaque for all the dedicated work they’ve done to preserve the Hersheypark Carrousel, which was first built by PTC back in 1919 before being moved to Hersheypark in 1945.
    (10/5/09) Numerous people have written in over the weekend to confirm that Hersheypark’s sudden switch to promoting only 10 coasters instead of 11 is not because they are removing anything at all. Instead they have simply shut down Roller Soaker for the winter, along with the rest of the Boardwalk area, and are only running 10 coasters for the rest of the season.
    (9/11/09) Screamscape sources tell us that Hersheypark is looking into plans that would relocate Park Blvd on the south side of the park to take a new path through the old Country Club site. The old road will be removed allowing for Hersheypark to expand into the remainder of the property there over the years as needed.
    (9/1/09) Hershey’s Chocolate World attraction celebrated it’s 75 million visitor this week.

2010 - Chocolate World & General Improvements - Rumor - (6/14/10)Hershey’s Chocolate World has now opened their newest attraction where you can Create Your Own Candy Bar. Check it out here.
    (2/4/10) Screamscape has confirmed with Hersheypark that there will be no new attraction within Hersheypark itself for the 2010 season.
    (1/15/10) Hershey’s Chocolate World will be adding a new attraction where guests can create their very own candy-bar. Groundbreaking has taken place this week to build a two-story, 1,800 sqft expansion area onto the building and will be ready to open by this Summer.
    (11/10/09) While nothing new is expected to open at Hersheypark in 2010 right now, we have heard that the Trailblazer may get a big renovation that could see a new station built for the mine train, as well as other several other small improvements around the park. Another such concept said to be in the works may be improved queues for the Kissing Tower and Twin Turnpike.

2011/2012 - New Waterslides / New Ride(s) - Rumor - (7/31/09) According to the latest rumors the previous 2010 expansion plans are now said to have been dropped or delayed by at least a year in an effort to recover a bit from the sour economy.
    (6/30/09) One big 2010 Rumor has come back into play from last season, which is the rumored addition of two new waterslides to the Coastline Plunge tower. The tower currently features four major slides that run off into two different splashdown pools, but it has long been noticed that they seemed to have left room to add one or two more slides to these pools. Could 2010 be the year? One of our sources sure thinks so. In addition to this, there are also the reoccurring rumors that the park may be ready to finally add a real drop tower ride next year, or possibly a couple of new flat rides. These could all be options to choose from for next season... or pieces of a larger expansion plan. More as we find out.

2011/2012 - Attraction 2012 - (8/28/10) So just what is going to Hershypark in 2012? No one is entirely sure, but the clues just keep coming. According to this article, they confirmed that they are seeking to rebalance the crowd level in the park by adding a major attraction to the Hollow side of the park. While they didn’t use the word coaster, it’s the most likely attraction to be on the way and will stand 212.2 feet tall. If I had to guess, I wonder if we’ll seen an expanded version of an Intamin Mega-Lite.
    (8/19/10) The latest buzz for the big Hersheypark attraction does seem to back up that this may not open until the 2012 season. But after taking 2010 off from adding anything new at all, surely something new is on the way for 2011 as well you would think.
    (8/7/10) Apparently the hint Hersheypark posted on their Facebook account may not have been a hint about the new attraction at all. I’m told it was followed up by a second posting that said, “Now get ready to see Hershey from your own two feet! Get ready for the first Hershey Half Marathon on Sunday, October 3. ”  Bummer… but then again this is Hersheypark we’re talking about, and they’ve proven to be quite innovative about how they drop hints and tease about a new attraction in the past. (Ahem… Nantimi anyone?)
    (8/6/10) Pictures of new Survey markings have been posted to Keystone Thills this week. Stakes are starting to show up this week and I’m told that there is a local meeting at the township slated for August 19th where they will discuss a proposal from Hersheypark for something big enough to need a height limit waver for something bigger than 200 feet tall, but no taller than 350 ft. So far they’ve only identfyed it as ‘Attraction 2012”. This brings us to a unique hint Hersheypark dropped as well as on their Facebook page that said: “Youve seen Hershey from the Kissing Tower.....Youve Seen Hershey from Storm Runner.....now get ready to see Hershey from......” It seems in indicate that something tall is on the way for sure.
    (7/26/10) RCPro has posted new pictures of the current construction markings at Hersheypark.
    (7/22/10) Keystone Thrills has posted some pictures showing off some new survey markings on the ground near the Creekside Catering area. There is still some debate about if this project is for 2011 or 2012… though one rumor suggests that it may be both.  Following the rumor that this may be an new Intamin coaster, our source suggests that a section of the ride may actually punch through the venerable Comet, which would have to have it’s structure modified a bit to handle this in time to reopen for 2011, and possibly save the new ride until 2012. It’s only a rumor… don’t get worried just yet.
    If that wasn’t enough, one of our readers supplied us with an overhead picture of the park, with red dots where all the survey markers were seen as of last month. I’m sure more have been spotted by now, but even then you can see the area being surveyed is quite large.
    (7/7/10) Some may be thinking back to the coaster project that got away from Hersheypark… Turbulence (aka: Frequent Faller), as a possible inspiration for the park to buy a ZacSpin coaster from Intamin. However it has also been pointed out that the overall project area contained within the known survey points is really far too large for a ZacSpin, so we’ve got to think bigger. Could Hersheypark be thinking of building the first Mega-Lite coaster in the US perhaps? We know they have been a huge hit internationally. Of course Intamin also has a few other tricks we have yet to see in the US like the Wingwalker coaster, the new Spinning Coaster or even the infamous AquaTrax system. So far all we have is very mild rumors and lots of speculation. Time to do some digging.
    (7/6/10) While nothing more have been firmed up, the latest rumor going around the park does seem to indicate that the next coaster at Hersheypark will likely be from Intamin again.
    (6/14/10) The latest rumors swirling around Hersheypark’s next big coaster project actually now throw Premier Rides into the mix with Intamin as well… and hint that B&M is now more unlikely. Many also seem to think that the project may not be until the 2012 season, though with surveying going on right now, anything can happen. 
    As for those markers, I’ve been contacted by a reader with some professional experience as an actual surveyor and was told that the markings we’ve seen so far have nothing at all to do with the layout of the project. All of the triangle markings found so far have a “Mag Nail” driven into the asphalt in the center and are actually “Control Points”, which are then usually number sequentially as they are created. These points mark the locations the surveyors use to work from... and not the location of the project itself. If people look hard enough, there should be more of these Control Points discovered around the site, as they are set up in a loop around the actual area where the work will be done. So once all the different Control Points are discovered, we should have a large loop surrounding the overall location of the new project area. However the loop could be quite large... much larger than the actual project itself, as I’m told that the permitter loop would also include any and all sites where other infrastructure work (electric, water, sewer, roads, walkways, etc) will also be modifed or tied into.
    So really the best thing to do right now, other than to find more markers, would be to also create an overhead map showing off the location of each discovered and numbered marker as time goes on.
    (6/10/10) Lots of rumors are starting to swirl about the next big coaster in the works for Hersheypark… both good and bad. Starting with the bad news, one rumor claims that this could result in the end of the classic Sooper-Dooper Looper, though I really hope that one is wrong.
    As always, there are tons of rumors claiming that the park’s next coaster will be a B&M at last again, despite the fact that they had been sticking with Intamin for the last few. If they do go with B&M, the ride could be either a Flyer or possibly even a Hypercoaster, but there is no telling what it may be if they go with Intamin. Certainly an Intamin Mega-Lite coaster would go over well in this area too, but it’s too early to tell.
    (6/8/10) A few pictures showing off some of the survey markings being made in Comet Hollow at Hersheypark can be found at Keystone Thrills.
    (6/2/10) I’m told that small white triangle looking survey markers can be found around the Comet Hollow area. One is even said to be placed right under a section of Great Bear’s track. Anyone have pictures?
    (6/1/10) The latest rumor sent in about Hersheypark claims that they may be looked at obtaining a new B&M coaster creation in the next two years. While nothing is set in stone yet, I’m told that the rumor going around is that the station may be placed in the Comet Hollow section of the park, which is also expected to see the Tilt-A-Whirl removed after this season. More when we find out.