Hersheypark To Retire Wildcat Wooden Roller Coaster

© Hersheypark

Hersheypark has announced that they will be permanently retiring Wildcat, one of the park's wooden roller coasters, on Sunday July 31st, 2022.  The park posted the news on their social media channels and asked fans if they had any ideas as to what the park can do with "3,100 feet of wooden track."  Quickly Rocky Mountain Construction posted that they have a couple of ideas.  You can draw your own conclusion there, but the future of the ride seems pretty clear at this point.  Oh, and Hersheypark said they will have more details "later this year" - if you were just closing and tearing down a ride what additional details would there be?

© Great Coasters Int.

© NewsPlusNotes

While we wait for official confirmation of what Hersheypark plans to do with Wildcat, let's reminisce.  The coaster opened in 1996 and was Great Coasters International's first big project.  I recall seeing the above ad in trade magazines that being thrilled at what looked like a layout of a ride from decades ago, and not really seen since then.  All those smooth twists and turns looked thrilling, and indeed they were!  It was even more exciting to go see the ride under construction, also pictured above, well before the 1996 season even started.  The ride has become rough in the decades since it opened, and perhaps its next chapter will help smooth things out.

The coaster stands 106 feet tall, features a 85 foot first drop and a top speed of 50 miles per hour.  The exact track length is 3,183 and the coaster is named after Hersheypark's first coaster.