Coal Cracker is a classic hydroflume ride located at

Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of ...

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

. The ride was installed by

Arrow Development Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman ...

in 1973, making it the oldest water ride at Hersheypark still in daily operation. It has a unique layout, due to the terrain features of this part of the park. Riders are seated in boats for the three and a half minute ride along a water channel over long.Hershey's Guidebook, Western Publishing Company, 1974. Once the

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

boat has ascended the first lift hill, riders are only off the ground. A second lift carries riders above the Twin Turnpike ride, preparing them for the final 35-degree, drop. Riders'

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

s are taken midway through the drop. The Coal Cracker shares space with several newer rides, including the

SooperDooperLooper SooperDooperLooper (stylized as sooperdooperLooper) is a steel roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 8, 1977. Soope ...

(built in 1977) and the Great Bear (1998). The water supply for the ride is pumped through pipes connected to a man-made lake. This lake has the capacity to store of water, and the pump system can handle approximately a minute. Guests are loaded into the boats from a revolving turntable; as the boats are always in motion this permits a higher ride capacity while providing more stability during loading and unloading. Coal Cracker ride photos are produced and sold by Get The Picture Corporation. Beginning in 2016, the Coal Cracker began operation during ''Hersheypark in the Dark''. The Coal Cracker also begin operating during ''Springtime in the Park'' beginning in 2019. The Coal Cracker ride is not in operation during winter events at Hersheypark, such as ''Christmas Candylane''.

References

{{coord, 40.28687, -76.65360, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Hersheypark Water rides Amusement rides introduced in 1973