Episode - 287 - Homeward Bound

We finally made it out to our homepark, Hersheypark, and we discovered all the new and exciting stuff for 2026.  Let's Discuss

Transcript

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Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the 125 Roller Coaster Challenge Trims and Staple Podcast. Guys, I'm Paul, and today we're talking about I finally got to go home. Now, of course, it was the end of April, but we've been uh dropping a lot of different um conceptual um podcast episodes with we just did inverted, uh we also did one behind the numbers. So even though um you know it's been a couple weeks since I've been to Hershey, I want to talk to you about that Hershey Park trip because you know when you go home, there's always a special place in your heart. And even though technically I've done the math, I am closer to Kenobles where I'm at right now. Kenobles is a great home park, but for me it's always going to be Hershey lot. But before we get started, guys, if you want to reach out and uh talk with us, uh if you listen to us on YouTube, just you know drop a comment. I answer every comment on YouTube. And if you're new to the podcast on uh YouTube, make sure you like and subscribe. Um, we're trying to get to 10,000 subscribers. We're at over 8,000 um subscribers now, so we are well on our way to hit that goal of 10,000 by the end of the season, and we want you to be a part of it. If you're listening to this on uh Instagram, uh not, I'm sorry, if you're listening to this on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you are, um thank you guys. Make sure you follow because we're dropping these all over the time, you know, two to three a week at this point, because we like to keep our episodes between 15 to a half hour, uh, 15 minutes to a half hour, because we we think um we don't need to drag on for the Joe Rogan experience kind of thing there. Uh or in the loop. I love those guys. But my God, a four-hour podcast, woo, that's a lot of time. Uh, but if you want to reach out to us, Instagram, uh, tickety talk, Facebook, it's um 125 RollerCoaster. And if uh X, we're doing more on X, we're letting people know where we're gonna be on X. Um, it's 125 Roller Coast. There's no ER. Now, let's talk about our home park here. So, Hershey Park, I've been going there for 45 years or so. Uh I remember I was six uh when we first went there. When I first started going to Hershey Park, you had the Comet, you had the Trailblazer, and you had the Super Duper Looper. That was it. That was the park. And then one day we would walk. I mean, the park to me was vast being a little kid. Um, but I remember my first coaster being Trailblazer, I remember Super Duper Looper being that that pinnacle thing for me here. So I know this park pretty well. I've been going to this park forever, and I went to the park at the end of April um on a Sunday because uh they weren't open during the week. Uh it was a rainy the day before was a washout, so it was busy, but it wasn't totally busy. And I went there with one goal, and that was what's new at Hershey Park. And you know what? I'm so glad I did that video. I knocked it out that night and I had it up the next day, and it shot through the roof because the one thing that I'm able to do that a lot of other content creators can't do, and it's like this for other content creators too, because I know Hershey Park, Darney Park, and Knobles, I'm able to find things that they're probably going to miss. You know, oh, there's a new coaster dog, or oh, look, um, you know, the the this new stand over here wasn't there but before and stuff like that. And that's the same thing. When I went to Magic Mountain, um, Kevin, who I love his channel, um, you know, fantastic guy, uh, he knows Magic Mountain. And same thing with In the Loop, and I'm sure, uh, not in the loop, uh, Airtime Thrills. When it comes to West Coast uh parks, of course, um In the Loop knows Disney and those guys better. And of course, I'm sure Coaster Studios knows King's Dominion and Bush Gardens better than I do. So when it comes to Hershey, what I thought was going to be an off year ended up being a 45-minute video about all the different food options, all the different stands. Um, you know, the big attraction, of course, is the upcoming uh boardwalk. Um, they're taking out the kids section in the front, the little pirate thing that was roped off, and they're turning it into a splash pad so it's a lot more open, so it's not as much of a pinch point uh that it was before. But my main reason for going to Hershey Park that day was I gotta get what's in what's new done. And I did, and I was very happy about that, but I also got to play, and that's what it's all about. And of course, if I'm going to Hershey Park, uh, I do have a season pass this year. Um, I've had a season pass for about 25 years. Last year, I did not get the season pass. And the reason was pretty simple. It was a $300 expenditure on a tight budget. Back then, business was not doing good. I had a lot of bills piling up, the business was having trouble, and I couldn't justify the $300 bill for one park while I can save $80 for $220, get the Dutch Wonderland pass, and go to Kenny Wood, Isle of Wild, Lake Compounds, Dutch Wonderland, Splish Splash, Sandcastle, Water Park. So for me, it was a financial thing. But this year, man, all last year it just felt like there was a void. I'd go by the park. I did go there once, uh and I rode the coasters, and I did um, I think I did uh what's new or something like that. But I only went one day because my friend had to bring a friend pass. So the reality was, what am I gonna do here? Um this year I had to get it, and probably one of the first purchases I did, because I the Six Flags pass, that's every month. So yeah, as long as I keep my money coming in, they're gonna be happy there. But I got I first thing I did was I bought the pass. I had to get the pass this year, and I went with king size. I have yet to see the logic for me to get the giant pass. Uh the lounge is nice, but that's not a selling point. The discounts are nice, not really a selling point there. The front of the line pass, but I only get one, and I know it's just gonna go to Wildcat's Revenge. And the reality for me is I really want to um what's the word I'm looking for there? When I go to the park, I want to um I I don't go on the weekends. So the front of the line pass, I have no problem waiting 25 minutes for Wildcat's Revenge or Candemonium or something like that, just because of the fact that it is my home park. Um also I'm planning on Ubering a lot more, and the best place to Uber in my area is Hershey. You got the tourist going to the airport, going from the lodge to the park, from the park to um um you know the hotel. There's a lot of different um aspects there. And be also because of that, I haven't purchased it at the time that I'm recording this, but probably in the next week or two, I will be getting the um two times a day uh dining pass. Um I love the cheesesteak place. That's fantastic. I love the fact I can get pork barbecue wherever I whenever I go. Um, it pays for itself pretty quickly. I haven't gotten it yet because it's still the off-season. The park's not open for the regular summer season, hence the pass doesn't work right now, so there's no reason to buy the pass. But I do have the drink cup. Um, I got that with the king size, but all in all, going to Hershey Park felt really good. Um, did a lot of walking around the park two or three times, did a lot of conversations. I talked to uh the lady in front of the uh giant lounge, which was nice to talk to her. Uh, I talked to some of the people there with the bars. Uh, quick little overview. Some of the big things and uh some of the things that are happening, what's new at Hershey Park, I might as well tell you here, in case you haven't seen the video or you're on Spotify or something like that. Uh the big thing is the uh splash pad going in the front of the boardwalk. Uh the little wave pool will still be there, uh, but that whole area there, it was like pirate themed, is no longer gonna be rope dolphins, now a splash pad, kind of like what they have over by where the roller soaker used to be over by uh Breaker's Edge. So that's the big marquee ride there. And then they also have a hotel now uh and a new food area over in Hershey. They got rid of uh Hennigan's, I believe it was. It wasn't Hennickins, it was something like Hula Hands, and uh Devon's still there, but they did flip the restaurant uh over there, um, which was needed. It was kind of outdated. Devon is still one of the best seafood places you can go in the central PA. So they got that taken care of. But the um the new place there is that's their big changes there. But the smaller changes are there's a new coaster dog, uh Sky Rush Coaster, um one there. Uh there's also uh a boba uh truck that I don't remember seeing before. The Aritas Um over by Chick-fil-A is expanded. Uh I noticed there's a lot more uh sponsorships. Uh like one of the bars was Sun Chaser, another bar was Blue Moon. They are getting a new bar in the front. So if you remember when you walked in last year, you go to the 1806, which is the big um food area right in the front of the park, right by the old carousel uh circle, and there was a bar on the far end of that that you can go and get drinks and stuff. Well, that's now an Ula Bowl. So they changed that up a bit there, they turned it into a third Ula bowl bowl stand. There's one over by Twisted Um Gravity, and there's one in the water park. So this is there, but the subway, which was across from there, right next to the character corner, that is now turning into a bar. So at the time that I filmed, they were just starting the construction. But by the season, that should be a full-fledged bar where you can get different drinks with liquor in it. Uh, the one thing I do like is when I go to Dorney Park, they do have bars, but they kind of like the cocktail mixes, you know, like, oh, here you go, let me pour it out for you. It's already pre-mixed. Here, you're actually gonna have a bartender making you your drinks, which I always think is better, uh, especially considering now I am technically a bartender. So um I definitely support that aspect of things there. But that's what's new that's going up in the front there. Um, you know, uh was it Starbucks has uh refreshers there, so you can get the pink drink now. Um the big dipping dots news is they have Dr. Pepper flavored dipping dots, slow clap. That one I'm I might get that. I do like uh Dr. Pepper. Um then also I'm trying to think real quick here. Boom, boom, boom. The giant lounge is going through a change next year, so it's still the same as last year. And the giant pass really sells out quickly. So if you like the giant pass, you've got to make sure that you um you know jump on it early in the season uh because there is limited numbers. They don't want 200 people in that lounge, so they do kind of restrict how many people can get the giant pass. Uh, but all in all, those are the things I saw. Uh that day I did ride uh Wildcat's Revenge. And then when I was filming, uh the lockers are now no longer a third party. Hershey Park owns the lockers, which means if you lock your stuff in a locker, uh you have to get security now. Um I'm still not a big fan of the lockers at Hershey Park because you can't move them. And I still see that potential problem where at the end of the day, I remember vividly having a locker in the beginning of the day because we would go to the boardwalk, me and Devin, uh Airy now, and at the end of the day, and then I'd leave my stuff in there, go ride rides, and then I'd be at the parking lot and be like, oh man, I gotta go all the way back through the entire park because you know I left them in the locker over at the water park. And sometimes the water park will close early, and you're like, oh my god, you're running back, you know. Let me in, let me in. I left stuff in the lockers. Uh, that's still is going to be a problem because of the um the fact that you can't move these lockers. So, you know, I was hoping that they would be like Six Flags, Cedar Fair, uh, Push Gardens Williamsburg. Every other major chain has um the same locker company and they're movable lockers, but Hershey, nope, still not there. But they don't have locker attendance anymore, so you have to track down security uh if you do lose your lock uh stuff, misplace your locker or forget the combination. Uh, but because of that, I walked all the way to Candemonium and that was walk-on. And that was fantastic walk-on. So I only did two rides. I was only there for about three, eight, two, three hours. Um, I went in there with a goal, which was to do what's new. I was debating, I still want to do a full park walkthrough of Zoo America again. It's been about four years, and there are some changes. The gift shop's gone. Uh, well, the gift shop's been moved, there's no food there anymore. And, you know, the animals are animals. So I want to freshen that up. But at the last minute, I was kind of like, you know what? Instead of trying to do two things, let me do one thing really, really well. And um, yeah, that's what we did. So at the time of this, I've probably been back to Hershey Park once or twice more. Uh, we are not doing our park days every visit now. Uh, if you listen to a couple episodes ago by the numbers, you'll know that I thought the vlogs were popular. The the numbers don't support it. So we're gonna keep doing them, but we're only gonna do them when there's a reason. So if I stop in at Dorney Park and um I'm with the family, there's not going to be an R-Park day. If I go to Dorney Park and I'm doing a challenge accepted and getting all the water slides, which is something I have to do this year for the 125 water slide challenge, yes, I'll do an R-Park day to go through that day. Uh, but all in all, guys, shorter episode because it was a quick stop at Hershey Park, but I am looking forward to having the uh meal plan and the season pass this year and using it more than I probably should. So, once again, guys, this is Paul, and I can't wait to see you in the queue in 2026.