Candymonium
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Candymonium is a
steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel Railway track, track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely ...
located at
Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park 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 the ...
in
Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an Unincorporated area, 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 ...
. Designed by
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
, the ride was announced in 2019 and opened on July 3, 2020. It is the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster at Hersheypark. It was introduced with a newly-themed section of the park called Hershey's Chocolatetown, adjacent to
Hershey's Chocolate World Hershey's Chocolate World is the name of five visitor centers that started in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. Open year-round, Hershey's Chocolate World offers marketplace shops and restaurants, specializing in Hershey's chocolate products. ...
.


History

On October 3, 2018, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts revealed their "biggest announcement ever": a new section of the park named Chocolatetown, as well as a new entrance plaza, both of which would open in 2020. The anchor attractions were scheduled to include a roller coaster, as well as a new shopping area and a fountain, built at a cost of $150 million. The new coaster was planned to be a
hypercoaster A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least . The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, which features a height of . Th ...
, over tall, which required approval from the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
. According to the filing with the FAA, the coaster was to be, at most, above ground level. The FAA approved the ride. In July 2019, Hersheypark officials announced that the new roller coaster would be called Candymonium, marketed as the "world’s sweetest coaster". According to
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company is a privately held company based in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Milton S. Hershey established HE&R in 1927 to distinguish and separate his chocolate manufacturing company from his other business vent ...
CEO John Lawn, "the coaster was a key ingredient to the entire Hershey’s Chocolatetown". By that time, the first few track pieces and part of the station had been built. In an
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
post in October 2019, Hersheypark posted an image showing that construction on the
lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from t ...
was partially complete. In November 2019, Candymonium
topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed at the top of a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is ofte ...
when its lift hill was installed. The final track piece was installed in February 2020, though an opening date had not been announced at that time. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in March 2020. , the Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed 1,464,264 cumulative cases and 29,814 deaths in the state. , Pennsylvania has administered ...
, construction on Chocolatetown was delayed in April 2020, though construction resumed the next month. The first test train on Candymonium ran on May 6, 2020, with the coaster officially opening on July 3, 2020. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, only a limited number of guests were initially allowed in the park, and riders had to wear face masks while waiting for the ride (although they could take off their masks on the coaster).


Ride experience

After leaving the station, the train immediately ascends the
lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from t ...
. After reaching the top, it enters a drop, in which the train reaches at a top speed of . Then, the train ascends and descends a
airtime Air time or airtime may refer to: *Air time (broadcasting), also spelled "airtime", available hours for broadcast or time purchased for broadcast * Air time (mobile phone), also spelled "airtime", top-up for mobile roaming services *Air time (ride ...
hill over Spring Creek. After the hill, the track reverses direction via a 123-degree Hammerhead turn. After climbing over another camelback hill, a series of airtime hills follows as the track travels back above Spring Creek before making an upward helix to the right and a leftward bank. The train then travels over another airtime hill and down onto a 270-degree left turn. The train then dips slightly and then rises into trim brakes before curving to the right, downward, and up into the final
brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...
.


Characteristics

The ride is long with an initial drop of . The track is colored chocolate brown with light gray supports and contains seven camelback hills. The track covers around of land. Trains reach a maximum speed of . The three trains represent three Hershey's candies: Reese’s,
Kisses A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, Passion (emotion), passion ...
, and
Twizzlers Twizzlers are a licorice-type candy manufactured by Y&S Candies, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a division of The Hershey Company. Twizzlers were first produced in 1929 by Young and Smylie, as the company was then called. The licorice compa ...
. Each car seats four riders in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.


Critical reception

When Candymonium opened, ''Attractions Magazine'' wrote: "Candymonium is a hyper-coaster that lives up to that name, packing in thrills without leaving riders rattled." A reporter for ''
LNP (newspaper) ''LNP'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is published by the LNP Media Group, a division of the family-owned Steinman Enterprises. First published under its present name on October 14, 2014, ''LNP'' tr ...
'' wrote: "In many ways, Candymonium is the more refined cousin to Skyrush. ..But whereas Skyrush is a ride I would not recommend to people who are skittish about roller coasters, Candymonium could be just what people hoping to overcome those fears are looking for due to a lack of loops and truly death-defying spins." The ride won a
Golden Ticket Award ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
from ''
Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
'' magazine in 2021, in which Candymonium was ranked as the 5th best steel roller coaster in the world.


References


External links

* {{Hersheypark Hersheypark Roller coasters in Pennsylvania Hypercoasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard 2020 establishments in Pennsylvania