Comet is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is located in the Hollow section of Hersheypark, next to Skyrush. Built in 1946 by the

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry B. Auchy and Chester Albright under the name Philadelph ...

(PTC) of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the coaster features a double out and back track layout. When built it was jointly owned by Hershey Park and PTC. The maximum speed is .

History

Comet opened in 1946. In 1964, Comet received 6,650 individual 10-watt chaser lights.Sweetness of Success, Charles J. Jacques, Jr., Amusement Park Journal, 1997 In 1994, Comet received 2 new trains named "Mork's Comet" and "

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

", the names were removed when the comets got new trains in 2024. One of the old trains is currently used as seating at the Hershey Museum, and the other was donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives. Comet was re-tracked during the off-season in 2006, and new seat belts were added two years later. Comet was repainted the same color white, and the station was redone, during the 2012 off-season. Two years later, the lift hill was rehabilitated and straightened, removing the well known "kink" that was in the lift hill. At the 2023 IAAPA Expo, it was announced that Comet would receive new PTC trains for the 2024 season. The Comet - waiting to begin

Ride experience

Comet goes up a lift, then drops at a 47-degree angle. After the first drop, the car goes up a hill and then makes a left 180-degree turn. The car drops back down another hill, goes up a small hill, and then up a larger hill, making another 180-degree turn. After the turn, there is another drop and then the track makes a right turn ("dog leg"), going through several bunny hills before another left 180-degree turn. Following the second set of bunny hills is a left turn and two bunny hills, then the car slows into the station. The car usually sits for a few moments before coming around into the station because of an extra set of brakes that served as an unloading point until Comet was renovated to its current "spill 'n fill" operation.

Reception

A magazine in the 1970s proclaimed Comet to be among the top 15 roller coasters in the U.S. By 1996, Comet was the second-most-ridden attraction at Hersheypark, behind Coal Cracker. Comet has been ranked among the top 50 wooden roller coasters by Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards several times.

References

{{Hersheypark Hersheypark Roller coasters in Pennsylvania Roller coasters introduced in 1946 1946 establishments in Pennsylvania