Trailblazer is a

family roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usually designed to produce a thrilling experience, though some r ...

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 Hershey may refer to: People * Hershey (name), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname Places * Hershey, Nebraska, a village * Hershey, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community, home to the chocolate company * Hershey, Cuba ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It is located in the Pioneer Frontier section of Hersheypark, just below

Storm Runner Storm Runner is a launched roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by Intamin Amusement Rides and located in the Pioneer Frontier section of the park, the Accelerator Coaster opened to the public on May 8, ...

. The ride is notable for being the second-oldest operating coaster in the park, after the

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

History

In 1970, Hersheypark hired R. Duell & Associates to reinvigorate the park, bringing fresh ideas and new attractions to put and keep Hersheypark on the map. With only one roller coaster in the park at the time, the Comet, there was a desire to add more and keep the park competing at a national level. After receiving several proposals for the new attraction, the park decided to partner with

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, California, Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Ka ...

to create Trailblazer. The ride was purchased on April 30, 1973, at a cost of $975,000. The ride was constructed in what is now the Pioneer Frontier section of the park and opened to the public on May 18, 1974. Based off of an illustration of the ride in a 1974 Souvenir book printed before the coaster was finalized, it is speculated that two lift hills may have been a part of a different proposed layout.Hershey's Guidebook, Western Publishing Company, 1974. The ride received two brand new trains in 2003 built by

Premier Rides Premier Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States. The company was the first to use Linear Induction Motors (LIMs) on their roller coasters. Jim Seay has been the sole owner and company president since 1996. The firs ...

. The main difference with the new cars were individual lap bars for each seat, rather than the single lap bar for each pair of seats.

Ride experience

Exiting the station, the train descends a small dip before turning left. After passing through the storage transfer track, the train makes a slight curve to the left into the lift hill. After cresting the lift, the train momentarily flattens out, then begins a slight descending curve to the right, passing over part of the queue line for Storm Runner. After passing under the lift, the train heads heads straight, then into a slight curve to the left, followed by a small hill into the mid-course brake run. The train then traverses down another drop, curving to the left and passing under the track of the Dry Gulch Railroad. After another slight upwards hill, the train straightens out, then curves right into a descending double helix. After exiting the helix, the train continues on an upward sloping right hand turn into the final brake run before returning to the station.

References

External links

* Hersheypark Roller coasters in Pennsylvania Roller coasters introduced in 1974 1974 establishments in Pennsylvania {{Hersheypark-stub