Whenever I hear the name Great Bear I will forever think of the marvelously designed Jack Nicklaus golf course in the Poconos. If you mention Great Bear at Hersheypark to me I will merely laugh and say something corny like "You mean... Care Bear!" Hopefully Ill come up with a better insult than that, but, you get the point. Being a B&M it is hard to overlook the fact that this thing is very well engineered with some unique supports and other areas, but the ride quality is just less than stellar. The ride looks like it is a great one with its area in the park and surroundings, but it does not live up. All I have to say is: straight track. The straight track kills the ride. After coming out of the vertical loop, you dive into a revine. Cool a revine..... and then, isnt nothing but straight track until the Immelman. Then, straight track. There are 4, maybe 5 noticable areas of just straight track. Now, dont get me wrong, these areas have a few good foot choppers and weave in and out of other rides, over pathways and over water, but they arent as exciting as what they look when off of the ride. There are some good parts such as the interesting helix before the first drop (which gathers some good speed), packs in some interesting elements throughout the ride and also has some interesting visuals, yet the negatives just outweigh everything else. The ride just doesnt give that B&M feel. It is really weird. Its not that it isnt smoother because it is, it just has this odd kind of vibration the I havent experienced on any type of B&M to this point. And going into the brakes is just plain different to the point I cant explain it. The ride is decent and a crowd pleaser, but it is nothing to write home about or pick up some merchandise in the gift shop. One other little thing before I finish... I had never noticed it before but with the station being so close to the ground it kind of has the funky Roller Coaster Tycoon feel to it. You know, when you first got the game and you started building coasters and they were all right on the ground? Thats what it is like and I havent seen a station like that in person or in pictures before. Im not saying it is a bad thing, it is just kind of funny. Great looking coaster, excellent design for the area that it is crammed into and good visuals = not so great ride. This was a huge addition back in the day and got a lot of hype. Then again Roller Soaker got that same hype just a couple of years ago, so go figure. So, you want to meet up at Great Bear at 7 tonight? Isnt that a little late for a tee time?
|