|
The Roller Soaker is a unique coaster to say the least. Essentially, it is the cross-product of a roller soaker and river rapids style attraction. Built in 2002, the Roller Soaker was the third suspended water coaster ever constructed after Carowinds’s Flying Super Saturator and Wet ‘n’ Wild’s ill-fated Hydra Fighter II. Currently, the Roller Soaker holds the distinction as the only suspended water coaster still in operation due to Carowinds and Wet ‘n’ Wild removing their versions and Freestyle Music Park closing yet again. While a really rare style of coaster, the Roller Soaker is a pretty enjoyable coaster that abandoned thrills for good, old-fashioned fun.
Located in the Boardwalk section of the park, the Roller Soaker’s area looks fantastic. Not only does the attraction have a striking blue paint scheme that is quite fitting for a soaking water coaster, but the entire area around the attraction is teeming with geysers, sprayers, and waterfalls. In fact, this area, which is appropriately named the Soak Zone, allows non-riders to man a lot of these sprayers to absolutely drench the riders way above them. I personally love the interaction between riders and non-riders since it not only makes the ride itself more enjoyable, but it is a very cool feature to have at the water park on a hot day.
Prior to this year, I had visited Hersheypark both in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, I ended up riding the Roller Soaker. Due to an incredibly long line throughout the majority of the day, I chose to skip this one until the very end of the day. By then I figured the line would have been non-existent, as is usually the case with most water rides at night. While there weren’t many people ahead of me in line, I was exposed to the Roller Soaker’s two fatal flaws that evening. One, it has an absolutely putrid capacity. Considering how large Hersheypark is, I’m stunned that they decided to add a coaster with a capacity this low. Not only does each train only seat 4 riders, but loading is very slow as well. Two, the ride suffers from frequent breakdowns. Not only did I see a few breakdowns while waiting in line, I actually got stuck on the ride for 5-10 minutes after returning to the station since my restraint wouldn’t unlock. Needless to say, my wait for the Roller Soaker ended up being incredibly frustrating and this ruined my ability to enjoy the coaster. As a result, I decided to skip it back in 2006 when I returned to the park, a decision I have regretted since I realized afterwards that I was incredibly biased against this attraction when I rode it.
Flash forward to 2011. An hour before the Boardwalk closed, I decided to give the Roller Soaker a second chance. Like before, the line wasn’t too bad in terms of the number of people in line since I rode it pretty late in the day. However, the ride’s awful capacity still remains. I ended up waiting almost a half hour even though I skipped half of the wait (since I was a single rider, I found a family of three to ride with in the station). To the park’s credit, the Roller Soaker didn’t break down at all during my most recent visit; however, I heard people complaining about this in line, so I guess it still is a problem. Therefore, if you have any intentions of riding this, wait until later in the day, since even if you skip most of the queue line and end up in the station, a dreadfully slow 30-45 minute wait still remains. I could not imagine waiting the entire length of the queue line during the middle of the day since the coaster simply is not worth an hour plus wait, regardless of how hot it is outside. Personally, I prefer to face backwards since it makes the water elements a surprise and it also allows me to see if I hit my target down below or not.
Before detailing the ride (I know you want me to get to that by now), I probably should mention the vehicles. As you probably know, each rider is given a water bomb to retaliate against those non-riders manning those sprayers that I mentioned earlier. With the pull of a lever, four gallons of ice-cold water are released upon unsuspecting guests. Ultimately, this proves to be my favorite aspect of the attraction since it feels almost like one of those pranks students pull against their unsuspecting teachers during class. Additionally, the Roller Soaker’s restraints are excellent, as they consist of a simple lap bar. Not only is the entire ride very comfortable, but the restraints allow for a very free feeling during the ride.
After dispatching, the Roller Soaker begins with one of the fastest lift hills I have ever experienced. Upon cresting the hill, the ride consists of several turns high above the ground. While the coaster never really gains any major speed, the turns have some decent swinging that is heightened by the fact that it occurs almost 50 or so feet above the ground. But the real strength of the attraction is the arsenal of water features. Ranging from waterfalls to sprayers to geysers, there is no possible way that one can come off the Roller Soaker dry. Throughout the attraction when I am not getting bombarded by water, I am scanning the area like a hawk looking for my prey. My favorite target though is the lazy river below one of the turns since the bomb can then hit several individuals at once instead of just one.
Overall, the Roller Soaker is a very unique attraction that blends a roller coaster with a drenching water ride. Honestly though, the ride seems more like an aerial lazy river in my opinion, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Without a doubt, the queue times for this attraction are dreadful thanks to its abysmal capacity so I highly recommend that you ride this later in the day since it simply is not worth the incredibly long line that it always has during the heat of the afternoon. Still, the attractions uniqueness and guaranteed soaking make it well worth a ride while at Hersheypark if the line is not beyond the station.
Best Seat: Backwards Seats
Favorite Part: Turn Above the Lazy River
|