There are no words to describe the launch. This was my first rocket coaster and it was awsome! The only real breather in the ride is before going down the first drop! There no dull moments in this ride at all, its just incredible! If its was a bit longer, then I would probably give it a 10.

The launch doesnt take your breath away like Dragsters, but it is still forceful. The inversions are cool, just watch out for the snake dive with your hands up.It can really throw your shoulder into the restraint.

A pretty cool ride.I give it a 9.I was on it with my best friend she was screaming the whole time(laughs)she thought it was scary but I think it`s fun

After my most recent visit to Hersheypark and the massive amount of launch coasters I have ridden since this ones opening season I decided to review it again.APPEARANCE-9 I still think it is kind of ugly but it is much cooler at night. CAPACITY-10 Very little wasted time and the dual deck station is a great touch. I got a couple rides in on a busy day with a 15 minute wait. RIDE QUALITY-9 Still just a little short which is to be expected, but when compared to other launches this is a marathon. FUN-10 Much more enjoyable this time. Great laughs with the family and the launch and elements really delivered. RERIDE-10 Now my second favorite coaster in the park only behind Great Bear. Hey what can I say I really like that ride. OVERALL-48 AVG-9.6 Same score as Lightning but this one is on the rise so I give it spot number 2.

I rode this yesterday so the experience is fresh in my mind.
This is a very intense ride, once you get on it. It broke 2 times while I was there. One of those times I was in line for it. It was an extra 10 minutes for me.
The launch is incredible. I thought it was a little more intense than Batman & Robin: The Chiller at SFGA. The first hill is thrilling because you face the sky and then plummet straight down to the earth. The valley that follows dips lower than the launch start. The track then bends up to an immleman?? I think that is what it is called. After this, it drops down again and back up to an inline roll. There is a second inline roll that begins to happen, but at the moment when youre upside down, the track just drops down. Unbelievable!! No other coaster Ive been on has this and the experience is amazing. The last hill tilts you to the right side just before the braking downhill.
IN A NUTSHELL: Launch is great, 1st hill is thrilling, 2nd loop is ok, 3rd loop is unreal, last hill is ok. This ride is non stop speed with a few surprises. It left me only slightly dizzy and it hurt my arms because of the way they suggest you grip the handles on the shoulder restraints. I would have given this ride a 9, but it doesnt last long enough.

I really REALLY want to like this ride a lot (like one of the best Ive ever been on) but I cant. Dont get me wrong, this is a great ride but theres some things I just didnt like about the coaster. The launch was great and powerful, the air on the top hat great, the drop great but this ride (just like I had feared) has really bad pacing. It just doesnt flow. The elements also feel awkwardly shaped like the pull out of the cobra loop and the banking on the ending. They look weird and feel weird when riding. It felt almost thrown together. The restraints were also, umm, different. I liked the freedom that they gave me but theres just something about them I dont like. Lap bars would have made this ride better. Besides the beginning, the snake dive was the best. Its different from anything else out there and is extremely thrilling. I just felt like the rest of the ride was lacking. Maybe its because I had such high expectations for the ride but even so, I just felt Storm Runner could have been better.

The only bad thing about this coaster is the bottleneck it seems to have created on the pathway between it and Sidewinder. Other than that its top notch beginning to end.

The queue - small. Ive seen some fairly large crowds at Hershey, but the queue seems to be set up to hold a 35 or 40 minute line at best. In fact, a sign near the start of the line proclaims a 35 minute wait from this point.

A dual loading station that works!? It works and it works well. Pretty steady dispatch all around. They send the first train and when it returns they send the other one. There seems to be a slightly longer delay before the first goes again than between the first and second. Im not sure if this is supposed to be, but if they clipped that dispatch time to the same time between trains 1 and 2 and kept a steady flow, the capacity would be maxed. As it is, its above good. We never saw more than a 20 or 25 minute wait on both Sunday and Monday.

The trains - nice. The restraints didnt bother me at all. No size issues in our group and we only saw one person turned away on both days and many rides. There is plenty of signage explaining that the restraint must rest on your lap, not your stomach - complete with little photos. The test seat out front is usually ocupied by bored kids, but its fun to make them move - especially when youre scary looking

The launch. Right up there with Xcelerators. Powerful. More powerful than TTDs without question. Im a hands-up on the lauch bozo - at least I know I have a problem. Storm Runner whipped my arms back in a way that TTDs didnt even come close to. Id still say that overall Xcelerator has the most kick, but Storm Runner is very comparable.

The Top Hat. My favorite of the three. I really prefer the vertical drop without the twist (both Xcelerators standard variety and TTDs 270.) It just feels better to me to dive straight down. Maybe Im just a plain vanilla guy. I dont need the sprinkles or chocolate coating.

The Cobra Loop. Felt somewhere between an Immelman and a Dive Loop. It was good. Ugly as hell. (I liken it to something drawn by a 3 year old) but this proves it doesnt have to look pretty to ride pretty. Smooth and fun.

The Barrel Roll/Snake Dive. Right here is the money on this coaster. The reason I kept going back. After the Cobra Loop you crest a medium sized hill, go directly in the barrel roll and right into the snake dive (it all seems like one element). Your ass will leave the seat at the top of that hill and not touch it again until the bottom of the pretty much vertical exit from the snake dive. If you have any kind of airtime whore in you at all (and hey, who doesnt?) then this is a MUST do experience. If the ride was just this, Id probably hug and kiss it. Its just that damn fun.

From there - its a speedy little jaunt up a morbidly, freakishly "S" banked double up (best I can describe it without my photos) into the final brakes.

All in all, it makes for one serious ride. Herhsey has a winner on their hands.

My take on the rocket coasters:

Ohio has the biggest, California has the first, but Pennsylvania has the best.

As you look at the queue line, you think to yourself, "Wow, this thing is going to take a while..." but it doesnt. Its one of the fastest moving lines Ive ever seen. It was a full queue and it took around 30 minutes to get to the ride itself. I was really pumped when i got into the seat, since it was my first rocket coaster. The station is really nice (they have pigeon spikes all over; makes me feel bad for them), and its a double station, so it moves really fast. I have a little rant though. The restraints are so uncomfortable. Your elbows are pushed out of the car itself and theres no padding for them. I still have bruises on my triceps from these restraints. Hopefully theyll change them. Anyways, back to the ride. They staple (and I mean staple) you in, and then youre off. You creep over a little turn, and then youre on the launch pad. My heart was beating so fast right now it was hurting. They gave you the rules, and then a few moments of silence. Finally, theres the moment of truth: "Now get ready, here we go!" Wow, this is just incredible. The forces this puts on your body are just amazing. My face stretched out on that launch, right in front of my Science teacher. In 2 seconds, youre shot up a 150 foot top hat. The brief view from the top is amazing, and then for my favorite part. Straight down, 180 feet. Put your hands up, spread your legs out, and fly down it. Its nothing short of amazing. Then comes a G-filled cobra loop. I cant really describe it, since its so disorienting, but its so great. Then, a HUGE dose of airtime on the entrance to the zero-g-roll. Sweet zero-g too. Up next: the flying snake dive (cheesy name). Twisting, dropping, then leveling off hasnt been more complicated. Then, theres two turns that just hurt. They should just take them out. BRAKES. Whew, all of that packed into 17 seconds.
This ride is truly amazing. Id give it a 9 out of 10.

Revising my original review. The first time I rode this was in the front and it was an "good but not great" ride. HOWEVER... after riding in the back, things have changed. This is definately a "back seat" coaster. From the launch to the air over the top hat, to the positive Gs after the second drop...one wild coaster.

Storm Runner is by far the most intense, insane, and craziest coaster that Ive ever been on. The station is very nice, but its literally crammed in between Sidewinder and Trailblazer. The loading for this ride is amazing, and, although the queue was full 2 out of our 3 rides, the wait was only a half an hour! The lines just kept moving at an amazing rate!!! The trains are very odd, and the restraints must way like ten pounds, because theyre so heavy. After waiting a bit on the track, a voice says "Now get ready. Here we go.", and then comes the launch. Sitting in the front, the launch is very powerful and intense. The 180 ft. vertical drop is insane, and in the front seat it looks endless. The cobra roll is awesome due to its height, and there is some insane air time in the zero-g roll/snake dive. The weird trick after the snake dive is pretty weird, but it is awesome none the less. The whole ride is only about 20 seconds long, which keeps it from a 10, but it is an amazing ride nonetheless, and its an incredible experience that is not to be missed!