b.mac said:
Hersheypark has something planned for the near future, be it 2019 or 2020. Hersheypark was supposed to present and discuss a future addition in front of the town on April 3rd, but it was delayed until June due to other discussions taking precedence at the time. Not much is known about what Hershey has planned, as Hershey still has not touched the land freed up by rerouting Park Boulevard. Most speculation at this point isn't well based, and should be taken with plenty of salt. The only confirmation that *something* is happening is that ACE members have reported Hershey told them to hold off on hosting CoasterCon until 2020, for some reason.
The popular rumors (since I still keep up big time with my home park) is:
Relocation of the main gate to where the current Claw attraction is at. If they do this, it's going to free up quite a few attractions to be relocated to the expansion.
This rumor I'm highly speculative of. I know that Tudor Way gets very crowded (not much bigger than BGW's entrance). I can see it being a second entrance, but all park support systems would need to be moved. Not to mention it would effectively 'kill' Founders Circle, a real historic part of the park. IMHO I think a second gate will end up a Boardwalk/Pass gate rather than a main gate.
Rumors for what is coming: A return of B&W to the park with a Giga. HP would be poised to dominate the mid-atlantic if they get one. The rumor is it would circle the entire area. It could be a terrain hugging beast, as the old course area they bought is quite hilly.
I'm down with this rumor as it would make sense. The park is 'peeved' with Intamin from what I hear, and after a few years of success with them, the Skyrush debacle is why they've gone elsewhere since then. The other two rumors hold water too: A new GCI terrain coaster or a RMC ground up coaster.
Of the two I think a GCI would be most likely given HP's great relationship with them. But if HP were to get a RMC, I think this would be it.
I'll post that reasoning in a moment.
All in all I think that a B&M Giga is what this project will most likely be. There's going to be space for a second coaster, as HP's 'pattern' is to have 2 coasters per themed area. I think putting in the harder to build (just because of support structure) in the B&M first, and setting a 'boundary' would be the best decision for them. They can add a smaller RMC in this area down the line.
Another popular rumor that persists for Hersheypark is the RMC of Wildcat.
IMO that will never happen. Wildcat was GCI's first ever project. Hershey is too loyal to let that happen. If at all I think a full GCI lead rebuild would be first to happen. An RMC of Lightning Racer would happen before a RMC Wildcat. Without a doubt though, I bet RMC would be licking their chops at getting their hands on either one due to the unique layouts of both rides.
If Hershey is telling ACE to wait until 2020 to come back, then they have something huge in store. There's also been guesses that 2018's projects (Breakers Edge and Whitecap Racers) were a test run to see of two really close projects can be run, and 2020 is actually going to be 2 coasters instead of just 1.
I don't see this happening, but Hershey is one of the few independent parks that is set up to make this happen if they were to. I think it's just going to be a single coaster with a whole new themed area, and the expansion will be big enough to really be special. Hershey has 15 coasters currently, and I think that they are racing to try to catch up to Cedar Point, and the new expansion is giving them the chance to catch CP. I think this is where the 2 as opposed to 1 comes from, because if they can get closer, build one offs, and have something unique, along with a new themed area; that is certainly a reason for ACE to show up in 2020.
