Great Bear
I4 · Cedar Point & The Midwest
I4 · № 124/159
Great Bear
Hersheypark · US · B&M Inverted Coaster
UNOFFICIAL · NOT PARK-ENDORSED
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Fast facts
- Great Bear opened on May 23, 1998, in Hersheypark's Kissing Tower Hill region. stories.hersheypa.com
- The steel inverted coaster was built by Bolliger & Mabillard. coasterpedia.net
- Its ride height is 37.8 metres, and its maximum speed is 98.2 kilometres per hour. hersheypark.com
- The course contains four inversions: a vertical loop, an Immelmann, a zero-g roll, and a corkscrew. coasterpedia.net
- Great Bear has a listed throughput of 1,300 riders per hour. coasterpedia.net
- The coaster was reported to have cost 13 million dollars to build. cpbj.com
- Hersheypark identifies Great Bear as the park's only inverted roller coaster. stories.hersheypa.com
The story of Great Bear
Hersheypark announced Great Bear on August 19, 1997, and opened the new coaster on May 23, 1998. It was introduced as Pennsylvania's first steel inverted looping roller coaster, bringing a notable new silhouette to the hills of Hershey. coasterpedia.net· hersheypa.com
Bolliger & Mabillard supplied a custom Inverted Coaster for the site. The terrain layout makes use of the hillside, carrying the train through a curved descent and four distinct inversions with the track passing above the park and Spring Creek. coasterpedia.net· hersheypark.com
The ride's familiar roar is part of its character. Hersheypark explains that the sound is produced as wheel vibration resonates through the coaster's hollow track beams, a small engineering detail heard across the surrounding park. stories.hersheypa.com
By its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2023, Hersheypark described Great Bear as a guest favourite. It remains in operation, with its dangling trains and graceful steel course still forming one of the park's great hillside sights. stories.hersheypa.com· hersheypark.com
Sources
- stories.hersheypa.com Acceptable source
- coasterpedia.net Preferred source
- hersheypark.com Acceptable source
- cpbj.com Acceptable source
- stories.hersheypa.com Acceptable source
- hersheypa.com Acceptable source