Coaster Information:

The Hydra Revenge is a steel floorless roller coaster based at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately the ride replaced another wooden ride called Hercules which was closed for demolition at the end of the parks 2003 season. The park owners felt pretty bad about blowing the coaster up into smithereens, so in honor of the Hercules they named it Hydra as the two battled in Greek mythology.

The Hydra is known for being the second roller coaster in America, with an inversion before the lift hill! Now to be fair, that’s pretty damn cool! The first to build an inversion before a lift hill was Red Devil based at Ghost Town In The Sky, which is in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

Bolliger & Mabillard said it was their first roller coaster not to feature a pre-drop after the lift hill but a small drop before the main hill to help relieve tension on the chain. Also it’s known for being the first roller coaster to have a camera take a photo of your experience whilst you’re upside down.

When the coaster opened in May 7^th, 2005, Bolliger & Mabillard thought the coaster was two loud with its screeching structure! What they decided to do was have their track supports filled with sand, which made the ride very quiet.  I don’t know about you, but I love the sound of a roaring roller coaster go screaming over the top of you whilst waiting in a queue.  I find it hypes you up, filling your veins with adrenaline!

The ride starts out by going through a “JoJo” roll providing a lot of hang time. While in the “JoJo” roll, riders’ photographs are taken via the world’s first and only on-ride camera placed to photograph riders while upside down. The train makes a right turn and then begins climbing the 95-foot lift hill. It then quickly speeds down the 105-foot descent and into the inclined dive loop. Then, it speeds into the zero-g roll providing a weightless feeling. After that is an oversized corkscrew leading into the second on-ride camera then into an oddly shaped cobra roll. Then there is an “S” shaped airtime hill followed by another airtime hill and into the final corkscrew. The train then enters a helix then a turn into the brakes and goes slowly and cautiously back into the station.

As a roller coaster enthusiast, I have never heard of this ride. I shocked myself! Do I want to ride it? Yes I do!

Quick Info:

Current Coaster Name: Hydra the Revenge
Current Park Name: Dorney Park
Previous Ride Name(s): Hurcules
Location: South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, USA
Status: Operating
Links: http://www.dorneypark.com/
Cost: $13.000.000 USD

Technical Info:

Type: Steel Floorless
Opened: May 7, 2005
Designer: Werner Stengel
Features: Terrain
Height: 95 feet
Max Drop: 105 feet
Max Speed: 53 mph
Length: 3198 feet
Acceleration: No launch
Inversions: 7
Duration: 2.35
Trains: 2
Capacity: 1245 per hour

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