Hercules (roller coaster)

Hercules
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Coordinates	40°34′52″N 75°31′56″W / 40.58111°N 75.53222°WCoordinates: 40°34′52″N 75°31′56″W / 40.58111°N 75.53222°W
Status	Closed
Opening date	May 6, 1989
Closing date	September 1, 2003
Cost	US$6,000,000
Replaced by	Hydra the Revenge
General statistics
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	Dinn Corporation
Designer	Curtis D. Summers
Model	Terrain
Track layout	Double out-and-back
Height	95 ft (29 m)
Drop	150 ft (46 m)
Length	4,000 ft (1,200 m)
Speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	2:15
Max vertical angle	47°
G-force	2.9
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Hercules at RCDB Pictures of Hercules at RCDB

Hercules was a wooden roller coaster at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania manufactured by Dinn Corporation.

At the time of construction, it was the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world, but due to its poor design the ride only had a short life, operating from 1989 to 2003.^[1] During that time, the ride was retracked by Martin & Vleminckx.^[2] It was replaced by Hydra the Revenge in 2005.

Many riders claimed that Hercules was an extremely rough ride (especially the sharp turn at the bottom of the main drop) which was most likely the reason for the coaster's low ridership and subsequent closing and dismantlement in 2003. It was so rough, it was given the name, "Hurt's your knees."

References

1. "Hercules". Roller Coaster Database. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
2. "Retracking". Martin & Vleminckx. Retrieved 17 November 2013.