Lightning Racer is a dual-track, racing wooden roller coaster at Hersheypark.
This Great Coasters International creation will get your competitive juices flowing as
the two sides race to the finish line, narrowly avoiding each other along the way.
This coaster is a borderline top 10 wood coaster in Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards,
but is Lightning Racer actually that good?
Find out in this review of Lightning Racer.
Great Coasters International or GCI built their first roller coaster in 1996 at Hersheypark.
Named Wildcat, this wood coaster would stand 106 feet or 32 meters tall, reach speeds of
50 mph or 80 kph, and navigate 3183 feet or 970 meters of twisted track.
The coaster was very well received in its early years for its dynamic layout and pacing.
GCI went on to build two similar coasters in Roar for the Six Flags chain in 1998 and
1999, but they also built Gwazi for Busch Gardens Tampa in 1999.
This would be a dueling wooden roller coaster with an exciting series of near-misses.
Hersheypark was impressed by Gwazi and contracted GCI to build Lightning Racer for the 2000
season.
On paper, this ride had a lot of similarities to Wildcat.
It would stand 92 feet or 28 meters tall, reach speeds of 51 mph or 82 kph, and navigate
3393 feet or 1034 meters of track.
Lightning Racer would also have the swooping drops and tangled layout of Wildcat.
And both rides were placed in the Midway America section in the back of the park.
But there were two main things differentiating the coasters.
One, Lightning Racer would be a racing coaster.
Two sides- Thunder and Lightning- would be dispatched side by side and race through the
layout.
The two tracks would be placed in close proximity to each other, so the coaster could produce
some visually-stunning near-misses like Gwazi.
Two, Lightning Racer would feature the company’s new Millennium Flyer trains.
Wildcat originally opened and ran with PTC trains through the 2006 season.
Today, Wildcat runs Millennium Flyer trains like Lightning Racer.
Millennium Flyer trains are single bench cars that are designed to better articulate through
and handle GCI’s twisted layouts.
And these trains are absolutely an upgrade over PTC trains.
They are roomier and the T-bar restraint is more comfortable.
These restraints can automatically lower during the ride, so I do recommend holding onto the
lap bar after it’s checked unless you want to get stapled.
One change that did happen to Lightning Racer over the years was that the super cushiony
and upholstery-style padding of the trains was replaced with a harder foam.
This is the style found on GCI’s newer coasters.
I prefer the old style, but Lightning Racer tracks so smoothly that it’s fine.
Wildcat still has the cushioned seats, but that ride needs it.
While Wildcat has gotten quite bumpy over the years, Lightning Racer is thankfully still
smooth.
Running with the Millennium Flyers from day one certainly helped Lightning Racer.
The coaster has a bright and festive station building.
And the coaster looks good too with its dense brown wooden structure.
With the two tracks intertwined, it’s hard to tell where the coaster will go next.
And the ride is especially a beauty at night with the chaser lights.
I love those on wood coasters.
Lightning Racer is in the very back of Hersheypark and a good 15-20 minute walk from the main
entrance.
Between this coaster’s location and high capacity, it is almost always a walk-on.
Each train holds 24 riders across 12 rows.
At minimum, each side will have one train running.
But typically, each side will have two trains running.
So Lightning Racer absolutely chews through people.
When you reach the load platform, you can choose between riding the Thunder or Lightning.
Thunder is the green side on the left.
Lightning is the red side on the right.
I find the ride identical in terms of elements, forces, and smoothness.
But I find Thunder tends to win assuming both sides are similarly loaded.
If one side is fully loaded and another is nearly empty, the fully loaded side is most
likely going to win.
The winning side will return to the station to a flashing light in their color and a victory
announcement, which is usually accompanied by some cheers.
It’s more cheers than you’ll see at a Jets game.
In terms of seat selection, I prefer the front.
I find the airtime better and you get the unobstructed view to boot.
Once dispatched, you roll out of the station and approach the lift hill.
While it visually may appear one side is taller than the other, the two lifts are just staggered
a few feet from each other.
On the way up, it’s not uncommon to hear some friendly heckling between the trains.
Once at the top, you twist downwards and to the right.
Everyone gets some mild laterals, but if you’re in the back, you’ll also get a tiny pop
of airtime.
Lightning Racer then twists upwards and to the left.
It’s too large to offer any airtime up front, but the descent is double down.
The first part drops roughly 2/3 of the way down and it’s decently steep, so it gives
a tiny pop of airtime in the back.
You fly over the second part, which delivers some good sustained floater airtime in the
back.
The front even gets some airtime on the second descent, but it’s just a tiny pop.
Lightning Racer then shoots upwards into the first turnaround.
The entry into this element delivers a strong pop of airtime up front.
You then twist downwards into a tunnel.
This drop doesn’t offer any airtime, but it does build some mild laterals by the end.
The tunnel features a surprise hill that shoots upwards.
It basically functions as a speed hill.
With all the speed you have, everyone gets a tiny pop of airtime.
And this is also where the on-ride photo is taken, so you can be blinded by the flash
at night.
Both trains then shoot out of the tunnel, twist to the left and fly over a bunny hill.
This element also gives a small pop of airtime for everyone.
Lightning Racer then twists to the right and then heads into the second turnaround.
The entry into this turnaround gives an ok pop of airtime up front and then you spiral
downwards.
The near-miss with the other train is super exciting since you descend downwards in opposing
directions.
You crawl over the drop back down to the ground, so it unfortunately offers no airtime.
Thunder and Lightning then take turns crossing over and under each other.
While the element looks visually nice, the hills and turns don’t offer any real forces.
You then shoot into the third turnaround.
The entry into this one gives another ok pop of airtime if you’re up front and then you
twist towards the ground.
You then head up a double up into the brake run.
If you’re up front, you may get a mild pop of airtime or two.
You then shoot past the finish line and hopefully you’re victorious!
If it wasn’t clear who won, look ahead to the station and you can see whose winning
light went off.
So what would I rate Lightning Racer?
I would give this racing wood coaster a 7 out of 10.
Lightning Racer may not be the most forceful or intense wood coaster.
It’s just pure fun.
If you can get into the racing element, you’ll have a blast on this ride.
The near-misses and dueling are what make Lightning Racer special.
But the layout itself is decent too.
There are several pops of airtime scattered about.
Lightning Racer’s pacing and airtime power may not match GCI’s later coasters, but
the ride compensates by being one of the company’s smoothest coasters even after 2 decades of
operation.
I don’t think Lightning Racer is anywhere close to a top 10 wood coaster, but it is
a very unique coaster and well worth experiencing while at Hersheypark.
So those are my thoughts on Lightning Racer, the racing GCI coaster at Hersheypark.
What are your thoughts on Lightning Racer?
Do you think the ride is overrated?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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