Great Bear (roller coaster)

Great Bear was announced in August 1997 as Hersheypark's sixth roller coaster, to be built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). The coaster was named after the constellation Ursa Major.[1][2] The coaster opened on May 23, 1998, at a cost of $13 million. At the time it was the most expensive roller coaster ever constructed in the park, as well as the first inverted looping coaster in Pennsylvania.[3][4]

Due to surrounding terrain and proximity to other attractions, the coaster was one of B&M's most difficult installations. The supports weren't permitted to be built in nearby Spring Creek, and the limitation resulted in an unusual support structure design for a B&M coaster.

Riders exit the station and climb a 90-foot (27 m) hill. There is a left-hand helix immediately after the lift, swinging riders around into the 120-foot (37 m) drop into The Hollow.[4] After the drop, the train enters a 100-foot (30 m) loop, followed immediately by an Immelmann loop, and then going into a zero-g roll. Riders continue through The Hollow over midway areas, making a sharp turn over Spring Creek. After a short straightaway, the train goes into a corkscrew, and then up a hill with two wide turns, skirting around SooperDooperLooper's vertical loop and the Coal Cracker flume ride. The train then enters a short brake run; after the brake-run, riders return to the station.[5]

The top speed of Great Bear is 58 miles per hour (93 km/h). The ride is about 175 seconds long and can handle 1,300 riders an hour.[4] Each of the two trains can accommodate 32 passengers, arranged in eight rows with four to a single row.[1]

• 
  Great Bear's full layout from the air
• 
  Great Bear's pre-drop helix (360-degree turn)
• 
  Great Bear's first drop
• 
  Great Bear's first drop, loop, and Immelmann (second inversion)
• 
  Great Bear's loop (first inversion).
• 
  Great Bear's Immelmann
• 
  Great Bear's zero-g roll (third inversion)

• Official website