Chance Rides has manufactured a 9 rides (and several trams via their sister company Chance Coach) for Hersheypark through the last half century. The relationship between the park and the ride manufacturer dates back to 1970, though because of Chance’s acquisition of Allan Herschell, they have a deeper connection.

This article is about what Hersheypark has bought directly from Chance, not from other companies such as Bradley & Kaye and Allan Herschell before Chance acquired those businesses.

Rotor

The first Chance ride installed in Hersheypark was the Rotor. It was installed in 1970, the last year Hersheypark was known as Hershey Park and was not a gated park. Rotor was placed in what is called The Hollow today.

This ride was similar to the Round Up, except you were inside a building rather than outdoors. In some cases, the top of the building may not have a roof on it. Here is a video of a Rotor at a fair in 2011.

Twin Towers Toboggans

Twin Towers Toboggans were two toboggan roller coasters Hersheypark installed in 1972. One coaster was trailer mounted while the other was a park model. They had the serial numbers 72-2130 and 72-2131.

They were retired after the 1977 season and sold. 72-2131 was purchased by Mike Safie, Distribuibora Touche, from El Salvador. The coaster joined the lineup of rides of one of his company’s traveling carnivals.

Tiny Tanks / Earthmovers

Tiny Tanks was installed in 1976. In the 1980s it was renamed Earthmovers and rethemed, with the ride vehicles being changed to bulldozers. It was relocated to Dutch Wonderland in 2003 and renamed Duke’s Dozers, retaining the construction theme.

Flying Bobs

Flying Bobs was installed in 1978, located in Carrousel Circle where the Twin Towers Toboggans had been. Hersheypark experienced a number of maintenance issues with the ride. It was removed following the 1981 season.

Trabant / Rodeo

Hersheypark also installed Rodeo in 1978, then called Trabant. It was originally installed adjacent to Fender Bender, relocated to Pioneer Food Court in 1985, then relocated adjacent Conestoga in 1988. Rodeo was moved to Dutch Wonderland in 2009 to accommodate the expansion of The Boardwalk in 2009 called “The SeaQuel.”

Ferris Wheel (1997)

Hersheypark installed two new Chance rides in Midway America between 1997 and 1999. First was Ferris Wheel (1997) and then Chaos. Ferris Wheel (1997) was a Chance Giant Wheel model and was the focal point of the expanded area in Midway America. It was adjacent to The Whip, and would later be adjacent to several additional rides, as well as The Boardwalk. The ride has been overhauled several times and was operated during Christmas Candylane for the first time in 2015.

Chaos

Chaos was a spinning ride where your car also spun. This type of ride was briefly popular until 2001 when an incident at one park brought concerns about that kind of ride. Due to the addition of The Boardwalk for the 2007 season, Hersheypark removed their Chaos ride. Part of the slide complex, Coastline Plunge, uses the location Chaos sat on. Here is an example of a Chaos at Calaway Park. Chance Rides eventually stopped producing the Chaos model in 2007.

The Claw

The most recent Chance ride to be added was The Claw, in 2003. This replaced Cyclops that had been in the park since 1980.  

The Claw is a swinging pendulum ride in which riders also spun around in a circle. When the ride begins to move, the metal floor drops into a pit. The pendulum then begins swinging to the left and right. After a few moments the ride has gotten to its full speed and will begin to brake. The floor will come back up and the ride will be over. An example of this can be seen here.

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