Lightning Racer (Thunder) • Hersheypark

I love a racing coaster! This one's well above Gemini (CP) for me. Green side always wins, and the operators are always hammering away at the line with great speed. My only gripe is that she can break...

I love a racing coaster! This one's well above Gemini (CP) for me. Green side always wins, and the operators are always hammering away at the line with great speed. My only gripe is that she can break down often, and for casual friends I bring along to parks, they get sick off her. I'm worried Hershey might tear her down soon and try to expand their boring waterpark over her bountiful property lines.

I don't think this is any different from lightning so I'll say the same thing, "It's a long wooden coaster with a good amount of bite without being too rough, it has some mild airtime and the visuals ...

I don't think this is any different from lightning so I'll say the same thing, "It's a long wooden coaster with a good amount of bite without being too rough, it has some mild airtime and the visuals are great." Though I put this one spot higher because I won in thunder.

Most surprising coaster I’ve ever been on. Was expecting a pretty decent dueling coaster just for it to shock me and land as my 5th favorite ride at HersheyPark. It’s smooth for how old it is, the lay...

Most surprising coaster I’ve ever been on. Was expecting a pretty decent dueling coaster just for it to shock me and land as my 5th favorite ride at HersheyPark. It’s smooth for how old it is, the layout is amazing, and the first drop is like Mystic Timbers drop. My favorite dueling coaster.

Un dueling coaster GCI qui ne possède aucun élément marquant, avec des airtimes faiblards et une longueur inutile. On se demande à quoi sert ce ride, heureusement qu'il y a le côté racing qui est un p...

Un dueling coaster GCI qui ne possède aucun élément marquant, avec des airtimes faiblards et une longueur inutile. On se demande à quoi sert ce ride, heureusement qu'il y a le côté racing qui est un peu rigolo parce que pour le reste...

Lightning racer is an intense racing coaster with a good first drop that give hangtime and an airtime filled finale. It is bumpy and you can get stapled easily. But it has awesome positive gs and some...

Lightning racer is an intense racing coaster with a good first drop that give hangtime and an airtime filled finale. It is bumpy and you can get stapled easily. But it has awesome positive gs and some wild mouse level laterals.

This is the better side. If you want to win, ride this side as it pretty much guarantees a win. Anyways, this thing is underrated. The dueling is awesome and definitely makes this ride, but the forces...

This is the better side. If you want to win, ride this side as it pretty much guarantees a win. Anyways, this thing is underrated. The dueling is awesome and definitely makes this ride, but the forces are definitely noticeable. They pale in comparison to any modern GCI, but there’s still some decent airtime (especially on the drop and double down), and some elements have some pop to them. Great ride, but weaker than the other side.

I rode this in June. And it was very fun. I then rode it in September of the same year, and it was the roughest coaster I’ve ever been on. Very painful, not enjoyable at all! They either need to tear ...

I rode this in June. And it was very fun. I then rode it in September of the same year, and it was the roughest coaster I’ve ever been on. Very painful, not enjoyable at all! They either need to tear it down or re-track it, because it’s insanely rough!

Lightning Racer's middle section is fun, as you quickly traverse multiple low-to-the ground turns and hills, but the first third of the ride is dreadfully rough and the last third is slow and dull. Li...

Lightning Racer's middle section is fun, as you quickly traverse multiple low-to-the ground turns and hills, but the first third of the ride is dreadfully rough and the last third is slow and dull. Lightning Racer seriously needs some Titan Track.

The Thunder side of Lightning Racer is typically a bit slower than the Lightning side when dueling. This is a great dueling woodie coaster than has good airtime hills and turns and is located at the b...

The Thunder side of Lightning Racer is typically a bit slower than the Lightning side when dueling. This is a great dueling woodie coaster than has good airtime hills and turns and is located at the back of the park. The capacity is great because they usually run 2 trains on both which results in this ride having minimal lines. The layout is fun and pretty long too which makes this a solid ride.

This is just a stupid fun coaster. I truly love marathoning this coaster as due to the 4 long trains and being in the back of the park lines move fast for this coaster as long as all trains are being ...

This is just a stupid fun coaster. I truly love marathoning this coaster as due to the 4 long trains and being in the back of the park lines move fast for this coaster as long as all trains are being used. The racing/dueling aspect is just plain fun. Theres some good spots of airtime especially at the beginning but there are some moments that don’t do as much as others. However I don't really mind as those moments are still fun especially when racing another train. When they are synced up and you get a close race it is some of the most fun in the entire park if you ask me. This coaster might not be that crazy but I always just have a blast on this coaster. Just a note but the way some of the elements are paced I slightly would prefer the Thunder side but both are still an incredible amount of fun.

A great dueling, racing wooden roller coaster. I prefer the Thunder side because it is somewhat smoother but both start out with a drawn-out first half which is fun, then into a tunnel where you get d...

A great dueling, racing wooden roller coaster. I prefer the Thunder side because it is somewhat smoother but both start out with a drawn-out first half which is fun, then into a tunnel where you get decent airtime. The ending though is when things really start to crank up with snappy transitions but the ride is still rather forceless. Although it is not very intense, it is marathonable and it's overall enjoyable.

For whatever reason I found Thunder to be substantially less enjoyable than Lightning, though I suppose a year had passed since my last ride. As everyone has said before, the airtime in this layout re...

For whatever reason I found Thunder to be substantially less enjoyable than Lightning, though I suppose a year had passed since my last ride. As everyone has said before, the airtime in this layout really isn't that great, but it makes up for it with some awesome dueling moments that I will forever and always be a sucker for. It definitely isn't the best GCI out there, but it is certainly worth a ride. 7.5/10 - it would be insane if this got RMC'd and there were two in the back of this park but I know that's just a pipe dream

I give thunder side the edge not because it usually wins, but because of the better start to the ride. For some reason, it felt faster going down the first drop. Sadly as a result, it is rougher for t...

I give thunder side the edge not because it usually wins, but because of the better start to the ride. For some reason, it felt faster going down the first drop. Sadly as a result, it is rougher for that pet, but the 2 sides are essentially the same besides that. Rough and forceless, but fun and the dueling makes it better.

Lightning Racer is fun and Thunder is the better ride. Thunder is much smoother and usually wins. That being said, both coasters suffer from occasional pacing issues if it isn't warm enough. Sometimes...

Lightning Racer is fun and Thunder is the better ride. Thunder is much smoother and usually wins. That being said, both coasters suffer from occasional pacing issues if it isn't warm enough. Sometimes the last few hills will drag on and give little force. Granted, it's still fun since you are racing, so that isn't too big of a deal.

Great woodie! Unfortunately the park did not expect enough guests to run both trains so I only got a ride on Thunder. The first drop was pretty good and had a nice turn giving some great lateral eff...

Great woodie! Unfortunately the park did not expect enough guests to run both trains so I only got a ride on Thunder. The first drop was pretty good and had a nice turn giving some great lateral effects. The duration on this one seemed pretty long and it was a decent enough layout. I wouldn't put this one up near the top of my favorite wooden roller coasters because it wasn't very intense and also wasn't the smoothest. I would still ride it again and I expect it would be a lot more fun if it had the racing aspect. 3/5 stars

This was a "meh" for me. It certainly suffered from being the first ride we went on after multiple Wildcat's Revenge rides, but so it will go for its placement in the park. It's a passable, dueling wo...

This was a "meh" for me. It certainly suffered from being the first ride we went on after multiple Wildcat's Revenge rides, but so it will go for its placement in the park. It's a passable, dueling woody; albeit, Lightning was closed due to rain/demand/capacity so the dueling aspect was not in play on our visit. Not sure that would've changed much. We went on it twice and was glad I did, but wouldn't go out of my way to get to it again. The lap bars were actually worth noting as particularly impressive - automatic and lot's of leg room! Daughter's POV: it had more than I expected from it. I liked the tunnel part. I like when first hills bank on a wooden coaster and so I enjoyed that component especially.

I don't give a crap about what others say. This and Comet were what saved wooden coasters for me. Before this, I rode Blue Streak at Cedar Point, which is currently the worst coaster I've ever ridden ...

I don't give a crap about what others say. This and Comet were what saved wooden coasters for me. Before this, I rode Blue Streak at Cedar Point, which is currently the worst coaster I've ever ridden due to its roughness and lack of excitement and airtime. Riding this, I was expecting it to be the same thing. However, I was blown away with how enjoyable it was, same for Comet. This ride isn't extreme on airtime, but it makes up for it with its fast-paced nature and fun factor. Not to mention, this is the winning side. Unfortunately, this ride does have a bit of bumpiness to it, but it's nothing awful. Overall, Lightning Racer was a very nice surprise, and I would definitely recommend it if you're going to Hersheypark.

My favorite wooden coaster of all time. Highly recommend Thunder side as it hauls first off and you typically beat lightning lol. Can't go wrong with a competitive ride too, love dueling my friends an...

My favorite wooden coaster of all time. Highly recommend Thunder side as it hauls first off and you typically beat lightning lol. Can't go wrong with a competitive ride too, love dueling my friends and family. I just wanted to say I typically do not enjoy wooden coasters due to the rattle but this thing is not that bad. Highly recommend!

After getting around to a few more GCIs I get why some people talk down on this one. But I still have fun every time, and the first half of the layout does provide some decent forces. By the second ha...

After getting around to a few more GCIs I get why some people talk down on this one. But I still have fun every time, and the first half of the layout does provide some decent forces. By the second half, there are no more forces, but the thrill of the race/duel is pretty fun. The more of your friends and family you have riding this thing, the more fun you have.

People tend so say this ride is either really fun or really boring, but almost everyone says it's smooth. I thought it was rough and boring. No where near as rough as Wildcat, but paired with a boring...

People tend so say this ride is either really fun or really boring, but almost everyone says it's smooth. I thought it was rough and boring. No where near as rough as Wildcat, but paired with a boring layout, a rattle isn't a good thing.