Hersheypark threw in the towel in the year 2001 in the way of major coasters, but that season's new ride is one that'll have you doing the same, literally. Roller Soaker became Hershey's newest way to coast - and get wet - all at the same time, when it officially opened on May 17th, 2002. Roller Soaker joined the park's eight other coaster tracks of wood and steel and three other water rides - the Canyon River Rapids whitewater raft ride, Coal Cracker log flume, and what many consider one of the wettest rides in the Northeast, the Tidal Force shoot-the-chutes. From Setpoint Inc., this coaster / water ride combo is the newest breed of made-for-the-whole-family coasters, with only two others in existance - North Carolina's Paramount's Carowinds' Flying Super Saturater and the similar Hydra Fighter II at Wet 'N' Wild, also in NC. The Roller Soaker is similar to those coasters in featuring a single-railed track with cars swinging below, only bigger, faster, longer, and wetter. Hershey's 'watercoaster' swings along over thirteen-hundred feet of track, at one point hitting a velocity of thiry feet per second.

The experience begins long before even stepping onto the car. Guests in line, and not in line, can blast cars flying over with water cannons, or get soaked themselves. Once to the station though, passengers-to-be may choose to sit frontwards or backwards on one of the 9 back-to-back seated cars. But that isn't the only specialty of this ride. Each seat is ecquipped with one 4-gallon water supply, which can be dropped at any select point of the ride - giving riders an opportunity to have revenge on the off-ride guests. After being lifted up to a height of 7 stories, the car begins it's trip and the real fun begins. Around a right-hand U-turn, the car starts down, the water of Canyon River Rapids flowing below. After flying parellel to the station, the meyhem starts - water geysers shooting towards the riders and H2O flying in all directions as the car swings around another 180-degree turn. The track swerves to the right once more, and the course gets up to speed again. The ride remains wild and wet as the car encounters another swivel back to the station.

If you're planning on visiting Hersheypark, prepare to get wet.