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Comet

Hersheypark · Operating · 1946

Comet

84 ft · 50 mph

Photo: See Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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A Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters woodie that has run continuously since 1946, making it one of the oldest operating wooden coasters in the United States. The Comet's out-and-back layout climbs an 84-foot lift hill before a series of airtime hills that follow the natural contours of The Hollow, delivering a classic, rhythmic wooden-coaster experience rather than modern hybrid-style intensity. Nearly eighty years after opening, it remains one of Hersheypark's most enduring and beloved rides.

Specifications

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Ride profile

Scaled against Hersheypark's operating coasters

Wood

Height

84 ft

#9 of 14 at Hersheypark

Height84 ft
Speed50 mph
Length3,360 ft
InversionsNone

Ride experience

  • First drop78.00 ft
  • Out & back
  • Ptc
  • Wood

Ride details

Drop

78 ft

Specs from hersheypark.com

History

Sourced timeline and background for Comet.

Timeline

  1. 1946

    Comet opens

    Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters wooden out-and-back debuts, becoming one of the oldest coasters in the park.

    Source

Background

The Comet opened in 1946, built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters in the classic out-and-back style that defined much of American wooden coaster construction in the mid-20th century. Its 84-foot lift hill and straightforward layout — climb, drop, and a series of hills running out and directly back — reflect the design conventions of an era before terrain coasters and twisting layouts became common.

Nearly eighty years of continuous operation make the Comet one of the oldest wooden coasters still running anywhere in the country, a distinction that comes with genuine maintenance challenges but also cements the ride's status as a piece of living amusement park history. Unlike many wooden coasters from the same period, it has avoided both closure and a hybrid steel conversion, retaining its original wood-on-wood character throughout.

That longevity has made the Comet something of a touchstone ride for longtime Hersheypark visitors, and its continued presence in The Hollow — largely unchanged in layout since 1946 — offers a direct contrast to the park's newer steel giants built just a short walk away.

Notable records

  • other · Region

    One of the oldest continuously operating wooden coasters in the United States, running since 1946.

    As of 1946

History primarily sourced from hersheypark.com. See also our data policy.

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