Great Bear is a roller coaster

Roller coaster

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 located at Hersheypark

Hersheypark

Hersheypark is an amusement park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, near the Hershey Chocolate Factory.Hersheypark was opened on April 24, 1907 as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, an American confectionery company. Later, the company decided to open the park to the...

, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Hershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...

. It was built by Bolliger & Mabillard

Bolliger & Mabillard

Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...

 during the winter of 1997 and opened for the 1998 season. Because of the coaster's unique custom design, as well as other factors including the terrain, Spring Creek, and proximity of noted attractions such as the SooperDooperLooper

SooperDooperLooper

The SooperDooperLooper is a ride at Hersheypark, and the first looping coaster on the East Coast. It was designed as a terrain coaster by Werner Stengel, and built by Anton Schwarzkopf.-Rider Experience:...

, the coaster was one of B&M's most difficult installations. Also, due to the lack of sand in the supports, the coaster makes a loud roaring sound like a bear.

Hershey Park was not allowed to have supports built into Spring Creek, resulting in unusual support designs not often seen on Bolliger & Mabillard coasters.

In October, when Hersheypark is decorated in a Halloween theme (Hersheypark in the Dark), the Great Bear is dubbed the Great Scare.

Ride Experience

Riders exit the station and climb a 90 feet (27.4 m) hill. Unique to Great Bear, there is a helix immediately after the lift, swinging riders around into the 124 feet (37.8 m) drop into Comet Hollow. After the drop, train enters a loop, followed immediately by an Immelmann loop, and then going into a zero-g roll. Riders continue through Comet 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. Riders are then photographed by the on-ride cameras directly before the brake run. After the brake-run, riders return to the station. The Great Bear was the first inverted looping coaster in Pennsylvania.