Winter Maintenance on Candymonium at Hersheypark
Behind-the-Scenes Look at The World's Sweetest Coaster in the Off-Season
Last year we showed you a sweet, behind-the-scenes look at Great Bear maintenance during the off-season. This year, we're bringing you a never-before-seen peek at the maintenance work on Candymonium. Our new hypercoaster opened in summer 2020 as part of the all-new Hershey's Chocolatetown region, so this winter marks its first off season with our experienced maintenance team.
From January through the end of March, our maintenance team of more than 200 full-time team members is busy disassembling, inspecting, overhauling and reassembling all rides. Even though Candymonium is less than one year old, all three coaster trains and the track require maintenance work according to manufacturer guidelines.
Candymonium joins five other coasters at Hersheypark that have maintenance bays located right at their respective coaster stations. This means that nearly all of the maintenance work on Candymonium takes place on-site rather than at the Hersheypark Service Center, where some of our other rides are transported following our seasonal events.
The Candymonium maintenance area consists of three levels. As you can see in some of the photos below, the maintenance team is able to safely move the train cars between the three levels using a small crane mechanism.
On the bottom level of the Candymonium maintenance area, all train car parts are disassembled, cleaned, inspected, replaced, reassembled and tested for maximum safety and compliance. This includes the seats, lap bar restraints, every nut and bolt, all welds, bogie pins and pivots, and more.
The middle level of the maintenance area is where much of the wheelwork is done. The Candymonium wheels have a 5-year lifespan, but the maintenance team will clean, inspect and measure the wheels for an appropriate diameter this year.
Also on the middle level, the maintenance team will check the majority of the train every single morning as part of the daily inspection during the operating season. They will spin the wheels every day to check for crunching or grinding which indicates a bad bearing, check the nuts and bolts, test the hardware, and more. They also grease the train and lift on a weekly basis during the operating season, while the 22 brakes are greased monthly. Talk about a lot of grease!
The upper level of the maintenance area is where the rest of the train is inspected every morning. The daily inspection takes about eight hours total - three of which are used to walk the track, check all brakes and measure for any adjustments.
Fun and Safety Go Hand in Hand
As you can see, our maintenance team takes great pride in our safety record and providing our guests with a safe and #HersheyparkHappy experience when they visit us at Hersheypark.
We cant wait to see you again in 2021 riding Candymonium!
