Hersheypark is growing again for the 2018 season.

On August 8, 2017, Hersheypark announced not only one, but two new rides, “Breakers Edge Water Coaster” and “Whitecap Racer”.

The new rides, which will both be located in the Boardwalk section at Hersheypark, are expected to be open for operation Memorial Day weekend.

The water rides will be between the shoreline spraygrounds and the wave pool, right behind tidal force. The building previously used for the “Roller Soaker,” which closed in 2012, will be refurbished for “Breakers Edge.”

“Breakers Edge Water Coaster,” the park’s 14th coaster, is the first hydro-magnetic slide with flying saucers. The boat will begin on a conveyor belt and go through hills, tight turns, and in and out of tunnels lasting for about a minute.

“Breakers Edge” will look very similar to Hersheypark’s “Coal Cracker,” but it will have a higher thrill level and will require riders to be in proper boardwalk attire.

“It will be a lot faster than the Coal Cracker, and that’s one of the reasons why it’s named a coaster,” said Kaylee Dugan, Hersheypark Communication Specialist.

The other ride, Whitecap Racer, will be the longest mat slide racer in the world. It will have six lanes where riders can race down on their stomachs.

Each lane will be a different color, so at the end of the ride, each person can see their race time and compare them with others.

To ride Breakers Edge and Whitecap Racer, riders must be a minimum of the Reece’s category, 42 inches tall.

Leading up to the revealment of the rides, Hersheypark had been posting weekly hints about the rides on their social media accounts. People had been making guesses throughout the summer on what they thought the rides would be until they were officially announced in August.

“What our marketing and campaign team does is once we hear more about what is going to happen and the timeline we create a teaser campaign,” said Dugan.

As new attractions are being put in, the park finds ways to get the guests involved as much as they can.

Many people believed the clues hinted to only one new ride, so there was a lot of excitement and surprise when Hersheypark revealed there would be two new attractions.

Having multiple rides added in one year doesn’t happen often in the park; the last time multiple rides went in at once was The Cocoa Cruiser, The Tea Cups, and The Swings in 2014.

“Two big rides going in like Breakers Edge and Whitecap Racer will be a really exciting addition for the boardwalk,” said Dugan.

The overall cost of the project, which will include preparing to put the rides in, putting the rides in, and testing the rides, is estimated to be 17 million dollars.

Be sure to check out these new rides on Memorial Day weekend 2018.