The Oldest Ride at Hershey Park: The Carrousel

Roller coasters. Most people have a love hate relationship with them. Amusement parks spend big money on developing the highest and fastest thrill rides which are designed to wrench your insides inside out. With few exceptions, modern roller coasters are highly engineered monuments made of cement and steel. Nearly all are designed to spin you around upside down, flip you up and turn you in every which direction. Roller coasters are behemoths that are built to last. The roller coaster was always the king of the amusement park especially the ones made of wood.

While roller coasters dominate the amusement park landscape, the carousel has managed to remain a star attraction at many parks across the United States. Some carousels even take center stage, stealing some of the glory from roller coasters. When you enter the front gates of Hershey Park, you walk into Founders Circle, and the first ride you see and hear is their famous Philadelphia Toboggan Company # 47 "Carrousel." The number 47 denotes that this is the 47th carousel that was built by the company, back in 1919.

This "Carrousel" is the third rendition of carousel rides at Hershey Park. The name for the Hershey Park "carrousel" has an intentional misspelling, using two r's. The Hershey Park "Carrousel" features a Wurlitzer Military Band Organ with 164 pipes, 54 keys, and 16 bells. The organ is driven by leather and wood bellows that force air through the pipes, ringing bells, and beating drums to produce several calliope tunes. After spending the day at Hershey Park, you will become well acquainted with the music. You will find yourself humming along with the music by day's end.

There are over 60 hand carved horses and carriage benches, aligned in three rings on the main platform. The horses and benches on the outer ring are stationary. The middle ring features "jumping" horses, while the inner ring is made up of more benches, stationary horses, and a few more "jumping" horses.

The "Carrousel" sits in the shadow of the big roller coasters, Comet, Wildcat, and Hershey Park's latest addition, Fahrenheit. Despite the new roller coasters that have popped up across Hershey Park within the last decade, the "Carrousel" has stood the test of time at Hershey Park, and remains a big attraction for visitors of all ages.

The first carousels were built in the 16th century. Humans and livestock were used to manually move the wooden horses around a small platform. The first motorized carousels made an appearance in the late 19th century. Carousels have continued to use horses and carriages as their main theme, even as we move into the 21st century. The "Carrousel" at Hershey park was built just a few year scant years after carousel rides became motorized.

Milton S. Hershey set aside some land and created Hershey Park in 1907. In the first year of operation, Hershey Park served as a getaway spot for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. The following year, Milton S. Hershey decided to open the park to the general public. The very same year, Hershey purchased a used carousel. The "carrousel" quickly became the star attraction at Hershey Park. A bigger one was purchased in 1912. The Dentzel "carrousel" ran from 1912 until 1944. The Dentzel "carrousel" featured the famous ring above the outer rim. If a rider was lucky enough to snag the rim as they passed by, they were able to get an extra go around.

The carousel that resides in Founders circle today is the third rendition of the "Carrousel" ride at Hershey Park. Although it is an older model than the Dentzel model, it is quite a bit larger. It was built in 1919 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. It originally spent ten years at Liberty Heights Park in Baltimore Maryland, up until 1929. It then found itself running at Enna Jetta Park in Auburn, New York. In 1944, Hershey needed a new attraction. During World War II, money was tight at the park, so another used model was purchased, and it was placed along Spring Creek. The ride was refurbished and moved to its current location in Founder's Circle in 1972.

If you take a close look at the rim of the "Carrousel" you will see that the original artisans wove an intricate patriotic theme into ride. In 1919, America was still celebrating the victory in "the war to end all wars." You can see red white and blue flags, lady liberty, and gilded Eagles featured all along the top. Mirrored shields along the top of the inner facade, signify America new role as a new world power.

Thousands of park visitors hitch a ride on the "Carrousel" each and every day during the summer months. The artwork, organ, and horses remain in remarkably good condition for being 90 years old and getting so much use. Many do not realize that they are riding a piece of history.

Source of Hershey Park Carrousel Facts: http://www.hersheyarchives.org