Hydra the Revenge

Hydra the Revenge
Hydra's first drop
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Coordinates	40°34′52″N 75°31′57″W / 40.5810°N 75.5325°W / 40.5810; -75.5325Coordinates: 40°34′52″N 75°31′57″W / 40.5810°N 75.5325°W / 40.5810; -75.5325
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 7, 2005
Cost	$13,000,000 USD
Replaced	Hercules
General statistics
Type	Steel – Floorless Coaster
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Floorless Coaster
Track layout	Twister
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	95 ft (29 m)
Drop	105 ft (32 m)
Length	3,198 ft (975 m)
Speed	53 mph (85 km/h)
Inversions	7
Duration	2:35
Max vertical angle	68°
Capacity	1,245 riders per hour
Height restriction	54 in (137 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.
Fast Lane available
Hydra the Revenge at RCDB Pictures of Hydra the Revenge at RCDB

Hydra the Revenge (simply known as Hydra) is a steel Floorless Coaster at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania (USA). It is the only Floorless Coaster in Pennsylvania and was built where the former wooden roller coaster Hercules once stood, which was closed and demolished at the end of the park's 2003 season. Its name comes from the Greek Mythology story where Hercules battled the Hydra.

Hercules was a wooden roller coaster that sat in the current location of Hydra the Revenge. In 2003, the coaster was closed and demolished. On September 14, 2004, the $13 million Hydra the Revenge was announced. Construction began in the spring of 2004 and continued through the winter. Hydra the Revenge was topped off (highest piece of the lift hill) on August 20, 2004 and the entire track layout was completed on December 4, 2004. The first cars for the coaster arrived at Dorney Park on December 10, 2004 and the first ride with people on a train took place on March 24, 2005. The roller coaster officially opened to the public on May 7, 2005.

The name of the roller coaster comes from the story of Hercules in Greek Mythology. According to the story, Hercules had to perform twelve labours. After defeating the Nemean lion for the first labour, the second was to defeat the Hydra, a nine-headed creature with eight serpentine heads that would regrow each time they were cut off, including one that was immortal. Dorney Park altered the remainder of the story- after Hercules managed to defeat the Hydra initially, he buried the immortal head stuck under a stone, with the intention of sealing it for all time. Years later however, the head slowly grew back, resurrecting the Hydra and taking its revenge on Hercules by killing him; hence why the Hydra roller coaster sits where Hercules once did.