Lightning Racer is a wooden dueling roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, built by Great Coasters International (GCI) and designed by GCI’s Mike Boodley. Planning began in 1999, and the $12.5 million ride opened to the public on May 13, 2000, inside the park’s Midway America section.
The coaster’s defining feature is its pair of parallel wooden tracks, named Lightning (Red) and Thunder (Green), which run side by side for the entire 3,393-foot circuit. Riders race an adjacent train through camelback hills and tight turnarounds, with the two tracks weaving close enough that trains appear to nearly collide as they pass in opposite directions.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Manufacturer: Great Coasters International (GCI)
- Opened: May 13, 2000
- Height: about 92 feet
- Top speed: about 51 mph
- Length: 3,393 feet per track
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Lightning Racer’s two trains climb a roughly 90-foot lift hill before diving into a first drop that pushes them to a top speed near 51 mph. From there, the twin tracks trade the lead back and forth through airtime-filled hills, banked turns, and a signature double-helix finale, with the racing dynamic changing on almost every ride depending on which side loads and departs first.
GCI’s Millennium Flyer trains, four in total seating 24 riders each, give the wooden layout a smoother, more comfortable ride than older wood coasters while preserving the airtime and out-of-control feel the design style is known for. The closeness of the two tracks, sometimes just feet apart, is what makes the side-by-side racing feel so intense to riders.
Awards and Reputation
Since shortly after opening, Lightning Racer has regularly placed among the world’s top 25 wooden roller coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards voted on by Amusement Today magazine, cementing its status as one of the best dueling wood coasters in the industry.
Its construction consumed hundreds of miles of southern yellow pine, reflecting the scale of building two full-length wooden tracks side by side rather than a single circuit, a rarer and more expensive undertaking than a standard wooden coaster project.
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Lightning Racer Photo Archive: July 2001
These are original ThrillZing photos of Lightning Racer taken at Hersheypark on July 17, 2001, its second season, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the GCI twin-track racer’s intertwined lift hills and camelbacks from the midway, the parking lot and the road outside the park. Click any photo for the full-size version.
Small enough to ride with on most coasters, big enough for a phone, card and keys. Two zippers mean nothing falls out upside down.
A fan and a mist in one, rechargeable. Very popular in queue lines once the afternoon sun hits.
Build a working coaster on the kitchen table and learn why the first drop has to be the tallest. A good gift for young coaster fans.
Lightning Racer FAQs
Who manufactured Lightning Racer?
Lightning Racer was built by Great Coasters International (GCI) and designed by GCI’s Mike Boodley, opening at Hersheypark on May 13, 2000.
How fast does Lightning Racer go?
The coaster reaches a top speed of about 51 mph after its first drop, with the two racing trains passing each other at a combined speed of roughly 70 mph.
Does Lightning Racer have any inversions?
No. Lightning Racer is a traditional wooden coaster with zero inversions, relying on airtime hills and its side-by-side racing format for thrills.
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Photo: Deron Meranda / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.