Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge
Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge (RXCC) was an attraction which was installed in 2006 at Hersheypark, where it became the first competitive, interactive dark ride. It was built by Sally Corporation, a popular dark ride manufacturer. The ride experience theme was sports, and the building exterior was themed on the Hersheypark Arena which is directly behind, outside Hersheypark. This ride is not to be confused with the free Hershey's Chocolate World tour ride. The ride replaced a building which housed the park's first aid and ride department offices, as well as a practice skating rink.
| Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Show building | |
| Hersheypark | |
| Area | Founder's Way - Der Deitsch Platz |
| Status | Closed |
| Opening date | 2006 |
| Closing date | September 3, 2018 |
| Replaced by | Reese's Cupfusion |
| General statistics | |
| Attraction type | Dark ride |
| Manufacturer | Sally Corporation |
| Theme | Sports, Rock music, Candy |
| Vehicles | 14 |
| Riders per vehicle | 4 |
| Rows | 2 |
| Riders per row | 2 |
 Single rider line available | |
On August 2, 2018, Hersheypark announced the addition of Reese's Cupfusion for the Summer of 2019, which will replace Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge. Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge closed on September 3, 2018. [1]
Story
The ride's "backstory" featured two sports stars, Sonny Palaski, a pro surfer, and Kip Callahan, an all-star quarterback. Sonny started in California as a surfing star, appearing on the cover of Surf Dude Magazine 36 times. When interviewed about what made him so good, he claims that before going to the beach, he would have a few spoonfuls of peanut butter. Kip started in Western Pennsylvania as quarterback for the Allegheny High School Hawks. His stardom was due to him having a Hershey's chocolate bar before every game.
They were brought together in 1998 to host the Xtreme Games. Kip's son, Zack, was competing as a snowboarder, and Sonny's daughter, Skyler, was an in-line skater. The two became friends and eventually started dating. Their parents were elated, and attributed their child's success to the things they liked to eat the most: chocolate and peanut butter. However, they couldn't agree on which was better. This rivalry caused the Xtreme Games to be in danger of going off the air. But Zack and Skyler showed their parents that chocolate and peanut butter could get along just fine by introducing them to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They agreed to start a new X-game; the Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, which would allow for a fun way of deciding between chocolate and peanut butter.
Techniques
Riders were split into two groups of four (teams "Chocolate" and "Peanut Butter," after the main flavors in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups), seated, and given a ride through. The guests enter a dark tunnel that lights up and makes the vehicles spin. Then the adventure begins. Targets were placed in large scenes, often with spinning obstructions placed in front. Targets lit up with yellow lights that disappear when hit, but these lights turned orange for a short period, yielding double points if hit. One popular tactic was to aim for targets already hit by other players. The shooting scenes were broken down into three sections. In the final section, all targets were orange but the vehicle moves faster. Another dark tunnel then lights up and takes them back to show the players their points.
Often, stacking would occur, leaving the riders on the course to continue to shoot while the cars remain stationary, which prevented cars from bumping into each other. Unlike a typical dark ride, RXCC's cars traveled on a track similar to a roller coaster. This cannot be defined as a coaster (not even as a powered coaster), because there is no gravity involved with the movement.
When the ride first opened, individual Reese's cups (with caramel) were given out at the end of the ride. If a rider was allergic to peanuts, a standard Hershey's chocolate bar was substituted. Later in the year, all players received Hershey's chocolate bars.
Ride Facts
- Ride system provided by EOS Rides[2]
- Ride featured a Single Rider line
- Total number of targets: 158[2]
- Total animated elements: 80[2]
- Animatronic figures: 8[2]
References
- "Hersheypark's new 'top secret' attraction for 2019 has been revealed". PennLive.com. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
- Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge Website