Usually the terror and screaming doesn’t happen until people get on the roller coaster.
Theme park goers at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania got more than they bargained for when a wild raccoon started terrorizing a line of people waiting to get on a ride.
Some amusement parks feature “experiences” during their waits for rides, and though this was certainly an experience, it wasn’t something that was planned. It was actually something that Hersheypark probably hopes to never have happen again.
Park goers were in line to ride the SooperDooperLooper coaster (yes, that’s the actual name of the ride) when the small critter came out of nowhere and started attacking at random. And let me tell you, the “cattle lines” that theme parks have people go through when they are waiting for their turn are not ideal for trying to get away from an attacking animal.
All hell broke loose as this little five pound raccoon ran amuck, growling and hissing as it ran around the line and made the crowd scatter. I think the old saying of “they are just afraid of us as we are of them” was a bunch of B.S. in this video. It looks like both the people and the raccoon were equally scared.
That’s why at one point, the small critter went on the offensive and latched on to a little girl’s foot. That prompted the woman filming the entire debacle to give this play-by-play as the raccoon literally pulled the young park goer’s shoe off:
“Oh my God, it’s biting her foot! It got her shoe! Bro it got her shoe, damn.”
It’s a wild video, though I’m not sure why someone didn’t just… I don’t know, kick the raccoon away? I hope PETA isn’t reading this, but I’d like to think someone there would have been brave enough to step up and play a little defense against the raccoon.
No one did that though, which made for this crazy scene:
What a wild sequence of events, and it all happened on the park’s opening day for the year. That’s a shame, but on the plus side for Hersheypark, it can only go up from here in 2024, right?
Spokespeople for the park said that Hersheypark is surrounded by nature areas, so though this type of incident doesn’t happen often, they have prepared for it.
Medical personnel at the theme park reportedly provided care for two people who were bit/attacked, and those two people were taken to a hospital to be evaluated (though it wasn’t serious).
