Great Bear was the first inverted looping coaster in Pennsylvania and cost $13 million, the largest project Hersheypark undertook at the time.

[13][14] A press conference was held on March 31, for media to view the Great Bear which was nearing completion with all of the track work in place.

[5][15][16] The roller coaster was revealed to media personnel on May 22, to ride,[12][17] and opened to the public a day later on May 23 during the park's 92nd operating season.

[20] At the end of 1998, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions gave the commercial a Brass Ring Award for "originality, creativity, and excellence in marketing".

[21] After the floor drops down slightly beneath the train, riders exit the station begins to climb a 90-foot (27 m) tall lift hill.

The train continues through The Hollow, passing over walkways and heading towards SooperDooperLooper and Comet,[22] then making a sharp left turn over Spring Creek.

Following another slight curve to the left, over the Coal Cracker flume ride, riders photos are taken and the train enters the final brake run.

[16][26] When the Great Bear opened, the roller coaster was located in the Minetown section of the park close by the Kissing Tower.

[8][10] The Great Bear's location in the Minetown section was chosen as it was a lesser traversed area of the park since the inclusion of several attractions elsewhere.

[15] Another area considered for the roller coaster was the Midway America section, themed to the early twentieth century, but was said to be "too modern" by Jeff Budgeon.

[5] The Great Bear's designed layout would weave through nearby steel roller coaster SooperDooperLooper and log flume Coal Cracker to add a more thrilling experience.

[16][27] The color scheme includes black track with light grey supports, and the trains are shades of purple, pink, and yellow.

[6] Thomas Flannery, a staff member for the Intelligencer Journal who attended the media preview, simply related the experience of Great Bear to that of a fighter pilot.

[12] Sara Barton, a writer for the Lancaster New Era, dramatically recounted her ride experience on the Great Bear as "not nice", stating the roller coater "is not normal".

[17] Elizabeth Arneson of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Daily News wrote: "The Great Bear paradoxically gives riders an exhilarating sense of freedom while they're strapped securely into a seat.

[30] Lin Weisenstein of the Daily Record wrote in August 1998 that, though no seat was bad on the roller coaster, "the flying sensation up front is out of this world".