Located
in Allentown , Pennsylvania ,
slightly over an hour from Philadelphia , Dorney Park
and Wildwater Kingdom is the home of numerous flat
rides, three water rides and eight roller coasters. Steel Force was the first roller coaster on
the east coast to break the 200-foot barrier and Thunderhawk, built in 1923, is
one of the oldest operating coasters in the USA . Talon the Grip of Fear is arguably one of
the best inverted coasters to be found anywhere.
The
water park is included in the main park and features White Water Landing, a
real soaker for which guests familiar with the ride come prepared with
swimsuits. Thunder Creek
Mountain is a traditional
log flume ride which breaks down a lot.
The
park contains numerous rides suitable for families, including the Woodstock
Express roller coaster. Many of the
rides are classics, such as Tilt-a-Whirl and Scrambler. Demon Drop, a freefall ride which elevates
and then drops riders, landing them flat on their backs, was imported from
Cedar Point. This makes sense, as both
Cedar Point and Dorney
Park are owned by Cedar
Fair. Dinosaurs Alive is a walk-through
attraction involving a minimal upcharge ($5.00).
The
park is nicely laid out and if you know where to go, you can stroll along a
quiet path away from the crowds. One of
the best paths is the one that can be accessed by making a left turn from the
exit of Steel Force and walking along the side of Thunderhawk. The only real drawback in the layout of the
park is the difficult in locating restrooms.
Dining
options are plentiful and much as could be expected at a theme park. The park does have a Chickie’s and Pete’s
sports bar.
The park offers Fast Lane access
to rides for an upcharge but whether this would be cost-effective is
debatable. When the author visited
Dorney (twice), most rides were a walk-on, the exceptions being the water
rides. The longest waits were for Talon
and Hydra, and only ten or fifteen minutes at most. Although the park was heavily populated, it
was possible to get in fourteen roller coaster rides in the space of four or
five hours without having to resort to Fast Lane. For more information about Dorney Park, visit https://www.dorneypark.com/ Photograph courtesy of coasterimage.com.
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