coasterbill

You should give these a chance. If you know how to fly them they can be much more intense and terrifying than any coaster can. Trust me on that. The Hershey flyers are totally different than these because these are faster, the rudder in the front is made out of a similar material to a sailboat so it catches the wind really easily and you have a much wider range of motion so you can make them do things that are just completely nuts.

They really don't and the prices are proof of that. They're much lower than the other Cedar Fair parks and in the past nobody bought them. Link Dorney got smart though and realized that they could make the Platinum Fastlane include waterpark attractions and now they sell a ton of them but they're useless in the dry park as even if the rides have short station waits the line is rarely before the merge point. Besides the mouse the only benefits on the dry park side are actually the water rides. Thunder Canyon and to a lesser extent White Water Landing depending on the day and Thunder Creek Mountain (which isn't listed but I'm pretty sure it's on the system). Free rides on Screamin Swing is a nice benefit too I guess.

This is a fun debate... That's because Dorney has been like this for at least 20 years. The park brings in a ton of people... and they're all in the waterpark. It's not like the coasters at Dorney having short to non existent lines is a new phenomenon but Dorney still brings in a ton of people. Why? Because of the waterpark which was my original point. Every park and every market is different. Grouping them in like that doesn't make much sense. If you were talking about Cedar Point you'd be exactly right, but we're not. My point is that no coaster will drive attendance long term here in a measurable, significant way so making a huge investment on one is stupid. They need to have coasters and switch them up or bring new ones in to keep them fresh but the waterpark should be their focus. I was there on Hydra's opening day... it was a walk on and they couldn't even fill the trains. That really hasn't changed since. This ride will at most have a 5 minute wait on most days. Talon was/is a similar situation (even though Talon is a much better coaster than Hydra).

Saying you rode the flyers at Hershey so you didn't bother with the ones at Knoebels is like saying you rode Rolling Thunder so you didn't bother with El Toro.

If you want a great ride on El Toro ride it one row from the back in the last car (6). Then it will deliver an OMFG amazing ride every time you ride it that's incredibly smooth. I do wish they'd smooth out the valley before the turnaround though. That's the only part of the ride that's rough in the back rows of each car but it's incredibly jarring. In the row I mentioned the ride is butter smooth and OMFG intense.

I like Superman but I rarely ride it because it always has an insane line. The only coaster in the park I don't enjoy is Green Lantern (that even includes the mine train). I think I might make it a point to ride Superman next time we visit the park actually just because we never do. I feel like it's a really lame B&M flyer but even a lame B&M flyer is still a good ride.

Well when you have nothing but B&M's it's bound to happen.

So much hate... lol. Batman is probably the best looping coaster in the park in my opinion. So intense. So incredibly smooth. So awesome...

I didn't single them out. I would have the same feeling of any park that had a history of neglecting wood coasters (and there are a lot of corporate parks that do). I'm not talking about huge Dinn coasters or complete maintenance nightmares like Hercules was but if you can't take care of a little coaster like Thunderhawk that has the potential to be really good then you likely won't take care of a new coaster very well either after a few years go by and it's not new anymore. All I said was that because of this I'd rather see a steel coaster. Yes... they added 2 cheap coasters during that time which is exactly what I said they should do. Add relocated coasters or other cheap coasters because they need coasters but it's not the main draw so pumping a ton of money into them doesn't make sense. I feel like we're saying the same thing here. No. Those parks should continue buying those things because they're really, really, really cheap when compared to coasters. Dorney needs coasters but they shouldn't blow their budget on them when it's not their big draw. That's why I said they should get cheap coasters like Euro Fighter's and smaller family style coasters (like spinning coasters for example) and relocated coasters. I keep saying that because it's true. Dorney never has lines for their coasters. The last time I went to Dorney (on Memorial Day with perfect weather after the waterpark closed) we waited 10 minutes for Talon and it was by far the longest line I've ever waited in at Dorney for a coaster. I was shocked... most of the time the coasters are walk ons or 1 train waits unless you're waiting for the front, even on Saturdays and during Halloween. That being said the flats and family rides always have lines and the waterpark is usually a mob scene. When I say that I'm referring to people than enjoy coasters not coaster enthusiasts on message boards. I'm talking about families that go to Dorney because it has something for everyone which isn't really true at Great Adventure (though that's slowly improving) who have a few people that want to ride the coasters. Most people don't care or know if a coaster is relocated. I love when enthusiasts say "it's been "X amount of years since we've had a brand new coaster so we're due for one". No you're not... the percentage of park guests that know or care is so tiny that there's no way parks pay any attention to that. A relocated coaster is just as good as a new coaster to them. Why do you assume that the park isn't doing fine? The chain has had increasing revenues and Dorney's attendance seems to be pretty consistent this year with every other year so that's a pretty bold claim to make. A lot of people go to Dorney but a lot of them aren't there for the coasters.

The thing with standup coasters is that depending on your height you usually either love them or hate them. I agree about it being more intense than Bizarro and Superman but both of those coasters are still better because they're much more enjoyable (though Superman is very overrated). Green Lantern is pretty rough.

Yeah Green Lantern may be a special case since it's a pretty terrible coaster and it had a huge capacity when it opened with 3 trains. Drop of Doom's capacity will be much less and it's going to be a much more re-rideable ride.

We need to head out there this year and get out Hurricane credit. It's only an hour and a half from us but we've been putting it off for years.

After SORA's opening day last year I'm never going to Great Adventure for the opening of a new ride ever again.

According to Great Adventure History (which is a very reliable source) this was announced this morning. July 2 - Press Preview July 3 - Season Pass Holder Preview July 4 - Grand Opening to the Public This backs up with Ryan said too... it sounds legitimate to me.

Dorney is/was absolutely supposed to get a Windseeker. It's not like I have insider information, they just never made any attempt to hide the fact that they were getting a Windseeker. When they took out their best coaster for that disaster of a ride that routinely stands riders and currently has no train on it they added a Windseeker pad and queue area complete with lights on the queue area. Source: Myself (no not me, that's his name lol) I wonder if they cancelled it though based on the problems they had. The good news is that because of it's location near Stinger they could just build the Fire Department a special gate right there so when they show up to help the stranded riders on Windseeker / Stinger multiple times a summer they would have an easy way to get in without the hassle of driving through the park.

I sincerely hope Dorney doesn't get a wood coaster, they let Thunderhawk go from really good to complete crap in just a few short years because they seem to have no interest in doing the maintenance that wood coasters require. Their answer is more brakes and minimal track work and it's resulted in a painful and slow ride. Why do we have any reason to think a GCI would be any different after a few years? Dorney park doesn't release attendance figures so neither of us have hard figures to back anything up. If I can't base attendance on what I see when I go to the park that's fine, but then likewise you can't really claim that Hydra paid off because of that same logic. There are 2 reasons why I don't think Dorney will spend much on a new coaster... 1) They haven't in almost 10 years which seems to be proof that they don't think it makes sense financially. If it did they would have done it already. 2) The major draw is the waterpark and the family rides. That's what sets them apart from the competition. Six Flags Great Adventure is murdering them in the coaster department and that's never going to change. Anyone who would argue that the 2 parks are even on the same planet in that department is insane. Hershey has better coasters and comparable flats but Dorney has a much larger and better waterpark. The only advantage they have over Hershey is the waterpark, and the advantage they have over Great Adventure is the family rides, family atmosphere and the waterpark that's included with admission. Dorney needs some coasters so it can appeal to everyone but just from walking through the park you can see that the big draws are the non coaster rides and the waterpark. Non coaster rides always have lines, the coasters rarely even fill the trains on Saturdays in the summer or during Halloween. Sure you could argue that non coaster rides don't have the capacity which is why the lines are shorter, but they also shouldn't have the same appeal which should balance that out. Dorney seems to be investing in non coaster rides and in the waterpark which makes sense because those are their biggest draws. Occasionally they'll mix in a cheap or relocated coaster to keep the coaster people happy (because 99.9999999% of people don't know or care that it's not a brand new ride so the park doesn't care either) but there is no reason for them to spend 15-25 million dollars on a big B&M coaster that will be a walk on on it's opening day and every day after that when they could get a better return by putting it anywhere else because of attendance, merchandise and increased Fastlane sales. Nobody buys Fastlane at Dorney and if they do they're either stupid or using it in the waterpark. I'd love for Dorney to get a huge new coaster but it's not what their clientele wants and it makes no sense for them to spend the money on it. If it did they would have actually invested in an expensive new coaster but they haven't done that in almost 10 years.

It was the popular rumor the last few days. I don't believe that it's true but I'm speaking hypothetically.

Aren't we jumping the gun just a little bit? That's quite the leap. lol

You win the internet.

I love how the article says There is clearly information to suggest that Roaring Rapids won't be replaced completely... the sign out front that says the ride is TEMPORARILY closed so we can bring you a new attraction. Sure they could be making things up but why go through the trouble? Just say "Roaring Rapids is Closed Today". I would say that the sign stating the ride is TEMPORARILY closed SUGGESTS that it's TEMPORARILY closed.

If it's true that Cedar Fair bought it I think they're the most likely candidate just based on the fact that they don't have anything similar and I would think it would be incredibly well received there. Valleyfair has no room unless they remove Excaliber and if they do that they'd probably use that land for waterpark expansion (at the moment it looks like mother nature already did that for them actually). Knotts has no room period, I don't think Great America does either. Dorney has Hydra already, Kings Domonion has Dominator, Kings Island just built a much better B&M ride, Cedar Point wouldn't waste the room on a relocated mediocre coaster and Carowinds is getting a giga next year. Canada's Wonderland is actually a decent candidate because they really only have 3 coasters that are anything special (and I only say that because I love arrow suspended coasters) but they just got a coaster this year. World's of Fun is the only other likely candidate but I think Michigan's Adventure would be the best fit... especially because they're long overdue for a decent new addition.

I'm afraid you're the one who's confused. According to "St. Paul's local News Leader" Thunder Canyon is a roller coaster. Then again I forgive you for being wrong... after all you're not the "leader in local news". I don't like to criticize people for not knowing coaster terminology because if you're not a coaster person then minor details aren't really that important... but to say that a rapids ride is a roller coaster is just flat out stupid. My Honda Fit is more of a roller coaster than Thunder Canyon.

Well personally I think it's terrible that the park has to close the Thunder Canyon roller coaster. It's clearly the best coaster in the park. KARE11: Flooding Closes 3 Valleyfair Roller Coasters

Instead of getting angry over a hobby that's supposed to be fun, why not let us know in the Dorney thread what expensive coaster you think they'll get and why you think it would be a good investment. I'm really curious. As far as a coaster going in Rolling Thunder's old spot it's not a very big spot with the Zumanjaro queue and El Toro's finale. It's possible of course, but it's not as open of an area as I expected. I think Chiller's old spot is a much better location, especially since MovieTown needs something to bring the crowds in.

Panda Express is on the other end of the Scrambler. There isn't really any clearance for anything where that path is because of the New England Skyway being so low overhead but it's not low enough that a busy path wouldn't be feasible. EDIT: Here it is in relation to the Skyway.