YoshiFan

Very cool of Disney, I like the birthday fun card the option the best since unless you are there alone, if you use the fastpass and it's only for you to use, then you are going to be riding without your friends or family.

I remember reading Dorney gets over 1.5 million visitors a year. On the weekends the place gets packed, I think this summer the lot actually closed a few times because they ran out of room to park cars. Here is an example of how crowded the park can get: http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2008/08/dorney-park-82308-update.html

If you get to the parks early and use fastpass it isn't horrible but can get crazy In 2006, I went to the Magic Kingdom the 26th and 28th, both days the park was filled to capacity. On the 28th, MGM and Animal Kingdom also filled to capacity. On the 27th I went to Epcot, Test Track standby was 180 minutes, Soarin was over 200 minutes. I thankfully rode both on the 23rd with 20 and 40 minute waits. On the 29th I went to Animal Kingdom, Everest was 85 minutes about an hour after opening, by mid day it was up to 2 hours (I rode it on the 24th with a 20 minute wait standby), the standby line for the safari had a completely full queue and the line was out into the midway, the sign said 150 minutes. It's crazy how the crowds can change that much in a few days, the 23rd - 25th were low to moderate crowds. On the 25th, I had a walk on for Tower of Terror in the middle of the day!

I don't think it will make lines much shorter. At Great Adventure people never lined up for the parade early like at Disney and even after it started there was plenty of room to see it and get right up to the chains that block you from the route.

I wish I would have seen those shirts when I was at Hershey, I would have picked up the Canyon River Rapids one. It is impossible to stay dry on Rollersoaker, I wore a poncho last time and still got drenched. At least you didn't have to wait for it, it usually has a crazy line that is one of the slowest moving around I guess because of the horrible capacity (I estimate it at around 240 an hour)

If the tickets can be used by different people, it would be cheaper for a group of 3 to buy the 3 pack than have each one buy a single ticket if they want to ride once. Or if they don't expire and you live locally and want to use them on different days.

Spinning since you never know how much you are going to spin where on a regular mouse, it is the same ride everytime

10 minute dispatches is very upsetting to hear when all season dispatches have been almost all very fast except at Rolling Thunder (where 5 minute dispatches see to be the norm). I hope that was just an isolated bad day and it isn't like that the rest of the season. Something else to consider though I don't know if non Great Adventure Premium SP holders can get in for is the 26th is Family Fun Night. The park is closed to the public and it is open from 5 - 10 for the passholders. If it is like Coasters after Dark crowds will be very light, but you would need to contact the park to find out if a non Great Adventure pass will allow you to get in since they really emphasize that you need a Premium season pass to get in and not a regular Great Adventure season pass.

The park is open until November 2nd so you are not going on closing weekend. So far September has received mixed crowds, I went on the 7th and had walk ons for almost all coasters but a TR posted yesterday said some rides had full queues. Since it a Saturday but not during Frightfest (begins October 4th), I think crowds will be moderate. The real closing weekend is miserable. Last year I read lines were 2 - 2 1/2 hours for the major coasters (I went to Dorney and had walk ons and some 5 - 10 minute waits). This hotel is under $100 a night: http://reservations.hotel-guides.us/hotel/10011670-10198414O.html?ses=f7e8b1f50184c63a9c97f56bf34d493f

Hard Rock Park was the first one that I thought of when I read the thread title. Also any of the sea shore parks in NJ since a lot of those areas are running out of room to build.

I'm surprised it was crowded, last Sunday it was dead. Walk ons for everything except The Dark Knight and Kingda Ka (5 minutes). How bad were the lines? And did you notice if the log flume was open?

Speaking of candy, would it kill the parks to give out candy to everyone and not just kids? I know Disney does but for other parks since candy companies sponsor the events, the park has to be getting it for free or close to free. The worst is when they have it by height like at the Six Flags parks. I remember reading a few years ago how some tall 7 year old kid wasn't allowed to get candy because she was over 54" while all her friends were allowed to and there was all this negative press about it.

I always had a lot of chances to get the Steel Pier credits but never got around to getting them. I guess I never wanted to spend the money for 2 rides in a park that I am a little unsure of (safety wise). Isn't the park closed tomorrow?

1 train on Fahrenheit?! Wow and I thought 2 trains running and the single rider line closed was bad when I went (especially when some trains went out with as many as 2 empty seats!)

"Hello Great Bear, to bad you were running one train, with a huge line. " I am really getting fed up with Hershey and their bad operations. I witnessed horrible operations a month ago and almost every TR I have read since then mentions some major ride running 1 train with a long line.

I wish parks near me would still be on daily operations, it looks like it was great with nobody in the park.

A little less than a year. Since becoming an enthusiast, from October 28th 2007 to April 12th 2008 so around 5 1/2 months (stupid offseason )

The Dark Knight at Great Adventure last night. 15 minute wait. Longest wait of the day, even Kingda Ka was only 5 minutes.

Screamscape has information on Maximum RPM being closed. If it is true then it's a real problem.

I would get rid of all pay to line cut systems

That rule doesn't make sense, I don't think any of the other Zamperla Wild Mouse coasters have that rule. I know at Morey's, it isn't in effect.

I agree, the park has removed way too much in the past 2 years. For 2007, the 2nd log flume and Stuntman's Freefall were removed. For 2008, The Chiller, Swings, Splashdown Boat, Looping Space Shuttle, Houidini/Haunted Swing (SBNO), Bumper Cars (SBNO), Music Express (SBNO) were removed. That is a ton of stuff removed in 2 seasons with only the Dark Knight being added. Not to mention there are basically no family rides, it's all kiddie rides and coasters with a few flats and even less with the rumor the round up is leaving at the end of this season. Still, I love the coaster collection and that's why I go to the park as much as I can especially since Dorney's coaster collection isn't as good but has a way better selection of non coaster rides.

I agree, Epcot is my 2nd favorite WDW park but I have a lot of great memories from past trips and the old rides which are no longer there. I think if I had visited the park for the first time in the past few years I wouldn't like it as much.

Dorney's Wild Mouse is one of the worst lines to wait in. Thanks to the added seatbelts and the rule of no more than 2 adults per car, even what appears to be a 5 minute wait can be 20 minutes (this was earlier this season when supposedly only 1800 people were in the park). Last year the wait was in the station and it was still 10 minutes. I wish they would ditch the seatbelts and let 4 adults in per car and it would probably have a short line like everything else at Dorney

I remember always getting my feet caught in those nets as a kid. The park used to be almost all playground stuff like that and an obstacle course, suspension bridge, slides etc. and the water park stuff before they added all those rides.