boldikus

Nice photos ^ I cant imagine a trip to the park without El Toro at least once. I need to get back up once more this year.

Thank you! One other thing I failed to mention that sucked is their no re-rides policy. More than once we returned to the station on Talon and Possessed and asked if we could stay on since no one was waiting in our row and were told we had to walk around. Lame! I'm so spoiled by GAdv's extremely lax policy with this.

We had a really great time at Dorney this past Saturday night. After living fairly close to this park all my life I was really stoked to make my first visit. I went up with my brother in law Tom who himself visited Kings Island earlier this summer and has joined me at SFGAdv back in June, and again a few weeks ago for our trip to SFA. He is one of my favorite people to go riding with as he has stamina and absolutely no fear/limits when it comes to rides. Tom had to work a half day on Saturday so we didn't get on the road until almost 4pm, arrived at the park around 5pm and stayed until a little before midnight. Overall I really liked the park. Well kept, decent to good themeing, lots of teens but a bit more reigned in that the types you get at a SF park. The park felt pretty crowded while walking around, but as you guys predicted, the lines for rides were minimal. The longest wait was for both of our two rides on Steel Force, but I don't think either of those were over 20 minutes. Everything were station waits, or walkons. Most coasters had 4 ops and were all hustling and keeping trains on the move. A few waits on the stairs but on every coaster they have someone holding people back at the station entrance so it doesn't turn into a shitshow in the station (I'm looking at you El Toro). I guess most people were there for the Haunt stuff, none of which we did. We encountered some actors while walking around but our mission was strictly coasters and some flats. Loved a lot of the lighting packages on the flats here, which looked even better with all the black lights and insane amount of fog the park was pumping out all over (we had a running joke going about the parks' accountant getting the smoke machine bill next month). The red running lights on Hydras lift are a nice touch. We had a really good time re-riding what we liked and just bouncing around all over, so I'm not giving you the play by play of our night but below is what I thought of the rides. We only stopped riding to sit down for beers and crab fries at the Chickies & Petes stand across from the Sea Dragon. Talon (5x) First ride of the day and my favorite overall. Walked right on to the back seat, then walked around to try the front. Definitely a front seat ride! We came back to this area a few more times later just to ride this. My only other B&M invert is Batman @ GAdv, and I liked this more as its just a hair less intense and has a few moments where you catch your breath before things get crazy again. This was great late at night as they had a haunt between the ride and the water park so walking through the queue in the dark fog and then while on the ride itself, especially the sections furthest away from the park entrance, you couldnt see much of anything. Didn't wait longer than 5 mins for this, even for the front row. (8/10) Possessed (4x) This was the surprise of the night for me. We loved this ride, Tom said it was his favorite. I hadn't done one of these Intamin launchers before and it really wow'd me. Loved the ops faking us out with countdowns before each launch. Liked it both in the back and the front, the back maybe a bit more because of those crazy high G's as you launch up into the back spike. Also really dug how they hold you on that back spike for a second. Such a great ride. Longest wait was 10 minutes for the front. We were HYPED riding this thing. (8/10) Steel Force (2x) My first Morgan hyper. Kinda meh. Longest waits of the day, 20 or so minutes each time. First time we rode it was still daylight and we just went for the back car as the wait was less. After this first ride I was calling it "Herky Jerky". The drop doesnt even feel that high for some reason. Almost no air on the bunny hills coming back. We rode again after dark and waited a little more for the 2nd row. We had two tiny little girls in front so we had a good view. What a HUGE difference in airtime when sitting in the front. Much better ride up there and in the dark, but overall it has absolutely nothing on Nitro and S:ROS (my only other two hypers). Coming up the lift in the dark and looking over at the lit up, fog filled park gave me chills and was a highlight of the entire evening. We (and lots of other screaming/scampering guests) saw a skunk in the grass near the bridge over the stream on our way out of this area. Kinda hilarious and wild moment. (6/10) Hydra (2x) We did this after dark both times as we didn't get back here til after sunset. First ride we went for the back in hopes of some air over the drop. A little, but nothing special. I totally forgot about the roll coming out of the station since we were in the back and this was right after Chickie and Pete's so that slow roll did not agreed with me, but I was OK. No reappearance of crab fries and Blue Moon. Hydra is a good night ride since its pretty dark in that area. Is it me or are the lifts on this and Talon sped up? Seemed like on both once the whole train was on the lift the chain would speed up similar to El Toro. Not as fast, but you could feel the increase in speed. We came back later and did the front (total walk on right up to the front row) and it was a much better ride. Nothing earth shattering, but a solid floorless. If I'm comparing, I prefer Bizarro @ GAdv. (7/10) Wild Mouse (1x) Credit whores. We had decided early on we didnt care about doing this but we walked past at one point late at night to a non-existent line so we hopped on. I would seriously kill myself if I had to work this ride, the station music is pure audio hell. Standard mouse, didn't hurt us, nothing to report. (3/10) Thunderhawk (1x) We did this once early and got it out of the way. Awful ride. They were running one train and the station wait was 10 minutes. Zero airtime, crappy first drop, bumpy bumpy bumpy. Square wheels. One and done. (1/10) As far as flats, we also did: The Whip - so great, we tried to get back after dark since they turn out the lights, and run a couple of strobes but it just never happened. (7/10) Enterprise - I used to ride the one in Wildwood all the time as a kid, was easily my favorite flat for years. This one was hard to find, we wound up riding really late before we left. It had a totally creepy ride op, it doesn't go all the way up (wtf?), but still as good a ride as I remembered. (7/10) Apollo - SO GREAT, I think this was my favorite flat of the night. (9/10) Dominator - both sides. First the side where you are shot up, pretty great but we were blown away when we went back and did the drop side. Holy crap! Easily the most freaked out I've been on any ride in a long time. We loved this ride. (8/10) My camera kinda sucks at night so I didn't take very many pictures. My only big regret is we forgot completely about Demon Drop! We just never made it back there. Also, Meteor was not running as they had a Haunt show in front of it, and Screaming Swing was down all day. Overall Dorney is a charming park, with a really nice collection of classic flats to balance out their half decent coaster line up. It felt pretty small, and was mostly easy to get from one area to another - though I never had any idea how hilly this park is. Some of those pathways are really steep! My legs are definitely feeling those climbs today. On to some pix. On the road from Philly to Allentown, PA there are cornfields And fall foliage And delicious burgers and theme parks! Love coming over the horizon to a coaster skyline Possessed and Dominator. Who knew these would be two of our favorites Talon. First of the day Nice park Beautiful day Liked this ride better at night but enjoyed it on all 5 of our rides Front seat coaster all the way Minimal waits all night This thing hauls ass Where to? Thundercrap Lift hill porn History lesson Now I get the Steel Forceless jokes. To be fair, it was much better in the front/at night. Possessed. LOVED this ride. You will be Possessed in 5.. 4... 3... *launch!* Wheel assembly porn Only encountered line jumpers once all day. Not too bad. The Whip. Great classic. Dominator. The drop on this surprised the hell out of us. Very forceful. Good times Good eatin Yum Clever. Great, simple lights on most of the flats. Hydra. Solid floorless coaster. The roll out of the station is very unique (but not good after crab fries and Blue Moon). One of the last rides of the night, tho I think we did Possessed again after.

THIS is encouraging. I'm at Moreys all the time and I always tell everyone its always deserted cause it always is. Only time its ever bad are on holiday weekends, and they are nothing compared to a busy day at GAdv

Definitely want to ride their Screaming Swing. The one in Wildwood is my favorite flat there.

Its been down all season, no? I have yet to ride an inverted boomerang but something tells me I'm not missing much. Also, I have no problem waiting 20 minutes, once its get over that half hour mark is usually when I start to get cranky.

Good to know. All I ever hear about crowds w/ this park is they are low and waits are minimal, I hope its true. We were originally going to go up around 5/6pm and stay til close but think we are going earlier now so time crunch isnt as much of an issue.

You guys think Fast Lane will be necessary on a late September Saturday? Looks pretty cheap.

Voted 'Hands Up' as its a relatively new thing for me this past year. There isn't much to hold onto on El Toro but that was a big one for me to do totally hands up earlier this summer. Now I can't imagine riding while holding on, I feel like Im more likely to injure myself or pull something if I hold on for dear life. I just go with it and the rides are much better. That said if its a mostly positive G coaster (like the Batman clones) I don't bother, as the purpose of hands up to me is to feel weightless/neg Gs, no sense in fighting against Positive Gs (like I used to try to do during Nitros helix).

I think they biggest things that bring me back here often are that 1. unlike a lot of other coaster/TP boards, this forum is always active and 2. Most people have a great (read: twisted) sense of humor and don't take this hobby too seriously. That there are so many knowledgeable people here that are willing to give great advice to others is the icing on the cake. Also, most of the trip reports here are thorough and interesting.

Never happened to me, but almost every single time I ride El Toro it happens to at least one person. Amazes me people will wait that long without using the test seat.

Oh snap they have a Whip. Is it any good?

Sweet, I forgot about the C&Ps @ CF parks. Thanks for the reminder, love me some crab fries.

They seem to have a pretty decent flat line-up between the Screaming Swing and Dominator and then Demon Drop, Enterprise, and Meteor are all rides I loved but haven't ridden in forever. I'd like to do all the coasters since there aren't really that many. Definitely want to check out Possessed as I haven't done one of those. I like B&Ms for the most part so Talon and Hydra are must-dos, Steel Force as its legendary around these parts, though I hear its pretty forceless. What's the consensus on Thunderhawk? Seems like a don't-miss simply for how old it is but then again... lol

In this weeks unexpected twist, I may be heading to Dorney this Saturday evening. You have no idea how many times in my life I have *almost* gone to this park. But alas, this will be the first time. Now, let's see if these plans shake out.

Yeah this is exactly where my thought process headed after that last post. I'm thinking in terms of crowds inside the park it might actually help us out. Now I'm off to hawking the weather (Farmers Almanac says flurries the week after! Anyone ever ridden in the snow?!)

After a bit of research I'm seeing the show is at the "Giant Center", which looks close according to maps. But its not IN the park, so do you guys think that will have an effect on crowds at the park? I just don't know the area or the crowds so I'm in the dark. I immediately thought its was like SFGAdv when they have bands/artists play inside the park at one of the venues. edit: thinking that since its not in the park, and show is @ 8pm, it will likely not effect crowds @ park, maybe earlier before show but would likely clear out by 7ish I'm thinking. (Sorry I am an overplanner with these things)

I just looked up who Demi Lavato is—a Barney & Friends character? There were a bunch of people in costumes and stuff when I visited, but they didn't really draw crowds. Is this like a "meet and greet" affair? [EDIT]: Ugh. Nevermind. I see she's like a Britney Spears / Justin Bieber type thing. I could see how that would be a major problem with visiting—especially if you can hear the music. I dont care if we can hear it just dont want to deal with crowds that would go to that show. Don't know her music but I know she's a fairly big pop star. Ugh ugh ugh. :/

Just found out a Demi Lavato (sp?) show is the night we are thinking of going. Should I just kill myself now?

Wait, there's a Grapefruit Shandy??? That must be had... Also, I heard that there's a possible Pumpkin Shandy, made by the same brewer. Has anyone ever had that one? Ive had the lemon (good), strawberry (OK), and the grapefruit (amazing). Tastes like juice, but its beer. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin beers, but if Traveler is brewing a pumpkin my local store will probably get it so I'll post here if I see/try it. Edit: http://travelerbeer.com/beers/jack-o-traveler/

Other than this I can add ^ SROS (SFA) 12x in one day, earlier this month Jokers Jinx 6x in one day, same day as ROS and I have done Nitro 5x in one day - back to back rides, the last 3 without getting out of my seat El Toro 4x in one day - the last 3 were consecutive I think I could do like an all day marathon on either of those ^, I just don't get sick of them.

Pretty sure it was one of these as I'm obsessed with them and our neighborhood beer store has them all the time.

OK guys GCIs and SuperDooperLooper added to must-do list. SDL seems kind of slow and uneventful from the POVs, but I'll give it a shot if you guys say so. If everything is a walk on, Id like to do everything, except maybe for the Wild Mouse, I hate them. Anything special about it?

Wow thanks, that's encouraging. I know SFGAdv can get really crowded on weekends during FF and I don't know if they really do anything at that level @ HP. I'm pretty unfamiliar with the park, shame as its pretty close I just have never been. I really only know they have a great line-up of stuff I've been itching to try, I haven't even really researched the park at all. The 3 Intamins and Great Bear are must dos IMO and then whatever else we get on would be a bonus. Any other must dos or must eats beside the coasters? Its looking like later in October though (24th maybe?) so I don't know if it being closer to Halloween will increase the chance of it being more crowded. Just don't want to waste time in lines if we're only there for 5 hrs.

Is it realistic to assume Id be able to hit most (if not all ) of the coasters on an October Friday night between 5-10pm w/o fast pass? I'm thinking not, but if someone has an optimum plan of attack let me know. Also whats the deal w/ their FP? Is it true its just good for one ride on 5 different coasters? Are those specific or just 5 that you choose? Seems confusing. Potentially planning my first trip to the park in October (and it has to be a Friday night), some advice/insight from here would be helpful. For what its worth we'd be going for coasters, not haunt stuff.