TR: Dorney Park - 7/11/07 (pictures coming soon)

[CoasterEricHP]

I'm trying to hold off on visiting Knoebels this year until Flying Turns is complete so today my friends and I decided to change things up and go to Dorney Park! I havent been there since the Hercule's days and my g/f and friends have never been there.. so on to the rides!

 

Dorney is 1:40 Mapquest minutes away so we left York, PA around 3:15 to get there for the sunset plan. Well, the clock struck 5:45 when we got there because Mapquest sucks and we got stuck in awful traffic in the small towns and in construction by the park. Luckily though it was raining pretty good on the way, but when we pulled in the parking lot at Dorney the rain stopped and the sun came out!

 

First ride was Hydra, my first time on it. We waited 2 trains for the front row. I wasn't blown away by the ride, but I was far from dissapointed! The jojo roll was interesting, and I really liked the layout of the coaster. It did take the elements very slowly, but it had a few moments of floater air and it's unique.

 

Thunderhawk- One train wait for the front row. WOW! This was the hidden gem of Dorney. I must have been still scared of how bad Hercule's was and forgot all about this coaster. In the front we had some MAJOR air time. I'm talking, Phoenix quality "knee on lapbar" airtime. Thunderhawk had a cool layout too. If it wasn't for the brake on the bunny hills towards the end this would be a top 10 coaster! Great great ride.

 

Steel Force- Let me just say that Magnum only wishes it could come close to Steel Force! We waited 2 trains for a middle train ride. The out and back layout is perfect with some straight drops, and then the turn around was intense and way better than Maggies. Also, the brakes only touched the train which made for some decent air on the return run. Plus the ride was smooth and the trains were comfortable and not painful like Magnum. IMO Steel Force in the back row at night is the best steel in PA.

 

Laser- Intense portable Schwarzkopf'age (sp?). Nothing too great though.

 

Talon- Talon has a great layout and it packs a punch! Smooth and doesn't let up until the brake run. The final helix is insane and you're almost scraping your face against the dirt its that low to the ground! I'm not sure what to think about the onride video though... Hmmm.. By 7:30.. Talon, and the whole park was a walk on.

 

Other rides we rode were, Dominator up and down, the Zephyr train thing, Pirate Ship, Ferris Wheel, the flume ride, and Revolution. All with little or no wait.

 

Overall, everyone had a great time today! The rain and heat chased everyone away, the operations were great, (they must have a HUGE international program there since everyone was from Columbia or some other country) and every ride/coaster exceeded everyone's expectations! I can see where some people complain about the park being concrete and steel.. but that's only up by Talon. The rest of the park, especially down by Steel Force and Thunderhawk is beautiful by any standards. I wish Cedar Fair would put a little more $$$ into this park and add one or two more big coasters (Steel Venom will fit in perfect and a nice GCI wooden coaster) and a Maxair'ish ride and it'd be a park that would make me forget about Hersheypark really quick!

 

I have some pictures but they are on my g/fs camera so I'll have them up in a few days.

 

Thanks for reading! Here are the overall "ranks":

 

Hydra - 7/10 - 2 rides (front and back)

Thunderhawk - 8/10 - 3 rides (front, middle, front)

Steel Force - 9/10 - 2 rides (middle, back)

Talon - 7/10 - 1 ride (front)

Lazer - 5/10 - 1 ride (middle)