Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom Discussion Thread

[DorneyKid14]

A few food stands now have a spot for guest to refill their all season bottles without having to wait in lines!

[CoasterTony]

A few food stands now have a spot for guest to refill their all season bottles without having to wait in lines!

 

[DorneyKid14]

Also forgot to add that Bands, Brew and BBQ will be happening at Dorney this summer!!

[Physical]

One week till opening day!! Last night all the coaster lights were on including thunderhawk!!!

 

The park looked great! I was going down Hamilton at around 1:30 in the morning and figured I'd stop in at the Speedway across the street and snag a pic. (It didn't come out too well because low light picture with a cell phone camera, but I'm going to share it anyway) Thunderhawk definitely stands out more than it used to!

 

[jramo14]

How are the crowds typically on Opening Weekend? What kind of wait times should I expect?

[CoasterTony]

How are the crowds typically on Opening Weekend? What kind of wait times should I expect?

 

You shouldn't be worried about lines, you'll get on everything you want to within a few hours. Also, don't forget to give Demon Drop a try.

[njcoasterguy34]

I just noticed this posted on Facebook by Dorney Park's PR department.

 

https://www.dorneypark.com/events/things-to-do/events-and-promotions/Battle-of-the-Bands?mobile=0

 

I actually think this is a pretty neat idea.

[coasterbill]

What kind of wait times should I expect?

 

Talon - 0 minutes

Possessed - 0 minutes

Stinger - Catastrophic mechanical failure closed for the season but before that 0 minutes

Demon Drop - 0 minutes

Hydra - is it possible to be less than 0 minutes?

Steel Force - 0 to 5 minutes

Thunderhawk - 0 minutes (but there's a new train and it's opening day I bet it'll... shut up zero minutes)

Wild Mouse - 10 minutes because of atrocious ops

Thunder Creek Mountain - 10 minutes because it's amaze-balls

[DorneyKid14]

What kind of wait times should I expect?

 

Stinger - Catastrophic mechanical failure closed for the season but before that 0 minutes

 

This. Is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100%. True.

[thrillseeker4552]

Why is the park always so dead? Is it doing alright from a financial standpoint?

[coasterbill]

Why is the park always so dead? Is it doing alright from a financial standpoint?

 

Most likely, it's always been this way. The flat rides always seem pretty popular and more importantly the waterpark is absolutely slammed on a daily basis. Hour waits for slides are common. From the outside looking in, Wildwater Kingdom is their bread and butter.

[thrillseeker4552]

^That makes sense. I forgot how much of a draw the water park is. Good to know that I'll be able to ride everything several times if I ever get the chance to visit.

[CoasterTony]

I have just heard that the Chance Carousel will also not be returning for the 2016 season. Does Dorney realize that your actually supposed to add rides?

[njcoasterguy34]

I have just heard that the Chance Carousel will also not be returning for the 2016 season. Does Dorney realize that your actually supposed to add rides?

 

Do you have a source for this rumor?

[coasterbill]

I don't see it on the website. If this is true then I don't see the big deal. That ride's existence never made any sense.

[CoasterTony]

I have just heard that the Chance Carousel will also not be returning for the 2016 season. Does Dorney realize that your actually supposed to add rides?

 

Do you have a source for this rumor?

 

A good friend of mine is an employee.

 

I don't see it on the website. If this is true then I don't see the big deal. That ride's existence never made any sense.

 

I agree

[DorneyKid14]

I have just heard that the Chance Carousel will also not be returning for the 2016 season. Does Dorney realize that your actually supposed to add rides?

 

You do realize that parks remove rides that have low ridership right? Chance carousel was one of those rides.

[CoasterTony]

Yeah, I know, I was being sarcastic.

[Physical]

From the outside looking in, Wildwater Kingdom is their bread and butter.

 

From the inside, looking further in/up. Same deal. WWK and Haunt are the real money makers for Dorney.

[DorneyKid14]

^^ this is correct. Haunt and the Waterpark are the money makers for the park.

 

The all season refill bottle have had a pretty big pre-sale for this year. So that is definitely going to be a hit.

 

The park also has the highest attendance per season pass holder in the company at 5-6 and the rest of the parks are at 2-3.

[Iby coaster]

Yeah Chance Carousel didn't get a lot of people. When ever I used to pass by there, everybody was at the Ferris wheel and barely any people were riding it or even in line.

[SkyToro]

I attended Passholder Preview Night tonight, here's a quick trip report.

 

Rides Ridden:

 

Thunderhawk x3

Hydra x2

Talon x2

Possessed x2

Demon Drop x2

Steel Force x1

Cedar Creek Flyers x1

Enterprise x1

Apollo x1

Dominator Red x1

 

Notes:

 

First of all, Stinger was down pretty much the entire night (surprise, right?) cause temps were too low to keep it operating without it breaking down every other cycle. Didn't get a ride before it closed for the night, which was unfortunate.

 

After tonight, I have a new found love for Steel Force. I've always found the ride pretty boring and tame (I typically ride in the back), but that 1st row can really provide some awesome airtime. Also, they ran 1 train all night, which made 3 train wait about 10 minutes. This was the most frustrating part of the night. Imo, any coaster with a MCBR shouldn't even be capable of running with less than 2 trains.

 

Moving on, Demon Drop was fantastic, as always. I miss getting the opportunity test riding all 6 cars in a row on short staffed days like I did last year lol.

 

As for the B&Ms, they were also fantastic, as always. I did notice a bit of a rattle on both though. Not sure if the trains need some breaking in for the season? It wasn't terrible, but it seemed like a noticeable change to me. They were also both running 1 train, but it's not a big deal with such high capacity and easy loading/ unloading...unlike Steel Force.

 

Possessed is the only ride (except Thunderhawk) that I rode the same row twice tonight (the 1st, of course), I fell in love with that coaster towards the end of last year and could easily marathon-ride it.

 

I attempted to ride Dominator Green, but it wasn't open for whatever reason and ended up riding the Red tower. Not sure if the Green tower ever opened (it was already later in the night when I rode).

 

And then there's Thunderhawk. Those trains look fantastic, paint looks fantastic, and the ride is gorgeous at night with those new lights. The ride experience is completely different with the new trains than I was expecting. Mike Fehnel did a little speech before the first riders rode and mentioned that the ride was indeed retracked, and it's definitely noticeable. I never thought Thunderhawk would ever ride so smooth, it's incredible. With that said, there was little-to-no airtime in the front row the 2 times I rode there. It does run slower in the cold, so that may contribute to the lack of airtime. (I did hear that the ride was running its course almost 10 seconds faster than the old trains did when it was warmer about a week ago). I also rode in the back, which is now a bearable experience that doesn't result in you nearly breaking your back. I'd say the level of smoothness of the back row with the new trains is nearly identical to the smoothness in the front row on the old trains. It was nice to ride with the sense of higher speed in the back row without feeling like I'll need EMS to be called. I look forward to riding it when it's warmer.

 

All in all, it was a great start to coaster season for me (which will get even better with my Knoebels visit tomorrow). I also have the dinning plan and all-season refill bottle, which is a great program. I got to ride everything I wanted to, with the exception of Meteor, Dominator Red, and Stinger.

 

P.S. - That main midway needs some work. At this rate, Wave Swinger will be gone next year and all that will be left is Talon and the now one and only carousel in the park. R.I.P. Screamin' Swing.

[neil009]

This makes me so freakin mad. At some point in the past couple years, can't exactly remember when, they put work, and I mean REAL work, into getting the Chance carousel organ from sounding like a sad warbly out-of-tune mess to a completely refurbished beautiful-sounding organ, just so they could then get ride of it? WTF! I seriously hope that organ went to an appreciative new home.

[michaellynn4]

^

 

 

No need to get "so freakin mad". It's just a carousel. Life goes on.

[coasterbill]

Dorney Park: Where a 10 minute wait for the front row of a hypercoaster is "The most frustrating part of the night".

 

If low temps were a problem and rides were running slow, one train ops were likely an attempt to make the trains as heavy as possible.

 

Any vibration on Talon was likely caused by a near empty train. That happens sometimes when there's just about nobody on the ride (which is always... because Dorney).

 

Also was my Mountain open? Low temps are not an excuse for not riding it