Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom Discussion Thread

[Tbcoasterfan]

I'm interested in seeing the first pictures of Cedar Point without Demon Drop as well as hearing how this ride is met by its new market.

 

Go to Cedar Points website and go to the blog in the "online fun" section. In one of the older blog posts they posted a picture of the site (ride removed).

 

*edit*

Went ahead and found it for you

 

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/blog/2010/4/19/In_the_Park.cfm

[NewsPlusNotes]

In the past couple weeks since opening a lot of progress has been made on the ride. It's now topped off and looking fresh in its new paint:

 

 

More work has started on the station area and some of the track has gone in as well. The area around the ride is coming together as well. I think they're still hoping for early June, but mid-June is looking more realistic.

 

 

The full update of photos can be found here if you are interested.

 

Mike

[tatertot3710]

From the park's Facebook:

 

To everyone asking about Demon Drop opening: electrical and control systems are still being installed, access paths and ramps construction is on-going, I saw one ride compartment on the return track the other day and think we will see some testing soon. Best estimates for public opening are in the last week of June.

[G$ Kurt]

So according to Dorney's FB page Demon Drop opened today... http://www.facebook.com/dorneypark

 

If anybody is going to Dorney soon let us know how she is in her new home!

[tatertot3710]

I had the chance to ride Demon Drop on Friday for the first time and I loved it! It looks very nice in the area that it's located. The wait was the longest at the park, around 20-30 minutes all day (if you've ever been to Dorney, you know this is a long wait for a weekday). One problem I see, though, is with the queue. It starts by going under the end of the runway, turns left and goes next to the ride, then goes into the station. No switchbacks or anything. With the queue being 3/4 full the day I was there, I'm sure it could easily fill up quickly on weekends. Everyone coming off the ride seemed to enjoy it, and I, along with the people I was at the park with, loved the ride.

[YoshiFan]

It was closed when I was at the park today (well I guess yesterday), 1 car was almost at the top of the lift, the rest were in the boarding area.

[odene497]

I rode it this past Thursday, and it was a walk-on, along with everything else in the park. It was okay. I just hate the transfer from the top track to the bottom.

[Nozzy]

I rode it on Saturday afternoon. It had been closed earlier in the day with a car sloooowly moving up the shaft, and opened up between 2 and 3 probably. We rode with around a 5 minute wait. It did not live up to my memories of Stuntman's Freefall at Great Adventure, though perhaps it had to do with my harness being rather tight and our car (6) seemed to be making more noise than any other when transferring down. The ride up seemed slow and the cars were only dispatched once all the third car from the last set was dropping. It broke down a little after we rode too. I'll try it again next time to see if it seems better, but my ride was really boring.

[thrillrider]

Sigh....

 

I remember the days when freefalling 10 stories was actually a thrill.

[Tbcoasterfan]

I had the chance to ride Demon Drop on Friday for the first time and I loved it! It looks very nice in the area that it's located. The wait was the longest at the park, around 20-30 minutes all day (if you've ever been to Dorney, you know this is a long wait for a weekday). One problem I see, though, is with the queue. It starts by going under the end of the runway, turns left and goes next to the ride, then goes into the station. No switchbacks or anything. With the queue being 3/4 full the day I was there, I'm sure it could easily fill up quickly on weekends. Everyone coming off the ride seemed to enjoy it, and I, along with the people I was at the park with, loved the ride.

 

Where's a "This thead is worthless without pics!" smiley

[Nozzy]

^I put some pictures in the park index thread of the ride running, at the bottom of the page here:

themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44372&start=310

 

Here's a pic that kinda shows the queue as well, it was taken from the station entrance

A very simple queue

 

I rarely ever see lines at Dorney, and the ride isn't in a very central location, but this does seem to be rather tiny.

[G$ Kurt]

So weird to see this ride in a different setting.

[tatertot3710]

Planet Snoopy will be replacing Camp Snoopy at Dorney in 2011.

 

Press release:

 

SNOOPY CELEBRATES 60th ANNIVERSARY

WITH $8 MILLION PRESENT FROM DORNEY

DORNEY PARK, Allentown, PA (August 8, 2010) – Hundreds of kids and their families turned Camp Snoopy at Dorney Park into a festive arena as they helped celebrate the 60th anniversary of Snoopy and the rest of the gang. The festivities were topped off when Dorney Park presented America's favorite beagle with a seven-foot-tall gift box with an $8 million present inside: plans for the Planet SNOOPY kids' theme-park slated to open at Dorney Park in Spring 2011.

 

Planet SNOOPY is an $8 million concept that will become reality for next Spring. The project will transform the existing Camp Snoopy into a self-contained theme park for kids. The new Planet SNOOPY will encompass nearly three and one-half acres of land centrally located in Dorney Park and is set to feature the largest collections of kids' amusement rides on the East Coast.

 

One of the gifts presented to Snoopy on Sunday was an aerial rendering of Planet SNOOPY. The illustration shows how seven new rides, an all new PEANUTS™ Showplace amphitheatre, a Snoopy Boutique souvenir store, and a Soda Pop Shop featuring Root Beer Floats combine with nine existing re-themed rides to make an out-of-this-world, kid-fun and family-friendly immersive experience.

 

The headlining attractions of Planet SNOOPY will be the new 40-foot-tall Flying Ace Balloon Race, the Linus Launcher ride where riders lay face down for their soaring trip, and Snoopy's Sky Ride, an aerial monorail with themed passenger cars. Each of the rides in the Planet SNOOPY universe is designed for kids and parents to be able to ride together. The Planet SNOOPY kids' park will also feature a new family care facility where parents can tend to the needs of infants and toddlers. The facility will be staffed and fully equipped with changing stations, feeding rooms, and play and nap areas.

 

In recognition of the special position Snoopy and the PEANUTS™ gang hold in America's heart, Planet SNOOPY will also feature extensive scheduled interaction between the kids and Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and others of the PEANUTS™ gang. The schedule includes shows in the PEANUTS™ Showplace amphitheatre as well daily meet and greet sessions.

 

Dorney Park plans to break ground on the project at the end of the upcoming 2010 Halloween HAUNT season. When Planet SNOOPY opens in spring of 2011, admission will be included with any Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 2011 Season Pass or Admission Ticket. Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom now offers three great Parks for one low price! The addition of the new attractions brings the Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom experience to an incredible fifty-seven rides while Wildwater Kingdom has an additional two-dozen including two-giant wave pools, two lazy rivers, and an astounding twenty-two water slides.

 

Families can save even more by purchasing their Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 2011 Season Passes when they go on-sale at the Park Season Pass Office on Saturday, September 4th. Early purchasers enjoy the lowest prices available of only $89.99 for Regular and $59.99 for Juniors under 48" tall in shoes. The Season Pass Office will continue to be open for 2011 Pass purchases during all scheduled Park operating hours throughout the fall.

 

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, a publicly traded partnership that is listed for trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FUN." In addition to Dorney Park& Wildwater Kingdom, Cedar Fair owns and operates ten other amusement parks, six water parks, one indoor water park resort and five hotels. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, Calif. under a management contract.

 

http://www.planetsnoopy.com/dorneypark/

Map of Planet Snoopy

[Band-Aid]

I still don't understand why they would replace Camp Snoopy. Given, an expansion with more rides is nice, but Camp Snoopy actually had a theme (campy, outdoors, etc). Planet Snoopy just seems to me like a bland, generic area of the park with kids rides and Peanuts characters.

[6flagsbrad]

I wonder how many other parks will receive this treatment. I thought it was just mainly for the past paramount parks with all the hanna-barbera lands.

[tatertot3710]

Valleyfair and Worlds of Fun are also getting Planet Snoopys.

[jedimaster1227]

This topic has been merged with the new official discussion thread for the park. Feel free to continue posting in here from now on.

Edited August 26, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[deathbydinn]

It looks like Dorney Park has put three (1 / 2 / 3) of its small kiddie rides up for sale on Ital Intl, all of which I believe are located in the same general area of the park, along with the Steel First kiddie coaster. Could they be clearing the area out for a new future development?

 

http://www.screamscape.com/html/dorney_park.htm

 

Steel First - http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=1431

 

Hampton Umbrella Antique Cars - http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=1428

 

Hampton Umbrella ride combo - http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=1429

 

Sartori platform ride multicars - http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=1430

[Bonemachine]

Cedar Fail - never disappoints with the fails, never ceases to fail, Cedar Fail.

[tatertot3710]

The Philadelphia news today confirmed that Dorney made a construction request and included the speculation about Invertigo. Interesting that it's going there, especially being right next to Possessed. I, for one am happy for any ride that we can get.

[deathbydinn]

Heres the full article.

 

Dorney Park lining up more thrills

Company won't identify new ride, but that hasn't stopped the speculating.

 

Mum's the word on a new ride slated to join Dorney Park's lineup of belly-dropping, giggle-inducing thrillers, and park representatives say enthusiasts will have to wait until summer 2012 to try it out.

 

Dorney Park's parent corporation, Cedar Fair L.P., submitted a plan to South Whitehall Township for a new 138-foot-high amusement ride. But the plan doesn't mention what kind of a ride it is, and the park's general manager, Jason McClure, said his lips are sealed.

 

"We are keeping our focus on 2011 and all the new things we have in store with Planet Snoopy," McClure said.

 

The park's opening day will reveal the results of an $8 million top-to-bottom makeover of 10-year-old Camp Snoopy, the 3.5-acre children's area named after the too-cool beagle from Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip. The renovation will bring six new rides, an amphitheater, a souvenir store and a "soda pop shop" featuring root beer floats.

 

Dorney representatives will take questions about the proposed 2012 addition from the South Whitehall Planning Commission on Feb. 17, but even that won't demystify the new ride.

 

"The Planning Commission can ask us a variety of questions… but it's premature to get into a lot of detail," McClure said.

 

That hasn't stopped people from speculating that the incoming ride will be a coaster from California's Great America called Invertigo. The coaster happens to be 138 feet tall and is being relocated to another park within Cedar Fair's amusement park empire, according to a Great America news release issued last week.

 

Invertigo takes riders sitting face to face up a 138-foot-tall tower, then on several loops and twists both forward and backward through three inversions.

 

The rumor of the swap surfaced last week on a theme-park fan site called Screamscape.com, but Dorney spokesman Chuck Hutchison said the rumors are just that — rumors.

 

Invertigo reopened in July almost a year after a mechanical failure left two dozen people trapped 80 feet in the air for at least three hours, according to CNN. All of the trapped riders were rescued and no one was injured.

 

Under Dorney's proposal for a new ride, several kiddie rides would be removed, as well as a basketball game, concrete midways and a portion of a paved service drive, affecting about 1.7 acres of the 187-acre property zoned as commercial recreation.

 

Three Dorney rides are listed for sale on Ital International LLC, which dubs itself as the amusement industry's most comprehensive new and used ride brokerage source. The Antique Cars and Dune Buggy rides are both listed for $18,000, and the Kiddie Merry-Go-Round is listed for $25,000.

 

The ride is slated for the western portion of the park, just north of Lincoln Avenue and Dorney Park Road and south of the mammoth Steel Force coaster, where the old Laser coaster used to be.

 

The Laser was removed in 2008 after 22 years of double-loop thrills. The portable coaster, anchored by tanks of water, was originally named Colossus.

 

The site of the new ride, where Laser stood, is on the edge of a 100-year flood plain. The location caused heated debate at the township level when Dorney sought approval for Laser. It was eventually approved with a host of conditions attached.

 

If Invertigo greets fans in 2012, it would be the park's third inverted coaster, making Dorney Park the only amusement park in the country to have three true inverted coasters, according to a post on Screamscape.com.

 

McClure said the park will release more information on the ride this summer.

 

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/eastpenn/mc-dorney-park-new-ride-20110202,0,5985707.story

[Skycoastin Steve]

I remember having a thought about Invertigo being able to fit in Laser's former footprint right after I found out about Invertigo getting removed, but with Possessed being right there, it just seems redundant. But I guess that's where it's headed, for better or worse.

[tatertot3710]

Here's exactly what the park put in for to the township. I'm wondering what the paved area for seasonal use would be for? Hopefully Haunt.

[SharkTums]

Oh man, somewhere in a German cemetary Anton is rolling in his grave. A Vekoma replacing Laser...sad...

[DJeXeL]

Pretty sure that should be a sin of some sort. I personally prefer the Giant Inverted Boomerang's over the Invertigos.