Dorney Park's Halloween Haunt - TR

[KBrylczyk]

Hey guys -

 

I went to Dorney Park's opening of the Halloween Haunt this evening and, well, it was one of those experiences that was too ridiculous to say was bad.

 

Anyone living in the northeast would know that it was pouring rain all day today. I said the hell with it and went anyway. When I arrived at the park it was still raining with no end in sight, but I had made the trip, so I manned up and got out of my car and headed into the park.

 

By the time I reached the ticket booth I was already drenched. I bought my ticket and headed inside, looking forward to some haunted houses, trails, and some kickass rides.

 

Here's where things start to go wrong. The only rides that were open were the smaller flat rides, like the Wave Swinger or The Whip. The rollercoasters were shut down due to the weather. Ah, well, admission was cheap, so I'll just do the haunts and enjoy myself.

 

The clown haunted house was up first. It was pretty bad. I was walking through alone, soaked through my 3 layers of clothes, and I couldn't help but notice how quickly thrown together this haunt was. It was put inside of what is normally an arcade, so it was small and nothing but neon-painted temporary walls.

 

After that I made my way to the ghost pirate themed area. Unfortunately, since it was raining so hard, I didn't feel the need to stick around and explore, but it seemed to have a lot of potential. There was a full pirate ship torn apart with an absolutely ridiculous amount of fog and a ton of actors. Since I was in such a hurry to find a roof, though, I didn't get to experience it all.

 

I made my way the the haunted hotel attraction. This one was pretty good. It was a decent length and had some really good actors in it, also some cool themeing. Good times in here.

 

I then wandered down to the back of the park where the Asylum haunt was. Due to construction for the new ride next year, this haunt is a bit out of the way of the main areas of the park, but it was fun. The haunt began decent, but became very disorienting once the strobe lights kicked in halfway through. It wasn't very scary, but it was fun.

 

Unfortunately the two big haunted trails by Steel Force were closed due to the weather, which ticked me off a bit, but oh well. I made my way through to another scarezone themed to medieval times. This one was pretty much deserted because of the weather. Also, when I reached the other side, I learned the hard way that the river had begun to flood the lower portions of the park. I'm not talking a puddle, I'm talking a friggin lake. I was walking on wet cement one moment, the next I was in 5 inches of water.

 

This was also the point in my evening where I just began laughing uncontrollably. The weather was so terrible, I was soaked to the bone, and this lake was the last straw. It was so ridiculous that I could no longer be mad at the park for having all of the rides closed. This evening had gone from a waste of money to a life experience that I will always remember and love.

 

As I walked past a bunch of other closed rides and empty scare zones, I gave up and decided to head back to my car and call it a night. I then heard an announcement for one of the shows to be starting in 5 minutes. I though, what the hell. I walked into the theatre and got comfortable.

 

About two song into the show the fog had gotten so dense inside that the fire alarms began going off. I threw my head back and laughed. Then I gathered my things and made for the exit.

 

When I got back to my apartment, I took a quick inventory. My jacket had been thoroughly saturated, as well as my jeans. My messenger bag was drenched but not completely soaked through. My overshirt was soaked, my undershirt was soaked. My underwear was soaked. My canvas Converse were soaked, my socks were soaked, and I'm fairly certain I now have a case of trench foot. But you know what? I don't regret it at all.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll be heading back next weekend, where the forecast is 70 degrees and dry, to give it another try. Hopefully with proper weather and all of the rides being open, it will be a great time. There is a lot of potential here, but due to the weather most of it was lost. I'll report back if it turns out to be great.

[YoshiFan]

Sounds like the complete opposite of opening night for Haunt last year, 90 degrees and no rain.

 

I was originally planning to go tonight but I didn't even expect the park to open and didn't feel like walking around in the rain.

[Angry_Gumball]

Reminds me of what we did last year during Haunt. I knew a storm was coming but nothing was really happening. I figured, 'Ok, let's head out then.' Once I got about halfway there, the rain kicked in and remained the duration of the ride out there. I got into the park around 2:00 or so to get in some wet coasters. CGA had their coasters in operation but in single train mode. I was soaked but was worth it. The park closed at 5 due to Haunt. Damp, freezing, we headed to the 'boofet' dinner they had and hung out indoors where it was somewhat warm. That night we had passing rain, had puddles several inches deep (water seeped into my shoes), and I still chose to do the log flume at night, as I also rode it during the day when it was pouring. Yes, it was very memorable and fun!

[DerekRx]

I was thinking about going last night but knew the rain would really ruin the atmosphere along with my attitude. Hopefully next Friday will be better