Battle of the PA parks in 2003

I think Hershey is getting pretty concerned with the competition with Dorney recently since it has been becoming a major park competitor. On every commercial break on the radio this summer I swear all I heard was "Come to Hersheypark to ride the new Roller Soaker - Half water ride, half coaster!". They really marketed it, actually they marketed it to much. I couldn't stand all those commercials and ads.

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Emerging from the ashes of Eric 013...

Technically Hersheypark has 4 woodies if you count Lightning Racer as 2... :)

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The only difference between stupidity and genius is genius has limitations.

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Black 7 said:

I think Dorney may lose some ground to SFGAdv with them putting in a new coaster this year. Remember, a lot of the GP do not really go to a park more then once or twice a season...

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I totally disagree. I think you're missing Dorney's target audience. I've only lived in Allentown 1 year (and we'll probably be gone by summer) but I did visit Dorney over 20 times last season. WWK is the main attraction. It seemed to me that many of the locals (who I also think makes up most of Dorney's attendance) are there for Wildwater. On days that the parking lot was full, you'd wait ridiculous times for waterslides, but Talon and Steel Force would still be well under a half-hour (usually under 15 minutes). Dorney doesn't need constant expansion and additions in the park to thrive, they need to keep WWK going strong, it's the reason most of their guests are there most of the time.

I think SFGAdv certainly sees Dorney as potential competition (as well they should), but I'm not sure Dorney is nearly as concerned in the opposite direction. As "big" as Dorney has gotten it still has a total "local park" reputation in the area.

They may not necessarily grow in attendance, but I don't think they'll have even a remote problem maintaining last year's levels.

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www.coasterimage.com

*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar 2/16/2003 4:59:23 AM ***

All I know is that I'm going to go to ALL of the parks in PA this year.
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Think for yourself-Don't reley on someone else.

Count me in as one that believes that 2004 will be a big year for Dorney. Rumors have been pointing to that year for a few years now, and they have been constantly changing with every new type of coaster to come along. A couple record years in a row with relatively low spending following them makes me think that they are putting money in the bank for the future. 120 is a big year and I think they will want to build something to make people notice just like Steel Force and Talon. I don't think noise will be a problem in the lower part of the park. Dominator is actually louder than Talon, which was dampened because there is a residential area just on the other side of Thunder Canyon. It's all a matter of location in the park.

The drawing power of the waterpark can give them another record year as long as the weather cooperates. Hopefully they will take the dividing wall out of the wave pool along with reducing the depth. I remember back in the day when it wasn't there and you could go up to 10' deep. On busy days (almost everyday in the summer), it wasn't enjoyable anymore because it was just too crowded.

As far as Hershey, is the rumor about a waterpark for them still alive?

I agree, it is good to live in easter PA right now.

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Eastcoaster

I can see how the waterpark will help Dorney. But, I wouldn't know since I haven't been there since like 1995. I can't wait to go back this summer.

I think Patriot's Plunge/Wildwater Rapids will have great visual impact just like Talon did. It's right next to the road, really close. Now all Dorney has to do is add a Master Blaster and one of those things where you can practice surfing and it will be one of the best waterparks ever. I mean, in 2000, Wildwater Kingdom was considered the third best waterpark according to Amusement Today. They could very well achieve that status again.

I can tell the competition is heating up between Dorney and Hershey. If you are heading into Allentown on the turnpike, there is a big sign advertising Hershey Park. It won't be long before Dorney starts advertising signs right outside Hershey.

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Enjoy the rest of your day at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom.

Just wondering what everyone thinks about Hershey. Do you think it(hershey)will ever become overrun with people from New York and New Jersey like Dorney has? It seems it happened along with the addition of huge rides like Steel Force, Dominator and Talon. My fear is that if Hershey adds anything big and steel, like a hyper they might start drawing the type of crowds that Dorney does.

I love Hersheypark's friendly atmosphere, I'd really hate to see that change. Does anyone think that will ever happen? Do you think Hershey will stay away from the major thrill rides, and even if they do start putting in things like a hyper and the such, will the crowds still stay nice because theyre a little further away from the big cities than Dorney and GrtAdv are?

Nope, I don't see it happening. Hershey is in a place where the cow population is higher than human, and NY or NJ people won't drive all the way to Central PA when there's 2 closer parks.

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Emerging from the ashes of Eric 013...
*** This post was edited by 3r1c 2/16/2003 4:20:29 PM ***

Hershey has been attracting groups from 'extended markets', and they have to adjust to the clientel. They are doing fine so far. Dorney is more in direct competition with Great Adventure with the day trippers from the big cities. Hersheypark still maintains a regional visitation, plus the added bonus of a mini vacation area. Dutch Country is in America's Top 10 driving destinations, which is a good thing. That is why Dutch Wonderland is so popular with tourists.

All other parks in PA for arguments sake are still 'picnic parks' in many ways. All of the biggies.......Kennywood and Knoebels, for that matter, can hold any picnic or group you throw at 'em. Even the remaining mid sized parks, Conneaut Lake, Waldameer, Idlewild, Williams Grove, Lakemont and Del Grosso's can all hold 7000-10000 for atering. Unheard of numbers for the Six Flags parks.

As for the only real themer, Sesame Place, well its a one of a kind, and the kids love it.

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"The Empire will Strike Back !"
*** This post was edited by Agent Johnson 2/16/2003 10:17:54 PM ***

Have all of you noticed how much advertising has grown in PA this past year? First Hershey-I will never forget the commercial on the radio advertising Roller Soaker, they must have played it 7-8 times a day. Next Knoebel's-I've seen a commercial for Knoebel's on tv quite a few times. Finally, Dorney-I listen to B104 a lot and at least 3 times an hour they would advertise Halloweekends during October. And I live about smack in the middle of the three. 1 1/2 hours from Hershey, 1/2 hour from Dorney, 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Knoebel's.

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Enjoy the rest of your day at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom.
*** This post was edited by bs13 2/16/2003 10:33:20 PM ***

Hershey Park happy, Hershey Park glad, so many things to see and do (oooh) Hershey Park glad.

I'll never get it out of my head :)

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Emerging from the ashes of Eric 013...

Well thats Kennywood's mainstay, it relies on school picnics and group outings as their main soruse of revenue. Heck they even had to expand it a couple of years ago and all summer these areas are packed.
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The Jokes on You!! Ha Ha

3r1c- the Knoebels jingle is by far the most annoying radio advertisement I've EVER heard. I don't even want to type how it goes, mainly because I've blocked it from memory...

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The only difference between stupidity and genius is genius has limitations.

In agreement with Lord Gonchor I too think that it is wise that Dorney put their money into WWK for this year. Have you ever actually spent the day at WWK? The crowds are absolutely crazy. You can be over at Dorney and wait 5 minutes in line for Talon and then head over to WWK and wait 45 minutes in line for the speed slides. Quite crazy. Being a local I can also defend the fact that most people who live in the area go to the park for WWK. It is a major draw. So, Dorney is doing the right thing for sure concerning their spending for 2003.
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"You know its a good ride when you come into the final break run wiping tears from your eyes"-me
*** This post was edited by DorneyDante 2/17/2003 12:25:54 AM ***

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MarimbaGuy87 said:
the Knoebels jingle is by far the most annoying radio advertisement I've EVER heard. I don't even want to type how it goes, mainly because I've blocked it from memory.

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Little kids singing, "Come to Knoebels morning to dark, Pennsylvania's hometown park!"

AAAAHHHHHHH!

I feel like gouging my ears out with an ice pick now!

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Visits to Knoebels in 2002: 10 and PPP!

XBox Live Gamer tag: Coasterpunk

I hated the commercials for SFA with the song "I Wanna Be Bad". Instead it was something like "I Wanna Ride That" I think. I absolutely hate that song, so the only good thing about the off-season is that there are no annoying commercials and jingles :)

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Emerging from the ashes of Eric 013...

Agent Johnson said it the best when its comes to park competition. My cousin works at Hersheypark, and in their employee manual it states that their only competition is the Mouse in Orlando. I don't know where they get that from, but it is more of a destination park than the rest for tourism. There is a lot to do in the surrounding areas.

With all the construction that has been going on there is definately something major going to happen at Hershey over the next several years. 2007 is their 100th anniversary, so you know something major is planned for that year.

Its seems like there is construction going on the the plot of land across the street from the Giant Center, and I am guessing that is where the waterpark will be built. I know that it would a complete separate park. They are making a lot of alterations to the roads in that area.

*** This post was edited by Coaster Fantom 2/17/2003 1:58:06 PM ***

Did anybody notice how suddenly Camelbeach announced they are getting a triple slide complex? I'm not saying that they got it because they are trying to stay in competition with Dorney, but it makes me wonder.

I was really dissapointed when I learned they removed the Alpine Slide. I was on it about 2 years ago and I really, really liked it.

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Enjoy the rest of your day at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom.

I live 10 minutes from Camelback. The waterpark just gets busier and busier every year. Having heard Dorney's numbers year after year, and understanding Camelbeache's success, I don't think the competition has hurt Dorney too much. Given a lot of the people in the immediate Pocono Region might choose between the two, a lot would do both. And, I'm thinking based on Camelbeach's marketing efforts, they draw well into NJ and NY to get the people to go. I know Dorney draws from NJ, but I think it's more southern then Camelbeach. That said, both places continue to do well and seemingly coexist near each other in markets only an hour or so apart.

Dorney has really started to draw people in from all over. Before CF took over, I hadn't really heard of Dorney that much. When Steel Force was added, it definatly made parks nearby re-think their strategies as Dorney was an alternative now to their park (Primarily Hershey and SFGRAdv)

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Emerging from the ashes of Eric 013...