Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom.

I know there is dorneyonline.com but i want someone elses point of view. So me, my brother, my girlfriend, and his girlfriend are heading up to dorney on the 29th of June. I went there last year, but only for the water park, it was 97 degrees, but we did ride Talon. This year were going to the Water Park for half the day then the park for the rest.I was wondering What Rides that i should not miss. I know Talon is a must and Steel Force, but what other rides are good? Also, is there any actually affordable places to eat in the park?

The lines are generally short enough that you should be able to do all the coasters, and as far as I'm concerned all the adult ones are a good ride. (Don't wait too long for the Wild Mouse unless you've never been on one before. Hershey's is better.) But be warned that Thunderhawk is a lot rougher than you would think something that size would be. Don't ride the back til you've tried a less-forceful seat, and brace yourself when you get to the bunny hops because there's a hard trim brake followed by a terrible main brake.

There's a large drop tower and launch tower if you're into that sort of thing.

All the coasters are decent. You shouldn't have a problem with lines, execpt in the waterpark. Ride Hydra and Talon in the back seats and front seats. For Thunderhawk, stick to the front car--it's not too rough there, and there are a few good pops of airtime--one of them insane.

Steel Force, of course, ride in the front and back. Laser is assigned seating to a certain extent. Dominator (S&S space shot/turbo drop) is a good ride, as well as their water rides.

If it's hot, have lunch in the Game Day Grill or Coasters, as it should be air-conditioned in there.

Dorney has some fun flats, as well, such as Meteor, Hang Time (though that one can hurt), and Revolution. I wish they still had their Skyscraper, but now they have a Screamin' Swing, so hit that if you've never ridden one before.

Coasters:

Laser is a severly overlooked gem...great forces and gray-out through the tight loops. Thunderhawk is decent not as rough as people say....but certainly not as good as it was years ago. Hydra is dissapointing and a waste of space....but Talon and Steel Force are good. And the Mouse is worth it if there's no line...the ride has terrible capacity and a slow moving line, due to the seatbelts and the only 2 adults per car rule.

Flats:

Some great and rare classics are still around like the Whip, Monster, Apollo (swing-around) and Enterprise. Also common staples, but good rides like Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl, and Waveswinger. And definatly take a ride on the 1934 Zephyr train at the bottom of the park....the other train (Cannonball) is nice, but only travels a very short circle around Thunder Canyon.

Food:

Avoid purchasing food/drinks at all costs. Food is severly overpriced and low quality. $3 bucks for a 20 oz. soda from the machines this year(free ice water is usualy available at most food stands if you just ask). Try eating a big meal before going to the park and there are also lots of great chain restaurants like TGI Fridays and Friendlys right outside the park for dinner. I would also reccomend Mario's Pizza Cafe in the plaza on Hamilton Boulevaurd (next to Dunkin Donuts). Their pizza is top-notch at Mario's.

Hope this helps....have a good time. *** Edited 6/14/2007 10:35:08 PM UTC by scraperguy99*** *** Edited 6/14/2007 10:37:20 PM UTC by scraperguy99***

You must ride Laser and Thunderhawk even before Hydra. Zephyr, the park's bullet train calls the lower park home. You should ride this gem . It saved the park during the Depression.

Also dont skip the Log Ride, its one of the better ones (long and on a hill.)

Hydra the ride is awesome! The Jo-Jo roll is very unique on this ride. Steel Force is very uneventful. Gettting no air, and too smooth coaster is boring. Laser is a gem, and so is Thunderhawk. Talon is good, but it just needs a little more. It's not that satisfying. Wild Mouse is also very fun. I like the Zamperla Dragon Coaster too.

For flats, go on the Revolution, the Whip, the Musik Express (That thing goes really fast), Balloon Race, and the Tilt-A-Whirl. Apollo is also nice to ride. Enjoy Dorney!

I second the log ride.

Hydra was a disappointment to me. But, The Whip was awesome. I'm a big fan of the classic rides you don't see at every single park these days. Plus, it was really fun.

The spinny thing by Steel Force (I guess it's called Revolution) was really fun. I'm not sure if it's the exact same as the ones at Hershey and Knott's, but it was still fun.

Yea, they are right about the log ride being good.

Hydra was a disappointment to me, as well. Sure, it's unique, but it's one of my least favorite B&Ms, right down there near the standups. The thing has a bumpiness problem, along with a tame layout. And I do not like the JoJo roll--unless it would be taken at a higher speed, more like a normal barrel roll.

They could have done more with Hydra--they have that great hillside and lake that they aren't taking full advantage of.

*** Edited 6/15/2007 3:44:29 PM UTC by rablat5***

I agree the log ride is one of the best. Hydra is somewhat disappointing but I enjoy the first drop if I am riding in either the first or last row. Nice air there.

Laser is fun! Love it for some reason. It's really not anything to look at but has a surprising amount of force on the turns. Steel Force and Talon are good coasters.

As far as food, we always take a cooler and eat in the covered picnic area next to the entrance. You can leave your cooler right on the table and can come and go as you please with a hand stamp. I am not cheap but really don't like the food at Dorney. The service in Coasters is pretty bad and so is the food. If I must eat in the park I go to Subway or Patio pizza. There is a McDonalds right acroos the street as, well.

Have a great time!

Talon is obviously a must-ride, but wait until after 1:00 - it almost always has a line early, but even a 1-hour line will almost always die down later in the afternoon (before picking up again when the waterpark closes).

Personal recommendation: When you arrive, start with the ride side at the bottom of the hill -- Steel Force, Laser, and Thunderhawk. Then work your way up to the top with the flats. Make your way towards Talon around 1:00 (getting Hydra on the way up the hill). Then, a nice relaxing dinner at Game Day Grille (in the Air Conditioning) would be great - usually that place isn't as busy around 2:00 anyway, and there are TVs and what-not inside, plus the staff is always friendly. Plus, it's the only place in the park where you can get a beer, if you're into that sort of thing ;)

Some other food tips:
-- You might as well spring for a souvenir bottle, as it will save you money in the long run if you refill it two or three (or more) times. However, ask for NO ICE! All the soda machines in the park are refrigerated already anyway, and you can always go up to a food stand later and ask for (free) ice if it starts getting warm, but that way you maximize the soda you get for the $$. In addition, most ride crews will let you put them to the site with the other loose articles, but regular drink cups a lot of people will make you toss in the trash. You'll also get a nice souvenir (they have 3D/Hologram-type things on the side this year).
-- The milkshakes from coasters are a must-have. They are a little on the expensive side, but they taste great, and especially on a hot day are a nice treat! I must admit that the rest of the food in coasters isn't really worth the price, but don't miss the milkshake!
-- The Cinn-A-Pretzels ($5.30 after tax) may seem outrageous, but take it from someone who's bought 5 so far this year on separate visits, they are also delicious! I've seen them at the frozen custard stand along the top midway (near the bathrooms) and also at the funnel cake stand by the Zephyr - I haven't noticed if they sell them anywhere else.

-- Subway is a good alternative for food while you're in the park if you don't want to do the whole sit-down thing at Game Day, and the 6-inch hoagie prices are not that much above what you would pay outside the park (the 12-inch on the other hand are almost double)

Gameday's prices aren't even that much higher than the food stands in the park. I think a hamburger (1/2 pound) and fries is either $7.50 or $8 there and a burger and fries at a stand like the one near Thunder Creek Mountain is $7.15 (or something close to that amount, but it is over $7 for sure).

I eat out of the park everytime though. Can't beat a double cheeseburger, a small order of fries and a small soda with unlimited refills for $3.00 plus tax at McDonald's across the street. Or if I want something better, I go to King's Market right near the park. $2 - $3 for a deli sandwich, $0.25 for a bag of chips and $1.00 for a 20 oz bottle of soda. If I only went once a year maybe I wouldn't care about saving money and eating out of the park but I try to go to Dorney every week and it would get too expensive. *** Edited 6/19/2007 2:32:40 AM UTC by YoshiFan***

Here's a question...

what percentage of people go from the waterpark area to the rides when it closes as compared to the amount of folks who just go home?

The fiirst and only time I went to Dorney (last year) was a weekend scorcher. Most of the peeps went to the waterpark and I had very few lines and a lot of open rides to choose from.

When I did meander over to the waterpark, it was PACKED! I bumped into a few people when I tried to cool off in the wave pool and then I went back to the rides.

Again, what is the late afternoon and end of the day like?

Thanks!

I think it depends on the time of year and if you go on a weekday or weekend. I was there on May 29th and June 8th and both times after the waterpark closed, the rides side was dead, walk ons for everything and I got some solo rides on coasters on the 29th. But on the 8th, the waterpark was so empty I got on 18 slides in a little less than 90 minutes so that might not be the best comparison.

On a Sunday in August last year lines after the waterpark closed were about 15 for Hydra, 10 for Steel Force, 40 for Talon. After that trip, I decided I will never go on a weekend again except in May, September or October.

If you're not interested in the waterpark at all and can only go on weekends, I would go on a Sunday during Halloweekends, it's always dead then.

Thanks for the info Yoshi! No, I really like waterparks too...I just don't like how crowded they can get and the fact that most slides, other than wave pools, have very low capacity.

I sometimes look for a day with light-rain (no lightening) for waterparks (More employees than peeps!)

I agree about the capacity. When I went to WWK 11 days ago, even though lines were very short, I noticed how slow they moved. For a 3 slide complex, they have to unchain the entrance, let the 3 people get to the slides, close the chain again, make sure the last 3 sliders are out of the pool and then the next 3 can go. It wasn't a problem that day since most slides had 6 - 10 people in line but even on a weekday once the crowds pick up, I could see most slides being 20+ minutes easily. Not much fun to stand in the sun for that long for a short slide.

A great time would have been the 2 weekends after Labor Day. For the first time this year WWK was going to be open those weekends. Unfortunately, they decided to have buyouts those 4 days so for everyone not involved in those buyouts, it's the same Labor Day closing for WWK