Dorney Park, 9/17/06, Might as well have been ERT

I originally had plans to go to Hershey this weekend but those plans fell through so I had Dorney as a backup plan.

I got to the park at around 3:00 and saw the lot wasn't that crowded. I figured that less than a few thousand people were in the park today.

Walking into the park, the first thing I noticed was 3 workers at the top of Talon's lift. I was hoping it wasn't closed for the day but it opened about 45 minutes after I got into the park.

With Talon being closed, I started at Hydra with a station wait. It didn't seem to be running as great as it could be because I noticed a little more headbanging after the cobra roll and in the last corkscrew than usual.

I went to Enterprise next, which was fun but the cycle was really short with only 5 or 6 rotations with the arm completely vertical. The Whip was next which was a great ride as usual.

Dominator looked to be surprisingly empty and although I have never tried a drop tower before, I decided today was a good day to try it because with no line, I wouldn't have a chance to watch the ride and be nervous while in line. I went to the red tower (upward launch) first because that one had no one in line. The launch wasn't as intense as I thought it would be and I liked the air time you got at the top of the tower. After trying the red tower, I decided I would try the blue tower (downward launch) next. It was a 1 cycle wait and I really liked the stomach dropping sensation you got from this side although having the tower stop before the drop that high up and looking down was a little scary at first. I then took another ride on each tower.

Thunderhawk was only running 1 train today which is the first time I have seen 1 train operation on a weekend but with today's crowds, it didn't matter. It 1 train wait for the back. I really wish they would turn off the brake at the bunny hills.

Steel Force was next and with 2 trains running, most rows were a 1 train wait. There was very little air time in the front of the train, but towards the back I was getting lifted out of my seat on all the hills after the MCBR. 3 rides on Steel Force was enough for me so I went to Laser. The first ride was a 2 train wait. Nice and forceful as it always is and seeing I could get right back on the next train (after walking around of course) since there were only about 10 people in line, I took a 2nd ride. They were not enforcing the assigned seating so I took the last car, 1st row. I love how in the back, it feels like you are getting pulled through the loops.

I went to Thundercreek Mountain next which was a 10 minute wait. It seems like no matter where you sit, you can't avoid getting soaked but since it was warmer than normal out today, I didn't care. I then went back to Dominator for 2 more rides on the red tower and 1 more ride on the blue tower and stopped for another ride on Enterprise.

Hydra was next for 3 more rides, and there were times that the trains were being sent out 2/3 empty. Wild Mouse always has a very slow moving line so I usually skip it but the line was barely down the ramp and it was a 10 minute wait. The brakes were not on that hard today which made the ride a lot more fun than normal.

Seeing that Talon was running with empty rows I went to it next to find an almost empty station except for the front row queue. I took a total of 5 rides, one of which was in the front when there was a 1 train wait for the front, and would have went for more rides but I was getting tired of running up the steps to get to the station, running down the steps after the ride and then running through the empty queue and back up the stairs for another ride so I decided I had enough.

I finished off the day with another ride on Wild Mouse, which was a 10 minute wait again.

I am used to Dorney not having long lines but this was even less crowded than I was used to. I'm glad I decided to try Dominator as I really enjoyed it but I can't imagine waiting in a line longer than 10 minutes or so because the ride seemed over before I knew it.

Ride Count (about 4 hours spent in the park):
Talon, 5x
Hydra, 4x
Laser, 2x
Thunderhawk, 1x
Steel Force, 3x
Wild Mouse, 2x
Enterprise, 2x
Whip, 1x
Thunder Creek Mountain, 1x
Dominator (Red), 4x
Dominator (Blue), 3x

Total, 28 rides

Woah! nice! you got lucky

Back in July on a weekday, I was in pretty much the same situation as you in terms of line lengths. Made my first trip to Dorney all the better. Nice TR :)

Pretty much standard Dorney lines. It's hard to go there and not be able to ride at will.

Why run at Dorney? Actually why run at any park? Even at parks I go regularly to I wouldn't run. Unless it's at opening and I want to try for first train out on a ride.

At Dorney, I walk and get plenty of rides on the coasters. Tiring yourself by running can make the day a bummer.

It's nice if you're riding, but not too good for the park's bottom line.

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dragonoffrost said:
Why run at Dorney?

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Because there aren't any trees to dodge!

Okay, sorry...

-Nate

I was running because I wanted to ride as many times as I could in as little time as possible and that it seemed to be the theme of the day. After getting of Hydra, Talon and Steel Force you would see people running through the exits, and getting back on the ride as soon as they could. I really think Cedar Fair needs to re-consider the no re-ride policy.

It's true the lines are usually non existant in the park but I wasn't expecting the park to be that empty yesterday (Talon almost always has a station wait to 10 minute wait even on slow days) especially since the water park is closed for the season and that always appeared to be the main reason the amusement side of the park never had lines. *** Edited 9/19/2006 6:12:56 PM UTC by YoshiFan***

I believe I was told once that the reason for the no re-ride policy is because they are required, either by law or their insurance, to have riders pass by all of the warning/pre-existing condition signs before each ride boarding, even if it's the one they just rode. It's a liability thing, they are covering their bases.

Just relaying what I remember hearing once.

-danny