Dorney Park, best hidden secret.

I went to Dorney for the first time last summer and didn't find the park to be mediocre at all. Good selection of flat rides and a few good coasters. Very clean and bright colors everywhere.

Talon - the best ride in the park. My second favorite B&M invert.

Hydra - it was just okay though the jo-jo roll was pretty cool.

Steel Force - big surprise for me as I thought it was much better than I had expected. Little to no air time was not a big factor.

Thunderhawk - not bad but that brake towards the end kills it IMO.

Laser - intense little Schwarzkopf in a rather odd location in Tot Town.

X Factor

Dorney is a good middle man park. Not exactly a Six Flags Great Adventure and not exactly an Iowa Adventureland. But we have to really read and understand the point of the original poster.

"I know most of you have been to Dorney, but for those who haven't, go there. trust me this park has many thrill rides and absolutely NO lines. Are there any other secrets besides Dorney in other states? Write some feedback."

I think the poster is hinting at the substantial coaster quality selection and the minimal wait times. And in that respect, Dorney IS a hidden gem. Where else can you ride a B&M floorless, a B&M invert, a Morgan hypercoaster, a classic Schmeck, and a classic Schwartzkopf with little to no waits (even on weekends)? If your answer is not many places. Then I agree with you. In that respct, I agree with the original poster, Dorney is a hidden gem.

edit: Most of you are speaking from a coaster enthusiast opinion living hundreds of miles away, saying that its not a park worth the drive or flight from "anywhere you live usa." and your right, it isn't. But to anyone that lives in this area, its generally considered a quality park. *** Edited 6/25/2006 3:37:34 PM UTC by DorneyDante***

I guess the problem RGB is that when people refer to stripping out of atmosphere under Cedar Fair, is that they turned it into a mini-Cedar Point. I've often used this to point out what I mean (no. 5 is new):

1) instead of Raptor to the left, you've got Talon to the right
2) Carousel after the main entrance-check
3) Coasters restaurant near main entrance-check
4) Substitute Steel Force for Magnum
5) Five-thousand trashcans-check

Don't get me wrong; I think the park looks nice, the rides are very well painted with lots of bright colors, but it just can't touch two of the Six Flags Parks I went to two weeks ago for atmosphere, and in many cases the rides were also better.

And DorneyDante, I realize you're partial to the Cedar Fair chain, but the two Six Flags parks I visited two weeks ago were very well run, and it looks like they didn't need the instruction manual at all (there was missing tp in the one bathroom, but I let guest relations know and hopefully that person was fired, because Mark said he would fire anyone on the spot for not keeping the bathroom in good working order, or something like that). *** Edited 6/26/2006 1:14:25 AM UTC by Intamin Fan***

I can see where you're coming from, IF. But when you think about it, where else could Dorney have put Talon back in 2001?

And the carousel near the main entrance is a pretty standard feature, at least as far as the older traditional parks goes. When you think about it, the carousels at Hershey and Knoebels are just inside what used to be their original entrances. Both parks just expanded beyond their former boundaries.

Man, hoping someone gets fired over a roll of TP? Boy aren't you going for the jugular! I hope you really had a need to go and weren't just performing your own surprise inspections. :)

There is plenty of atmosphere in the park, you just can't dash in, ride the coasters and leave to feel it.

No, RGB, the problem is that I'd already taken care of business, and then I found out there was no toilet paper in stall no.1 or 2. We had just gotten to this park, and that was a very bad start to my day. It really sucks when you find out you've got to pull up your shorts and underwear, move to another stall, only to find out that the same situation applies. To say that I was livid was an understatement, but luckily I calmed myself before I went to Guest Relations. I really didn't want to start my day by yelling at someone.

So, I found the quote from Mark out of a USA Today I bought two weeks ago "He has ordered that park restooms have an attendant at all times and says he'll fire the person on the spot if he sees a restroom that's messy." I would say that not having any TP in two of the stalls qualifies as a restroom without an attendant (meaning someone wasn't doing their job). You can say whatever you want about SFA, but I can't ever remember not having any TP.

One more thing RGB, going back to the Talon-placement, I totally agree it had to go there (unless they had torn down Hercules earlier:)), but I was just observing a similarity.

---

DorneyDante said:I think the poster is hinting at the substantial coaster quality selection and the minimal wait times. And in that respect, Dorney IS a hidden gem. Where else can you ride a B&M floorless, a B&M invert, a Morgan hypercoaster, a classic Schmeck, and a classic Schwartzkopf with little to no waits (even on weekends)? If your answer is not many places. Then I agree with you. In that respct, I agree with the original poster, Dorney is a hidden gem.

---

I agree with that, I still find it amazing that I can go to the park in less than 2 1/2 hours and get on 13 coaster rides and a few flats. I know Dorney doesn't have the best coaster collection around but the lines (or I guess lack of lines), more than make up for it. That's also part of the reason I got a season pass to Dorney this year (my first season pass to any park, ever). It's good knowing you can go for a few hours and get on all the coasters and still have time for other rides and not take a whole day to spend at the park.

I also think the location of Dorney keeps it from getting the recgonition it deserves. With it being sort of in between Hershey and Great Adventure (both of which arguably have better coaster colletions), I think it gets overlooked. I know it's just one example but I'd rather wait 0 - 10 minutes for a ride on Hydra than 30 - 45 (or more) minutes for a ride on Medusa even though Medusa is considered to be the better ride. *** Edited 6/27/2006 4:16:32 AM UTC by YoshiFan***

Dorney is hardly a secret, but I DO personally feel that it's an underrated park in some circles. While none of the coasters is a home run, I always have fun on them. I admit the park is lacking a certain charm these days, though.

i have to agree with GregLeg, ive always had a great time at Dorney. they have a decent collection of rides, and i have to say i have noticed the flats there typically run a longer cycle than cedar point's flat rides. as many times as ive been though, havnt done the water park, mainly because it always looks so crowded.