Dorney Park will open without its Boomerang roller coaster, which was removed

This is probably the first time I have been happy to see a coaster removed. I was against the park getting the coaster after all the issues it had at Great America, most specifically when the coaster got stuck with riders for 3 or more hours. The problems were supposedly fixed when the coaster went to Dorney but it continued to have problem after problem, either valleying, getting stuck with riders for 90 minutes and the opening day issue in 2014 where hydraulic fluid got on riders and was closed the entire season, similar to the what happened with Two Face at SFA. I only rode Stinger 9 times while it was at Dorney and only once after 2013 because it just wasn't fun to ride a coaster and worry about being stuck for an hour or more.

I wonder what they are going to do with the Flying Scooters. They rarely had anyone walk down to that section past Stinger except during Haunt and most times the ride was cycling with half the cars empty. Hopefully they don't leave them SBNO for 2018 since that area will be almost empty with no other rides open.

I also hope the park gets a new coaster for 2019. I remember the park advertising how they had 10 coasters for 2008 and now 10 years later they are down to 7 coasters.

Maybe they'll send it to Dorney.

Dorney continues to be the red-headed stepchild of the chain. Considering the potential market, it really deserves better attractions.

We've only gotten to ride Stinger one time in our visits to Dorney. Every other time it was down. I understand why it's been removed. Hopefully they'll be a better replacement.

Ensign Smith said:

Dorney continues to be the red-headed stepchild of the chain. Considering the potential market, it really deserves better attractions.

Every time my wife and I go to Dorney in the Summer the parking lot is packed.

But,most of the people are in the water park.

They also get a lot of bus trips from NYC.

Seems they don't see an economic need to add more/better rides.

I think Dorney is a pretty sweet park. Talon is one of the best inverts anywhere. MiA is the neglected park, remember? :)

If anything, I think Dorney's greatest obstacle is that it's too close to too many other parks. Want a big, thrilling, multi-day "Destination" park? Go to Hershey or SFGrAdv. Want a smaller, "Family" park? Go to Knoebels, Sesame Place, or Dutch Ovenland.

Dorney is too big and expensive to be on the radar for a casual daytrip to a laid back family park, but too small to be a contender when you want a massive Thrill park. (Yet the same price.) Dorney sits in that middle ground that just might get ignored.

Ignored by whom? I doubt very much that the park is anything other than very profitable. Jokes aside, that's the same point we make about Michigan's Adventure. The cap ex spent at the park is not reflective of success.

Based on my past visits, Dorney seems right sized for the crowd. I don't think there is much of a need for more rides. The current collection is pretty solid and the only thing I can see missing is a launched full circuit ride. I've never visited the water park, but I've heard that WWK tends to get more crowded in the summer than the park itself.

A launched full circuit? Wouldn't it be nice if there was just such a ride available for cheap?

Jokes aside I really hope the far flung rumors about Kanonen are true.

That was a rumor started by a kid on Facebook. And from what I hear the ride is very meh. Perfect for Dorney lol.

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

Based on my past visits, Dorney seems right sized for the crowd. I don't think there is much of a need for more rides. The current collection is pretty solid and the only thing I can see missing is a launched full circuit ride. I've never visited the water park, but I've heard that WWK tends to get more crowded in the summer than the park itself.

When I was at the park on Labor Day, the ride side had 15 - 20 minute waits for the coasters, WWK had 30 - 60 minute waits for the slides. It gets so crowded on summer weekends, I wouldn't attempt to go to WWK on a Saturday even with Fast Lane Plus because it's still going to be 20+ minute waits for the slides.

Here is a picture of what it looks like on a Saturday in the summer, the smaller stairs that go near the open orange body slide is the Fast Lane line for Snake Pit:

(credit NewsPlusNotes, http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2015/07/dorney-park-christmas-in-...haunt.html )

I will miss Stinger b/c it's my 2nd favorite boomerang: http://www.coastercritic.com/2017/12/showdown-rant-goliath-v-stinger/ I've ridden boomerangs I thought were just so-so and one - Boomerang at SFFT - that was truly awful but never had a less than enjoyable experience on Stinger. Possessed is another story; that's the one I wouldn't miss if Dorney ever decided to get rid of it.

So did they scrap the ride, or dismantle it?

According to NewsPlusNotes, it's up for sale.

http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2018/01/one-vekoma-invertigo-look...-good.html

This is what Knotts is replacing their Boomerang with, wouldn't be surprised if this is in store for Dorney. https://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/knotts-berry-farms-hangtime-ro...ummer-2018

Without the Boomerang, is it really even WORTH opening?

I think Dorney is a perfectly adequate park, which may be the problem. Talon is amazing, Hydra is good enough, and Steel Force exists. I haven't been since Possessed. I'm not sure if a blockbuster coaster would drive attendance that much, but it is sandwiched between Hershey and GAdv. and I'm not sure what its target market is.

ApolloAndy said:

I think Dorney is a perfectly adequate park, which may be the problem. Talon is amazing, Hydra is good enough, and Steel Force exists. I haven't been since Possessed. I'm not sure if a blockbuster coaster would drive attendance that much, but it is sandwiched between Hershey and GAdv. and I'm not sure what its target market is.

Different park, different coasters, different rides, different landscapes, etc. And if one park got much more popular than the other, the crowds would be out of control, and the other park would have an advantage in the respect that it would be easier to visit the parks.

If the parks were exact clones of each other I could see your point, but once you go to a park once or twice in a season, you have to go to other ones too if you want complementary experiences.

The general public may not be coaster nuts, but they're still human. They like variety and choice as consumers. And, for the lowest of the low GP, a park pretty much needs to be in their backyard to go. So being within 20 minutes of a certain population will give you an advantage over a park 1.5-2 hours away.