Dorney v. Hershey for first visit (going alone)

I'm in King of Prussia for work-related training for two weeks. Will have free time this weekend to hit either Dorney or Hershey. I'm a huge Cedar Point fan and ride all the coasters there with my family, but this weekend I'm alone. Would appreciate any advice on which park I should chose. Thanks in advance!

Hershey. Great park with great coasters.

Knoebels.

(Kidding!)

You should hit both, and while you're in the area, hit up Six Flags Magic Mountain. Don't forget Europa Park either.

Dorney is like Cedar Point lite. It will probably feel like a rehash of a lot of the same rides. Hershey has a unique collection which is also very, very good. Between the 3 Intamins and Lightning Racer, you have 4 rides unlike anything else anywhere else. And Storm Runner!!!!111one

Weekend? That's tough. Dorney's rides will be less busy than Hershey if the waterpark is open. And I believe it's closer to Philly, am I wrong?

Have you thought about Carowinds...?

Yes, Philly. Sat/Sun are only two days I have to myself. Was planning on doing touristy things downtown Philly on Saturday, then head to one of the parks on Sunday. Carowinds is probably too far for a day trip but would be my first choice for sure. Re Dorney, might be fun to revisit Demon Drop, a ride from my youth, but Hershey definitely looks better from a variety standpoint. Issue seems would be how much I get to ride given a weekend day and no fast lane type service (which I've never found the need to buy at CP but might for a one day splurge alone).

Sorry, yes Dorney is closer to Philly but only 1/2 hour difference over all.

ApolloAndy said:

Dorney is like Cedar Point lite. It will probably feel like a rehash of a lot of the same rides.

That's because they ARE the same rides that were once at Cedar Point...

Wow, Storm Runner looks pretty awesome. Might be the clincher for me.

Go to Knoebels instead!

Of the two, it's no question; Hershey...and Storm Runner is pretty awesome...

Hersheypark Better collection of rides.

Surprised no one has specifically mentioned SkyRush yet. That's a one-of-a-kind Intamin experience you'll get nowhere else in this half of the world....

+1 more for Hersheypark

Later,
EV

If you have three days, I'd go to Hershey all three.

If you can't manage both, Hersheypark. Like others said Dorney will have shorter waits but you can bang out a bunch of rides early at Hersheypark. Start with Fahrenheit and work your way around the park.

EchoVictor said:

Surprised no one has specifically mentioned SkyRush yet. That's a one-of-a-kind Intamin experience you'll get nowhere else in this half of the world....

I alluded to SkyRush (when I counted the Intamins), but didn't want to mention it specifically, because the rides I got on it were terrible (restraint problems). Is there another similar ride on the other half of the world?

Abu Dhabi close enough? Flying Aces....similarish?

I did not know of the existence of such a ride, but if they didn't fix the restraints problems, that thing is going to kill people's legs.

Went to Hershey last Wednesday b/c from Jul 25-27 they were offering free parking (regularly $15) - sweet! And yes, the 3 Intamins - I'm a huge Intamin fan - are definitely worth it. The idea of starting with Fahrenheit is a good one b/c of the low ride capacity and consequent longer waits. I was fortunate enough to hit Fahrenheit when it was only a 20-minute wait and would have welcomed a re-ride except that as the afternoon wore on the queue got much longer. This is the 2nd time this season that I've visited and on both occasions Storm Runner was a walk-on all day and I don't understand why b/c I consider it the best ride in the park. The combination of heartline roll and snake dive after the launch and drop is a stroke of genius. Rode it 5 times and could have kept on but didn't want to overdo it.

Skyrush tends to have a dwindling queue as the day goes on. When I got there it was about a half hour wait; by late afternoon it was a 5-minute wait. Be prepared to wait for Comet if you have any interest in it. In all my visits to Hershey I'd never ridden it until last week b/c the queue was too long.

Dorney is a little closer to Philly than Hershey but not much. I used to start out from my dad's house near Jenkintown to go to either one and from there it was 2 hrs. to Hershey and an hour to Dorney. Now that he's deceased and I have his car I'm starting out from Philly and it's still 2 hrs. to Hershey but according to Google maps an hour and 38 minutes to Dorney, which is why I haven't been there yet this season. The rides at Dorney - with the exception of Talon, which IMHO beats Great Bear any time - pale in comparison with those at Hershey. Whatever, I applaud both Hershey and Dorney for not instituting this effing restrictive ride policy instituted by Great Adventure: http://www.coastercritic.com/2017/07/amusement-parks-gone-far-impos...de-safety/

ApolloAndy said:

I did not know of the existence of such a ride, but if they didn't fix the restraints problems, that thing is going to kill people's legs.

They haven't fixed it. That ride really hurt my legs when I went on it back in June. Sitting in the brake run was the worst, I just wanted to get off. However, I did give it a second chance and the second ride was better. I just pushed the bar down as tight as I could, it's the ejector air that hurts your legs.