Dorney/King's Dominion 8/17-8/20

I agree with Vator that Bizarro (so sorry they changed the name; at least the station still says Medusa Mining Co. or something to that effect) is better than Dominator. From the vertical loop to the dive loop to the zero-g roll to the cobra roll, everything just flows so beautifully! This is probably the best floorless coaster I've ridden - not that I've ridden many - even better than Superman Krypton Coaster. And that brings me back to what Daniella said about the ride ops at Dorney not being as pumped up as those at other parks. I love the way the ride ops on Bizarro say "Get twisted!" when the ride is dispatched; having the ride ops pumped up makes for a better all-round experience.

With or without Dominator, I would go to Kings Dominion at least twice a year if I could afford to, as this park probably has more rides I enjoy than any I've visited. I wish that I-305 were at my home park. The one thing I don't adore about KD is the wait times. That's where Dorney has the advantage. To get in a decent number of rides at KD I have to purchase Fast Lane Plus whereas at Dorney most rides are a walk-on. I don't know why Dorney even sells Fast Lane - other than its ownership by Cedar Fair - as it's completely unnecessary.

To me, SKC is the best US floorless, with Dominator and Medusa (DK) following pretty closely, and then GAdv's Bizarro.

They'd all rank closer to SKC if they'd lose the "interlocking corkscrews"...which is (are?) the ONLY downside of Kumba.

Bobbie1951 said:

I don't know why Dorney even sells Fast Lane - other than its ownership by Cedar Fair - as it's completely unnecessary.

If you think it's unnecessary at Dorney, you should come to Michigan's Adventure. I went July 4 week and my longest wait was 10 minutes for Shivering Timbers!

I have an idea for a Fast Lane type system that allows you to pick what rides you want to have on it. Each ride would cost a certain amount, depending on its popularity. For example, if you really don't like water rides, you could remove those from your pass and reduce the cost. Now the one drawback of the system is that the wristbands would have to be electronic to keep track of who paid for what rides. If a park is willing to do that, I will be a frequent customer.

For the dry rides at Dorney it isn't needed but on a summer weekend I can see how Fast Lane Plus would be very helpful for Thunder Canyon and the water slides. Aquablast can easily get an hour wait on a crowded day and the regular slides can get 30+ minute waits.

We went to MiA for a night/morning trip in July.Weds. night, 2 trains and a virtually empty station for Timbers. The next day, with cooler temps and no open water park to draw people away, the line went down almost to the switchbacks. Still would have been a 15-20 minute wait since they were running 2 trains again (yay!) - but someone got sick and one train was out-of-operation for a good half-hour.

Bottom line: Dorney, MiA, and I suspect at least a few other parks operate in 2 completely different "modes". Waterpark open, dry rides have no real lines - waterpark closed, the dry rides can get pretty busy.

That makes sense. The waterpark had to be packed on the day I visited. I just never experienced those lines because I went there right when it opened. By the time that everyone arrived and made their way to the waterpark, I was already lapping the coasters. Still, there is no reason to buy Fast Lane unless they offer it for the waterpark and the lines for all the coasters are longer than normal.

Hydra was a bit rough when it opened. I highly recommend the back seat on Hydra, it is much smoother and many times more enjoyable than the front.

We went to Dorney last Saturday 8/23. The park was fairly busy, while the coaster lines were fairly short. The flat rides appeared to have longer wait times. SEVEN rides were closed including 2 coasters. Is that normal there? We also went to Hersheypark on this trip and ALL rides were open.

Steel Force was a nice surpise. Like Magnum, without the clunkiness of Magnum. Plus the helix turnaround is better.

Overall, not a park that has anything unique enough to require a trip back, unless it is a sidetrip with Hershey etc.

Walking around King's Dominion and taking in the landscaping and atmosphere is as good as riding the rides there. That park gets the title of most spectacular park entrance IMO. King's Island Internations Street looks ghetto compared to KD's because of the additional trees, landscaping and islands that separate the walkways from the fountainside table areas at KD.

Closed rides at Dorney in the past has been extremely rare. Now that they have possessed and stinger unfortunately it has been more common.

Stinger has been closed long-term, so that's nothing unusual. What was the second one?

Stinger

Wild Mouse (they tested it a one point, but it remained closed)

Ferris Wheel

Apollo Swing Around

Ferris Wheel

Rocket Ride in Planet Snoopy

Demon Drop (they tested it mid-day, it might have opened)