Dorney Park?

I don't know if I'm "allowed" to ask this here or not, but has anyone been to Dorney Park before? I just realized that this park is about the same distance from me as CP was when I lived in Akron. So, I was thinking about checking it out. Their rides look pretty nice and some seem to be brothers or sisters to rides at CP.

Does anyone know how the "sibling" rides at Dorney stack up to the ones at CP?

Steel Force compared to Magnum
Talon compared to Raptor
Wild Mouse compared to Wild Cat
Dominator compared to Power Tower

I know Dorney is a lot smaller compared to CP, but I figured since they were both Cedar Fair parks, the quality would be there. Besides, Hydra looks awesome!! CP needs a floorless or flying from B&M!!

(Jeff, if this is not appropriate, feel free to delete!) :)

I was just at Dorney, and have to say I liked a lot of the rides they had.

Steel Force is a lot different than Magnum. It has spacier trains and the helix is really awesome. It's also a lot smoother. Personally, I like Steel Force more.

Talon has no mid-course brake run, and has a different set of inversions. I like Talon better because it never seems to give up, and it's layout is harder to follow than Raptor's.

Wild Mouse is nothing special. Having a wild mouse at my home park doesn't make that any better, but I also have a thing for Schwarzkopf coasters, so I like Wildcat better.

Power Tower is far better than Dominator, just because it's taller (right?).

To most people Hydra has been a let-down, but I really enjoyed it and it's now my #10 steel coaster.

Enjoy your visit, and make sure not to miss a ride on their log flume. :)

*~* Froshy

i went to dp last summer, but it was raining hard, non-stop almost the entire day, it slowed to a drizzle while we were in the park but almost everything was closed, except talon, which was fun but not as good as raptor in my opinion. i had a *great* time on the whip though!! way better than the peanuts 500!!

I've been to Dorney once, and it's like little Cedar Point. Talon gives Raptor a run for its money, and I love the mouse, Steel Force, Laser and their woodie. Good times. Not as crowded as you'd expect on a warm day, because much of the crowd filters into the free water park.

This is the first time I've read good things about Dorney. Everyone else seems to have mix emotion about it.

I'm hoping to have good things to say after my girlfriend and I use our CP passes at Dorney this summer on our big 9 park Florida road trip :P

Dorney Park is very nice, located right off the freeway. The only thing that I can really say anything bad about is you have to go through the Guest Services office to collect your tickets. It would be nice if they could just scan your pass. Other than that the rides are pretty sweet. Talon is a great ride and so is Steel Force. There's a lot of uphill\downhill walking so be prepared for that though. They have more 'commertialized' food at Dorney than at Cedar Point but Cedar Point is on their way with that too.

omg Dorney rocks! THey have the koolest bumper cars! lol I also like how you don't have to pay extra for the water park!!!!!!! Steel Force is my fave ride there.

what's not more fun than resurrecting a fourteen year old zombie thread?! -for kicks, i'm on my PC.

On a whim, ran out to Dorney this past Sunday [09.01.19] for a WTH first visit.. so convenient to access. highway. park. park.

busy but lines oh so good. 20 minute'ish for most, give or take.

so... it seems the original park entrance [trout hatchery turn trolley park] was down in the hollow near Thunderhawk station. unassumingly then the park [&water park] grew up over the hill and onto the flat land out towards the highway.

i wonder, did Cedar Fair or the prior owner make the new/now entrance? Concrete and games jungle so i have my idea. and oh, yeah;

Full disclosure and reason for this resurrection: Cedar Fair. Please, release these beautiful and magnificent carousels from the 90s-clad enclosures that hide them. you're absolutely killing me.

I agree that Dorney is a mini-CP. Entrance and cookie cutter fooderies not withstanding, love the integration of the wave-swinger, Snake River Falls with a green trough still?!? decent flats [those HUSS circle things always win my heart] scattered amongst many meandering pathways down .. down... to the abyss. likely a flood zone? just things here and there.. a lonely modern flying scooter way in the back? like what's really going on here?

Is this place random AF? :) kind'a definitely maybe? but charmingly.

oh, and there looked to be a mini H.H.Holmes murder hotel set up for fright LOVE IT!! ...one story short, but nailed the look!

All the coasters i enjoyed. Solid line-up.

Morgan, no hand grips. at all? ok hands up i get it. i admit, i like "smooth Magnum" slightly more than the one and only original, but i also gained a better appreciation for said OG. MXL200 is gnarly man.

Talon is awesome. way better than nearby Great Bear.

Hydra is the coaster Bansheer... Mantiser... Rougaru wants to be but just cant figure it out. jo-jo ho!

Possessed, missed you old friend.

Thunderhawk is pretty well maintained and absolutely enjoyed. should have op'ded for those one row PTC trains though, come on D!

Demon drop was down, sadly. Speaking of gnarly, that log flume!

otherwise some dino-alive/suspended boomerang bare spots so real, kinda... bare and random down there. it'll work out.

Seriously though guys and gals of CF. Please free those beautiful, magnificent, and hand carved masterpieces! [i.e, new pavilions for them]

^ Hey now, Rougarou is a great ride!

Demon drop was great while it was here and I miss it over here at Cedar Point, but hey it fits in nicely over there at Dorney Park. Plus I understand why Cedar Point moved it over there. Any idea what years that it operated here at Cedar Point? I know Demon drop left in 2009, but can't remember when it first came to Cedar Point.

According to Wikipedia it came to Cedar Point in 1983. Honestly it's a shame I never rode it, because it looks like fun. Not to mention I was only 8 when the thing was moved.Shaun, I'd have to say that Fahrenheit is actually a better looper than Rougarou. That Norwegian Loop is epic.

Shawn Meyer said:
^ Hey now, Rougarou is a great ride

I’ll agree to disagree :)

I always wonder about those that think headbanging makes a great ride.

Obviously people who go to metal or punk concerts love it.

I went to Dorney last year and got stuck at the top of the Demon Drop (by myself) for about 15 minutes. Nice view of the surrounding area!

Dorney is a nice park. Not elite, but it was clean, had a few good rides, and the dry side is usually pretty dead. It was an overcast day and the water park was packed.

I may have made this comment back in 2005, but I’m not looking back to see.
Anyway, I consider myself lucky to have visited Dorney “back in the day”, before CF took ownership. The entrance was indeed at the “bottom” of the park, and it was amusement park-y fancy. They had a lot of vintage rides, dark rides, and beautiful scenery. There was a stock car race track that drew big crowds.
The upper area that constitutes the Cedar Point-ish midway wasn’t there yet- CF added it along with the new entrance.
Older rides included Cuddle Up, Rocket Ships, Whip (still there), Flying Dutchman roller coaster, an Old Mill Cascade ride, and a great walk through. The Coaster (that was the name) station and their vintage Dodgem shared the same building. The coaster came out of the station and turned around dropping under the Dodgem on its way to the lift so it was a nice tunneled effect. Newer rides at the time included the Apollo (Swing Around) and an Enterprise.
Dorney had a terrible history with carousels and a couple of their vintage rides (Like much of the park) were destroyed in fires. I wholeheartedly agree with Augustmuller’s assessment of the carousel structures. I assume that came about when CP was forced to move the Midway Carousel when Raptor was built and the space required a smaller structure. And when CF decided Dorney deserved a nice ride (Which they did) and moved Frontier Carousel to Dorney they found it easy to copy the same structure. I don’t think they’re blind to the subject entirely, as they did a nice job with Carowinds’ ride, the structure, and the surrounding area.

Touche. And agreed on Carowinds. i never considered myself very Carousel savvy, but always appreciated them. Grew up between Idlewild and Kennywood and KW more specifically has a true Dentzel masterpiece. Idlewild's PTC isn't bad on the eyes but it's no Dentzel. That said each are housed under appropriate structures. The sad reality is nobody manufactures hand carved masterpieces any more, maybe for the rest of all time? So to have an old and precious model they really need to be put on brilliant display.

In my later years I’ve paid greater attention to carousels and have grown to love them even more. (I even have a couple of tattoos replicating some of my favorite carousel art.) Standouts include Hershey, Kennywood, Cedar Point, Six Flags St Louis (in need of love right now), Six Flags New England (which has had a beautiful, recent refurb), and of course, Knoebels.
Lucky is the park that was able to hang onto theirs- many places, facing financial difficulty, were forced to auction off their machines and to get the best cash did it piece meal. Many others died due to fires, floods, closings, or neglect.
And there are some fellows still at work keeping the art alive, but they number less than a dozen. Most are busy repairing and restoring pieces from existing rides. Here in Ohio there’s Carousel Works, in Mansfield, that’s still makes em the old fashioned way and they have a beautiful machine that operates in that town. The original Euclid Beach Ride was saved and restored by them and now operates in a glass pavilion at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The fabulous Columbus Zoo has a restored Illions ride saved from the old Zoo Park/Wyandotte Lake and it was similar to the wonderful ride at Geauga.
If you haven’t been to the Merry go Round Museum in Sandusky you should. Paul, Frontier Town’s wood carver, and his dad operate and maintain the place. Their shop in the basement is unbelievable. Nice guys, too, who are always willing to visit and talk about their work. There’s a nice Allan Herschell ride inside that operates for visitors.
Between the late 1800’s and 1930 there were around 4000 authentic, hand carved machines and that number has dwindled dramatically due to declining interest in the ride and the art itself. It’s nice to know that most major parks these days know what they have in their investment or history and act accordingly.
I’d direct you to the National Carousel Association for a trove of information if you like to know more.

RCMAC said:

If you haven’t been to the Merry go Round Museum in Sandusky you should.

I was thinking this throughout reading your carousel love story. I assumed you would eventually get around to pitching a MGRM visit - and you did.

It's been a few years since we've been there, but it is well worth the price of admission. About 5 or 6 years ago, one of my daughter's classmates booked it for a birthday party - which was a blast for all those youngsters!

The tour guide was also top notch - with a lot more information than you can get from just reading the display descriptions as a casual observer.

It may not appeal to the strict coaster/thrill ride enthusiast, but anybody who enjoys a stroll through the Town Hall museum in the park or a little bit of nostalgic history would also love this gem in downtown Sandusky! It's an excellent side trip if you are looking for an indoor escape from the mid-day heat at the park for an hour or two.

Will definitely check it out!
Glenn Echo and Euclid beach are also on the bucket list.

Didn’t realize until the NCA site that KW’s Dentzel is likely one of the last he (well, his son) ever made. Died just one year later.

Skyhawk06 said:

According to Wikipedia it came to Cedar Point in 1983. Honestly it's a shame I never rode it, because it looks like fun. Not to mention I was only 8 when the thing was moved.Shaun, I'd have to say that Fahrenheit is actually a better looper than Rougarou. That Norwegian Loop is epic.

I rode it, it definitely gave the butterflies that Power Tower never quite accomplished, although PT is taller and more scenic.

I feel the same way about Jumbo Jet, kept hearing every year from my older brothers and cousins how awesome it was, how it whipped you around, and they're laughing and excited. The year I was finally of height, it was gone. Last I heard, it was in Minsk. I don't think I will be riding it. At least Demon Drop is still in the country.