It was that time of year again where Scott and I, along with our Mom ventured to Canada's Wonderland to check out Season Pass Sneak Preview Night on Friday, April 27th, 2018!
This was the first visit of the season, so we really looked forward to being there. The weather was decent with a few light showers here and there, but it was nothing to dampen our spirits. Also, a few rides, including the new for 2018 Lumberjack and Flying Canoes were closed, but we still had a very good time regardless as the crowds were light in comparison to a mid-summer day at the park. During the four hours, I had managed to get on 12 rides, which wasn't bad at all. We greatly look forward to going back very soon, which by then all the rides will be operational once again!
Be sure to check out my photos below of the great time we had at Season Pass Sneak Preview Night!
We arrived at the park for Season Pass Sneak Preview Night shortly after 5pm. We were greeted by a freshly painted front entrance. The bright teal which matches Leviathan was a nice touch!
Speaking of Leviathan, here it is testing before the park had opened for the evening!
Once inside, we made our way over to International Festival where we would wait for another 10 minutes for the rides to open.
Once the rope drop occurred, we had made our way over to see the all-new for 2018 Lumberjack. Unfortunately, Lumberjack was not open as it was still testing. But, the park sure did a wonderful job with the landscaping of this ride!
Here is a slightly closer view of Lumberjack. As you can see, it is very detailed with the two arms looking like axes which a lumberjack would use. Lumberjack was manufactured by the Italian manufacturer, Zamperla. Lumberjack comes from the model line of the Hawk 48.After looking at Vortex, Scott and I took our first ride of the year on Vortex, the park's classic Arrow suspended coaster! Vortex's trains had received a new mine train type paint job, which looked quite nice!
After taking a thrilling ride on Vortex, I wandered over to the White Water Canyon section of the park to check out the other new addition, Flying Canoes. But before I saw it, I happened to notice the newly expanded and redone "Canyon Trader" shop. This revamp definitely made the White Water Canyon section feel more like an old logging town than ever before!
Here is a look at the all-new for 2018 family ride, Flying Canoes. As you can see, Flying Canoes was still being worked on due to the delay caused by the ice storm which happened a couple weekends ago. But when Flying Canoes is operational, it will allow children and adults to rise and lower together as the ride spins. The Flying Canoes was manufactured by Preston and Barbieri, also of Italy. Flying Canoes had replaced the Launch Pad trampoline up-charge attraction which operated at the park from 2003-2017.
Beside Flying Canoes, the park had closed off the entrance to Action Theatre and placed more outdoor dining tables for visitors to enjoy. It looks like Action Theatre's time at the park is over. It had operated from 1994-2017.
After riding Vortex, we made our way over to Action Zone. Along the way, I had rode Skyhawk ( which had temporarily broke down while I was on it at the top of the tower), and Mighty Canadian Minebuster which we rode twice as the park had done some more re-tracking along some of the drops in addition to the re-tracking of the helix which was done last year. A ride on the Mighty Canadian Minebuster is quite smooth compared to a couple of years ago.
In this photo you can see SledgeHammer was one of the few rides which were unfortunately down that night. We had rode the awesome airtime-filled Behemoth while in Action Zone!
Psyclone was also surprisingly closed that night as well!
Riptide was down too that evening. But, it appears that during the off-season, yellow covers were added to the bottom of the shoulder restraints to keep them clean.
Here is a timeless classic, Spinovator with a freshly painted teal center piece. Previous seasons it had operated with a red painted center. Before this photo was taken, Scott and I had took in a ride on Dragon Fire, which was very good.
Drop Tower was also another ride that was unfortunately down that night...
But for obvious reasons!
Here is a train whizzing along the fan curve on Wild Beast!
Here is a somewhat eerie view of Nightmares operating as light rain was soon approaching.
A View of The Bat with its train going through the loop.
Here is a somewhat blurry look at the closed Shockwave. It too was unfortunately down during Season Pass Sneak Preview Night.
Here is a view (or a blur) of Thunder Run's train making its first round into Wonder Mountain, delighting all those who ride.
Here is Thunder Run's train again winding along the track as it makes its second round.
As the sun began to set, the lights on the rides came on. Here is a view of the all-new Lumberjack with its lights on. Throughout the evening, Lumberjack was testing, in hopes of opening on opening day (Sunday, April 29th, 2018). Lumberjack will send passengers head-over-heels many times as the two arms loop in opposite directions of each other. Below is a video of Lumberjack testing.
Here is Windseeker swirling high above the ground, 301 feet high to be exact.
Here is a view of Skyhawk operating into the darkness of the night.
Now here is the moment you all have been waiting for! ;-);-) What you are looking at is the entrance of the tunnel for the park's next roller coaster, which is believed to be a Dive Coaster. The tunnel exit is located on the other side of Vortex, ultimately meaning that this tunnel goes under water! It will be the first of its kind in Canada when it opens in 2019.
Here is a fancy shot of the classic Orbiter operating in the darkness of the night!
Here is another view of Windseeker operating way up high!
Here is a peaceful view of the Antique Carousel.
Here is the iconic Wonder Mountain standing mighty against the night sky.
International Festival was buzzing with activity as people were taking in the final hour of the night.
Here is a somewhat eerie shot of The Bat with its train passing back through the cobra roll inversion as seen from the queue line.
Here is The Rage swinging high, delighting passengers of all ages.
As usual, Leviathan draws quite the crowd, so much so we didn't get a chance to ride it this time around. But we'll catch it next time.
Nightmares looks much like a golden ring when operating with its light on at night.
Here is the Wonderland Theatre and the moon.
After a great night of fun, we decided it was time to head home. Here is Scott, our Mom, and I standing in front of the Royal Fountains.
Before we left the park for the night, I had captured this final shot of the Royal Fountains with Wonder Mountain in the background. For some unknown reason, the Royal Fountains were non-operational that night. Thanks for looking at my photos of Season Pass Sneak Preview Night 2018 at Canada's Wonderland! :-)
With only a few weeks remaining of the off-season for many seasonal amusement parks in North America, I thought it would be the perfect time to share my visit to Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom (also referred to as Dorney Park) that I took during June 2015. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom is a seasonal amusement park located in the Lehigh Valley community of Allentown, Pennsylvania. For my brother Scott, our Dad, and I, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom was a perfect vacation destination for us, being our second American amusement park as it has a rich history of over 130 years of operation as an amusement park, having opened in 1884.
While among the smaller amusement parks of the Cedar Fair chain, Dorney Park is home to some of the most enjoyable rides and roller coasters an amusement park can offer. Be sure to sit back and enjoy some of the photos of our first trip we made to the charming and thrilling Dorney Park during late June of 2015!
Here we are, on our way along one the winding and scenic interstates heading through New York State, to Pennsylvania.
You can tell we are nearing Pennsylvania as the mountain sides of the Appalachians begin to appear along the roadside.
We finally arrive in the state of Pennsylvania for our first time ever.
As we near Dorney Park, we travel through the Lehigh Tunnel. It was quite interesting driving through this tunnel.
After many hours of driving, we finally arrived at Dorney Park!
As you can tell, the parking lot was quite busy when we had arrived. By the time the park had closed at 10pm, the parking lot was quite empty.
After we had purchased our two day admission tickets, we entered Dorney Park for the first time. Here is a view of the magnificent Talon, a B&M Inverted roller coaster which opened at the park in 2001. Talon is just one of eight roller coasters which were present at the park when we had visited.
Dorney Park is home to an excellent collection of classic rides and roller coasters, such as the Tilt-A-Whirl.
Some of those classic rides include the Whip, a 1920 W.F. Mangels Company Whip ride. It provides a fun ride as the two-passenger cars are connected to arms in an oval formation, causing the cars to "whip" around the corners. The Whip has been a multi-generational ride that has been enjoyed at Dorney Park for nearly 100 years.
After riding a few rides and roller coasters, we ventured over to Possessed, an Intamin Launched Shuttle coaster which had originally operated at the defunct Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom from 2000-2006. Possessed opened at Dorney Park in 2008 as "Voodoo". In 2009 it was renamed Possessed, which it has been known as ever since. Possessed provides an exhilarating ride as the 28 passenger train is launched at speeds to 70 mph (112.7 km/h), sending it up a twisted vertical spike and a vertical spike multiple times before traversing the vertical spike one final time, causing the train to be stopped nearly 180 feet above the ground before returning back to the station. Possessed is the second of the three inverted roller coasters present at the park in June 2015, the other two being Talon and Stinger.
After riding Possessed, Scott and I ventured over to Steel Force, the park's Morgan Hyper Coaster which opened at the park in 1997. Steel Force is nestled between the hills of Dorney Park and reaches a height of 200 feet with a drop of 205 feet, allowing one of three 36-passenger trains to successfully navigate the 5,600 feet of track at speeds up to 75 mph (121 km/h). Throughout the duration of the ride, passengers can experience airtime filled hills, banked curves, and tunnels. Steel Force is the tallest attraction at Dorney Park and can easily be seen from a fair distance away from the park.
Speaking of tall attractions, here is a photo of the entrance to Dominator, a 180 foot tall S&S power tower. The Dominator opened at Dorney Park in 1999 and can blast passengers up the tower or down the 175 foot tall tower at 40 mph (64.4 km/h) in a matter of seconds, providing quite an adrenaline rush and a view of the surrounding area, if you are able to keep your eyes open! Below is an off-ride video of Dominator at Dorney Park filmed by myself on June 25th, 2015.
After riding Steel Force and Dominator, Scott and I boarded Thunderhawk, Dorney Park's classic wooden roller coaster manufactured by PTC which opened in 1924. Thunderhawk, originally known as simply "Coaster" until 1989 features an exciting figure-8 track layout which was implemented in 1930, previously featuring an out-and-back track layout. The 2015 season was the final season for the PTC buzz-bar trains on Thunderhawk. They were replaced by PTC individual ratcheting lap bar trains in 2016. After riding Thunderhawk, we enjoyed the remainder of the evening riding many of the rides and roller coasters at Dorney Park until closing time, which was at 10pm.
Prior to visiting Dorney Park for our second day on June 25th, we were able to capture these great shots of the park from across the street. In this photo, you can notice that the park was built in a valley, allowing only the park's tallest attractions to stick out.
Here is a second photo showing Dorney Park as seen from across the street.
Here is myself, our Dad, and Scott posing for a photo in front of the main entrance to Dorney Park before entering for our second day of fun. This photo was taken by one of the park's friendly security guards.
During the final 20 minutes prior to opening for the day, park staff entertained those waiting outside the front gate by providing photo opportunities with Snoopy, meet and greets with the "Mayor" of Dorney Park, and shout outs to park visitors. We had a shout out provided due to being from the Province of Ontario. Once the one minute mark came around for the park to open for the day, a countdown accompanied by confetti took place. The opening day celebration provided by Dorney Park made the wait much more exciting and entertaining. It is too bad more parks don't provide such entertainment prior to opening for the day.
Once inside Dorney Park, we began our second day by riding Stinger, a Vekoma Invertigo model which opened up at the park in 2012. The Stinger was Scott and I's second Invetigo model roller coaster. The first we had encountered was the Invertigo at Kings Island, which we rode one year prior to visiting Dorney Park. The Invertigo model is like a traditional Boomerang coaster, which takes the passenger train up the first hill backwards, to then release it down the first drop, allowing it to pass through the station, up through the cobra roll inversion, then through the vertical loop. It then enters the second angled track to then release backwards and traverse the track again. The difference between the Boomerang and the Invertigo models are passengers ride below the track on the Invertigo model, facing each other with their legs dangling, making it the ultimate thrill. Unfortunately, Stinger was closed and removed from Dorney Park following the 2017 season, ultimately being scrapped.
After having an enjoyable and thrilling ride on Stinger, we had ventured next door and came to the all-new for 2015 "Cedar Creek Flyers", a Larson Flying Scooter ride. At the time we had visited Dorney Park, this was my first Flying Scooter ride. While not thrilling, it provided a fun ride as you can swoop the cars up and down as the ride spins.
After riding some of the dry rides, we decided it was time to ride the Thunder Creek Mountain log flume. This classic log flume was manufactured by Barr Engineering and opened at the park in 1982. Like most log flume rides, Thunder Creek Mountain provides a scenic ride as passengers ride in a log shaped boat which navigates a water flume. They also get a close up view of Hydra the Revenge, the park's floorless coaster while on Thunder Creek Mountain. Nearing the end of the ride, the boat then descends the final drop, splashing down into the trough below, offering a somewhat wet, but not soaking experience.
Shortly after riding the enjoyable and fun Thunder Creek Mountain log flume on the other side of the park, my brother Scott and I had headed over to ride the Thunder Canyon river rapids ride while our Dad watched. The Thunder Canyon is unlike some river rapids rides out there. Added to Dorney Park in 1995, the Thunder Canyon lives up to its name as it has thundering waterfalls around every turn as the passengers ride in large circular rafts. Barr Engineering sure knew how to create an extremely soaking river rapids ride! By the time Scott and I were done our ride on Thunder Canyon, we were completely drenched that we didn't completely dry out until that evening, once in our hotel! It also didn't help that the sun had disappeared behind the clouds!
In an attempt to dry off, we decided to take a ride on the park's newer train ride, the Cedar Creek Cannon Ball.
While riding the Cedar Creek Cannon Ball train, you ride up along the Thunder Canyon river rapids ride. You can see what I meant by waterfalls around every turn! There is no way of escaping no matter how hard you try!
After taking a relaxing ride on the Cedar Creek Cannon Ball, we decided to visit the water park, Wild Water Kingdom since we were soak and the fact that we had brought out swim gear along. On our way over, I had captured this view of the Wild Mouse, a Maurer Wild Mouse. I had rode this during our first evening and it was quite wild in the dark as I recall. Then my brother and I had rode the Wild Mouse during our second day and noticed that the cars rocked quite a bit as it went around the tight bends. I suppose that is the reason as to why there were loading restrictions in place. Despite the fact, it provided an exciting ride for a Wild Mouse coaster!
Here is the entrance to Wildwater Kingdom, Dorney Park's admission-included water park.
Wildwater Kingdom is home to a wide variety of water slides for everyone of all ages and intensity levels! I recall having a great time at their water park looking nearly three years back, despite the afternoon being overcast.
After spending time in Wildwater Kingdom, we headed back in the dry section of the park to enjoy and re-enjoy the rides they had to offer. One of those rides in the former up-charge attraction, the Screamin' Swing. This dual compressed air pendulum ride was produced by S&S of Logan, Utah and sent passengers sky high as the arms swing back and forth, eventually reaching a maximum height of 60 feet! I couldn't pass up this up-charge as it was only $2 per ride! I rode it twice that day, once in the video below and once in the evening when we returned while it was raining!
Before we get to the video of me riding the Screamin' Swing, here I am being secured in before the ride began!
The beautiful Wave Swinger has been a feature at Dorney Park since 1985. It was manufactured by Zierer and makes for a perfect ride for all members of the family to enjoy.
The Gondola Wheel offers great views of Dorney Park as it rises 90 feet above the ground, seeming much taller due to its location on the hill.
Here is the fun and colourful, Eyerly manufactured Monster! The Monster is a rare ride at amusement parks these days as there are only four operating in North America as of April 2018.
This was not officially our final time through the gates of Dorney Park as we had returned that evening to check out the park in the rain, ride the Antique Carousel, ride the Screamin' Swing, and play games in the arcade! It was a truly memorable time!
Here is our arcade winnings once we returned to the hotel across the street. A huge bagful of candies! :-)
Here is an on-ride photo of Scott and I on one of our many rides on Talon during the first evening at the park!
Here is an on-ride photo of Scott and I on Hydra The Revenge, the B&M floorless coaster which opened at the park in 2005. Hydra The Revenge features a one of a kind jo-jo roll inversion right out of the station, hanging you upside down momentarily before heading to the lift hill. Hydra the Revenge also features six more inversions throughout the duration of the ride, all experienced with your legs dangling above the track! It is quite the experience!
Well, that is all for our trip to Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom we had done during June 24th-25th, 2015. I hope you enjoyed following along and seeing the views of Dorney Park for yourself from nearly three years ago! I know we definitely had an enjoyable time during our first visit and left with everlasting memories of a park that we greatly enjoyed! Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for new 2018 amusement park visit reports coming soon as the season gets underway in a few short weeks! :-)
