As teens ourselves, our number one place to hangout is always Dorney Park. Dorney Park and WildWater Kingdom is an amusement park located in Allentown, Pennsylvania that has many attractions such as roller coasters, planet snoopy for the young ones, restaurants, and water rides.
This is a fun spot to bring your friends and family not only in the summer but Dorney Park also throws many events like a grand carnival and haunt. Although Dorney Park has all these attractions, it is definitely known for their amazing roller coasters.
Thunderhawk, is a wooden roller coaster that was originally opened as the coaster in 1924, Thunderhawk is the oldest operating roller coaster in the Cedar Fair chain and one of the oldest coasters in the world that is still operating. In March of 2024 Thunderhawk will be one hundred years old. The seats are two individual seats right next to each other with an armrest separating the passengers from each other with a seatbelt and a lap bar. Thunderhawk lasts for about a minute and eighteen seconds per ride.
Steel Force is a 205 ft drop which is 54 ft higher than the Statue of Liberty. Steel Force is also known as one of the best steel roller coasters in the world. Steel Force’s opening date was May 30, 1997. The ride itself is three minutes long and goes 75 miles per hour. It has six cars with three rows each, seating two abreast per row.
The drop on Talon is 125 ft and the roller coaster has four different inversions. Talon first opened on May 5, 2001. It goes 58 miles per hour. Each train has eight cars that can seat four riders in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train. The entrance sign has a mini-slogan as “Grip Of Fear.” The word “Talon” is named after a claw, which is specifically found on birds of prey and mythical creatures.
Hydra is a high-speed, floorless looping roller coaster which turns riders upside down seven different times. Hydra has two separate operating cars with eight rows in each cart. Hydra opened at Dorney Park on May 7, 2005. Each Hydra ride lasts for about three minutes. Hydra gets its name from a Greek Mythology where Hercules battled a Lernaean Hydra. Hydra is also known as one of the scariest roller coasters at Dorney Park.
Possessed is 185 ft tall and the roller coaster is also made fully out of steel. Possessed goes 70 miles per hour and is one minute long. It opened on May 23, 2008 first at Six Flags but at the end of the 2007 season, Cedar Fair announced that it would close there and be built at Dorney Park. The coaster’s layout consists of two vertical spikes, one twisted and the other straight vertical with a holding brake, connected by a launch and station tract to form a basic “U” layout. In 2009, the name was changed to “Possessed” after Six Flags expressed concerns over the name “Voodoo”, which is the name it recently was.
As of this year, Dorney Park is building a brand new roller coaster called Iron Menace. Riders of Iron Menace will start their exhilarating journey in the remains of an old steel mill and then climb one hundred-sixty feet where they’ll hang over the beyond-vertical first drop before diving into the first of four mind-bending inversions. This ride has a ninety-five degree 150 ft drop with speeds up to 64 miles per hour. The arrival of Iron Menace marks the first new roller coaster to be built at Dorney Park since the opening of Hydra 2005.
“Yes I have been to Dorney Park, but I haven’t been there in quite a few years but I have been there many times. My favorite ride there is the old yellow wooden one, Thunderhawk. I went on that ride when i=I was a kid. I do think the rides there are safe. I remember I went to Dorney Park when I was little and you used to have to give tickets to go on the ride just like a carnival ride,” said science teacher Andrew Koch.
Dorney Park has been a part of many people’s lives since when they were kids. Now Dorney Park is expanding their roller coasters and adding a new one which kids will be riding for many years to come.
