Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom Discussion Thread

Cedar Point has a "Point Cast" video that features a CP staff member who co-signs on the Host's statement that Demon Drop is heading to KBF for the 2010 season. Shortly after, word came (via: the internets) that this would not be the case.

I'm curious how TPR & other sites come into play when parks are planning & developing attraction ideas. Do Knott's (and other parks) consider it an afterthought or is the feedback held in much higher regard than previously thought?

I am very happy Knott's will be spared a Cedar Fair hand-me-down, but I couldn't help but wonder if the "Forum Furor" had anything to do with it.

Demon Drop video (Statement made @ 00:20 mark)

Demon drop has already begun to be disassembled. But I would think that with the DeDro conspiracy apparently falling through, Screamin' Swing is going to stay put for right now...

As for the idea of a Dive Machine...If space wasn't an issue I could totally see this park getting one. I just wouldn't care much if they did.

Sorry Knott's....

http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/2009/12/02/demon-drop-wont-join-knotts-lineup-after-all/26729/

In October, Knott’s Berry Farm announced that the Demon Drop ride would move here from its original home in Knott’s sister park, Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio.

 

Now, Knott’s officials said that those plans have changed. The Demon Drop instead will go to another property, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pa.

 

All three parks are owned by Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Co.

 

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, sharp-eyed theme park fans in Pennsylvania spotted steel pieces they noted looked suspiciously similar to parts of the now-dismantled Demon Drop. (See the photos posted on newsplusnotes blog here).

 

“Initial plans to install the ride at Knott’s Berry Farm have recently changed,” Knott’s spokeswoman Jennifer Blazey said in a written statement. “The change is a result of a review of the site geography, aesthetic park design, land use, and in the ride’s uniqueness in the northeast United States.”

 

The Demon Drop was installed at Cedar Point in 1983. The ride up the tower takes six seconds, only to have riders drop that same distance in two seconds at 55 mph. Online fans had questioned why an older ride like the Demon Drop would be sent to Southern California, especially when Knott’s already has a drop ride, the Supreme Scream.

 

The ride had been scheduled to be reconstructed at Knott’s Charlston Circle area in time for summer. The Demon Drop is now expected to be operational at Dorney on that same timetable.

Looks official then.

Not sure if I buy the "uniqueness to the northeast" as a reason for the change in plan. KBF, Disney and SFMM all have similar rides in their line up - rapids, chair swings, carousels and log rides.

More realistically, I imagine the cost of transporting the ride to PA vs CA is a lot cheaper. I also figure the publicity over the sudden change couldn't hurt...just saying. Seems kinda strange to announce then suddenly switch delivery destination by 2000 miles.

"Uniqueness"?

I'm glad they at least mentioned "aesthetic reasons" as one of the reasons why Knott's got cancelled.

You would think they'd have done this kind of reasearch before they went to the city and said they were going to add it. Weird.

I'm happy that the ride is not coming to Knott's at all. Very happy. Nice also to read that perhaps they are paying attention to the overall look of the park.

That's not fair to say that knots already has a drop tower. Cedar point had four! But if it's aesthetics they wanted, they could have painted it and added effects. I just think they ran out of money honestly.

That's not fair to say that knots already has a drop tower. Cedar point had four! But if it's aesthetics they wanted, they could have painted it and added effects. I just think they ran out of money honestly.

Well Knott's has three so it would be a small waste in that regard

Demon Drop pieces are sitting in Dorney Park's parking lot. The Cedar Point and the LA Times blog mentioned the ride is not going to Knott's Berry Farm but instead to Dorney Park. We have heard the ride would return with the same name but different colors. I bet a million dollars it's going to be red and yellow. We are still waiting for an official announcement from Dorney Park.

I am really confused by this. I was confused by the fact that it was said to be going to Knott's in the first place, and Cedar Fair wasn't planning on using the metal to make arcade tokens, or a storm shelter, or even medieval armor for all of those renaissance fair reenactors out there. But then, Dorney? I first saw the news on Amusement Today, and was a little excited to see that Dorney was adding something. But then, I slapped myself and realized what a nightmare it will be to maintain, not really anything to bring in extra business, and pretty much just be a dread. Not to mention, I never road Stuntman's Freefall at Great Adventure in all of the years that I went there. I have a feeling I'm not going to ride Demon Drop when at Dorney Park, which is a shame as it is still my beloved home park. I just think it is a bad idea overall.

Why wouldn't you get this second chance to ride the SFGADV's Freefall as it exists as its brother model in Demon Drop? It's not like the lines were ever really long at Dorney. You've done Dominator right? I'm really interested to see how the tv ads come out, whether it will be like Voodoo's.

The Cedar Point Blog has a section mentioning Demon Drop and Dorney

www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/blog/index.cfm?entry=6d733745-f67d-48de-8adb-2fbfcedb0310

^^ I didn't ride Stuntman's Freefall at Great Adventure simply because I just didn't want to. The ride design just freaked me the hell out.

Just found this on http://www.southwhitehall.com/ confirming that Demon Dropn will be replacing Krazy Kars right across from ThunderCreek Mountain!

"DORNEY PARK & WILDWATER KINGDOM DEMON DROP

MAJOR SUBDIVISION #2009-104

REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY/FINAL PLAN REVIEW

The application by Cedar Fair, L.P. to further develop the property known as "Dorney Park/Wildwater Kingdom" ,located at 3830 Dorney Park Road. The plan is to remove the existing "Krazy Kar Ride" , portions of paving, concrete walkways, and fencing to accommodate the installation of a new 131.42 foot tall commercial amusement referred to as the "Demon Drop" with accompanying electrical/mechanical building, curbing, concrete walkways, and landscaping and relocated lighting. The project area - just north of the Center Stage Area and west of the "Thunder Creek Mountain" amusement - would affect approximately .66 acres (29,000 square feet) of the 187- acre property. The subject properties are zoned CR Commercial Recreation."

Demon Drop's name only compliments Possessed I like the idea being as I use to live like less than an hour from the park. I miss the rides there and it was actually more fun to go there than it was to visit SFGADV. Demon Drop in my eyes is a vision of classic ride that I find truly worth the experience because even though I have also ridden Stuntman's Freefall, I found Demon Drop to be more pleasant and less bone jarring during the entirety of the ride experience. It felt smoother to me. Also each had a slight difference in the fact Stuntman always over shot the elevator shaft a little and Demon's cars undershot a bit and had to be lifted more. Both minor faults gave each of them a classic "wow this is weird" kinda cool feeling to me.

Albeit shorter than the S & S tower, Demon Drop just has more of that nerve racking sensation when it lets loose. I always found it to be the better of the 2 "freefall" rides at CP. It has the grated floor which lets you see down the entire time, and that ride up the shaft is almost as scary as the drop down. Definitely a good addition for Dorney as the line should be nowhere near as long as when it was at CP.

Definitely a good addition for Dorney as the line should be nowhere near as long as when it was at CP.

You mean the line that never existed?

Definitely a good addition for Dorney as the line should be nowhere near as long as when it was at CP.

You mean the line that never existed?

On pretty much all of my visits we would wait a good 45 minutes to ride. I never seen or been in a line that long on any visit to Dorney. Now mind you I have not been to CP in 5 years, needed a break after yearly visits and employment there, so maybe in the last few years it was shorter.

Over the last few years the longest I ever saw Demon Drop's line was about 10 minutes.

^ When I visited for Halloweekends, the wait was at least a half hour. Longest line I had seen for this ride in a while, but then again the park was packed that day because of the Christian rock concert. I did wait it out though as I wanted one last chance to ride it before it was removed.

I agree that normally it had been a walk-on (or a very little line) for many years, especially once they got Power Tower.

I'm still going to miss it!

^^ I didn't ride Stuntman's Freefall at Great Adventure simply because I just didn't want to. The ride design just freaked me the hell out.

When I worked at the park, before I got my coaster enthusisast bug it took a female coworker to finally get on the ride. Freefall and the Space Shuttle were the last rides I held back on. Then I took them on straight on with some peer pressure.

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/all-a1_5dorney.7154570jan22,0,6082290.story

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is adding to its arsenal of rides that push the soles of the feet into the pit of the stomach.

 

Demon Drop will be new to Dorney but it's not a new ride. The 131-foot drop tower has been dizzying visitors to Dorney's sister park in Ohio, Cedar Point, for 25 years. The parks' parent company, Cedar Fair, decided it was time to refurbish the tower and present it to a new audience.

 

Rumors about Demon Drop's move -- and where it might end up -- have been buzzing through the amusement park community for months. Bloggers who follow park affairs had reported sightings of possible Demon Drop pieces at Dorney since the ride was dismantled.

 

Dorney spokesman Chuck Hutchinson said the ride was originally headed for Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., but company officials decided it was a better fit for Dorney, which had more space for it.

 

''The [Cedar Point regulars] have already experienced it -- it was time to give it a fresh audience,'' Hutchinson said.

 

The ride was approved by South Whitehall Township commissioners on Wednesday, including Commissioner Christina ''Tori'' Morgan, who joked that she wanted to ride it before voting to approve it.

 

Demon Drop -- similar to Dorney's existing free-fall ride, the 170-foot Dominator -- will replace the Krazy Kars, a family-friendly vintage bumper car ride. Hutchinson said ground will be broken soon and the ride could be ready by opening day in the spring.

 

Demon Drop contains six individual cars that hold four people seated side by side. Riders are loaded into the car in a station and then rise slowly up the tower. At the top, the car enters a track and it is released, swooping downward on a curve at roughly 50 mph until it comes to a slow stop resting on its back.

 

Demon Drop will be in the lowest area of the park at an elevation of 307 feet. The top of the ride will reach nearly 439 feet above sea level. Dorney is permitted to erect rides at a maximum elevation of 540 feet.

 

''It is a high ride, but by no means anywhere near the height limitations in the park,'' said Dorney attorney Joseph Bubba.

 

Bubba said the location of the ride meets all township zoning, light, sound and privacy criteria. Park officials have met with neighboring residents in recent years to discuss plans and listen to concerns.

 

Since Cedar Fair purchased Dorney Park in 1992, it has added several big, high-tech rides, including the Steel Force Roller Coaster and the Dominator.

 

The park ''has gone really out of their way to engage the community,'' Bubba said.

^Its like kicking out one old person from a retirement home so another one could move in.

I'm sort of glad Knott's didnt get it to be honest. People would have associated it with SFMM's former Freefall.

^ But isn't Great Adventure from Dorney about the same distance from SFMM from Knott's and they had an Intamin 1st gen Freefall for about 20ish years.

--Robb