Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom Discussion Thread

[G$ KurtI think Intamin should make a donkey!]

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."

[DarkStitch626Over obsessive disney disorder]

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.

[eddie200330"Excuse me, miss, may I pound my large rooster into your donkey?"]

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.

[CPmaverickI don't know the difference between waist and waste.]

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?

[eddie200330"Excuse me, miss, may I pound my large rooster into your donkey?"]

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.

[CPmaverickI don't know the difference between waist and waste.]

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

[Philrad71Don't put that donkey on the floor!]

^ 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!

[CHILLERLC1When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

^^ 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.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/all- ... 2290.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.

[coasterking2981When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

^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.