(place) by 1924 Thu May 20 2004 at 23:45:42
Dorney Park is 200 acre family amusement park in Allentown, Pennsylvania and mainly serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metropolitan area. The park was born in 1860 when Solomon Dorney based a fish hatchery along Cedar Creek. Shortly thereafter, Solomon added a hotel, restaurant, zoo, rides and games to his attraction. Following the tradition of trolley parks, a cable railway, casino, ferris wheel and other midway rides were added. In the 1920s, a wooden roller coaster named "The Coaster" and a water coaster named "The Mill Chute" were added to raise the skyline of Dorney Park. However, these were the last high profile attractions that were added to the park until the 1970s when more midway attractions and dark rides were added to the park. However, a fire in 1983 burnt down many of the attractions including a Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel. Nonetheless, a new owner brought Dorney Park much construction and built Hercules which was then the tallest wooden roller coaster and Wildwater Kingdom, a seasonal water park. In 1992, Cedar Fair purchased Dorney Park and has since brought it into a better competitor in the tight Northeastern amusement park market. Since Cedar Fair took over, Dorney Park has added five roller coasters to its name and has also topped the 200 ft mark with Steel Force. Dorney Park now touts 100 rides and attractions and includes admission price for Wildwater Kingdom in its ticket price.

The newest attraction for Dorney Park is Revolution, a Chance-Morgan family flat ride. With the removal of the head banging Hercules at the end of 2003, it is heavily rumored that a floorless coaster named Hydra: The Revenge will take open in its place during the 2005 season.

Significant Rides and Attractions:

Sources: www.dorneypark.com; www.rcdb.com; www.cedarfair.com

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