Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom

I've been to a lot of theme parks and for some reason this one stands out. It's not that the rides are bigger or faster necessarily but I've just had some good experiences there. Everytime I've gone (granted they were during the week) I had no problem getting onto all of the rides. I try to do the dry rides first in the heat of the day and then the water rides. That cuts down on the lines a little. The Talon has got to be my favorite ride of the park. It is the tallest and longest inverted roller coaster in the Northeast and despite this rarely has a very long line. The somewhat new addition, Hydra, is also pretty cool immediately coming out of the station you are flipped upside down which I thought was kind of interesting. Of course the food is more expensive than buying a weeks worth of food for a family of four but that goes without saying for most amusement parks. It never hurts to bring a cooler! All in all I think it's a great park and I'm looking forward to riding the new coaster Possessed this summer!!! Oh and I forgot to mention the "ThunderHawk" the wooden roller coaster...it's fun BUT it is also kind of painful as I find wooden coasters are.

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom are two parks, side by side, owned by the same company. You pay one admission price and have access to both parks - once you walk through the main gates, you have an option to head right towards Wildwater Kingdom or stay in the "dry" section of Dorney Park itself. The price is VERY reasonable, especially considering you are paying for TWO parks and that most parks in the US cost between $30-60 dollars for admission. This year, the gate price is $39.99, but you can find discount coupons at several fast food chains and supermarkets that offer reduced admission prices. Also, new this year is something called "Joe Cool's BBQ", which is All-You-Can-Eat and admission for $41.99 when you buy your ticket and BBQ combo online. Dorney Park offers other ticket options, such as a two-day ticket, a starlight (after 5pm) ticket, and season passes.

The park was very clean, and the staff was very friendly. I went in the middle of summer (The first week of August!), and the lines were not that long at all! The longest I had to wait to go on a ride was ten minutes, which is unheard of for a summer weekday. Dorney Park's newest roller coaster, Voodoo, also did not have a long wait! The rides are maintenanced throughout the day - when we got to the park, one of the coasters was closed, but before mid-afternoon, the ride was open and running full capacity.In addition to thrill rides and water rides, there are shows to watch, arts and crafts on specific days, games to play, paddleboating, and a beautifully landscaped park to just sit and enjoy.

We spent the morning and the early afternoon in Dorney, and after lunch we headed towards the water park. Wildwater has a place for you to rent lockers for the day, and they also have cubbyholes scattered throughout the water park where you can stash your towel and sandals while you ride. The paths were clean, and the signs were easily noticable. What amazed me is how the park was able to integrate so many rides by having the rides "weave" through each other, saving both land and water.

Allentown, Pennsylvania is less than a 2 hour drive from New York City. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom offer a great deal for a "Daycation". Check it out!