Finally, I was able to make my way out to Eastern PA's two largest parks over a weekend. We decided to go to Coaster Madness at Dorney and Hersheypark the following day. We drove out the night before CMadness and stayed in a hotel about 10 minutes down the interstate from the park.
Dorney Park, Friday, June 27th, 2003
Reason: To make a good coaster my 100th(Talon) and ERT on Steel Force, Thunderhawk and Talon
Weather: Low to Mid 90's, but with the heat index, it felt well over 100, esp. in area lacking shade.
Crowds: Fairly low, allowing plenty of time to do everything.
Rating Scale: -5 to +5
ERT began at 8:30, and we(Coasterman Mike, Joe and Tim) got into the event for free with our Cedar Point pass. Morning ERT featured Steel Force and Thunderhawk.
First up was Thunderhawk. Thunderhawk is celebrating it's 80th birthday this year, and is an old Herbert Schmeck woodie. The ride featured some amazing ejector airtime. The ride was short, but really fun. The ride now sits as my #7 wooden coaster.
Laps for the day: 6, all in 1.1 or 1.3.--Rating: +3.5
Next up was Magnum version 2.0, Steel Force. Steel Force is very similar to Magnum, but with much better design. Steel Force blows away Magnum in every aspect except the first drop. I wasn't a big fan of the first drop on Steel Force, as it is much rounder than any drop on a hyper I've been on(which sort of cuts on the pulling airtime in the backseat that I love). Still, the ride featured great air in the back(my favorite spot) and the helix at the end of the "out" run was very intense.
Laps for the day: somewhere around 10--Rating: +3
We needed one coaster before Talon, so I could make Talon my 100th coaster. So, we rode Wild Mouse. These kind of rides really aren't that fun for me, although Ricochet at Carowinds is an exception to that.
Laps for the day: 1--Rating: 0
So, I was finally ready for my 100th coaster, Talon. I'm a big fan of B&M Inverts (Top Gun at Carowinds, Raptor), so I was hoping this would only make me love B&M inverts more. We walked right on to the back row. This ride is outstanding, easily the best invert I've been on. There was NO HEADBANGING, every transition, inversion, etc. hit at a good speed, great mix of G forces, great footchoppers, and the ride featured great pacing. There was also some great spots of airtime along the ride in the back. It ws really odd to hear virtually no B&M roar, since they filled the ride's innards with sand. This thing is not only beautiful to look at, it's beautiful to ride. It dropped into my #4 steel coaster spot, and is my favorite invert.
Laps for the day: Somewhere between 25 and 35--Rating:+5
After Talon, the pace seemed to slow down quite a bit for us, as we took a more leisurely approach to the rest of the day. I don't remember the exact order of everything else we rode, but I'm gonna try my best.
Meteor, Zamperla Hawk 48.
Meteor is the same ride as Kennywood's Aero 360. I love when the ride stalls out, leaving you upside-down. Zamperla makes great flats. Rating: +3
Whip, maker unknown to me:
I'm a huge fan of Whip rides, and this one was pretty good. I have still yet to find one as good as Camden's, but I enjoyed this ride. The only bad part was you could feel every little gap between the "metal plates" on the ride. Rating: +2
Laser, Schwarzkopf Looping Coaster:
Laser was a very intense ride. I blacked out in the second loop. The ride was very intense and fast. You've gotta love a Schwarzkopf, especially with lapbars. This ride is no Mindbender, though. Rating: +3
Dragon Coaster:
A small Wisdom kiddie coaster, that actually had some decent laterals. Rating: +1
The Log Flume(Forget the name):
This log flume looked interesting, since the lift takes you up an actual hillside and then drops you. It didn't look like a soaker, so we decided to ride. It got me more wet than I thought, but it still wasn't that bad. The little run on top of the hill that it makes was fun, and the last drop seems long. This is up there with Log Jammer at Kwood. Rating: +3
Bumper Cars:
Dorney's Bumper Cars are very cool, they run on levers that you push/pull to steer your car around. I enjoyed them a lot, and we got 2 rides on them. Rating: +2
Skyscraper, Upcharge attraction:
What an intense ride Skyscraper is. A 160-foot tall tower with two seats attached to each end, then it spins in a circle at 60 MPH. We had a 50% off coupon, and it was definitely worth the money we doled out. I was hesitant to ride at first, but Mike was pushing me to ride. I rode, but he didn't. He says it was because he didn't want stapled, but it's because of that pesky Acrophobia.
Rating: +4.5
Hercules, Summers & Dinn woodie:
The layout is a good idea, but poorly implemented, I don't know what else to say.
Rating: -2
Joker, Falling Star/Rainbow:
Easily the worst of these rides I've been on. Slow and short, the only disappointment of the day. Rating: -2
Tilt-A-Whirl:
I'm a huge fan of Tilt's, and me and Tim struggled to get it to run at first. We eventually got it going into triple spins, and it was a blast. Rating: +3
The two train rides:
Both of them gave us some unique perspectives of the park and time to chill out. Rating: 0
Detonator:
We only rode the launch side, and it gave out some great airtime.
NOTES:
--It was weird to see part of the park was in a valley, I had no idea how the park was terrain-wise. It almost made Steel Force seem smaller than it really was.
--The park exceeded my expectations. The staff was nice (when they spoke good english
) The rides all ran at capacity, nothing was shut down. Their
PR director seemed like a great guy.
--Without a doubt, the most beautiful area of the park was walking along Thunderhawk underneath the trees. It was one area where you could actually go to escape the sun!
--The food was free for our lunch, but the Chicken was dry and not very meaty. The other food was good, though. You can't ever complain about free food...so I was willing to forgive them for the chicken.
--Evening ERT on Talon was a walk-on, we got tons of rides in just an hour's time...it was great.
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