Celebrating Dorney Park's 125th

Part of the celebration that Dorney Park is having in honor of their 125th anniversary this summer, aside from their new Snoopy Rocks! On Ice show and a slew of new special events, is a tamer offering that history buffs like myself will love - the Dorney Park history Walking Tour.

When the park celebrated their 100th anniversary they first added the Walking Tour. Signs with photos dotted the park and a special brochure was created to guide guests to these signs of famous Dorney Park landmarks.

I happen to be the proud owner of one of these original brochures, and am happy to be able to show it off here.

The original tour featured 20 different locations in the park that featured historic rides, attractions, and other memorable spots.

For the park's 125th, they've brought back 16 of the original 20 signs, spiffed them up for their current use, and are proudly displaying them in the park. For those of us (myself included, as I was, uh, 2 when this took place) who never got to check out the original display, this is a pretty wonderful opportunity!

That said, let's have a look at those signs!

Dance Floor, Skating Rink, and finally the Wacky Shack - the area near the basketball game coming down the big hill in the park featured this famous building.

The Bucket O' Blood was one of Dorney's classic dark rides which burned in 1983. The 'pretzel' style ride system featured gags designed by Bill Tracy, who made quite a name for himself designing dark rides during his era.

Dorney Park started as a picnic property, and judging from the throngs of people I saw having picnics in the parking lot a week ago, it still is. This sign celebrates the long standing tradition of the picnic at Dorney.

Carousels also have a prominent history at Dorney Park, with at least 6 different ones operating at the park during it's history. Today the park features the beautiful 1921 Dentzel Carousel just inside it's main entrance gates.

I don't believe I've ever seen any of the photos before featured on this sign of the railroad at Dorney Park. Those are some classic shots! And the sign isn't kidding, the Zephyr train really did help the park survive the depression era.

The focus is on Camp Snoopy these days, the this sign proves that the kiddies have never been ignored at Dorney Park. Funny how a good idea never dies, as you can see a small Ferris wheel in a couple of the photos, just like the one standing today in Camp Snoopy!

The former home of the Laser roller coaster is also the former home of the park's giant swimming pool, a massively popular place for locals in the first half of the century. I think those old style water slides would rival anything in Wildwater Kingdom for thrills!

The one features photos of the park's original parking lot, which is now only used for employee parking. It features the photo below, which in large size has some cool details:

The aerial of the park in the lower portion is what I'm liking - you can see how picnic groves once littered this section of the park. Also you can check out the layout of Journey to the Center of the Earth and see the original rocket ship swing ride still standing.

And speaking of Journey, or the Mill Chute as it was originally known, this sign features several great images of the ride. I especially liked this one:

Which shows a peaceful view of the ride's loading station in front of The Coaster, now known as Thunderhawk. I love the American flags hanging on the station, too!

While the Cedar Creek doesn't look quite the same nowadays, it has always run through the lower portion of the park. Here we see several very old photographs of the creek's peaceful setting.

The area is only so peaceful though, with the Coaster, or now Thunderhawk, running through the area filling it with the screams of its passengers. The sign makes note of the fact that the ride underwent a major renovation in 1927 which changed it from an out and back ride to the twisted layout it has today.

This photo appears to be from when the ride was being remodeled since it almost looks like the running track is not in place yet, and there is still wood debris around the site. Also worth pointing out is the original trolley track running through the coaster where a shady walkway now exists.

Much like another Pennsylvania park, Knoebels, Dorney once had a road run right through the center of it. Many people will remember the famous "stop" and "go" sign that a guard used to allow guests to move from one side to the other.

Castle Gardens really was a big deal during it's time at the park. For more info on that, I'll refer you to the article I did on it a couple years ago. (I can't believe we've been publishing long enough for me to say that!)

A structure that was removed from the park just a few years ago was the original Dorney Mansion. In it's later years it featured several food outlets and an arcade, but at one time had a humorous walk through spook house in it's lower level called the Gold Mine.

Nuns on the Rooster Ride! How weird does that sound? The Chanticleer was a unique Carousel at the park that featured roosters that you could ride on instead of the traditional horses. As the sign depicts, it was also featured in the movie "Where Angles Go, Trouble Follows."

Finally we end with a photo of another very popular pastime at Dorney Park: The racetrack. People came from far and wide to see the races that were held here, and judging from these photos it looked like quite a time!

Hopefully you've enjoyed this historical treat as much as I did photographing it and writing about it! Many props to Dorney Park for putting these signs back up in celebration of the park's 125th anniversary!