Dorney Park Announces Stinger for 2012

Dorney Park announced this morning that in 2012 they will welcome their 8th roller coaster, named Stinger, to the park's thrill lineup.

"Stinger is a 138 ft tall inverted shuttle roller-coaster that resembles a scorpion ready to strike, but there is no venom here, riders will only be injected with a pure rush of adrenaline as they sit face-to-face with friends and get flipped six times as they race along the 1,014 of overhead track both forward then backward at speeds of up to 55 mph."

© 2011 Dorney Park

Stinger will be situated in the location of the park's former Laser coaster, in the Northwest corner of the park's property.  The new ride will include a redevelopment of that section of the park, including redesigned midways that extend to the Asylum haunted attraction, open in the fall during the park's Haunt.

© 2011 Dorney Park

The coaster's trains feature face-to-face seating, so that guests may watch the faces of their friends while they ride.  In order to announce this new project the park had a press event this morning, during which more details of the coaster were revealed.

Charles Hutchison, the park's Manager of Public Relations explained that "ride announcements are always exciting for me because I think of the tens of thousands of guests who are going to be thrilled by the new experience, who are going to be running to the ride in the morning, then able to share their stories of bravery with their families.  One of our goals is to make the Dorney Park experience the absolute best day of their summer."

The park's Vice President and General Manager, Jason McClure had the duty of officially unveiling the new ride.  He pointed out the capital that has been added in the 5 years he has been at Dorney, and also the amazing fact that Cedar Fair has invested over $275 million in the park since they acquired it in 1992.

"In 2012, the park's 128th season, we're excited to get back to another roller coaster addition, our latest world-class coaster, Stinger," McClure announced.

Dorney Park brought some "live mascots" to the announcement - Emperor Scorpions - since the ride itself resembles a scorpion ready to strike.  The coaster represents a $10 million investment to the park for the 2012 season.

Guests who are excited about the new coaster for next year can stop by the Possessions gift shop and pick up some Stinger swag.  Here we see an example shirt that really shows off the ride's scorpion theme.

Regarding the construction of the ride, which is well underway, the park's Vice President of Construction and Maintenance, Brad Nesland had a few words.  First, the park has been able to hire many local contractors in the construction so far, which has helped the local economy.

According to Mr. Nesland, "The 38 piers that are done range in depth from 17 to 45 feet, we're now installing the pier caps.  Once those are in we'll have a curing period, and when done with that we will start to erect steel in early October.  From that point we're projecting early November we'll be able to work out the commissioning of the ride which will allow us to hand the keys of the ride over to the park around December 1st."

Laser's former home is currently a massive work site, with footers in various stages of completion.  Since the ride was moved from another park, it has undergone a complete rebuild.  When it opens it will feature an all new control system, along with several other upgrades.

The ride's track has been heavily refurbished as well.  It was sandblasted down to its original state, and then non-destructive testing was performed on all pieces, much like what was done with Possessed.  Only then were the ride pieces repainted in their new colors.  When Stinger opens at Dorney Park, it will be like "a brand new ride."

While vertical construction will be underway during the Haunt, the park still plans to have the Asylum haunt attraction open for guests.  They will clean up the midway seen above, adding fencing to the area so that guests may safely pass by the work site.

When completed, the ride's Cobra Roll will stand just to the left of the above tree.  That means the lifts will peak toward the restrooms located adjacent to the Asylum.  There's a good chance it'll be pretty close to layout #2 that I shared back in February. (wink, wink)

Stinger will have a 54 inch height requirement, and the 28 passenger train will allow a theoretical 840 riders per hour.

Dorney Park also announced their 2012 season pass offerings today, with a significantly lower introductory price of only $89.99 for a regular pass, and $59.99 for a junior/senior.  Passes will go on sale at the park starting this weekend, Steptember 3rd.