Welcome back to the second part of our off-season tour of what's new at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom for the
2017 season.
If you missed the first part a couple days ago, make sure to
check it out.
This time we will look at another new ride going into the amusement park, additions in Wildwater Kingdom, and some other changes throughout the park!
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Let's start in Wildwater Kingdom. If you haven't heard yet, the previously announced Sunset Beach Bar will not be opening in 2017, but the park does hope to be able to add it in the future. The planned location of the new offering is on the far right side of the Wildwater Cove wave pool.
Above, also adjacent to Wildwater Cove, are 17 brand new cabanas that guests will be able to rent while at the park. The addition brings the total cabanas that the park will offer to 29. The park also has plans to be able to offer the cabanas a wider selection of foods this year.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Also in Wildwater Kingdom will be Papa Luigi's, offering fresh dough pizzas and cheesesteaks on the menu. The location was formerly called Typhoon Treats, and as you can see in the photo above the location is getting a full renovation for 2017.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
This stand was actually originally built as a Skee Ball location, and later repurposed as a food location to meet the demand of the popular water park. The renovation that will now change it into Papa Luigi's will allow the park to offer fresh pizza that I have no doubt visitors will love.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
I've never been in Dorney Park's Family Care Center, located inside Planet Snoopy, but got a nice tour while at the park. It already offers rest, play, changing and feeding areas for families with children or guests with special needs and has been a big success for the park.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
This year Dorney Park is adding a calming room to the Family Care Center that will cater to visitors who have special needs related to the autism spectrum. The photo above is of the new space, but it's by no means complete at this point. Families will be able to utilize the room to give their kids the time they need to process their sensory needs - whether through observing a giant bubbler or using noise-cancelling headphones.
The park's second new ride is a set of classic bumper cars named Dodgem. Yay for bumper cars!
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Located on the former site of Hang Time, Dodgem has made a ton of process since we first saw the steel beams going up a few weeks ago. This is the view of Dodgem that visitors will have as they approach the plaza by Talon's entrance. The park has already completed the concrete pour for the area, showing how the final space will look.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Like many fans of the park, I'm quite happy that bumper cars are finally returning to Dorney. This photo was taken inside the structure, showing the running area for the 20 new cars. The ride operator booth can been seen in the background.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
The queue for Dodgem will be over on this side, close to the operator booth seen above. Guests will enter the attraction from this side, then exit back on to the midway outside Talon's entrance.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Here is one more shot, just to give a bit more perspective on how Dodgem is set up. That's the backside of the Talon entrance sign on the far right, for reference.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Elsewhere on park property the 20 bumper cars for Dodgem are being safely kept away from the winter weather. The cars come in a variety of bright colors such as blue, orange, purple, silver and yellow. The cars will have LED lights under them that will make the experience even more dazzling when the sun goes down.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Dodgem is being manufactured by Bertazzon, who has provided bumper cars to many major theme parks. Each car has a unique numbered license plate, and even has LED lights in the decorative tail pipes!
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
On to other improvements to be found are the park. This section of Chickie's & Pete's inside Dorney Park has been enclosed with the wall seen above to accommodate new self-ordering kiosks. The initiative will improve service speed and accuracy, and is something we're seeing all over these days, from Wendy's to the ball park. Self-ordering kiosks will also be implemented at a handful of other outlets in the park this year, including Coasters, the Burger Barn and the new Papa Luigi's in Wildwater Kingdom.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Not often seen by the general public, but this is the park's associate cafeteria and it has been renovated during the off season in response to employee feedback. The area has been toned down to provide a relaxing environment for associates during their break time.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
The new look of the associate cafeteria isn't unlike that of a coffee shop, and includes new artwork, bar-style seating with phone charging stations, and a new color scheme.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
Dorney Park's main entrance is also being improved to get guests inside the park faster with permanent structures now in place to do bag checks and metal detection. This will greatly help the park manage guests as they arrive at the park and I'm sure in turn will also improve customer satisfaction.
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
One other food and beverage change for 2017 is the renaming of the Monster Grille (located near Possessed) to the Chef's Grille. Dorney Park's Executive Chef, Malo Jones, is going to be making some special treats at the new Chef's Grille, and I for one am looking forward to giving them a try!
 |
| © NewsPlusNotes |
One last fun photo to share, while touring the park we had some visitors who were quite interested in what we were up to. I snapped this photo just before they took off and ran down the Zephyr tracks along the creek toward the back of the park.
Many thanks to Dorney Park, especially Mike Fehnel, for having me to take these photos!
0 comments:
Post a Comment