After covering the removal of Stinger separately a few days ago, I still had plenty left to show off from my visit to Dorney Park. Now that we're in April the park is really coming alive as the property comes back to life, and many projects are nearing completion.
The park has spoken about a couple of the things I got to see, (their large new restaurant in Wildwater Kingdom, Tidal Wave Cafe, for instance) but there are plenty of other small changes that the park has made during the off season. Let's check them out!
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2016 was a big year for Thunderhawk at Dorney Park, as the 90+ year old classic Philadelphia Toboggan Company wooden coaster received some major improvements. The largest of them were a pair of brand new trains, but the ride also got other improvements like a total repaint, historical signage and more. The park hasn't stopped improving the ride since then, and is at it again this year.
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This year the park has hired The Gravity Group to come in and
refurbish about 150 feet of Thunderhawk's track. If you look closely you'll see the track has been removed on the section that crosses the walkway and leads into the final run of hills before the brakes.
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Not just a simple re-tracking, this work is a bit more involved and is designed to provide a smoother transition into the final part of the ride. The park will have this section totally re-engineered to provide a better experience for riders. That is not to say that there will be any dramatic changes to the profile, but it will certainly ride more smoothly.
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Once the new track structure is built and installed, the ride profile will be connected to the existing track, which can be seen here. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product on this, and taking a spin!
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Elsewhere in the park, other rides and attractions are also seeing refurbishment, and many are being put back together in anticipation of opening day. White Water Landing, for instance, looks a bit 'off' right now, and that's because indeed there are a couple track segments missing. They are being totally refurbished and will be put back into place soon, so no worries there.
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On the park's food and beverage front, there will be many changes this year. Several of the existing locations are having new queues installed in order to make the lines move faster and stay more organized when the park is busy. This is a great move, as it ensures that guests are also served in the correct order and as efficiently as possible.
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As the park's beverage plans continue to quickly grow in popularity, the park has worked to increase the number of Coca-Cola Refresh stations. This is a brand new one, added to the corner of the existing Center Stage location. Guests will enter and exit through the building, able to quickly fill their cups and be on their way to more fun.
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Another major change is the transformation of the Smokehouse Barbecue into the all-new Burrito Cantina. Obviously the location will feature fresh burritos, with guests able to select the items they want in their dish as they pass through. Many of the items that the Smokehouse featured will still be available at other park locations, such as the new Tidal Wave Cafe. The proliferation of burrito restaurants has made their popularity stronger than ever, so I've no doubt that the new Burrito Cantina will be a smash hit.
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One of last year's large additions was the Parkside Pavilion, which is seeing even more improvements in 2018. The new catering area was a huge success last year, and this season visitors to group events will find newly installed fans, along with other cosmetic changes. For instance, the stage area with the large Dorney Park marquee has had higher fencing installed that will have vines grow up over it, giving a perfect background for photos.
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The fact that pretty much everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times hasn't gone unnoticed by Dorney Park, so they're working on adding more photo locations throughout the park this year. One of new ones will be in the large flower bed in front of Apollo, where a huge Dorney Park sign with beautiful landscaping will be installed.
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Moving on to changes in Wildwater Kingdom, just inside the entrance to the Wildwater Cove wave pool is another new Coca-Cola Refresh Stand - along with an Icee Mix It Up location. This is a very high traffic area for Wildwater Kingdom, so this stand will be a perfect location for thirty visitors enjoying a day in the sun.
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Wildwater Kingdom is also undertaking a major renovation to its large Bathhouse that's just inside the entrance. Changes like this might not make it on to billboards advertising the park, but they are much appreciated by guests.
Located in the center of the Bathhouse, able to be accessed without going into either a men's or women's area, are brand new family changing areas. These additions can be seen on the left of the above photo, but are located on both sides of the area. These rooms will be perfect for guests with small children, special needs, and many others. Smart move by the park!
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The inside of both the men's and women's changing areas and restrooms have been pretty much gutted, and are being totally remodeled. Obviously the above photo is a work in progress, but the new rooms will be modern and beautiful, with all new fixtures and features. I have no doubt that visitors will be impressed with the finished product.
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The biggest change to Wildwater Kingdom this year is the brand new Tidal Wave Cafe, a large new restaurant that is being built. The park
released concept art of the outside of the building last fall, but here is a look at the inside of the structure. Tidal Wave Cafe is nautical themed, fitting for the water park, and will have plenty of decorations and theming to match. The color pallet of the inside is warm and soothing, and features plenty of natural sunlight as well.
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Here is some additional concept art used in planning Tidal Wave Cafe, I can confirm the design on the right was chosen, though with some differences such as the removal of the graphics on the back wall.
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As you approach the construction area from the entrance to Wildwater Kingdom the change is immediate! The new structure is so much larger than I had imagined when it was announced, but that's a wonderful thing. Wildwater Kingdom gets very busy in the summer and this large new food operation is just what it needed to keep guests fed. The park removed a couple small stands and a bit of the covered seating area to make Tidal Wave Cafe fit.
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Here is a bit of a closer view, showing the entire building. The main entrance is through the nicely decorated center area, and guests will exit on either of the sides once they have their meal complete.
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Heading down the midway a bit, this is looking back up at Tidal Wave Cafe. Like I said earlier, I'm quite impressed with the size of the structure. It also compliments the rest of the area wonderfully with some unique architecture when compared to the stands it replaced. Talon doesn't look too bad behind it, either.
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Just outside of Tidal Wave Cafe the park has also made major improvements to allow for more seating for diners. This included removing some of the berm that surrounds the lazy river here, creating much more usable space. If you're familiar with Wildwater Kingdom then you can easily see how much this has opened up this area!
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Here is one more angle of the new seating area. You can see the large white supports that have been installed for covers for the seating area. This will be similar to the covered seating area that is located on the other side of Tidal Wave Cafe, which was added during Wildwater Kingdom's last large renovation.
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Crews are still hard at work on the interior of Tidal Wave Cafe, and when I visited were working on electrical so we took photos using only natural daylight. This is just inside the main entrance, a large vaulted ceiling foyer that greets guests. You can compare the cool chandelier in this photo to the concept art earlier - it's a match!
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This photo was taken from the foyer shown above, looking off to the left. The building is quite large so it isn't easy to get the entire space in one shot. Once guests enter there will be two serving lines on each side of the restaurant where they can select their items cafeteria style. Each line will feed guests to opposite ends of the building where the cashier will be located. In this photo, the serving lines would be on the right, and the room on the left will hold the cashier.
Speaking of food, Tidal Wave Cafe is going to be home to some seriously delicious treats. The menu items include hand breaded chicken tenders, rotisserie chicken, hand breaded shrimp, house smoked pulled pork and beef brisket and drum roll please... build your own gourmet mac-n-cheese bowls along with signature sides and desserts.
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Here is another view of the left-side cashier area, with high ceilings and plenty of sunlight. This side will also feature a built in bar that guests can get a relaxing margarita and other adult treats at. Just beyond the double doors in the center of the photo is the covered seating area that already existed. Guests exiting the other side of the restaurant will be right in front of the brand new seating area we saw under construction.
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The kitchen for Tidal Wave Cafe can be seen here, and it features modern appliances and cookware that is needed to create all the delicious items mentioned earlier. Extra effort went into the design of the area so that staff can easily communicate in an open, undivided space. This will help with efficiency as well as make a more comfortable area for staff, and important part of any successful dining establishment. The kitchen also features a large built-in smoker for the pulled pork and brisket, as well as a huge cooler with smaller freezer, since the food here is going to be freshly prepared. I for one can't wait to try every dish!
With that, we've taken a look at what's new and changed at the property for now, though we all know other small changes will be discovered in just one month when the park opens on May 4th for the 2018 season!
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