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This past weekend marked the start of
Dorney Park's 2018 season, and with beautiful weather for half of it plenty of visitors got in their first rides of the year after an especially long winter. The park's largest addition this year is the Tidal Wave Cafe inside Wildwater Kingdom, which won't open for a few weeks, but there was still plenty to check out around Dorney Park.
Above is a new sign located in front of Apollo, designed to become a popular photo spot for the park. With Dominator, some new decorative flags and landscaping as a backdrop, I'm sure this view will show up on social media all year.
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During our off season update we saw some improvements being made to White Water Landing, the park's shoot-the-chutes. There were a few trough pieces missing, which have been replaced with new ones. It also looks like a new one went in at the base of the drop, you can easily notice the color difference on the new pieces.
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The park also did some rearranging of the water cannons that are located in the White Water Landing splash pool. They are spread out a bit more, giving guests a better chance at blasting riders as they pass by. The ride wasn't open yet, but I'm sure it will be once the weather warms up.
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Inside the park the Smokehouse Barbecue has turned into Burrito Cantina, offering made-to-order burritos and other items. While some may be sad that Smokehouse is gone, nearly all of its offerings will be available at the new Tidal Wave Cafe, so fear not.
The structure got a bright new paint job which livens up the area, and the inside of the restaurant got a slight makeover as well to fit the new theme.
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This is also one of the locations in the park where you can get two of the new custom Dorney Park brews, Epic Ale and Lazy Lager. Burrito Cantina also serves Margaritas if you're in the mood!
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I had to try out the new restaurant, of course, and selected one of the burrito bowls. Seen above, it was easily enough food for two people, and filled with tons of toppings and extras. These made-to-order burrito places are popular these days, and judging from all the guests eating at Burrito Cantina it looks like it will be a hit at Dorney Park.
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Thunderhawk will be opening for the season at the end of May, as work on retracking 150 feet of the coaster near the end of the ride wraps up.
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Until the work concludes, the path that runs under the ride is closed. There is an alternate path that goes around the outer turns of Thunderhawk, so this isn't a big inconvenience for visitors.
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It's not easy to see the new track that has gone down, but you can get a look from the above location. The new track can be seen in the back middle of this photo, just before the final bunny hills. It's hard to tell if it looks any different than before from this angle, so we'll wait until the ride opens to see how it feels. It's wonderful to see the park working hard to keep the ride in great shape!
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The park's 3 Point Challenge also received a visual makeover, and is most certainly sponsored by Sprite now!
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Also located at the lower part of the park, a former stand that had a guess your age and weight game has become another photo opportunity. You can also see the "It's Amazing In Here" logo at the top of the structure, which all Cedar Fair parks seem to be using this year.
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On the lower midway, the park's Laser Maze Challenge has been removed. Nothing has taken its place, at least not yet. Perhaps the park has plans for the building for later in the year, or perhaps even further down the road.
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In the early season the park is filling the Center Stage with some outside acts, listed here. I'm not sure if they've done this in the past, but it's a great idea to give season pass holders a variety of performances to come and see!
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I don't really recall if this photo location, located along the main midway of Planet Snoopy, is new or not, but I just took notice of it. Visitors can pose for photos with some of their favorite Snoopy characters - I like this effort of the park to make more photo opportunities for creating memories. In the world of social media it's also a bit a free advertising!
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The park has kept the historical theme throughout their largest gift shop, Good Time Gifts, and even stepped up their game this year by incorporating three ride vehicles from one of their former kiddie rides. Now the Snoopy gang, in plush form, are taking a ride on the vehicles. A nice touch.
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No news to be found in this photo, I just happened to snap it and thought it looked good!
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Finally, we come to the area that was once home to Stinger, and Laser before that, and I believe part of the park's massive pool before that. There is almost no trace of the ride left, as seen in this photo. The park has not put up walls to cover up the area, instead leaving it a green space for now.
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Well, it's kind of green right now but it is obvious that grass has been planted on the site so before long it really will be 100% green. The only bit of Stinger that is left is what I believe is the electrical structure at the far end of the ride, which was under the lift hills.
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Here is a view from the back of the ride, looking at Possessed. It is strange to see the area so open once again, even though we've seen it like this in the somewhat recent past. I can't wait to see what the park cooks up for this area in future seasons.
That's all for now, stay tuned for more updates from the park as the season continues!
