Dorney Park

Visited: June 12, 2017

Attending: Brian, Alex, and a bunch of Alex's friends

I took Alex and several of his friends as an end-of-school-year celebration. As the only adult there, I spent most of the time on my own. It was crazy hot, although not terribly humid. I rode a couple with the kids, then several on my own, all before noon. I spent most of the time between noon and 4 just hanging out in the shade, and about an hour inside at Chickie’s & Pete’s, because it was air conditioned, and they brought me free water.

Talon

First one of the day, rode with the kids, in the back two rows, at their insistence. I’ve been on Talon before, and I like it. I’m fond of B&M inverts, although they have no airtime. Talon is a pretty good model, since it’s at the top of the hill, and has some low-to-the-ground swoops.

Hydra: The Revenge

Another one I rode with the kids, because there was no line, again in the back two rows. Hydra is a B&M floorless, another design that I like, although they can get kind of same-y. This one has the slow “Jo-Jo Roll” right out of the station, which is always fun. There’s a bit at the end that dives off the side of the hill, and that’s cool. The over-the-shoulder restraints mean you can’t really put your hands up, but it’s fun as much as you can.

Steel Force

The first one I went on alone, today. Riding a coaster solo has a bit of a different feel -- you don’t have to pretend to be brave for anybody. This is an old-ish hyper by Morgan, and I find the restraints a bit looser than I like for a hyper, so I held on for part of the ride. The layout is very straightforward, just out and back. I tried to get some photos of it later, but I don’t think they came out too well.

Stinger

I went on this one because it’s close by Steel Force, and was a walk-on. It’s a Vekoma Invertigo model, shaped like a boomerang, but inverted, and with every other seat facing each other. I chose to go backwards first, for no real reason. There was only a short pause at each reversal, but I’m still not fond of coasters that reverse direction. I think I grayed out the second time through the cobra roll, but I may have just been hungry.

Possessed

This one is an Intamin “impulse coaster,” with two vertical spikes, one twisted. This one is just on the edge of my definition of “coaster,” since it’s not a complete circuit, and just goes back and forth several times. I thought the launch was a little rough for my liking, and I’m not fond of the direction changes, especially the one on the straight spike. This one was also a walk-on, so I didn’t have much time to think about it.

Thunderhawk

The really old woodie with a classic layout. I don’t know why, but I got really thrown around this time. I was worried for my phone, even though it was in my pocket. I’ve enjoyed it in the past, so I don’t know what the deal was today.