I have divided the September 30, 2022 Dorney Park trip report into two parts. Here in Part 1, you will find the standard recap of the rides we experienced with my stand out attractions. In Part 2 you will find mini-reviews for all seven of the mazes featured in this year’s Halloween Haunt event.
Several days ago I was feeling the itch to ride some coasters. September was coming to a close and I hadn’t been to a park all month. I looked around at my options, but they were limited. With Hurricane Ian coming up from the south, both Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) and Kings Dominion closed due to the impending weather. Looking to the north, neither Hersheypark or Knoebels were open. That’s when I decided to go to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv).
When I woke up on Friday I saw the forecast had shifted in Jackson, N.J. Rain would be moving in by 8 p.m. With the park not opening until 5:30 p.m., it didn’t make sense for me to pay for gas and the countless tolls to risk the park, or rides, closing early. It looked like there would be no parks for me in September.
Enter Kaylee.
After Kaylee saw me complain about my plans for SFGAdv falling through, she invited to Dorney Park. She was heading up with her boyfriend, Charles, and their friend, Brian. The forecast was much more favorable for Allentown, Pa. with the rain not arriving until around the time the park closed at 11 p.m. I can honestly say that I didn’t expect to be back at Dorney so soon, having just visited on August 29, 2022. Why not, though? I was in the mood to ride some coasters, do some haunts, and get another use out of my Cedar Fair platinum pass before the end of the year.
Not Only Visiting For Haunts
Dorney Park’s hours yesterday were 6-11 p.m. That meant night rides to go along with the haunts. But if came to picking one over the other due to crowds or weather, I would have gone with coasters. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to worry about that, though. We picked up the $50 Fright Pass that let us jump to the front of the lines for both the rides and haunts. Can’t say I’ve seen a combo pass like that before. If memory serves me right, when Mindy and I went to King Island’s Halloween Haunt in 2017, each was a separate pass. No complaints here though!
As for the rides, we managed to ride every major coaster, get in some re-rides, and Kaylee even grabbed some flats while Charles, Brian, and I did some of the mazes. You can read about those in Part 2 of this trip report. For now, let’s take a look at yesterday’s rides of note:
Steel Force
I managed three rides on Steel Force. The first one was as a group – sitting in the back of the train. And wow… I can’t recall a ride on Steel Force with so much airtime. In all honesty, over the last few years the majority of my rides felt slow with minimal airtime. Needless to say, they were rather lackluster. Not yesterday, though!
In addition to the strong airtime, the helix had me sucked to my seat like no other time before. And then there was hand chopper moments. With the airtime going into both tunnels so strong, I never had the near miss feeling of having my hands up and the tunnels feeling so close. Being a huge fan of near miss moments, I certainly appreciated this.
That recap sums up just my initial ride on Steel Force. Later at night, while the rest of the crew was grabbing a bite to eat and doing one of the haunts a second time, I grabbed two more rides on Steel Force – one in the front row and another toward the back. Both of these were rain rides, but they were still quite intense. The front was less powerful on the airtime, but that wind and rain in my face gave it a whole different feeling. It felt faster than ever before. I had so much wind in my face during the helix that I could barely breathe.
Thunderhawk
Almost every ride I’ve done on Thunderhawk over the last few years has taken place in the front row, or toward the front of the train. Last night I decided to go to the back row. And just like with Steel Force, Thunderhawk felt faster than usual. I’ve had rides on this recently where I felt the entire coaster crawled through its course. Not last night.
Maybe these two coasters ride better with the weather dipping down into the 50’s? Anyone else have a similar experience? I’ve only had several cold weather experiences on these coasters over the last decade, with one of them coming eight years ago.
Possessed
I didn’t manage to get to this ride until 20 minute before park closing. By then, a light rain had begun to fall. There were only two other people in line and they were waiting for the front tow. I, on the other hand, wanted the back. I love the backward spike on Possessed and love that it’s not twisted on the back end as well. I know there are several variations on the spikes with the Intamin Impulse models, so I’m glad Dorney has one of the ones not twisted on the back or on both spikes. I do miss the holding brake, though.
Nothing beats being at the top of back end spike and looking straight down. It’s my favorite part of riding this coaster. Add in the light rainfall being illuminated by the nearby lights, and it was a memorable experience.
Final Ride Counts
Dominator (1: Kaylee)
Hydra: The Revenge (1)
Possessed (2: Kaylee, 1: Brian, Charles, Patrick)
Sea Dragon (1: Kaylee)
Steel Force (3: Patrick, 2: Kaylee, 1: Brian, Charles)
Talon (1)
Thunderhawk (1)
Wave Swinger (1: Kaylee)
Wild Mouse (1: Kaylee)
Still Love Talon!
If you’re wondering why I didn’t mention of Talon or Hydra above, it is simply due to both coasters being ones I always mention in every Dorney Park trip report. They always give solid, dependable rides and yesterday was no exception. Steel Force, Thunderhawk, and Possessed just stood out a little extra and deserved their attention. Talon is still my favorite coaster in the park and unless the park adds a new coaster that’s even better, I doubt that will change.
As always, thanks for taking the time to check out my trip reports and photos. They, along with the haunt photos from Part 2, will be featured in the Dorney Park Photo Gallery. Check that out for even more photos of the amazing rides at this small, but amazing park. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow to read all about the haunts in Part 2.
Dorney Park Photo Gallery - September 30, 2022
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Kaylee
Commander
New Credit(s): n/a
