Editor’s Note: This trip report was reformatted in 2022 to match the current style, including photo galleries and ride counts. Older trip reports, however, detailed every ride of the day, whereas newer reports only touch upon a handful of rides. In order to preserve what I wrote, you will still find each ride detailed below.
Since amusement parks started to reopen, I have been wanting to head back to Dutch Wonderland at some point. Why, you ask? Well, I have been wanting to experience Merlin’s Mayhem, the park’s 2018, S&S Sansei family inverted coaster addition. I had the chance about a year ago to go with my family, who was taking my niece, Dalila, to the park, but sadly, I had to work that weekend. She actually thought it was cool to have been on a coaster that I have never rode. Well, that’s no longer the case and I sent her photos to show her too.
Until yesterday, Merlin’s Mayhem was the coaster closest to where I live (Baltimore region) that I had yet to experience. Located slightly over an hour away, I knew I’d eventually make myself go back to this kid’s park to claim the credit. I just couldn’t see paying full price or going to the park alone. Well, not until I opened this site. Opening We Were Inverted has given me even more reason to go up and film a bunch of videos of the rides to share with the world. Luckily for me, Dutch Wonderland posted their $22 per ticket deal earlier this week.
When I saw that deal, I jumped on their calendar and decided I wouldn’t even wait and I’d go on Thursday. My plan was not to spend all day at the park, however. I’d hit Dutch Wonderland first, do some filming, ride as many rides as I felt like, and then drive the 35 minutes to Hersheypark. Being that close and having the meal/drink plan, felt like it just made sense. I figured it wouldn’t be too busy on a Thursday. Boy, was I ever wrong! Hershey wasn’t busy, but Dutch Wonderland gave me my second longest wait for a coaster this year! More on this in a bit.
Some Footage Prior to Riding
After waiting at the parking booth for 15 minutes behind someone with 1,000 questions, I finally entered the park. I walked over to the grass plot by the fence at Kingdom Coaster to shoot some footage. There are so many great angles to capture the ride from outside the park, like the tunnel following the turn around, as seen above.
Once inside, I was right in front of what was about to be my newest credit, Merlin’s Mayhem. I pointed my camera at the ride for a bit, walking all around to get different angles. When I walked over by the ride’s entrance and I should have gotten my butt in line. I didn’t see anyone in the immediate entrance area, although the line does have a bullpen after behind the wall. Would-a, could-a, should-a! Lesson learned!
After walking away from Merlin’s Mayhem, I made my way over to see what I could film of both Kingdom Coaster and Joust. Joust turned out to be a wash because the queue line and people standing around the ride fence blocked most of the good views. Instead I made my way to the Custom Coasters International (CCI) signature attraction.
Time for Some Rides - Both Old & New
Ever since Dutch Wonderland installed this ride back in 1992, I have been quite fond of this little ride. I love the paint scheme so much. Thankfully they moved away from the all white paint it featured many years ago. With the purple and teal pain, this ride stands out so much. It reminds me of why I always loved what Kings Dominion has done with Woodstock Express, formerly Ghoster Coaster/Scooby Doo’s Ghoster Coaster/Scooby Doo over the years. It’s so nice to see a woodie that’s not natural wood or the typical classic white. I really should do a piece on my favorite paint schemes on coasters. Spoiler, Kingdom Coaster would certainly make the list.
Kingdom Coaster
The line for Kingdom Coaster wasn’t terribly long. What kept it moving a little on the slower side was the every other row seating. All parks I’ve visited in 2020 are doing this, or even one row per car, on their woodies thanks to the ongoing pandemic. Oh well, what can you do? Thankfully the sun was on the other side of the station though, so most of the wait was in a shaded region. It also allowed me to take quite a few photos and video of the ride in the process.
Dutch Wonderland has one of my favorite family-sized wooden coasters in Kingdom Coaster, without a doubt. It’s run smoother than some of the other CCI coasters I’ve experienced, and is even smoother than some newer woodies that are out there. If you’re ever in the region, stopping by Dutch Wonderland for Kingdom Coaster alone is worth it.
Once we returned to the station, I walked down the exit ramp and shot some video of Joust. It was the only spot where I could get good angles. The higher elevation allowed me to stand above the people standing all around the ride for a few minutes. I didn’t film a bunch of Joust, but at least I got some footage of all three coasters.
Merlin's Mayhem
After making my way over to Merlin’s Mayhem, I noticed that people were waiting all the way outside the main entrance sign and out into the walkway for the ride. There were dozens of people blocking the walkway. I needed the credit, however, and got in line – standing in the grass, next to a bush.
Since I had never been in line for this ride before, I didn’t know how long this was going to take. If last year’s experience with a similar ride, Dragon Flier at Dollywood, taught me anything, it was going to be a while. I didn’t think it was going to be an hour, though!
After getting into the actual ride queue, I’d eventually turn into the bullpen region of the ride. Thankfully none of the pen region was being utilized, although it probably should have been with the line spilling out into the park. Oh well, I was just here to ride. I waited like everyone else, sweating bullets, and listening to countless kids complain about wanting to go home. I think the heat, the lines, the masks, and all the restrictions placed on parks right now just mean kids can’t be kids. That especially sucks at a park geared for kids.
When I finally got to the ride station, it just so worked out that I landed the front row. On an invert, that’s golden, especially when you’re being assigned rows. And thankfully this train didn’t take 8-10 minutes to load and depart as some of the others had been doing previously. I began timing them while in line. Some were 8-10 minutes, others were 3-5. Most fell somewhere in between.
With only 1,300 feet of track, this ride was over before I knew it. Still, for what it is, this ride is a fun addition to Dutch Wonderland. Would I wait in line for an hour again? I doubt it. If I go back on a slower day, I’d love to get in a few more rides on this. I love the lap bar restraints. You really feel free riding this family invert.
If I could change one thing about rides like Merlin’s Mayhem and Dragon Flier, however, I wish parks request an extended brake run coming out of the station, if the manufacturers would even do it. If the parks had the ability to park a train coming in, while sending out the next, it would make a world of difference.
No More Rides Before Leaving
In addition to coasters, I also enjoy log flumes and thought about giving Double Splash a quick ride before leaving. Sadly the line was really long and after waiting an hour for Merlin’s, I wasn’t going to do that again. Instead I decided to grab some ice cream and check out the line for the park’s train, the Dutch Wonderland Express. It’s line was also long so it looks like ice cream and some pin shopping was going to finish up my time at Dutch Wonderland. And speaking of pins, boy did they ever have a great selection!
They had a pin rack larger than any park I had ever seen. Sadly, none of the pins were themed to Merlin’s Mayhem, Kingdom Coaster, or Joust. They had some ride pins, but I decided to just grab two general ones for the park instead. They were even running a buy one, get one half off deal. Well, that’s at least what the sign said above the pins. When I went to check out, my price didn’t reflect the discount. I asked the cashier if deal had been applied and he said yes. My transaction finished, I looked at the receipt and saw it wasn’t. When I said that to him, he said, “Well, it’s not in the computer.”
I said, “Maybe you wanna go take the sign down then?” and left.
Final Ride Counts
Kingdom Coaster (1)
Merlin’s Mayhem (1)
Heading to Hershey
Now it was time to get in some rides at Hershey. With Covid-19 procedures ongoing, I didn’t know if they’d stop allowing entry at a certain point, being they closed at 7 p.m. Out to my car I went, stopping once more to get a few more videos of Kingdom Coaster. Have I mentioned how much I love the color scheme of this ride?
Dutch Wonderland Photo Gallery - August 27, 2020
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your 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): Merlin's Mayhem
