Thursday, June 7, 2012

What About Those Other Two Parks????

Since I've returned to blogging, all my posts have mainly been "HersheyHersheyHersheyHershey" with a dash of "Knoebels" thrown in. It doesn't help that I had two Hersheypark trips in May, and am planning another major, multi-day trip for the end of June. But this blog is supposed to be about Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and Camelbeach Waterpark, as well! Before we get back to comparing and contrasting these parks (which is really the main point of this blog), I thought I should give you an update on Dorney and Camelbeach...what have they been up to for the last couple years?

Camelbeach--2 New Slides!

Since I was pregnant, I didn't go to Camelbeach last summer. That means that I missed the debut year of the park's two newest attractions--water slides called Dune Runner and Sandstorm. I plan on jaunting to Camelbeach in August (when my daughter is hopefully big enough to sit up and splash in the kiddie pool) and will give a full review of the rides then. But here's an overview on what I should expect.

Sandstorm is a slide that has two funnels along its route. I have only ever seen slides that have only one funnel, and you usually just go down a big drop, go up either side of the funnel and then splash down into the pool at the bottom. Sandstorm looks like it incorporates the funnels within a longer slide, and should be a new, fun experience. It looks to have tubes that can fit up to to 4 people, so the whole family can ride together.

Dune Runner is another family tube ride, but this is an open-air slide. It slides straight down, with several humps that probably have some great air time. I've ridden a similar ride at Dorney's Wildwater Kingdom (Cascade), and the ride is a lot more intense than it looks and goes very fast. Dune Runner seems bigger than Cascade, so it should be a thrilling ride!

And Speaking of Dorney...

I have a confession to make about Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. I used to be a Dorney regular--we went every year with my dad for awhile when I was a kid, and my 24 year-old sister and I continued the tradition for several years as my dad lost interest. Four years ago, in 2008, my husband, my two sisters and I took a major trip to Dorney.

But I haven't been back since.

It's nothing against Dorney--nothing bad happened, and I wasn't offended by the park in any way. It's just that for some reason, a trip to the park hasn't happened in the past four years. This is mostly because we always seem to have some sort of financial crisis in the summer, and I need to pick and choose which amusement parks to hit or miss. I will admit I have a very soft spot for Hersheypark, so that park is usually my priority. Dorney is also a tad more expensive than any of the other parks, so when picking and choosing on a budget, it doesn't always make the cut.

This isn't to say I haven't WANTED to go to Dorney in four years! The park has added a ton of rides and attractions since I last visited. In 2010, Demon Drop, a scary-looking drop tower/coaster, was imported to Dorney from its sister, the famous Cedar Point. In 2011, a giant kids area named Planet Snoopy opened. And this year, a new coaster was introduced--Stinger, an inverted variation on the classic boomerang coaster (which is another import, from California's Great America park). Also opening this year--Dinosaurs Alive!, which adds animatronic dinosaurs throughout the park.

Even though I haven't been to Dorney recently, I used to go very, very often, and I will still include it in any compare/contrast article I can. I won't review any ride I haven't yet ridden, however.

So! I think we're now up to date on what's been going on at all four parks. Coming up next...we'll finally get back to comparing and contrasting!

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