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Scott
Posts: 2766
Registered: 11/7/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 7/15/2005 12:00:57 AM
I spent tuesday with my family and quite a while driving. So there won't be a tuesday update!
I got to dorney at around 9:40. The parking lot seemed almost empty and there was no one near the entrance! The entrance to Dorney Park is ugly. It's all concrete. There are only token trees and landscaping. The entrance seems disconnected from the rest of the park, much like Lakemont.
They opened the gates early and I headed to talon first. Wow, this was *such* a huge surprise! Talon is like a cross between Great Bear at Hersheypark and Fire Dragon at Islands of Adventure. I absolutely love it, and so did everyone else I was with. Talon was smooth fast and gave an intense ride. Another plus was the short wait time. I only waited 5 minutes for the front! Later I ran into a good family friend of mine named peter. He had an unpleasent experience at great adventure on tuesday. Talon brought a smile to his face though! Talon is awesome - I love the colors, the layout, the airtime, the pacing, the close to the ground flyby, everything. It's a little freaky to hear silence from a B&M inverted, but I admire the setting, landscaping and well, just about everything on this coaster! I'm starting to become a bit indifferent to inverted coasters, but Talon is different - it's a coaster I looked forward to riding again and again on this trip. It's a winner!
After that I headed to hydra. The wait for the front seat was 8 minutes! Where did all the people go?! Well, I enjoyed hydra. It's not worthy of my top 10 list, but it was still fun. I thought it was smooth, and fun. The jojo roll was just plain odd. When we went through it my shoulders dug into the otsrs. It didn't hurt, it was just strange! I'll admit that hydra felt forceless through most of the ride, and seemed to slow through the elements on it. But don't worry! It's still fun. I think it's a little bit better then hercules, but not a heck of a lot.
My next ride was steel force. After being disappointed with mamba, I wanted to see what steel force was like. Peter said steel force was better. I was hoping it would be too. I waited 15 minutes for the front seat thanks to a fantastic 1 train operation. So let's compare. Mamba vs steel force.
And..... they're off! Down the first drop they go but wait! STEEL FORCE HAS DISAPPEARED INTO A TUNNEL! There he is again! Up the second hill, Steel Force's is much shorter BUT MAMBA IS STILL CLIMBING STRONG and there he goes over the second drop and whoa!! There's no real airtime! Just like mamba. They're both heading for the helix now and WHOA!! Mamba takes a curve down the third hill and down into the LOOK OUT!!!!! OH MY GOD!! IT'S AN AMAZING HEADCHOPPER!!!! MAMBA SAYS EAT MY DUST!!!! Whew! Out of the helix they come and heading for the return run! Mamba and Steel Force are running neck and neck but WAIT!! STEEL FORCE HAS GONE INTO A TUNNEL AGAIN!!! Oh, but it's a just a token tunnel, there they go, into the double up and IT'S OVER!!!! MAMBA HAS WON!!!!
So, here's some observations: I didn't like the turn around on steel force as much as mamba's. Steel force has a much better ending. Mamba's trims ruined it. The trims were on lightly for steel force.  I'll admit that there was some decent floater air near the end unlike mamba. But apollo and nitro are still better. Mamba had no queue all day but steel force had a bt of a line. I do believe they added a second train on at around 11:30. That gives mamba a bit of an edge.
I'll be honest though. Both mamba and steel force were letdowns. They were lacking the airtime that i've become used to. They were fun but not fantastic.
I then rode thunderhawk. DA DA DA DUM.
Thunderhawk was one of the big surprise coasters of my trip. I had never heard anything about this, other than people seemed to think it was rough and the brakes were on too hard. I must have gotten a good ride. I loved the layout, which is very hard to describe, but it's kind of an out and back with a twister
Message updated 7/15/2005 12:04:14 AM by Scott
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*FreeBird*
Posts: 8264
Registered: 8/29/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/15/2005 12:14:37 AM
Nice report.  I liked how you described Mamba vs Steel Force.  Anyway, I really think Dorney needs to get rid of some of that pavement and put some trees in or something, but I guess it's like that with all chain parks.
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Hercules
Posts: 4037
Registered: 10/13/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/15/2005 2:22:22 PM
"And..... they're off! Down the first drop they go but wait! STEEL FORCE HAS DISAPPEARED INTO A TUNNEL! There he is again! Up the second hill, Steel Force's is much shorter BUT MAMBA IS STILL CLIMBING STRONG and there he goes over the second drop and whoa!! There's no real airtime! Just like mamba. They're both heading for the helix now and WHOA!! Mamba takes a curve down the third hill and down into the LOOK OUT!!!!! OH MY GOD!! IT'S AN AMAZING HEADCHOPPER!!!! MAMBA SAYS EAT MY DUST!!!! Whew! Out of the helix they come and heading for the return run! Mamba and Steel Force are running neck and neck but WAIT!! STEEL FORCE HAS GONE INTO A TUNNEL AGAIN!!! Oh, but it's a just a token tunnel, there they go, into the double up and IT'S OVER!!!! MAMBA HAS WON!!!!".... hmmmmmm this is funny. I read something almost exactly like this a couple years ago. I was trying to find it but I couldn't. Hmmmmm.
Anyway, I'm glad that you got a good ride on Thunderhawk. You must have caught it on a very good day. However, it gets better, or at least it did. Ever since Cedar Fair took over they have trimed it up and took out the tunnel. It used to be my favorite ride. I think that many people would tell you something similar. And, no, there isn't a picnic area remotely nearby to the queue.
Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed the park as a whole. It's been my home park for about 18 years now (I consider it that way because the first time I visited I was 3). I am really glad you loved Talon. I need to get the word around about this coaster a little more.
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Scott
Posts: 2766
Registered: 11/7/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/15/2005 8:48:30 PM
I found that about a year ago too. I remember reading it and I thought it would be a good idea to use. I used a few of the lines like, but wait! STEEL FORCE HAS DISAPPEARED INTO A TUNNEL! That's all I could remember. But most of it was from me. I will admit that I stole that idea though.
Quote:
I read something almost exactly like this a couple years ago. I was trying to find it but I couldn't. Hmmmmm.
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