A Piece of Dorney's History

Thank you to the current Dorney Park management for posting this , and thank to DPW for sharing her memories with all of us, and thank you/your family for making such a wonderful park for so many years.

Thank you so much for this! I was one of those numerous teenagers that worked the rides in summer. It's so great to see that it still has so much of the past still present. I lived in Dorneyville, and can well remember hearing the stock car races on Saturday nights in my bedroom.

Sad for the losses of Sally Sarah Plarr Ott and Robert F. Ott, and Harris L. Weinstein, Debora's husband. We went to the park in the Ott and Weinstein eras, I was born Jan 14, 1974 and my brother June 17, 1978. We rode the Bucket O' Blood until August, 1983 and Journey to the Center of the Earth until August 1992 and the Gold/Coal Mine until it closed around 1985. Now Dorney no longer has any dark rides except the walk-through haunt attractions in the fall. Other PA parks like Hershey, Knoebel's, Kennywood, and Waldameer have indoor rides and spook rides.

Wow, that was awesome to watch! I enjoyed learning about the castle fire and how it happened. My uncle used to race stock cars at DP and I would go every Saturday to watch him but prior to going to the races we would walk around a ride some of the rides (back when they were tickets). Also every summer Mack Trucks would have their company picnic at DP. If you grew up in Allentown, I would think everyone has some sort of memory from back when the Plarr's owned the park

Fantastic! What a great tribute, and fascinating history. Thanks for putting this together - while the park has certainly grown and changed over the years, it's nice to see CF honor the past, especially in the upkeep of some of the older classic rides.

Such a rich history. Thanks for producing this. Well-done! I also grew up doing Dorney as a child - this place has a piece of my heart. Now, about that new coaster...🙏

I love Dorney Park. I made my first visit to Dorney back in June 2018 and I still remember all the fun I had there. From feeding the geese, riding talon, hydra, thunderhawk and steel force. Dorney is the park where I got to ride my very first whip ride. And of course I cannot forget the zephyr.

Thanks for your uploading this video, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom. Let's keep it up your great work!

Well done. This was such a delight to watch . The history and emotion are all still there. You can see it exude from her as she walks through the park with such confidence and pride. Her stamp of approval is so incredibly important. If she blesses what Cedar Fair has done to the park we all should. Her and her family built this park with their blood, sweat and tears with an undying passion to provide quality amusement for all of us in Eastern PA. While I no longer reside in the area, I grew up going to Dorney during the late 80's-early 90's when her husband Harris Weinstein ran the park. Such an amazing era and what a man. So proud to have been around during those transformative years when so many groundbreaking attractions were added like Wildwater Kingdom and Hercules.

I just had an idea! You know what they should do with that Thunderhawk Promenade area? Add all cool and fun games! That’d be the perfect little boardwalk themed area with the Thunderhawk over it! I’m so excited for the new approved possible “Dorney Dive” coaster! And she’s 70?! She looks incredible

Thanks for doing this, Dorney Park!

This is amazing! Great to hear all the little historical details she remember. Also her reaction to the whip still being there is priceless!

There’s so much history here that I can’t help but overly appreciate. And I also love the signs about old rides and attractions. This has nothing to do with the park history, but if I oh so desperately want a new coaster here. It has me thinking about CGA and their rides. Gold striker would help balance out Thunderhawk as a newer wooden coaster. I also think Carousel Columbia would look absolutely gorgeous on the main midway.

This is fabulous! Not sure I caught the lady's name. I bet she knows why the names Vern and Marie were painted onto the Thunderhawk trains back in the day. Was always curious about that.

Yo Dorney Park Please add a WindSeeker

They forgot about laser😢

Hercules coaster was there

You did not show her were the jounary end of sea was

Cedar Fair ruined the park. Absolutely ruined it. Very sad.