Dorney's The Haunt 2009

[darkridedan]

Hey guys, I was invited to the Haunt preview last night and wanted to tell you a little about it. The evening was a dress rehearsal for the ghouls to practice on real victims. There were 13 attractions, including 7 outdoor mazes and passages, 4 indoor houses and two shows and as an added treat to the park enthusiast, my coworkers and I were given an opportunity to give immediate feedback to the team captains of each attraction and management about how we felt about the attractions and the ghouls.

Our evening began in the lower realm of the park, with free hotdogs, sodas and pumpkin ice cream.


Then the ghouls rose to their respective attractions.

Who doesn't think clowns are just a little creepy? What a Psycho Circus!


It often felt like the inmates were running the Asylum


Children of the Cornstalkers


The spotted calves of The House on Kill Hill


Ye fair men and maids of the Gauntlet


Don't wave!


Grrr Better!


Arg! Talk like a Pirates Day already Passaged!


The wildest ride in the wilderness is now in Terror Square


Some of the gang from Club Blood arrive fashionably late


Out came the fog


And our night of fear began


We headed to Lil' Dark Knight first


The indoor attraction occupies the former Screamworks location at the end of the (Lazer) Possesed midway. It's a long attraction with plenty of ghouls (as are all of the attractions) and lots of strobes! Dots on the floor plot your path through the scream zone. A noted effect is "the door," where a ghost begins pounding down the door. We were one of the first victims of The Asylum and with some tweaking after our feedback, I hope we don't tweak it too scary for you. ;P



Rich and Sue were banned from Possessed. Scary!!




Our next venture was up to The House on Kill Hill. I was given my tours by one of the members who helped put together the attractions and he described this one as a hodge podge of what was left from previous seasons. The indoor walkthrough is in the same house as an attraction for kids before 5pm, The House on Boo Hill. It has some neat effects, including the movable dots room. The attraction is located in the middle of the park between the ferris wheel and the Samuel Adams Pub.

We ventured up to Cornstalkers, an attraction I had heard lots about. I had been looking at the walkthrough located behind the Cannonball Train and Talon during the past week. It's a walk through the ole'corn maze, but watch out for what may pop out from the field! The lightning in the attraction was up for debate during the night, as there is allot of equipment inside. The eeriest part for me was walking through the train crossing without crossing arms, and proceesing down the abandoned Thunder Canyon midway.

I'll leave Club Blood to your imagination, as many have for me.

Pirate's Passage, located just above Camp Snoopy, is a "terror trail" style walkway complete with lots of fog and "sliders", or actors who come running down the midway and slide on metal knee guards that spark as they drag along the walkway. The actors were great and this was a fun way to get from one attraction to another.

Located within the realm of Road Rally (the small race car track) is Headstone Hallow


This is a long walk through a darkened graveyard, complete with ghouls and the tombstones of current Dorney Park management. (I thought they were a little dead in the head ) This is a long and scare-ridden attraction. One of my friends got quite a few jumps out of this one.

They have a bird lady!


This is what an outdoor attraction should be. The set up, the use of surrounding woodlands, and a perfect setting in darkness. The Backwoods is located behind the haunted bathrooms by Steel Force. We are signed up at Camp Cudie and walked past the campsites to board the bus for a special camp trip. We soon learn that the bus has broken down, and we must use the emergency exit. On our hike through the woods, we encounter creeps and ghouls that made me dance like Michael Jackson. A lighted walkway guides our path, but we couldn't get too comfortable with our party as we're split up into girls and boys. This isn't the co-ed camp I signed up for. Then again, I think a better name for this place is Camp C U die!

We passed through The Gauntlet, a very well-done trail through the center of Thunderhawk.

The last attraction we were able to venture into, Death Trap was one of the strongest of the night. Our curiosity has gotten the best of us, as we stumbled into the McClure Correctional Facility. It played on our worst fears as we found ourselves trapped from one nightmare to another. It was actually pretty funny, but I find horror movies very funny.

If you are short on time, try to stick with the attractions on the lower end of the park as they were far superior to the upper midway walk throughs. We didn't see the two show, Fangs and Inferno or walk through Terror Square, but for more information on the Haunt, follow the website at http://haunt.dorneypark.com/. The Haunt begins tonight and continues every Friday (6pm to midnight,) Saturday (12 noon to midnight) and Sunday (12 noon to 10pm.) They will be open 12 to midnight on Sunday, October 11th.

[B-mac]

That's my idea of Fright Fest. But, Pumpkin flavored ice cream?

[nitrorox1414]

Yum

[B-mac]

I'll get back to you after i get my stomach pumped

[AV Matt]

Was a fun time last night. Steel Force was delivering the goods after being a real bore all summer.

[dkny6363]

If only it would stay this way.

[B-mac]

guess the brakes on the brake run  finally got worn out enough after the summer

[kingdakafan]

So is this supposed to be better or worse than fright fest?

[B-mac]

depends on your opinion

[GADVwow]

Of course, Mr. Richard Kinzel would say it is supposed to be better than Fright Fest.  Mr. Mark Shapiro would beg to differ.

[jimmybjammin]

steel force was awesome and my favorite there followed up by talon then hydra, i picked a good sunday to go since the park was empty with all coasters as a walk on. I did a few of the haunts, the inferno show was really good, basically a short fire show. I need to go back for the other haunts and the coaster, which closes only at 5 for the halloween haunt I'm guessing.

[B-mac]

Dorney's always empty when I go

[medic738]

My son and I were at Dorney's Coaster Madness yesterday and had a blast.  Crowd was almost non-existant all day - felt pretty much like ERT all day.

As for the topic of the Haunt - I'm not a big fan of these things.  I feel most are just carbon copies of one another - a cople of mazes, some dark hallways, a bunch of actors screaming at you, etc.

We first went into Psycho Circus at Dorney and it pretty much met what I expected above.  My son thought the Asylum looked neat during the day and wanted to try that and Hideaway Camp so I gave them a shot.

WOW!

I ended up getting through most of the attractions (stayed way later and got home way later than planned but it was well worth it).  Most of them were really great.  Great theming, background stories, actors, effects.  I really cannot say anything negative.  Dorney did an outstanding job!

I went to last year's Halloween at GA and was VERY unimpressed.  I am a huge fan of the park (make a couple of trips up each year) but was very disappointed.  However, I think most of my displeasure may not have come from the event itself but from the other patrons in attendance.  We witnessed busload after busload enter the park - each group seemed more out of control than the previous.  The behavior in the ques was almost intolerable.  On the trails, groups of teenage girls running and pushing themselves past the groups (in both directions) made it impossible to enjoy any of the attraction.

I saw none of this crowd behavior last night at Dorney (though it may have been due to the small crowd).  As a result, I would gladly go back to Dorney but will not go to GA's Halloween unless they have a "no bus groups from NYC" night.

[B-mac]

That's doubtful.

[Steve]

There are usually 1 or 2 days a year that busses from NYC come to the park. Your best bet to get the most out of FF at SFGadv is go the first weekend.

[darkridedan]

Steve, would you happen to know if these are official bus groups? I hear so much about "gangs", but I'm pretty lucky with my trips to Fright Fest...except with the mess created by The Awakening a few years back. I'm going on Columbus Day and I hop to avoid these crowds.

[medic738]

Maybe I'll give it another go next Halloween.  Like I said, I love GA, just seem to not appreciate much of the crowd that comes.

Unfortunately - that bus load probably makes SF more money than my measly season ticket!

Had a great time at Riding of the Bull this weekend though!

[B-mac]

Yes, the new yorkers help six flags make more money than you. But that's because their tourists in the basic definition, so they'll be more likely to spend higher prices than the regulars.

[coastersue]

Great report, Dan!  I don't like Haunt attractions, but I was interested in checking out Backwoods.  I'll tell you one thing, if we do it, they're not splitting me up from Rich.  I'm either going on the guys path or Rich is coming on the girls path.  He needs to protect me from the scary people!

[darkridedan]

Thank you Sue. I believe the guy's trail on Backwoods is shorter, but they're still trained to go after the females first!

A few more photos from the Haunt:
http://darkridedan.smugmug.com/Events/Dorneys-Haunt-2009/9748966_SKgXw#660275595_QHqxy

I didn't want to leave out Boo Blast. From the Dorney website...

Shake, rattle and roller coaster at Dorney Park amusement park during Boo-Blast, when the greatest collections of thrill rides on the East Ghost is combined with the chills of Halloween fun.

Dorney Park is transformed for Boo-Blast during six weekends from September 26 - November 1.

Families enjoy scare-free zones during Boo-Blast hours of Noon until 5 p.m. Boo! Blast at Dorney Park is a family friendly celebration for kids from Noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The younger ones will enjoy a magical fun-house, trick-or-treating and mask-making for kids under 56" tall, a treasure hunt for a pirate costume, a pumpkin patch and hay-maze, a Monster Bash Dance Party and all the fun rides of Camp Spooky and Tot Spot. Plus, an all-new Children's Costume Contest for the kids to show off their Halloween best. See the map for all the spooktacular locations.
Best of all, your favorite rides are open for an end-of-season spin!

DAYS   DATES   HOURS
Saturdays and Sundays
Sept. 26, 27, Oct. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 and Nov. 1
Noon - 5 p.m.


TICKET TYPE   PRICE   
Regular* One-Day   $30.99   All Day Saturdays or Sundays, Sept. 26 -Nov. 1.
Junior/Senior**   $20.99   Any Public Operating Day
*Guests 48 inches or taller in shoes
**Guests ages 3 & older AND under 48 inches tall in shoes; Guests age 62 and older
Children ages 2 and younger are FREE
Group rates are available for 20 or more Regular Admissions
Please call (610) 395-2000 for more information.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Boo-Blast activities including Camp Snoopy and Tot-Spot rides close promptly at 5 p.m. in preparation for the evening HAUNT. HAUNT begins at 6 p.m., at this time the park is taken over by monsters, zombies, and soulless outlaws. Dorney Park strongly recommends that the after 6 p.m. Halloween HAUNT event is not for children under the age of 13. Parental discretion is advised.
Children under 56" are invited to come to Boo-Blast in costume and participate in the Children 's Costume Contest that will be held twice daily at 1 PM and 4 PM. Costumes are not permitted during the evening HAUNT. Special care and attention should be given to ensure each child's costume provides unobstructed vision and range of motion and that the costume pieces can be easily removed it required for safe participation on some rides and attractions.  Dorney Park reserves the right to search any bags and accessories carried or found on Park premises. Limited ride availability.

[B-mac]

Not a bad price for reg. admission. I wish six flags brought their prices that low so some of my friends can come with me

[WadeJ]

They could get a season pass for next year at 69.99 and get into fright fest this year and hit the park all of next season. That's a decent deal.

[B-mac]

That's Six flags, not Dorney.

*edit*

My bad. read it wrong. My friends only visit once a year, so it's really not worth it. That and I try to use the Discounts from the coke cans and the season pass booklets

[overlord]

^What are you talking about? You said you wish Six Flags would lower their prices and Wade responded with how you would be saving money and be getting alot more. So obviously he was talking about Six Flags.

[coastersue]

Thank you Sue. I believe the guy's trail on Backwoods is shorter, but they're still trained to go after the females first!

I guess I'll be going on the guys trail!  They're not going to get me!