SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Dorney Park’s proposed new roller coaster has zoomed past its final hill.
South Whitehall’s Board of Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously gave preliminary/final approval to a plan for a 161.67-foot steel roller coaster across 2.7 acres.
- A proposed new roller coaster at Dorney Park got preliminary/final approval from South Whitehall commissioners
- Dorney Vice President and park General Manager Jessica Nederman said the roller coaster will be “brand new,” not transported from a different amusement park
- Officials provided no additional details about the ride, but a company spokesman said more details likely will be released in coming months
Dorney Vice President and park General Manager Jessica Nederman said the roller coaster will be “brand new,” not transported from a different amusement park.
The park plans to open the ride by 2024, according to Dorney Public Relations and Communications Manager Ryan Eldredge. Eldredge said the plan still needs some permits before construction can begin.
Eldredge said there are no public details as to what the coaster will be like. He said more details likely will be announced in coming months.
The new coaster would be the fourth-tallest ride at the park: the tallest point on the nearby roller coaster Possessed is 185 feet, drop tower Dominator is 200 feet tall and the main drop of roller coaster Steel Force is 205 feet tall.
"We're so excited. We waited a very long time for this, so we're hyped."Ibrahim Shaw, a Dorney Park fan
Dorney fans Gabriel Williams and Ibrahim Shaw attended the Board of Commissioners meeting in person to see the final decision.
"We're so excited," Shaw said. "We waited a very long time for this, so we're hyped."
The park will demolish some buildings to make space for the new coaster. Eldredge said a Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard location and some storage buildings will be among those demolished.
There are several other Rita’s locations in the park’s Wildwater Kingdom.
The new ride would be constructed on the site of the former Stinger roller coaster, north of Dorney Park Road and Lincoln Avenue.
The Stinger was Dorney Park’s short-lived inverted shuttle roller coaster model developed and manufactured by the Dutch company Vekoma.
It was open from 2012 to 2017, and previously ran as Invertigo at the amusement park California’s Great America from 1998 to 2010.
Staff writer Stephanie Sigafoos contributed to this report.
