Dorney Park

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an amusement park located at Allentown, Pennsylvania.
==History==
In 1860, Solomon Dorney built a trout hatchery and summer resort on his estate just outside of Allentown. Tens year later, in 1870, Dorney converted the estate into a public attraction. The area initially featured games, playground-style rides, refreshment stands, picnic groves, a hotel, and a restaurant. By 1880, the place added some gardens and a zoo. In 1884, the attraction was officially founded as Dorney Park.
In 1899, a traction company completed a trolley line that ran between Allentown and Kutztown. The company evenly added a stop at Dorney Park. In 1891, the traction company purchased Dorney Park. In 1923, Dorney Park was sold to Robert Plarr and two other undisclosed partners.
In 1930, Plarr built a house for his estranged wife, thinking that it would boost the likelihood of a divorce. Plarr died in 1966, passing the baton over to his son, Stephen, who would die himself in 1967. The divorce for Plarr and his estranged wife was never finalized. Shortly after Stephen died, his son-in-law named Robert Ott took control. In 1985, Ott sold Dorney Park to Harris Weinstein. Weinstein owned the park until 1992, when he sold the park to Cedar Fair.
By 1980, Dorney Park Road, which formerly was a two-lane state highway, closed and converted to a midway. It became a local street and the access road to the park. There was also a narrow-gauge railroad crossing the street, which often led to traffic stoppages as the train was going by. The road closing led to the enclosure of the park by fence.
As the 80s decade began, new features were introduced, which included single-price admission fees, which eliminated individual ride tickets. There were previously grooves to host picnics, but tourists were not allowed to bring outside food into the park.
In 1982, Dorney Park introduced its first log flume ride titled Thunder Creek Mountain. In 1983, a massive fire destroyed a few rides and food concessions. In 1984, the park celebrated its 100th anniversary, and added a few new attractions to make up for lost ground after the fire in the previous year. The newest additions included Enterprise, Musik Express, Ranger, Apollo 2000, skeeball alleys, gift shops, and food concessions.
By 1985, when the park was sold to Harris Weinstein, a neighboring automobile racetrack once used for rehearsals affiliated with NASCAR was removed and replaced by the Wildwater Kingdom. Wildwater Kingdom served as a side affiliation with Dorney Park, which featured water attractions including including a wave pool, a family water raft ride, body slides, tube slides, and a children's water play area.
In 1986, a looping roller coaster known as Laser was introduced to the park. In 1988, a smaller version known as Little Laser neighbored Laser that was suitable for little kids. In 1989, a wooden terrain coaster dubbed Hercules was introduced. It turned out to be a huge attraction in four years, but it was often criticized due to its "often jarringly shaky" features, which caused tourists to stray from the ride. Hercules was removed in 2003. In 1993, a new midway was being constructed to connect Wildwater Kingdom directly to Dorney Park. In addition, a new flume ride that consisted of 20-passenger boats was introduced. The ride was known to be the Pepsi Chute, but was later renamed White Water Landing.
In 1994, a new midway was completed on the top of the hill near the White Water Landing. The parking lots also expanded to attract more tourists. A new entrance formed in Dorney Park, and the recently newformed midway had concession stands and a carousel added near it. The old lot entrance was still active, and more rides were planned around the newformed midway.
In 1995, admission to both Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom was offered at a single price for the first time. A new attraction known as Thunder Canyon, a river rapids ride, was also introduced. In 1996, Dorney Park transplanted 120 trees to make shade for tourists. Around the same time, construction for a steel coaster over 200 feet tall was under way. The project was completed in 1997, which took the name under Steel Force. In 1999, a 200-foot tower hosting a gravity-defying ride known as The Dominator was introduced.
In 2000, Came Snoopy, a children's themed play area was introduced. A junior coaster known as the Woodstock Express was also introduced along with the addition of Wild Mouse.
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