The Master

Most of Oct this year has been pretty nice so far. Lots of days with above normal temps in the 70s and 80s.

Oh jeeze, I was there too! I only had 3 hours there but I rode 20 rides in that time which is pretty good. Wish I could have gotten there earlier. When I first pulled in, the lot was jammed and I thought the park was going to be jammed but thankfully it wasn't. They even had a sign up saying chocolate World's parking lot was full.

I was at Dorney's Haunt this past Friday. It was pretty busy at first, there were six school buses there and Steel Force got a sizable line from slow dispatches. All the Haunt attractions had full queues. However, by 10:30, the park emptied out fast and everything was walk on by then, even Haunt attractions.

I thought Dorney seemed more busy this year, but maybe it was the poorer and slower operations making it seem that way? They also maybe trying to take advantage of the NE extension being closed this weekend just past the Allentown exit, exit 56.

I seen the line of cars just to drive in go as far back as the highway on those days.

Some bad news, Dorney just sent emails saying that all the remaining operating days will be bring a friend discount days for SP holders. This will likely make the remaining Haunt nights more crowded.

Hard to believe the Haunt is inmits 10th season already. Really not too many changes this year except for changing Mansion House Hotel to Tourist Trap. Tourist Trap is downsized and half the size of the former MHH it replaced. Tourist Trap theme is set as a hotel during the 1893 Worlds Fair, where guests have been disappearing. Its good, but not as good as MHH was. This year the skeleton key rooms have been put into remote locations away from the main Haunt attraction they are paired with. The Carnevil scarezone has upgraded lighting. Unlike this spring and summer, Dorney's operations were pretty decent. However, both the outdoor houses, Cornstalkers and Grave Walkers had much slower moving lines than last year, resulting in them having much longer lines than the indoor houses. One other issue I had was when I attempted to purchase some pumpkin soft serve ice cream in the park, the cashier did not know how to give me my season pass discount, and she had to call her supervisor in to give to me, so I skipped getting the ice cream. Operatations at Dorney are not what they used to be.

I was stuck on it back in the spring.

I do one each year with the free pass. Bloodshed is better than Voodoo Island was last year, but both are subpar compared to Dorney's mazes. But with Dorney's big decline in quality in their operations this year, especially in their water park, who knows how Haunt will be this year since I have not been to it yet. Have you ever been to Dorney's Haunt mazes? As of last year, they are excellent.

Its more than just opening weekend bugs. The mazes at GADV are built sparse on props and sets. Cornstalkers at Dorney is a similar theme, but it does not have any empty or bare spots like Bloodshed. Last year I did Voodoo Island and it was laughable, mostly just wooden fence sections you can buy at Home Depot, very little in sets or props. It was intentional that the standby line moved slowly, it is a similar setup to HH lines with Flashpass slowing down standby lines. Also, in the former pathway they use for Bloodshed's queue, there are two more Needle Palm trees that are still alive. Both look better than the ones on the still open pathways in GK. I think its because those two are in south facing locations and are protected by the Bamboo.

The problem with this it that it makes the rides that are supposed to be included with your admission, defacto pay as you go rides. It goes against the system SF made popular.

Shame the operations for ET are not better. Rode it on Sunday night and they are so darn slow at dispatching. Probably the slowest dispatching ride at the park.

I just got back from Sunday night trip to FF and used the free maze ticket they were giving out at the gate. So this year I tried Bloodshed. The line was long, and moved very slowly as they barely let stand by people go, but let fast pass holders go in near constantly. After waiting over an hour, the Bloodshed maze was just ok, but a poorman's version of Dorney's Cornstalkers. You pay upcharge admission to GADV's houses, and either wait in a long and slow moving line or pay an additional upcharge to skip it, and the mazes are still only mediocre at best despite all the cash inflows.

Nice reports, last time I was at KD, it was still a Paramount park. Back then, I thought it was not a very well ran park, guess that has not changed.

Pretty surprising move, not sure how long it will last. Valencia is not as warm as Anaheim, and it has snowed in MM a few times, just a light coating.