Pennsylvania Amusement Park 2012 Season Passes now available

Dec 212011

Many of the amusement parks in Pennsylvania offer season passes for their guests. In most cases these passes can be a considerable savings over purchases single day tickets if you visit the park three or more times. Check out each park’s website below for details on their 2012 Season Pass offerings.

Conneaut Lake Park – Season passes are not available to Conneaut Lake Park. Check the park’s website here for ticket information.

Delgrosso’s Amusement Park – Delgrosso’s is a free admission amusement park that offers season passes for rides and the waterpark. Pass holders can bring a buddy for free on Tuesdays. A discount is being offered on the passes but no end date is listed. Visit the park’s website for information here.

Dorney Park and Wild Water Kingdom – Dorney has a buy now don’t pay until March plan in place for their season passes until 12/31/11. The regular season pass includes admission to all Dorney Park and Wild Water events plus free parking. A platinum pass is available that gives you access to all Cedar Fair parks (with a few exceptions) in the US. Platinum passes do not include seasonal events at some parks. See the Dorney Park website here for details.

Dutch Wonderland – Dutch Wonderland has discount prices prior to 1/1/12. Dutch Wonderland season passes include entry to all Dutch Wonderland events. Dutch Wonderland and Hersheypark combo passes (Gold passes) are still available for 2012. See website here for complete season pass details.

Hersheypark – Hersheypark has discount pass prices prior to 1/1/12. Hersheypark Season passes include entry to all Hersheypark events and free parking. Dutch Wonderland and Hersheypark combo passes (Gold passes) are still available for 2012. A Discovery Pass upgrade is also available that includes other Hershey attractions. See website here for complete details.

Idlewild – Idlewild & Soakzone has discount pass prices if you buy 4 or more. They also offer a bring-a-buddy free day for season pass holders. See website for details here.

Kennywood – Season passes to Kennywood are available at a discounted price through 12-31-11 and are further discounted if you buy 4 or more. Season passes to Kennywood include regular season events but do NOT include Phantom Fright Nights. They do include buddy discount events. Visit their website here for details.

Knoebels – Knoebels is a free entry park and they do not offer season passes. They do offer discounts on ride tickets and wristbands at certain times. Visit their website here for details.

Lakemont Park – No information is available at this time.

Sesame Place – Sesame Place is offering a discount on their season passes through 12/31/11. They have different types of passes which include free admission or discounts to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and other parks or just to Sesame Place. The passes include free parking and regular season admission only. Choose carefully from their website here.

Waldameer – Though Waldameer is a free admission park, they do offer season passes to cover the cost of rides. Waldameer is the only park in Pennsylvania to limit the number of season passes it sells, so make sure you get one early if you want one since they sold out last year. Visit the website here for details.

Knoebels Black Diamond is OPEN!!!! Get in line to ride the newest dark roller coaster!!!

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Oct 132011

Come one, come all to Knoebels for Hallo-fun and ride the Black Diamond!!

Yes folks, it is open. Knoebels confirmed on their Facebook page just hours ago that the Black Diamond is open for Hallow-fun. Some lucky folks have already gotten to ride it, but if you haven’t been one of them yet then make the trek to Elysburg on a Friday or Saturday in October to experience the latest in dark ride terror at Knoebels.

The Black Diamond ride is NOT included in your wristband admission price. You must buy a separate ticket (just like for the Haunted Mansion) and it will cost $2.50.

Want to see what the ride looked like during construction? Visit my behind-the-scenes post here.

Hersheypark in the Dark - is it worth $29.95? For the first time, I'm saying No.

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Oct 092011

Hersheypark in the Dark is now too expensive

Last year I had to report that the price of this event went up to $26.95 (it was $24.95 in 2009) and now it is up another $3. Again I find myself asking the same question, is this off-season event worth the price?

I think Hersheypark has crossed the line here and has made this off season attraction too expensive. A family of 4 will drop $120 plus parking just to get in the gate. There are so many other free or nearly free Halloween events out there that I myself could not justify this trip being worth that kind of money. (I still hold to the fact that if you want a wonderful family amusment park experience without the steep admission price – go to Knoebels. Their admission and parking is free and you can ride the Black Diamond dark roller coaster too. Their Hallo-fun event was rated number 3 in the world by Amusement Today so it isn’t some shabby competitor. Hersheypark didn’t even make the list.)

You can make your trip a little cheaper by visiting Giant food stores since they are once again offering discount tickets for $4 off the adult admission and $3 off the youth/senior admission.

If you have a 2011 season pass, you can get in free and get free parking which makes this a free event too.

What you will find at HPITD:

More sections of the park are open than at Christmas but less than during regular season, it is similar to Springtime in the Park.
Many smaller food venues will be closed.
Certain rides will shut down when the temps approach 40F. You can see the list of rides here with the temp sensitive ones listed in yellow.
The trick or treat adventure has 8 stations for candy/pretzels for kids 12 and under. They are not full sized bars but some folks will give out more than one even if they aren’t supposed to. You are only allowed to go through once. This is certainly enough candy for a 2 year old but an older child will be disappointed. Details here.
If you are a coaster enthusiast this can be a great time to visit since the general audience is younger, and shorter, than during the regular season so the coasters can be less crowded but they will not be operational in the cold or if it rains.
The entire park and all the rides are re-themed/re-named for the holiday which makes it a fun place for the smaller kids, yet not too scary. Costumes are encouraged and there are a few contests for them as well. Halloween is one of our favorite times to people watch at the park, some of the costumes are amazing.
Two musical shows will be shown, The Screaming Mummies and the award-winning Bunsen and the Burners. Both shows will be loud so protect smaller kids by keeping them farther back. Bunsen and the Burners is by far the better show so if you only have time for one, see that one.
You can visit ZooAmerica as part of your admission and experience “Creatures of the Night.” You are allowed to take in a flash light and view the animals in the dark. This is the only time during the year visitors are allowed in the zoo after dark unless you do one of their special educational programs. Most elementary aged kids love using their flashlights. A little tidbit of info is that Creatures of the Night has been open longer than Hersheypark in the Dark, so if you love HPITD you should thank the folks at ZooAmerica.

So when should you visit Hershypark In the Dark? What are the crowds like? Here are my thoughts on it:

The absolute best time to visit Hersheypark in the Dark for the smallest crowds is on a Sunday if you stay into the evening. The park is open until 9, but most families leave shortly after dusk because the kids have school the next day.
The busiest time to visit is Saturday unless you go during the daytime hours.
Friday nights sometimes are not crowded but you only get five hours in the park instead of 8 or 9 on the other days so if you are planning on riding coasters, you might not get much accomplished.
In my experience this event does not seem to be as affected by weather as other Hersheypark days. This means that people will still come if it is drizzling or threatening to rain. Cold is another thing entirely. Kids do not want to wear coats over their costumes so most people will skip out early or not come at all.

For more info on Hersheypark in the Dark, including park hours, visit their website here

2011 Golden Ticket Awards results - PA amusement parks make quite a showing!!!

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Sep 232011

Knoebels is a big winner in the 2011 Golden Ticket Awards - Kennywood too!

Since 1998, the industry publication Amusement Today, has been awarding world-wide amusement parks with a coveted Golden Ticket to show they are the best of the best in the industry.

Even with the Disney giants figured in and parks in every other part of the world, our Pennsylvania Amusement parks continue to hold their own in the Top 5 of many of the categories. You can see all the details here.

Here is a list of all the reported wins for Pennsylvania Amusement Parks in the 2011 Golden Ticket Awards – arranged by park:

Knoebels
1st Place – Best Food (They beat Epcot and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, know why? Funnel cakes, potato pancakes and waffle Ice Cream sandwiches – that’s why!)
1st Place – Best Carousel (Still grabbing the ring!)
2nd Place – Best Park (This means little ole’ Knoebels beat out ALL the Disney parks!)
#2 Wood Roller Coaster – Phoenix
3rd Place – Friendliest Park
3rd Place – Best Halloween Event
4th Place – Best Dark ride for the Haunted Mansion (betcha the Black Diamond shows up in 2012!)
Kennywood
1st Place – Best Funhouse/Walk-Through attraction – Noah’s Ark (Classic!)
4th Place – Best Halloween Event (Be scared, be very scared!)
4th Place – Best Carousel (It’s a nice one!)
8th Place (2 way tie) – Best Park (tied with Tokyo DisneySea in case you wonder)
#5 Steel Coaster – Phantom’s Revenge
Idlewild & SoakZone
1st Place – Best Children’s Park (In the world!!! Wow!!!)
Dutch Wonderland
5th Place – Best Children’s Park (PA has 2 in the top 5 in the world, what a great place to have kids!)
Waldameer
#6 Wood Coaster – Ravine Flyer II

So, did you notice a few big parks in PA that were not listed? Yep. Hersheypark and Dorney Park didn’t make the short lists on any reported categories, but they probably were in there someplace – just not at the top.

So why are Knoebels and Kennywood so successful in this contest when Hersheypark and Dorney aren’t? I think it is because they are unique and they have a devoted following.

In Knoebels’ case they are still family owned and they just handle things differently than a corporate run park – free parking, free admission, affordable food and a bring your own food policy, etc. No corporate park would go for that since it leaves too many profits to chance. They keep a stable of classic rides running when others have given up on them. But most of all they take care of their employees and their community and people love them in return. I didn’t see anyone taking up a collection to fix Hersheypark when it flooded this year, but that is exactly what Knoebels fans did for them. That tells you how the people love this park.

And Kennywood, though corporate owned now, had been a family owned park forever before that and is a fixture in the Western PA area. They have classic rides found no place else and an old carnival feel that is rare in an urban setting. Kennywood makes you wish for the good old days – except you don’t need them ’cause they are still right there, but with a healthy dose of the best of the new stuff too. Kennywood’s employees have fond memories of working there unlike some other park’s employees who would rather forget working at the park. Kennywood also has a generations old devoted following like Knoebels and people go to bat for them no matter what.

All in all I think that is the secret. If the park loves the people, the people will love the park and it shows in every way.

Congratulations to all our parks!!!

Want to find some Thrills and Chills this Fall? Check out all the Halloween offerings from Pennsylvania Amusement Parks

Conneaut Lake Park, Dorney Park, Dutch Wonderland, Hersheypark, Idlewild and SoakZone, Kennywood, Knoebels, Sesame Place, Waldameer Water World No Responses »

Sep 232011

If you like Halloween AND you like amusement parks AND you live within driving distance of the state of Pennsylvania, you are one lucky person. Our amazing Pennsylvania amusement parks have conjured up 9 different Halloween festivities encompassing parks across the entire state.

Whether you want to be a little scared, a lot scared or positively terrified – Pennsylvania has got a park for you. Here is a complete listing of Halloween park festivities including links to the park’s websites to make it easy to get all the info you need to plan your trip.

Please BEWARE that some of the activities are not appropriate for younger children or those who frighten easily. I’ve tagged the general audience type at the beginning of the entry to make it easy to tell what is appropriate for you.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Conneaut Lake Park
FAMILY FUN: CLP is haunting its classic amusement park this fall on September and October weekends for young and old during their Ghost Lake event. With 8 layers of haunting and a wonderful past midnight schedule, this is not to be missed. Check out their website here.

Dorney Park
FAMILY FUN: For the younger set, DP is putting on a Boo!Blast during the daytime hours on the weekends during September and October. Meant for children 56 inches or shorter, this event features rides, crafts and special PEANUTS character activities. Check out the website here.
13 AND OVER ONLY: For those 13 and older DP puts on a night time fright time with their Halloween Haunt during October and November. Don’t plan to wear your costume to this one, but prepare to be scared with 8 outdoor mazes, 4 indoor mazes and 2 themed shows in addition to most of the regular park rides. Check out the website here.

Dutch Wonderland
FAMILY FUN: On weekends in October Dutch Wonderland features Happy Hauntings including trick-or-treating, themed rides and storytelling. Dutch Wonderland’s main age group is ten and under but this truly is a family park with parents often having as much fun as the kids. View their Happy Hauntings video at their website here.

Hersheypark
FAMILY FUN: On weekends in October Hersheypark turns itself into Hersheypark in the Dark for families with all ages to enjoy. Trick-or-treating, re-themed rides and special Halloween treats are featured throughout the park. Check out all the details on what’s going on at Hershey in and out of the park at the Halloween in Hershey website here.

Idlewild
FAMILY FUN: Just voted the best children’s amusement park in the world for the second year in a row by Amusement Today (Hooray!!), Idlewild is again putting on their HallowBoo event on October weekends. With trick-or-treating in Storybook forest plus themed rides and attractions, you can be sure a good time will be had by all. Check out their website here.

Kennywood
OVER 13 ONLY: It’s Kennywood’s Phantom Fright Nights 10th anniversary beginning Sept 30th and you can bet they will pull out all the stops. Open till 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, an amusement park at night is definitely a scary place to be – add in the ghouls, vampires and zombies and, well, bring it on! Check out their website here.

Knoebels
FAMILY FUN: They survived the flood and scored a Golden Ticket for Best Amusement Park food (beating out EPCOT!!!!) and now they’re ready for some Hallow-Fun Nights on October weekends at Knoebels. With themed rides and special snacks and crafts, Knoebels is a fun time for the entire family. Check the Knoebels website here.

Sesame Place
FAMILY FUN: It just so happens that my favorite muppet is hosting a Halloween party at Sesame Place beginning on Sept. 24th. The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular takes place during Sept. and Oct. Weekends and features re-themed rides, 2 mazes, 3 Halloween shows and the Sesame Street characters dressed up in their Halloween best. Geared toward the younger set but fun for anyone who has a soft spot for Sesame Street, it’s not too spooky, but lots of fun. Check out the website here.

Knoebels to reopen Saturday September 17th at Noon after unprecendented flooding

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Sep 142011

Knoebels' Twister will be open on Saturday, hooray!

If you look at their Facebook photos from the flooding last weekend, it is impossible to think that Knoebels will open to the public less than two weeks later, but it is true. Knoebels has posted a message on their website that they will be open from Noon until 8pm this Saturday, September 17th. A list of rides that are open is included and is surprisingly long.

Once again Knoebels has pulled together and gotten back on their feet. What great people they have in their corner. Special thanks to them all for helping this great Pennsylvania park.

Updated 9/14/11 with new video: Flood of 2011 Closes both Knoebels and Hersheypark this weekend - Sept 10 and 11th, Dutch Wonderland will be open

Dutch Wonderland, Hersheypark, Knoebels 3 Responses »

Sep 082011

Water, water everywhere - including AP Mom's backyard shown above

09/14/11 Update

One of our local television stations, WGAL, made a trip to Hersheypark on 9/13 to discuss the damage and the loss of animals at ZOOAMERICA. The zoo has finally admitted that 9 prairie dogs were also lost in the flooding in addition to the two bison. You can watch the video here.

09/09/11 Updates, see below for original post.

Hersheypark:

A video of Hersheypark added to local news Facebook account here. Shows Storm Runner track, monorail track and Trailblazer station exit.
And here is a Facebook video of someone’s TV showing aerial video from Harrisburg and Hershey, including Hersheypark. It gives you a good idea of how much the creek has risen and also shows a nice shot of where Skyrush is to go. They show Harrisburg first, then Hershey. I’m trying to find the original but can’t seem to locate it but this’ll do for now.
Hersheypark has begun to add some photos and info to their Facebook page here.

Knoebels:

New photos from Knoebels today on their Facebook page here. The best bumper cars ever are in need of a little clean up….but there are no better people in the world to get it done than the folks at Knoebels.

Dutch Wonderland

Dutch Wonderland has been updating their Facebook page here and confirms for sure they will be open as of 10am tomorrow, Sept 10th with only one ride not operational and that is the Ferris Windmill. Duke’s Lagoon closed for the season on Labor Day weekend and no one has posted any pictures from that.

Original Post Text:

The Central Pennsylvania area has been hit hard by water over the last several days. Many communities, including my own, have been underwater or will be underwater in the near future. Alas two of PA’s great Amusement Parks have been hit hard by Mother Nature and another missed the major flooding but still shows signs of destruction.

Knoebels in Elysburg PA has a long history of flooding but seeing the pictures on their Facebook page will make anyone who has ever visited there very sad. Debris and mud are everywhere with many rides damaged and roads ruined. The good news is everyone is safe and they are beginning the clean up already. The absolute best place to find information about Knoebels is on their Facebook page here. More than any other PA park, Knoebels has embraced the power of Facebook and uses it to keep its fans up to date. Check it out to see how they are doing.

Hersheypark Entrance - photo credited to Heather Rivera via Facebook and Accuweather.com

Another Central PA park, Hersheypark, has taken a heavy hit as well and will remain closed this weekend. In their typical closed-mouth fashion, Hersheypark has not placed any photos on their Facebook page of the flooding though some locals have put a few things up.

Photos have surfaced of the main gates and various other areas flooded by Spring Creek which runs through the heart of the park. Google search will bring you some more photos and you can see a few photos of Hersheypark in a slideshow here, but be warned it includes the painful image of the drowning bison at nearby ZOOAMERICA that has been plastered across the media everywhere.

Rumors have surfaced that some of the moorings for the newest ride, Skyrush, have been washed away. And a non-rumor is that Dollywood will beat Hersheypark to the winged car coaster finish line in 2012 with their new coaster, Wild Eagle, opening in April 2012 compared to the estimated May 2012 opening for Skyrush at Hersheypark.

Dutch Wonderland, another Central PA park in Lancaster PA, has had some flooding as well but there is information on their Facebook page that they will open at 10am on Saturday the 10th as planned. You can see pictures on their Facebook page here of the creek flooding affecting their newest Tom Sawyer ride (which is in pieces in the photos) and their riverboat ride as well. I’d call before visiting this weekend to make sure they are open.

So, the Flood of 2011 which is now just hitting the capital city of Harrisburg has left two of PA’s top amusement parks under water and closed for the first fall season weekend. But you can still hit Dutch Wonderland and have some amazing fries, a funnel cake and a ride on the monorail.

Difficult Day at Knoebels - July 6, 2011

Knoebels No Responses »

Jul 062011

Knobels Amusement Park was the scene of an unfortunate accident today as a six year old boy lost his life after a swimming accident at the Crystal Pool. Knoebels was very quick to replace their normal website with a simple white page bearing their logo and this message:

“A tragedy occurred at Knoebels Crystal Pool early in the afternoon of July 6th. A young boy struck his head while jumping into the pool. Upon being rescued, guards immediately began CPR. He was then transported by ambulance to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. We are deeply saddened to report that the child has passed away. Please join the Knoebel families in placing the childs family and friends in your prayers.”

What a respectful way to report the news. My heart goes out to the child’s family as a young life is lost.

Update 7/8/11 - Knoebels has updated the message on their website since it has been learned that the child did not suffer a head injury. The statement now reads:

“A tragedy occurred at Knoebels’ Crystal Pool early afternoon of July 6th. A young boy was seen under the water. Upon rescue, guards immediately began CPR. Initial reports indicated that he had hit his head. We later learned that no head injury was involved. He was transported by ambulance to Geisinger Medical Center. We are deeply saddened to report that the child has passed away. Please join the Knoebel families in placing the child’s family and friends in your prayers.”

Happy 85th birthday to Knoebels!!!!

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Jul 042011

The Phoenix at Knoebels

Knoebels as we know it opened its doors 85 years ago today. What a great way to celebrate the birth of our country – with a park that is as American as Apple Pie – or waffle ice cream sandwiches.

Dutch Wonderland or Hersheypark? It depends. How old are your kids?

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Jun 242011

Hersheypark from a distance

I see lots of people having problems deciding between Dutch Wonderland and Hersheypark. They are both large, expensive parks owned by big corporations. The difference is that Dutch Wonderland is a little kids park and Hersheypark is a family park.

What does that mean?

Well, you can check out my trip report for Dutch Wonderland here to see specifics, but basically Dutch Wonderland is for kids 8 and under. Even 8 might be pushing it. The rides are good for smaller heights and there are no thrill rides at all. The park is a theme park for young children with a dragon, princess and knight theme (with a little PA Dutch thrown in.)

Kids can see chicks, bunnies, ducks and ride ponies at Dutch Wonderland

Hersheypark has a mix of kiddie rides, family rides and thrill rides to please all ages. They are a little light on rides for the smallest children and a little heavy on the teen stuff. If you have a wide range of ages in your family you will definitely get more mileage out of a trip to Hersheypark.

Both parks have water areas but Hersheypark’s are bigger and more geared to older children and teens. They do have a small child section including a pool of water to please the little ones at Hersheypark - and they have a slow floating river too. Dutch Wonderland’s water area features a slide but it is primarily for children and is not that exciting.

So if you have little kids only, try Dutch Wonderland. If you have older kids, definitely choose Hersheypark. If you have a mix, well, I’d lean toward Hersheypark especially if most are at or near 8 years old.

Knoebels award winning Haunted House

And if you have a lot of non-riders or hesitant riders? Head to Knoebels where it is free parking, free admission and pay as you go for rides.

Older Entries

Amusement Park Mom

Pennsylvania Amusement Park 2012 Season Passes now available

Knoebels Black Diamond is OPEN!!!! Get in line to ride the newest dark roller coaster!!!

Hersheypark in the Dark - is it worth $29.95? For the first time, I'm saying No.

2011 Golden Ticket Awards results - PA amusement parks make quite a showing!!!

Want to find some Thrills and Chills this Fall? Check out all the Halloween offerings from Pennsylvania Amusement Parks

Happy Halloween!!!!

Knoebels to reopen Saturday September 17th at Noon after unprecendented flooding

Updated 9/14/11 with new video: Flood of 2011 Closes both Knoebels and Hersheypark this weekend - Sept 10 and 11th, Dutch Wonderland will be open

Difficult Day at Knoebels - July 6, 2011

Happy 85th birthday to Knoebels!!!!

Dutch Wonderland or Hersheypark? It depends. How old are your kids?

Pick a park

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