Explore Iron Menace’s back story with haunted maze at Dorney Park
A new maze teasing the upcoming Iron Menace ride will be just one of the frights scaring folks at Dorney Park this fall.
“Fall is one of our guests' favorite time of the year and we're excited about the lineup of exciting attractions and entertainment,” General Manager and Vice President Jessica Naderman said in a news release.
Kicking off next Friday, the park's fall season will offer residents both Halloween Haunt and the Great Pumpkin Fest.
The Halloween Haunt, running on select nights from Sept. 15 to Oct. 28, will have seven mazes and four scare zones where guests will encounter “ghoulish monsters and rampant scares.”
A new maze this year, “The Ghost in the Machine,” will lead brave souls through the backstory of the Iron Menace, the first-ever “dive” roller coaster in the Northeast that is set to open for 2024.
With over 2,000 feet of steel track and speeds of up to 64 mph, Iron Menace will see riders take off from an old steel mill themed after the Lehigh Valley's industrial history before climbing 160 feet in the air.
After three seconds of holding over the edge and an initial 152-foot drop at 95
degrees, the train will pull up sharply and go through four inversions — a 180-degree “Immelman” turn; a 360-degree, zero-G roll; a tilted loop; and another 360-degree corkscrew — all during the 90-second ride.
“After nearly 100 years of boarded closure, the gates to the McTavish Steel Factory have now opened, allowing exploratory passage through the old, darkened halls of what some deem as an ‘evil place filled with torment and agony,'” the news release described. “Will the spirits of this haunted factory hide within the walls, or will they manifest to steal souls from the living in The Ghost in the Machine?”
Other new entertainment will include “Conjure the Night,” a live Halloween music spectacle “of Halloween's most terrifying elements in a battle of evil vs. evil,” and the Misfits Bar for alcoholic beverages.
Most park rides and attractions will be in operation, according to the news release. But leave the costume at home: Guests cannot attend Halloween Haunt in costume. It's also not recommended for those under 13.
Dorney Park will also offer a more family-friendly event with the Great Pumpkin Fest, where guests can meet Peanuts characters, trick-or-treat and see live shows.
It will go from Sept. 16 to Oct. 29 and is included in admission to the park on Saturdays and Sundays.