Dorney Park pulls back on bar proposal, moves ahead with other plans

Dorney Park withdrew its proposed bar expansion for the newly themed restaurant coming to the park this season, while also moving forward for a new beverage station.

The 450-square-foot expansion was part of Dorney Park’s rehabilitation of the old Dorney Grille into the Iron Mill Grill & Bar at the park’s Steel Yard, the area of the park that will be home to its newest attraction, the Iron Menace roller coaster.

Attorney Stephanie Kobal, who represented Dorney Park during a South Whitehall Township Planning Commission meeting Thursday, explained that the withdrawal came down to budgeting and bad timing.

The restaurant still will sell alcohol, according to General Manager and Vice President Jessica Naderman,

who also attended the meeting but didn’t speak to township officials.

Iron Mill also will have new menu items such as pierogi and flatbreads, the park announced last month.

The other item on Thursday’s agenda was the park’s newest Coca-Cola Refresh Station, which Public Relations Manager Ryan Eldredge said would be the fourth of its kind and would allow park guests to purchase and refill CocaCola

products. It’d measure about 300 square feet, according to the township website.

The planning commission gave a unanimous positive recommendation for the refresh station. No residents provided comment on the proposal during Thursday’s meeting.

The changes coincide with the new Iron Menace ride when the park opens on May 10. While South Whitehall approved the roller coaster last year, Dorney Park included refresh station as amendments to the application, Eldredge said.

The Iron Menace will be the first “dive” roller coaster in the Northeast, as well as the park’s first new first new coaster since 2005’s Hydra.

Eldredge added that the amendment would then hopefully go before the Board of Commissioners on March 20, and that the park will announce other new amenities for the 2024 season when it’s ready.

Other changes Dorney Park has already announced include turning the Cedar Creek Flyers ride into one called MT Buckets and adding a new gift shop.

The park is also hiring 2,000 employees for the 2024 season, offering up to $20 per hour in wages for titles such as ride operators, security guards, cooks, performers and medical responders.