Dorney Park dives into major upgrade
Seaside Splashworks will have slides, water cannons and a tipping bucket when it opens in 2020
Last month, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Vice President and General Manager Michael Fehnel told South Whitehall Township officials that it was time to renew the park’s Island Water Works playground and splash pad.
Now, we know the details of that refresh.
The amusement park on Thursday announced that a new beach-themed, multilevel play structure called Seaside Splashworks will debut at that spot in 2020. The attraction will feature more than 75 play elements, the park said, including six water slides totaling 430 feet in length; interactive spray jets; oversized water cannons; a 195foot net bridge trail where guests can test their climbing skills; a 317-gallon tipping bucket that soaks guests underneath every three or four minutes; and a splash zone for toddlers.
“I think we keep refreshing areas of the park, and that was an area where it was time to make it bigger and better,” Fehnel told The Morning Call on Thursday, noting that Island Water Works dated to the late 1990s.
Fehnel declined to disclose a price tag for the project, but the announcement comes as competition for the entertainment
dollar gets ready to heat up across the region in the coming years. Work is underway on the massive $350 million entertainment destination called Pocono Springs Village, rising in Monroe County adjacent to Kalahari. Then, Wind Creek Hospitality is weighing a $250 million plan to turn the storied No. 2 Machine Shop into a 300,000square-foot adventure and water park, a development that would help Wind Creek Bethlehem diversify its offerings.
Fehnel didn’t put much stock in the idea that incoming regional developments prompted Seaside Splashworks, reasoning that there will always be competition in areas with significant population. Seaside Splashworks will, however, be the largest structure in Dorney’s water park, featuring six towers, 12 water cannons and nine tipping cones.
“This is more about making our park the best it can be,” Fehnel said, adding that Seaside Splashworks will pair well with the park’s Pre-K pass program, which allows free admission to kids aged 3 to 5.
Fehnel also noted the project fits into the park’s goal of offering guests a diverse array of entertainment, noting the recent Grand Carnivale international festival at the amusement park. The immersive attraction Monster Jam Thunder Alley is coming to Dorney Park from Sept. 14 to Nov. 3.
At the South Whitehall meeting last month, the Board of Commissioners granted Dorney Park’s request to waive land development review requirements for replacing Island Water Works, which takes up 0.3 acres at the property. Dorney Park, owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. in Sandusky, Ohio, comprises a total of 210 acres — only 30 of which remain undeveloped, according to Cedar Fair’s annual report.