Dawn, Justin, Craig & Russ all arrived early in the day to start their fun...
June, Mike, Renee & Rob arrived at 5pm for the $5 buffet and then 6 hours of rides etc...
Speaking on behalf of Mike & Myself -- we had an awesome time. It was a lot more fun than we had anticipated. The great thing about Dorney Park is that the crowd is NOTHING compared to the crowds and lines at Six Flags - Great Adventure. Having arrived on the last day of the park being open, the last day of the Haunt and in the evening on a Saturday, we did not expect to be able to ride many rides. I was happy with just knowing I'd be spending time with friends and riding 2 - 3 rides.
The buffet had some decent food - all you can eat - hotdogs, cheese/hamburgers, friend chicken, potato salad, beans, apple sauce, chips, pretzels, ice cream, soda etc. (I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out)
The perk to the buffet was not only the greatest cost for park food, but we got escorted to the front of the line for a haunted maze.
I think the haunted mazes at Dorney are definitely more thrilling than the haunted 'hay ride' at Great Adventure. They do a really good job at scaring people... though, it wasn't much of a 'maze' -- The fog machines at Dorney go all night and they are everywhere making the atmosphere really that much more enjoyable.
We got to ride most/all the roller-coasters that were in running order. We even managed to hit the front row on them... it's a totally different, more thrilling experience. The 30-40 degree weather made things a little more - chilling. (ha)
Craig took some pics, and with his passion for photography, I'm sure they came out great. Hopefully, he'll be sending out an email with some photos from the night and I can post them here *hint hint*...
All in all - the night was a success... I would DEFINITELY do this again next year, and I'm looking forward to hitting up the water park next summer!
On a side note -- one bad thing that happened that night --
We got back to our carpooling meeting place around 1:15am. I was zonked out on the carride there. So having to drive myself home alone, I wasn't sure I would be able to stay awake.
I managed to do okay, making sure not to look like a tired driver. I stayed in the lines and didn't swerve. I stopped at every red light, and made sure I was 'aware' when they turned green.
Alas -- I still managed to get pulled over.
I KNEW I had left my license at home, so I was a little leary about driving...but I did anyway. (bad june, very bad june!)
I searched everywhere for the registration, b/c I wasn't sure where it was in the Prius since it's Mike's car - I told the cop "Sorry, it's not my car." to which he responded "Who's car is it?". "My fiance's, oooh, I mean husband, we just got married.", I said as I flashed my bling. "Congratulations." He says. "So, I guess you're not responsible for the headlight that is out."
I said "No, I didn't know it was out... can you walk to the front? I'm going to try turning them off and then back on to see if the light comes back on." (b/c we've had this happen before but only noticed it while parked.) -- "Yup, they are both working now, wow", he said. Ah.. yay a stall tactic that is working.
He then proceeded to tell me about how I should take the car in to the shop b/c it looks new and should have a warranty blah blah blah, all the while I searched frantically for my driver's license that I knew I didn't have on me.
"OH NO!!! I don't have my license on me, I must've left it at home, but I live right around the corner, if you want to follow me to get it.", I said.
He said "It's okay, it's not the end of the world..." and told me to drive home safely.
Phew --- what a relief -- those of you who know my history with things like this, know I don't usually get a positive outcome. My luck has officially changed. YAY!
WOW...I better get you a PBA card...LOL