Every spring, the Lehigh Valley collectively starts counting down to the same date. Not a holiday. Not a sports season. The opening day of Dorney Park. For generations of families in eastern Pennsylvania, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom is the unofficial start of summer, and the 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the best yet.
The Coasters
Dorney Park packs eight roller coasters into its grounds, ranging from family friendly to genuinely terrifying. Steel Force remains the signature ride, a hypercoaster that crests at over two hundred feet and delivers a rush of speed and airtime that has been thrilling riders since 1997.
Hydra: The Revenge is a floorless coaster with seven inversions that starts with a zero gravity roll right out of the station. Talon: The Grip of Fear is an inverted coaster that swings riders through loops and corkscrews with their feet dangling. Iron Menace, the park's newest major addition, is a dive coaster that holds you at the edge of a vertical drop before releasing you into two thousand feet of twisting track.
Then there's Thunderhawk, the park's century old wooden coaster. It rattles and shakes in the way that only a classic woodie can, and riding it is like touching a piece of amusement park history.
Wildwater Kingdom
When the heat hits, and it always hits in July and August, Wildwater Kingdom is the answer. Twenty six water slides range from lazy river relaxation to slides that will make you reconsider your life choices. Python Plummet drops you roughly sixty five feet in a near vertical free fall. The Constrictor sends you through four full three hundred sixty degree loops in a tube slide. Twin Boa Blasters let you race a friend down side by side slides.
Seaside Splashworks is the family area, with seventy five play elements designed for younger kids who want to get wet without getting launched off a cliff. Wildwater Kingdom opens May 23, two weeks after the main park, and stays open through Labor Day.
Planet Snoopy
For families with young children, Planet Snoopy is the heart of the park. Sixteen rides tailored to little ones, plus live show performances featuring the Peanuts characters, make it the largest collection of kids' rides in the region. It's the area where most Lehigh Valley residents have their first Dorney Park memory, and it's designed to create exactly those moments.
The Food
Dorney has invested significantly in its food program over the years. Beyond the standard theme park fare of funnel cakes and corn dogs, the park offers barbecue, wood fired pizza, and seasonal specials that are genuinely better than what you'd expect from a place primarily designed to fling you upside down.
Tips From a Local
A few things every Lehigh Valley resident knows about Dorney Park. Go on a weekday if you can. The difference in line wait times between a Tuesday and a Saturday in July is dramatic. Arrive when the gates open and hit the big coasters first, because the lines build throughout the day.
If you're doing Wildwater Kingdom, bring water shoes. The pavement gets hot. The lazy river is actually the best ride in the water park, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And get a locker for your stuff because you will get soaked.
Season passes are worth it if you plan to go more than twice. Most local families with kids treat them as a summer membership rather than a special occasion expense.
A Lehigh Valley Institution
Dorney Park has been part of the Lehigh Valley since 1884, evolving from a trout pond and fish hatchery into one of the premier amusement parks in the Northeast. It has survived ownership changes, economic downturns, and a global pandemic. Through it all, it has remained the place where Lehigh Valley kids spend their summers, where teenagers go on first dates, and where adults rediscover the simple joy of being flung around at high speed.
Opening day is May 8. Start counting down.
