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Volume 2, No. 8. May 10, 2002

New Arrivals

It’s two flat rides!
Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, announces the arrival of Meteor and a Tilt-a-Whirl, May 4, 2002. Meteor measurements: 48 seats on platforms that circle up to 65 feet (20 meters) above the ground. Meteor delivered by Zamperla, Tilt-a-Whirl delivered by Sellner Manufacturer.

Though the Zamperla Hawk 48, its counter-rotating arms looping face-to-face riders in a vertical circle, can be an attention-grabber at any amusement park, the Dorney staff decided to “lay a little low,” this year, said Chris Ozimek, the park’s public relations manager. After the hit installation of the inverted roller coaster Talon last season, this year’s capital improvements of two midsize rides and a couple of new show stages didn’t seem to merit a media day or grand opening hullabaloo.

Events conspired to give the park and its new ride a celebratory startup, anyway. First there was the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, a true astronomical event that peaked that Saturday night and proved, well, heaven-sent for Ozimek. “Good timing, huh?” he said. “I was really happy to find that when I was digging around for (Meteor-related references).” The connection prompted one Allentown television newscast to broadcast its weather forecast live from the park that weekend.

The next day came a more earthy show: more than 1,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle riders concluding a fundraising parade for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the park, the second year in a row the bikers used Dorney as their destination. “We had a lot of media at the park for that,” Ozimek said. The media coverage continued through this week, with even a Washington, D.C., morning news team telecasting live from Dorney.

How did the park’s Meteor fare in all this activity? With excellent weather prompting “nice crowds,” Ozimek said, Meteor shared top-draw status with Talon and the venerable Steel Force roller coaster. Not bad for what was planned to be a low-key opening.