Dorney Park is worth the price of admission
Fourth stop on this year’s Halloween tour is Allentown's iconic Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, a park I’ve somehow never visited despite how close it is to me. After this year’s first visit, I now deeply regret not having done so sooner. I do think Hersheypark’s Dark Nights is slightly better – only in terms of consistency – but that may not remain the case for long if Dorney improves in the future. FYI, because I was a bit pressed for time the night I visited, I only walked through four of the event’s attractions. I will not be reviewing Stop N’ Chop, Necropolis, or Blackout.
One flaw Dorney suffers from is its map. Unlike other digital maps, which function like a GPS, Dorney’s app does not track your exact location. This forces guests to navigate the park’s chaotic layout via guesswork. Furthermore, as far as I could see, the attractions Blackout and Blair Witch: Lost Signal did not appear on my app. Luckily I found the former by chance.
Trick or Treat is the weakest of the four attractions I visited. The theme isn’t bad, per se, but it lacks the proximity and claustrophobia that makes the others work. The majority of its rooms are open spaces, resulting in sparse and distant set pieces that don’t immerse guests as much as they should. The worst scene is a room with a forest mural painted on the walls, a cheap far cry from Blair Witch’s sets. Thankfully this attraction is shorter than the others and doesn’t waste your time.
Choosing between Blood on the Bayou and Ghost in the Machine is tough because they’re both so good. I think I liked the latter just a tad bit more, for no other reason than its theme. This New Orleans themed haunt is on par with it in every way that counts, though. I’m not a huge fan of overly polished sets in haunts, and while I think this one leans into that a little during its first third, those sets give you so much to look at that the would-be issue is more or less cancelled out entirely. Blood on the Bayou is gorgeous in its presentation, relying on well-placed lights to make its colors pop in every corner and sets detailed enough to distract you for a scare. Those drop-down snakes got me good. Unfortunately there are numerous scenes bereft of actors, and a croc animatronic that’s too far away from guests to be appreciated.
Industrial and/or factory-themed haunted attractions are surprisingly rare in the industry, or at least I haven’t encountered many. For that reason, Ghost in the Machine will remain my personal gold standard through which all other haunts of similar theme will be compared. The exposed wires spread throughout the attraction are a genius touch that offers a nonstop tactile experience for guests. Every single room and hall in the attraction has someone placed among the shadows of its hyper-detailed walls, and while not all of them time their ambushes well, most do. The toxic waste room and the see-through walls are some of the coolest set pieces on the property. If I could name a flaw, it would be one of the rooms near the start of the attraction that settles for the doll/creepy little girl schtick. It’s a jarring choice that doesn’t fit the attraction at all.
Blair Witch: Lost Signal is incredible. If you visit Dorney for any reason this year, go for this. There’s a small hiccup during the transition into its last third in which the scenery switches from forest to the inside of the Griggs House with no actual house facade in between, but other than that it’s perfect. The arrangement of “outdoor” segments in particular somehow feels both open and claustrophobic at the same time, an experience that seamlessly mimics the atmosphere of a forest after dark. It features the best set design, the best interior layout, the best actors, and the best finale of the four haunts I visited. The last room cleverly uses a ceiling prop to distract guests from the titular Blair Witch herself hiding just around a corner, making for the scariest and coolest actor encounter of the night.
Hershey only beats Dorney this year by the skin of its teeth. If not for Trick or Treat, I would consider Dorney the better of the two, and that’s just based on the attractions I actually visited.
