Terminal Amusement

Made it to Dorney Park, likely my last sampling there, maybe any amusement park.  Left with an impaired right lower extremity:  hip, knee, and ankle which will keep me on NSAIDs and off treadmill a few days.  To make the outing adult, and as an alternative to forecast rain, I started with a nearby winery, Vynecrest, which I must have been to before since I have one of their stem glasses in my collection.  Perhaps too generous a tasting.  I could stand at the bar with a total of 8 oz of wine for $10 or sit at a table for $12 which gave a total of 12 oz.  While I could have used the sit down time to work on my upcoming semi-annual projects, that was too much wine.  Even 8 oz I could feel when I returned to my car.  But pleasant wine, and I learned the winery had a retail outlet not far from me if I wanted to buy any.  But the destination for the day was an afternoon's amusement.  And that I got.

Finding the park with the GPS went easily.  Plenty of parking with an exorbitant fee had I not bundled it into a package.  Walk to the entrance did not really require a tram, as none was provided.  There were a fair number of modern buses, not school buses, suggesting that a lot of schools or camps offered a day at Dorney Park as an organizational outing for the close of the school year, an impression confirmed as I encountered teens and some younger without a lot of adult parents or chaperones.  They searched bags at the entrance.  My Swiss Army knife got through.  There is an explicit weapons ban, though no NRA pickets at the entrance, as few of those there vote, and most agree that the park is safer without the weapons.  My day bag and I checked in.  After riding on the Carousel, understanding why it is at the entrance and a lovable classic, I sauntered to guest services which told me how to redeem the unlimited soda coupon that came with my purchased package.  There are soda stations everywhere.  At the first, they scanned my ticket, then affixed a wristband which entitled me to a small soda every fifteen minutes.  I had two sodas and a lemonade over the course of the afternoon, never offered a lid or a straw.  People can also purchase unlimited bottle refills, which have a built-in cap and straw, but for my purposes the perk included in my entrance package went well, though I think the dispensers had a little too much syrup relative to soda.  

Even the carousel challenged by tolerance of rotational motion but I entered another ride next to it that challenged it more.  Sit on small chair, similar to a child's swing set, suspended by a chain.  Affix a safety belt.  Then the ride begins, elevating and lowering the seats while the central hub sets the ride in a clockwise rotation.  My endolymph did not adapt quite as easily as it once did.  Then Choo-Choo train which gave me an overview of what was where.  Next the log flume where I got wet.  Decided to save Thunder Canyon for when I was in the water park, though if you were willing to get wet in street attire, they would still offer you a seat.  Turns out that the access to Thunder Canyon from the Water Park had been barricaded so I never got that thrill.  Found my way to the Whip, one of those classics of my youth.  It's in a far reach of the park, accessible only with a long walk, which I needed.  I expected its patrons to be older.  They weren't, mostly little kids with their dads who are also too young to remember when this ride attracted long lines.  I sat in my car while the electronics moved tie car in its oval and at the end of each oval each individual are made its sudden rotational lurch.  Not a thrill ride then, nor now.  Largely displaced for more adventuresome but safe experiences.

I really came for the Water Park which I did not know how to access, as its entrance was near the park entrance.  Another long walk, this time on an upslope.  By now my right ankle, injured a few weeks before but recovering, was reinjured, giving me a minor jolt periodically.  Some more soda.  Tote bag with aquatics needs slung over my shoulder.  Made it to the entrance of Wildwater Kingdom.  Found changing room.  Found locker, opting to pay the extra $5 and not chance everything not fitting into the small locker.  Took out towel and flip-flops.  Got changed.  Locked valuables, then headed to a place where somebody might have a pen to write my locker number on my soda wristband.  Not easy to find somebody with a pen.  They had a wave pool and some water slides more suitable for the school kids on a day trip and a kiddie area.  Basically Lazy River and wave pool were the only reasonable destinations for somebody old enough to be the grandfather of pretty much everyone else in Wildwater Kingdom.  Put the stuff I didn't want to get wet in a cubicle that depended on the Honor System, waited my turn for a tube, jackknifed myself in the center with a little difficulty, then let the artificial current bring me around the circle.  Pleasant, for sure.  Worth the surcharge for the locker, no.  And I couldn't even access Thunder Canyon's ride from the water park.

A quick step into the wave pool.  Too chilly.

Some lemonade this time, then change back into street clothes and home.

Hersheypark has a lot more grandparents with grandchildren for a good reason, even though farther from NY or Philly for a day trip.  Just not many supplemental attractions around Allentown.  GPS took me home uneventfully except for some anticipated Philly rush hour traffic.  

A Terminal Amusement.