by Nicolas D’Alleva

This year’s Haunt at Dorney Park in Allentown, PA was the 3rd annual to be located in this amusement park. The 2010 Haunt featured 13 haunted events including a hotel, an asylum, and a house along with various haunted paths and walking adventures. Haunt is not recommended for children under the age of 13 beginning at 6:00 pm. While some parents did bring younger children into the park for the haunted adventure, most of the younger crowd and families were out of the park by 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m., the sun sets, and the park transforms into a haunted park full of scary fun and costumed roaming people. Guests were not permitted to wear costumes or face paint, but that was not needed for the experience.

Ambiance

After waiting in line for at least 25 minutes, we finally entered the park. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical of the scariness that the park claimed to provide, but I turned out to be pleasantly surprised. The ambiance in the park was incredibly spooky. Each of the tall lights in the park was replaced with either black lights or creepy blood-red lights. The lighting along with smoke that covered the entire ground of the park made the Haunt experience a bit eerie.

Roller Coasters and Actors

As a rollercoaster fanatic, my first stops included my favorite rides: The Talon and Steel Force. These rides were decorated with fun lights that typically line the coaster at night, but the vibe was a little different this night. The queue line had a smoke machine and creepy music playing, so it maintained the Halloween theme.

One great addition to the park, aside from the haunted attractions, was the number of actors they hired to walk around the park randomly. Women and men were in full costume and makeup acting their creepy parts by frightening and suddenly interrupting conversations and walking excursions. These actors added a general creepiness to the Haunt.

Even some of the food vendors were involved in the haunt. They wore scary masks or makeup to play along with the event. The park was full of Haunt décor as well. Spider webs, skeletons, bloody figures, and other scary figures were scattered throughout the park.

The Scariest Attractions

Out of the thirteen haunted attractions, three or four drew in huge lines because they were known to be the scariest of the bunch. One of the haunted attractions took a picture of the ride-goers. These pictures were quite hysterical because the picture came immediately after the ride-goers were suddenly sprayed with cold water.

Overall the Haunt at Dorney Park was a great experience. From the always-fun rides to the added haunted events, Dorney Park is somewhere we’ll be going to again next year for Halloween.

This post has been provided by Nicolas D’Alleva. Nicolas is the president and CEO of Specialty Answering Service, a Seattle answering service and call center service. Specialty offers inbound and outbound phone services and dispatch services like their emergency answering service.

Everyone loves a trip to a good theme park. Whether you are there for the rides, the shows, or just the experience, a theme park is reason enough to travel to a destination. Travelated has rounded up our top 5 favorite theme parks, no particular order.

• Disney World (Orlando, FL) – Quite possibly the most well known park in the world, Disney World is actually a collection of smaller “parks”, including the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach. At the Magic Kingdom, you can experience all classic attractions and character you have known forever. Epcot allows you to experience the culture and cuisine of nations all over the world, all in one place. The Animal Kingdom is the world’s largest animal-themed park, where you can go on safaris with the animals. Hollywood Studios give you a behind the scenes look at where movies come to life. Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are both water parks that the whole family can enjoy. There are many ways to purchase tickets, with discounts as you purchase extended length tickets. For example, a one day adult ticket cost $79, while a 10 day adult ticket costs $24.30 per day. The Park Hopper pass, which is extra, allows you to get into any park, any day, with extended hours just for Park Hopper pass holders. There is so much to do, there is no wonder why this is the most famous park in the world.




• Busch Gardens (Tampa, FL) – Offering rides, shows, and animal attractions, Busch Gardens offers the plenty of options to please even the pickiest theme park attendee. The rides include roller coasters, adventure “safaris”, and water themed rides. The shows include animal-based, music-based, and comedy shows. The real attraction at Busch Gardens are the animals.  You can go on a Sunrise Safari, where you will get very personal with giraffes by hand-feeding them. You could even enjoy the Tiger and Orangutan Keeper Experience, where you get to take part in an orangutan training session, and then test your strength against a tiger. There are many options to get up close and personal with the animals, and they are opportunities that you will not get anywhere else.
• LegoLand (Carlsbad, CA) – Everyone loves Legos. Imagine going to a place where almost everything is made of Legos. They have rides based on the toy sets that you or your child has probably put together in the past.  It is also filled with miniature version of major landmarks, all built with Legos. What would a Lego theme park be without the opportunity to build your own Legos creation? Of course, building your own Lego masterpiece is available. Obviously, this park is catered to kids, but those of all ages can have fun at LegoLand.
• Sea World (Orlando, FL) – We all know about the world famous killer whales, but Sea World has so much more to offer. They have other famous shows, roller coasters, other rides, and exhibits. For a little extra, you can visit Discovery Cove. This is an all inclusive day-long experience. You can swim with dolphins, and explore tropical reefs and exotic fish. You can also relax on their white sand beaches, and enjoy first class dining.  It is an opportunity that you will not get anywhere else.
• Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) – Home of the world’s tallest, fastest, longest roller coasters, Cedar Point is a thrill seekers paradise. Located on the shore of Lake Erie, the view achieved while riding the coasters are second to none in world. The have 17 roller coasters, more than any other park in the world. In addition to their famous roller coasters, they have water rides, spinning rides, carousels, and tranquil rides for the less adventurous. If you like roller coasters, or are even just a thrill-seeker in general, you have to go the Cedar Point.