Dutch Wonderland
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| Slogan | "A Kingdom for Kids" |
|---|---|
| Location | Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°01′40″N 76°13′06″W / 40.027697°N 76.218443°WCoordinates: 40°01′40″N 76°13′06″W / 40.027697°N 76.218443°W |
| Owner | Palace Entertainment |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Area | 48 acres |
| Rides | |
| Total | 34 |
| Roller coasters | 2 |
| Water rides | 6 |
| Website | http://www.dutchwonderland.com/ |
Dutch Wonderland is a 48-acre (19 ha) amusement park just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, appealing primarily to families with small children. The park's theme is a "Kingdom for Kids." The entrance to the park has a stone imitation castle façade, which was built by Earl Clark, a potato farmer, before he opened the park in 1963.
The Clark family sold Dutch Wonderland in 2001 to Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. They also operate Wonderland Mini-Golf, and Old Mill Stream Campground at the same location and the Gift Shop at Kitchen Kettle Village, in nearby Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
On November 12, 2010, Hershey Entertainment announced that they sold Dutch Wonderland to Palace Entertainment.
Today, the park has 34 rides, plus a tropical-themed interactive water play area called Duke's Lagoon. The park also has an extended season, open for "Happy Hauntings" and "Dutch Winter Wonderland" events for Halloween and Christmas.
The park is part of a larger area in Lancaster zoned for entertainment, dining, lodging, and conferences.
Attractions
Dutch Wonderland features 34 rides, a water park called Duke's Lagoon (named for a purple dragon costumed character), along with shows and games for children. In addition to Duke the dragon, the park also features costumed characters Princess Brooke, and the Knight.
A five-acre island at the back of the park, "Exploration Island", includes a Prehistoric Path featuring more than 15 animatronic dinosaurs. The island is accessible from and viewable from the riverboat.[1]
Current roller coasters
Dutch Wonderland has two operating rollercoasters.
| Ride | Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Coaster | 1992 | A wooden rollercoaster, the first coaster ever built by Custom Coasters International. Uses a single Philadelphia Toboggan Company train with buzz bars. The park's monorail runs through the structure of the ride. The ride was once painted white, and is currently painted blue. It was named the Sky Princess until the 2007 season. |
| Joust | 1998 | A steel "Big Dipper" style rollercoaster, manufactured by Chance Rides. It sits where the Flying Trapeze once stood, in front of the Kingdom Coaster. Chance's prototype Big Dipper Coaster. |
Other Attractions
- Astroliner - an older space simulator that was added to the park in 1978, built by Wisdom Manufacturing
- Bumper Cars - a classic Lusse bumper car ride
- Capital BlueCross Monorail - visible from outside the park
- Dragon's Lair - a one-of-a-kind boat ride, visible from outside the park
- Dukes Dozers - a kiddie ride where children ride in bulldozers, moved from Hersheypark where it was called Earthmovers
- Dutch Wonder House - a rare "haunted swing" ride, where the entire house revolves around the riders, an extremely disorienting effect
- Double Splash Flume - a double drop log flume (the lower drop at the beginning of the ride, the higher drop at the end) with characters and a mist tunnel, in the 2014 season the characters were removed from the ride.
- Wiggle Racers - A ride appealing to small children where self-propelled scooters race around a track that includes a maze and a cave. This ride replaced the miniature train display which had replaced the indoor miniature circus display. The Wiggle Racers were then moved to a spot closer to the stream in the back of the park, and Huck Finn's Leapin' Frogs now reside in the footprint of the old miniature circus building.
- Gondola Cruise - formerly called the Lady Gay Riverboat, a short cruise around a man-made island. One of the four original rides to make it to the 50th anniversary.[2]
- Sky Ride - a station-to-station sky ride
- Space Shuttle - a swinging ship ride
- VR Voyager - a modern motion simulator
- Wonder Whip - a kiddie whip ride moved from Hersheypark, formerly called Wells Cargo
- Turtle Whirl - classic tilt-a-whirl ride with a turtle theme purchased from Clementon Lake Park
- The Twister - a family ride moved from Hersheypark (1978–2008)
Removed rides
- Whale Boats - One of the original rides for the park. It was replaced by the Swan boats. There is one of the Whales currently beside Crazy Plane.
- Old 99 - a train ride that went around a track by itself.(1974–2002) The ride was replaced with a theatre.
- Swan train ride - Only existed for a few years before being replaced with the log boats that are currently in the park. There is also one of the Swans currently beside the Crazy Plane.
- Original Iron Horse Train - replaced in 1970s for CP Huntington #123. CP Huntington #206 was added in 1984.
- Giant Slide - Replaced with two portable slides.
- Ripcord - Replaced with a Zamperla Kite Flyer.
Shows
- Thomas and Friends Live at Dutch Wonderland - a new show based on Thomas the Tank Engine
- Bubba Bear and the Badlands Band - a Sally-produced theater show
- The Adventures of the Frog Prince - a high-dive show
- A Dragon's Tale - a high-dive show
- Storytime Corner- Princess of Dutch Wonderland and the Dutch Wonderland Knight read stories to children
- Duke's Dance Party- Duke The Dragon and his friends dance to songs such as the Chicken Dance, Limbo, Hula and more.
- The Wonderers - Strolling horn band that plays and entertains guests while making music.
- Beyond the Castle Walls - based on the children's book of the same name, Beyond the Castle Walls tells the story of Princess Brooke's global adventures.
- Garfield The Great & Friends- A magic show based on the Garfield franchise.
In popular culture
- On the TLC show Jon & Kate Plus 8, the family visited Dutch Wonderland in the episode titled "Gosselins Go Dutch."
See also
References
- ↑ Lauer-Williams, Kathy (17 April 2014). "Lancaster's Dutch Wonderland to add animatronic dinosaurs". The Morning Call (Allentown PA). Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ↑ http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-pictures-dutch-wonderland-through-the-years-009,0,2242128.photo
External links
- Official site
- Park sale to Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company
- Dutch Wonderland Information and Photos
- Dutch Wonderland Flickr Group
- Dutch Wonderland at the Roller Coaster DataBase
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