Lehigh Valley Regional News: Dorney Park’s Upcoming Coaster Expected to Break Records in Cost, Drawing Inspiration from Valley’s Industrial Legacy – Hot

SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Dorney Park is dropping in to a new era – quite literally – with the Iron Menace.

“It’s a different ride than people are used to,” said Ryan Eldredge, Public Relations Manager with Dorney.

Iron Menace will be the first new roller coaster for the park since Hydra in 2005 and the first dive coaster of its kind in the Northeast, Dorney says.

The ride will take thrill seekers through the insides of a steel mill blast furnace, dropping them 152 feet at a 95-degree angle, with an inverted loop and speeds up to 64 miles per hour.

“I think the biggest thing is its visibility, whether you’re on 78 or you’re coming by on Hamilton Boulevard, you’re going to be able to see it,” Eldredge said.

Construction began Thursday morning.

Originally, the park planned to put a wooden roller coaster on the two-acre site, but steel seemed to suit the Lehigh Valley better.

“Iron Menace is really going to have kind of a callback to the industrial roots of the Valley. A lot of people think of the ruins in Bethlehem, so there’s a deep connection,” Eldredge said.

The park itself will also be themed around the Iron Menace. The total project’s cost will likely be in the tens of millions of dollars, one of the most expensive additions to date.

You can expect to start seeing steel go up in September.

“It’s wild that we make the announcement and we’re already starting, so this process will last until the spring of 2024,” Eldredge said. “We really feel like the ride is going to be an attraction that makes the park a destination again.”

The park is offering discounted gold season passes for 2024 to celebrate. If you buy one now, you’ll also get unlimited access not just next year, but for the rest of this season, too.