Any opinions on what would be best for my 5-year-old grandson? They are both about the same distance from my home and about the same price.
Dorney Park or Dutch Wonderland?
- Thread starter Thus Spake Mainer
- Start date
Dutch Wonderland for a 5 year old for sure. I'd even consider Hershey over Dorney
Agreed. Worth the extra travel time. Free parking/admission. Much more of a family atmosphere than the big PA parks, and much better food.
that's a no-brainer. For the age in question, Dutch Wonderland would be far more appealing and interesting. Dorney Park is a lot of fun, but its better rides are designed for kids/adults older than your grandson. In fact, it's unlikely that your grandson would meet the size requirement for several of the better rides at Dorney Park.
+1 No contest!
Knoebels is an awesome place for a 5 year old, just tons of good old fashioned kiddie rides and rides that a grownup can share. Two beautiful antique carousels, a real bona fide "kiddie coaster," race cars, kiddie bumper cars, various forms of little airplane rides. Fun house type attractions. From the point of view of a 5 year old, I think Knoebels would produce a lot more special memories than, say, Disney.
(Knoebels has plenty of appeal for grownups and teens as well -- some nice coasters, a couple of excellent water rides for hot days.)
One of my favorite things is that you can bring a picnic into the park. (And there is no admission charge for the park itself, or, to my recollection, even a parking fee). But we tend not to picnic because the concession food is good and not expensive. There's even a diner in the middle of the park -- and it's actually very good diner.
Totally worth the drive! Heck you'll spend less time driving to Knoebels than you'll spend in line at a lot of modern theme parks.
Last edited:
If you hit it lucky, you can stay right across the street from Dutch Wonderland. Just make sure they don't still have country and western nights on Fridays and Saturdays, the clientele are assholes, and the staff does shit to quiet them down. Sheraton I believe.
Knoebels is still free admission and free parking. They have a lot of rides just for kids as well as rides that kids and (grand)parents can enjoy together. They also have a good bit of passive entertainment with an outdoor bandshell, indoor theater that often has magicians booked, a carousel museum, etc. The best part about it is that it is mostly wooded rather than the typical frying on asphalt in the open sun. They also have two campgrounds if you like camping, and as others have mentioned a good variety of good, reasonably priced food. Their caramel corn is worth the trip. If you can stay late, the rides light up beautifully and used to love to just walk around and look at the lights when I was a kid.
http://www.knoebels.com/
https://www.yelp.com/biz/knoebels-amusement-resort-elysburg
http://www.knoebels.com/
https://www.yelp.com/biz/knoebels-amusement-resort-elysburg
Last edited:
Yep. Like the Yuenglings of the Amusement Park world. Provide a good product at a fair price w/ good service. Expand when you can pay cash.
Get serious he is 5 years old. NONE OF THE ABOVE. Talk about child endangerment.
Say what? A 5 year old is probably more at risk in a car than an amusement park ride.
I'd go to Walley World:
I hear that it's easier to sneak in since John Candy passed.
