Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, Allentown

My teenage daughter visited the park with a friend and her family. My daughter left her bag in a cubby outside one of the water rides. The cubbies are provided so that people have a place to put things where they will not get wet. There were probably 30 or more cubbies - and all were in use,so my inexperienced daughter and her friend didn't see any reason not to leave their things there. When my daughter came back from the water ride, her bag had been stolen....she was left with nothing but the bathing suit on her back....her bag containing her clothes, towel, money and cell phone - all gone. Security was completely indifferent to her situation. They made note of what she had lost and gave her a card with a reference number to call back and check up. We called back several times....the people working in lost and found were absolutely clueless. The tracking number didn't seem to mean anything. We were asked, each time we called to describe the missing items, we were put on hold and then told that they had not found anything........ About a week later, we got a message from a very nice park employee stating that she had found my daughter's bag with phone, clothes and a book inside and that she would bring it to the lost and found. When we got the message, 2 weeks later (we had been away on vacation) we called the park. We were told by the representative that the park throws away everything from the lost and found that has not been claimed every 15 days. In other words - your stuff has thrown out. (Or, most likely, divided up among the park employees who wear the same size or have need of what ever you had lost !) The park employee that had left us the message was not connected with the lost and found department - she called us because my daughter's phone number was on her bag and written on the inside of the book that she was carrying. The lost and found department never contacted us to let us know that they had her stuff - and when we called them, they told us that it had all been thrown out. As many other reviewers have noted, there are thieves all over the park and the security department could care less. If you visit this park, do not bring any valuables with you...since it is a waterpark you will have to leave some of your things somewhere - you can't swim with your wallet and cell phone and car keys - be aware and be careful.

This was my first time at Dorney, but far from my first amusement park. Dorney's layout is very guest friendly. Everything is easy to find and nearby. Because Wildwater kingdom is so popular, the lines for the coasters are the shortest I've seen anywhere. In 2 hours I could go on 1 coaster at Great Adventure. In that time period I went on 4 at Dorney!!! That is priceless! Food and prices are pretty much industry standard. You know its going to be fast food and somewhat pricey before you go. Most meals are about $8-$11 and fries are an additional $7.50. Sodas are over $3. Water is $3.50. I didn't enjoy too much of the water park since I spent time with the coasters, but its also a lot of fun. Longer lines there, esp on a hot day like the one I went on. Hydra is a great ride that has a surprise twist at the beginning, literally! Steel Force is a lot of fun, Talon is terrific and White Water Landing is amazing! Worth every penny if you love rides, getting wet and having fun.

this place is a gangland central, park employees and all related to this trash heap is pitiful. dangerous, do not take your family

A friend & I made the royal mistake of visiting Dorney Park. Despite long lines at many water slides and ridiculously high prices for subpar food, we focused on the positive til we got robbed of purses & all belongings; over $500 worth of stuff stolen from EACH of us. This left us totally & utterly stranded, stripped of our purses, money, bank cards, car keys, cell phones. I was left shirtless too(wearing only bikini top; shirt was in purse during water ride). My visually impaired friend left w/o glasses. It was a scary, mortifying experience. My friend reported theft to security and they did the bare minimum. One young security guard in particular had a gruff, curt, unfriendly demeanor..very incompatible for a customer service environment! They refused to file a police report..seems they were trying to conceal this crime in attempt to avoid negative PR. This made us feel devalued & disrespected. They also kept claiming they had “no access” to cameras to check out the thieves even tho there are cameras clearly set up around the park. The only thing that done was one of the staff lended a phone so I could call my at-time boyfriend in attempt to get a ride back home. During the phone call, I broke down in hysterics, stated to my bf exactly what I thought of the thieves, which yes wasn’t the most flattering description in the world but whose would be? Meanwhile, a few passers-by asked my friend if we were okay and she told them what happened to us. My only solace was venting to my friend and bf about how angry I was at the (unrecognized)thieves, & apparently I wasn’t even “allowed” to do that! The same curt security guard barked at me that I better watch my mouth or be “arrested for terroristic threats” so I stopped talking about the thieves but proceeded to cry to my bf about some big relationship problems we were having at the time. At this point I was in a total state of panic, exasperation, & helplessness. I handed the cell phone back to curt security guard, as per my bf’s request, so he could tell him exactly where we were for pickup. He was short & uninformative with bf. After this call he told us to follow him. I asked him where we were going. He didn’t answer our questions, gave us curt one-word answers. He took both of us to the security office, where they detained us in a small room for several HOURS while interrogating us about what we said, falsely accusing me of making “terroristic threats” & saying words I didn’t say. They totally ignored the theft or any effort to apprehend thieves. At this point I requested a lawyer, then my friend requested she call her mother. They mocked & denied our requests. The head security guard bullied my friend for needing to call “mom”. They also brought in some idi*t w/ a video camera who started filming us without our consent. Several minutes later he paused his filming to ask us permission to film us for his TV show, at which point we promptly declined, yet he continued to film us anyway. This entire experience made us feel very frightened, confused, and violated. As previously mentioned, I had a panic attack at the park. This continued to the point that the staff EMTs had me lay down in another room & put me on hyperventilator. They were the only humane people in the entire staff. Meanwhile, I could hear a security guard barking from the other room,“Oh man is she done yet?” Security called the cops, telling them to arrest me. When the policeman arrived, he issued me a fine. Security then banned me from the park for 2yrs(do they really think I’d WANT to come back??).I found out later my bf made a 4hr roundtrip to the park trying to locate us, but security told both we’d “already left w/ a ride home” while we were still on park premises. We found the Dorney Park security staff to be negligent, uncaring, interrogating, and bullying. Later I read similar reviews from other crime victims that felt disrespected by security. I’ll be happy when Dorney goes out of business.

Just a bunch of people from philly or nyc who ruin everything, used to be a nice place to go to back in 2005/06 but now it's just a horrible experience, overpriced as well

It doesn't take you very long inside the park to realize that 90% of the 'people' there are either displaying their gang stamp neck tattoos or their gang colors. 9% are theives/wannabe thugs or just the bottom of the barrel dirtbag trying to prove they're tough. Wondering about the other 1%? That would be me, the fool, who put my whole family in danger by visiting this filthy powder keg passing itself off as a family amusement park. Did anyone else notice that not only are there no bag searches and no metal detectors upon entry into the park but half of the security guards are carrying guns in holsters! This place is a tragedy waiting to happen! Don't take your family to Dorney Park!

Dorney charges $15 for a locker so many teenagers who go on their own don't have the money to spend for a locker. I didn't think to tell my daughter and her friend this when they went there. She had her bag stolen as well. Two phones, keys, drivers license, and money. Fortunately, the theives didn't care about anything except the money and the phones. They dumped the bag and its contents by a garbage can. My daughter recovered her bag and was allowed to calll me from Lost and Found to let me know what happened. Most adults know to lock up their valuables. Warn your children never to leave anything lying around. It appears thieves are rampant at Dorney Park from reading other posts and they target the young and inexperienced. Apparently, they saw them using the phones because the bag was tucked deep into one of those storage pockets. I am sure this happens at other parks but Dorney seems not to have very good security if this happens as often as I have read here. I plan to avoid this park in the future and to warn others. Hopefully they will increase security or offer less expensive lockers for smaller items!

You would be surprised that there are hardly ANY locals that go to the park anymore during prime season. Most locals go in the early summer and the fall. It is a nightmare for us that live near the park because the traffic is unbelievable. You wait hours for rides and the patrons are RUDE! The prices for food are unbelievable. Both my nieces worked at Dorney....NEVER NEVER let your kids put that WWK water in their mouths. On a daily basis, used condoms, tampons, diapers and feces are found in the pools. When someone vomits in the water, there usually isn't enough time to contain it and get people out, so it just disipates in the water.... You would be surprised at the number of tourists that bring knives and guns......unreal. On the flip side, when the tourists are gone, it is a nice park with a lot to see and do. It is a shame that Dorney does not offer incentives to local residents anymore like special parking and appreciation days....we are the ones that deal with the tourists too.

My friend, her church members, friends and I all went to Dorney yesterday. The problem with the majority if these reviews is that they seem one-sided. I had a terrible experience and would only go back to pursue the thief who stole all of our group's stuff! The rides-great, The drinks-pricey, yet refreshing, the food-smelled delicious but we brought our own and kept making trips to the car for food breaks. Well, we left our things in the water park on chairs and under chairs. We rode s few rides and when we came back, our stuff was gone. In my stuff were clothes, toiletry items, and an expensive oakley book bag. The lost and found and security staff are simply incompetent and I believe thieves roam this park like no other. We know something was shady when we entered with large to tiny bags which no one checked at the gates! Thank God I kept my phone, car keys, and wallet on my person! Great park features, terrible staff and thievery problem!!!

Dorney Park does not allow food or drinks to be brought inot the park. Many families are unaware of the rules before they get to the park. There are inspections at the gate to enforce this rule. Families on a budget or not wishing to eat the high priced, high fat and high sugar foods being sold in the park are forced to sit on the hot floor in the parking lots. Only a few tables at the end of the parking lot are provided. This is degrading and shows a disrespect for the families that support the park. Kids and adults do have fun at the park but, families should consider whether they want to support an organization that treats it's customers in such a humiliating way.