Lehigh Valley InSite

25 years in Lehigh Valley - then vs. now

Last night the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau celebrated 25 years in the tourism business, so I thought I would do a little compare and contrast of tourism events and attractions. Here's Lehigh Valley 1984 vs. Lehigh Valley 2009.

* Pro baseballin Lehigh Valley was in the middle of a very long drought in 1984. The last major league affiliated team, the Allentown Red Sox, left town in 1960 (interesting fact: the Allentown Red Sox played at Max Hess Stadium, which is where the Lehigh Valley Mall is now located). Now we have the hugely successful AAA Philadelphia Phillies associated Lehigh Valley IronPigs, which arrived in 2008, and play in Allentown's beautiful Coca Cola Park. (Check out some of the past Lehigh Valley InSite blog posts on the IronPigs here.) 

* Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. 1984 was a big year for Dorney Park. They were recovering from a fire that destroyed many buildings and rides the year before but also celebrating their 100th anniversary! Obviously, 25 years later Dorney celebrated another anniversary, their 125th, and is now a top notch amusement and water park. (Check out some of the past Lehigh Valley InSite blog posts on Dorney Park here.)

* Golf. Lehigh Valley used to be a tough place to get a tee time 25 years ago with only 7 public courses:
* Willow Brook Golf Course (9 holes at the time)
* Twin Lakes now Iron Lakes Country Club
* Green Pond Country Club
* Allentown Municipal Golf Course
* Bethlehem Golf Club
* Locust Valley Golf Club
* Wedgewood Golf Course.
25 years later, I'm happy to say we are a hacker’s paradise. Since 1987, Lehigh Valley has doubled in public golf courses. 
* 1986 Indian Creek Golf Course
* 1992 Center Valley Club
* 1993 Southmoore Golf Course
* 1993 Whitetail Golf Club
* 1995 Olde Homestead Golf Club
* 2004 The Club at Morgan Hill
* 2006 Riverview Country Club.

I think I'm going to continue this comparison next week. Not sure on who or what yet, but I will dig up some goodies though so stay tuned.

In the meantime, what changes have you noticed in Lehigh Valley over the past 25 years? 

Dorney Park's Halloween Haunt ... enter if you dare!

Last Friday night my son, Jared, and I had the V.I.P. treatment at the Preview Night event for Dorney Park's Halloween Haunt.

The party started at 5:30 p.m. We checked in at the "court" where we had our pictures taken and were promptly summoned by the judge, who sentenced me to death for being shorter than my son! 

We then stood in line for our "last bread and water" dinner ... NOT! Dinner was a full smorgasbord that included shrimp cocktail, crab claws, salmon, pasta, pork, turkey, lamb chops, salads, and so much more. There were multiple pastries to choose from for dessert, but the life-size Frankenstein cake really took, uh, the cake.

Did I mention that during dinner we were ambushed by mental ward patients? This was to psych us up for the main part of the Halloween Haunt's grand opening of its newest attraction, The Asylum.

After dinner, we were led along the fog-covered walkway to The Asylum. Jared and I happened to be the first ones to venture in. There were some great special effects. Some made us laugh and others gave us a scare.

As soon as we made it through The Asylum, we were off to find another haunted attraction, which wasn't hard since Dorney Park has 13 of them this year for the Halloween Haunt. We ended up at Camp Backwoods, another new addition this year. With creepy camp counselors and a chain saw dude, I did let out a scream or two.

Of course we couldn't leave Dorney Park without doing some of the rides. We hit my son's three favorites: Steel Force, Hydra and Talon. That was plenty for me! I think my head is still spinning from Talon. 

Now through the end of the Halloween Haunt (November 1) is definitely my favorite time of the year to visit Dorney. One of the benefits is not having to wait in long lines.

What do you think of this year's Halloween Haunt at Dorney Park?

My End-Of-Summer Lehigh Valley To Do List

My blog well has run dry this week. Luckily I have a plan B. My plan B is probably the most typical back up for bloggers: The List Blog.

I've put together a list of things I'd like to do before the summer ends or the weather gets bad. I know it's August, but winter will be here before you know it with a cold slap to the face.

1. Twilight at Dorney Park. I haven't been to Dorney Park in 10 years. The $20 twilight ticket seems like a good opportunity to get on some coasters.

2. Bike the tow path along the Lehigh Canal. Casey and I usually do this a few times a year, but have yet to do it in '09.

3. Head over to Tap and Table. This is a fairly new pub in Emmaus. From what I've been told, it is a Belgian-style pub - no lights, just candles. Not that this needs to be done in nice weather. I just want to get there before all the yuppies start hanging out there.

4. Allentown Fair (pictured above), September 1 - 7,  is on the Must Do List, not the To Do List.

I am going to keep this list at 4 for now. Don’t want to get ambitious. If I do 3 out 4 I will consider the list an accomplishment. 

Lehigh Valley's new "Snoopy Rocks! On Ice" is for the kid in all of us

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdomis celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and they gave themselves a really cool present, the Good Time Theatre. And when I say "cool," I mean that literally - the $6 million 600-seat theatre boasts a huge stage of ice.

So Lehigh Valley PA is now home to a first-class professional ice show, "Snoopy Rocks! On Ice." Don't let the name fool you, this show is a must-see for adults as well as kids. As a matter of fact, with all the beautiful female skaters performing their routines, some of the guys in our group didn't even pay attention to the Peanuts characters!

All my favorite Peanuts themes are featured in this show: Snoopy battling the Red Barron, Charlie Brown awaiting the Great Pumpkin, Lucy's psychiatric advise booth. Watching them made me realize how much Charles Schulz's neighborhood kids (and dog!) were a part of my growing up, too.

I have to admit, sitting in the front row made me a little nervous - it seemed like I was mere inches away from at least 16 skaters performing dare-devil maneuvers at top speed. I was amazed at how good they were, especially when I heard they've only been working together for a couple months.

All in all, the "Snoopy Rocks" show is a great addition to an already fun-filled park. I'm sure the three shows daily (four on Saturdays) will be performed to a packed house. But if you want to catch the show, don't go on Wednesday - even big furry beagles need a day off! 

Less than a week until Dorney Park opens!

The warm Lehigh Valley weather last weekend was the perfect precursor to the kick off of the 125th season at Dorney Park this Saturday, May 2.

Over the years, particularly during my childhood, I spent a lot of time at the park (and I'm not the only one). My aunt and uncle used to live in what's now the park's parking lot. That's not the only thing that's changed ...

First, there was no Wildwater Kingdom back in those days. I'm not a huge fan of waterparks, but to drive by, it looks pretty amazing today.

Also, you used to need tickets to get on the rides. My aunt was best buddies with the park staff, so she always had baskets full of tickets for us to use. Today, you buy one pass to get into the two parks and ride all the rides you want.

My two favorite Dorney rides: Thunderhawk and Journey to the Center of the Earth. My friends and I used to make a continuous loop of getting on and off each of them! JTTCOTE is now gone, but the wooden Thunderhawk coaster has survived.

My new favorite ride is Steel Force. Nothing beats the view from the top of this coaster (the Statue of Liberty could easily fit under the first hill) and it is one smooth ride.

If you drive by today, you'll notice a large gray building is going up right near the entrance. It doesn't look like much now, but by June it'll be an indoor ice skating arena where performances of Snoopy Rocks on Ice will be held. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

My son loves to visit the park, which is why I usually break down and buy him a season pass. Besides riding Hydra and playing all the games in hopes of winning one of those corny stuffed animals, his favorite thing about Dorney has to be getting a good old-fashioned candy apple!

Do you have plans to "Do Dorney" this year?

What NOT to do in Lehigh Valley

I drove by Yocco's the other day and thought to myself "I bet people who aren't familiar with Lehigh Valley are missing out on those delicious hot dogs and secret chili sauce because they just plain don't know about it!" That got me thinking of other things that people really should know about the area.

1.  Just because an establishment may not look perfectly polished on the outside, DON'T not go in. Most of the time this is where you find the real gems of the Valley ... like Yocco's!

2.  DON'T just visit one winery on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. They all offer different versions of some really tasty wines. (Tip: I enjoy Vynecrest and Clover Hill and they are right down the street from each other!)

3.  If you're planning to stay a while, DON'T buy your groceries at the supermarket - you can find those anywhere. Instead, buy them at the Allentown Farmers Market (they have a superb candy stand too). Buy local! It tastes better anyway!

4.  DON'T not go to Dorney Park just because the Laser is gone. (I had a love-hate relationship with that coaster when I was younger; I loved it but it would give me a sore neck for days.)

5.  DON'T go to Lehigh Valley Grand Prix thinking you are going to ride wimpy go-karts. These karts require you to have driving instructions, a helmet and the need for speed (well, up to 45 mph - see previous post for details)!

Goodbye, old friend

Last week, during my daily commute along Hamilton Boulevard, I watched the lime-green-and-purple Laser roller coaster slowly disappear from the Dorney Park skyline. Although I knew it was coming, seeing the double-looped coaster being taken down was a bit sad for me to see.

The Laser is directly responsible for me gaining the courage to ride roller coasters again after I literally slid right out from under my lap belt on an old wooden coaster when I was a kid. Don’t ask me how I came to go on a coaster that flips you upside down – twice – but after surviving my first ride on the Laser, I was willing to try anything. Heck, when Steel Force came in ’97, I waited in line for hours to ride the coaster with a 200-foot-drop over and over again.  

For some reason, over the past 10 years I have become deathly afraid of heights, so I don't mesh well with most coasters anymore. But I still love the Laser. During a rare trip to Dorney this past summer, I only had the guts to ride three: Steel Force, Hydra and my ol’ steely friend Laser.

Word on the street is Dorney is building a 600-seat theatre for a “Snoopy on ice” show for 2009, but it won’t be where the Laser used to be, which means there’s a spot to fill. What do you think they should put there?