This year, Dorney Park will unleash the fury of Hydra: the Revenge, perhaps the most unique floorless steel coaster from Bolliger and Mabillard to open when it reclaims the void left empty from the Hercules wooden coaster.

In this interview, COASTER-net's Clint Novak talked with the manager of public relations for the park, Heather Kramer about the latest news for the 2005 season, and further into the future.


Clint Novak: Hey what’s going on, My name is Clint Novak the host for In The Loop. And we’ve got Heather Kramer Public Relations Manager from Dorney Park. Heather, how are you doing?

Heather Kramer: I’m doing great. How are you?

Clint: I’m doing just fine. So how are the hibernating roller coasters at Dorney Park?

Heather: Well they’re still sleeping right now. They are going to come out of hibernation on Saturday, May 7th this year. They’re doing great. We had some rainy weather these last couple weeks so hopefully we will get some sun.

Clint: All right, very good, very good. And there is a new addition to the coaster family at Dorney Park for the 2005 season. Would you like to tell us about that?

Heather: Sure. Its Hydra the revenge. It is our Hercules myth that has come a reality here, Hercules I am sure every one is familiar, was taken over by Hydra. Hercules was dismantled in 2003. And now Hydra is in the making. We have all of the steel in, and we're working on getting the trains on the track and getting the station up and the electrical work in.

Clint: So what are some of the states for the coaster going in? Tell us about that.

Heather: Sure it is nearly 3,200 feet in track length. And the height of the lift will take you up 95 feet, and take you back down 105ft. There is seven inversions. Top speed is 53 miles per hour. That will last about two and a half minutes.

Clint: Is there any other new attractions coming in the 2005 season?

Heather: I can tell you we will have a new attraction, besides Hydra. That's our big attraction, but in the plans is another attraction. I will keep you posted. We are also working on converting a restaurant. Some other excitement in the park this year is our 20 year anniversary of our water park, Wild Water Kingdom.

Clint: When coasters open up, some have auctioning for the first seats. Is Hydra doing something similar to that?

Heather: It's funny that you mention that. We are actually in talks about that. We have a couple ideas. We are not quite sure how it will work but we will keep you up to date at www.dorneypark.com.

Clint: We will also keep you up to date here at In The Loop. So dipping in to the rumor department. There is a lot of talks about Dominator. There are three towers, two with a ride on them and one just sitting there unoccupied. Are you going to add another ride to it?

Heather: It's not the first time I've heard that. When we did purchase the ride we wanted the three towers so we had the option of adding a third one. But I can tell you it's not in the near future.

Clint: All right, once again it's Dorney Park, one of the many parks in the Cedar Fair family. Heather thanks for being with us today.

Heather: Thank you so much for having me.

For the full interview in audio format, click here.