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Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom (Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA)

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Amusement Park: Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom (1985 to present)
Dorney Park (1884 to 1984)
Address: 3830 Dorney Park Road
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA
Postal Code: 18104
1860  Initially a fish hatchery built by Solomon Dorney featuring trout ponds along Cedar Creek and shady picnic groves.
1870  Playground-style rides, refreshment stands, a hotel and restaurant were added.
1899  The Allentown-Kutztown Traction Company completed a double-track trolley that extended from Allentown to Kutztown, making a stop at Dorney Park. Roundtrip fare on the trolley cost five cents.
1901  The Traction Company purchases the park.
1923  Robert Plarr, Bill Ruske and Ray Sandt purchase the park.  A few years later, Robert Plarr purchased the park outright from his partners.
1966  Robert Plarr dies leaving the park to his son Stephen Plarr.
1967  Stephen Plarr dies and Robert Ott (son-in-law to Robert Plarr) becomes the new park owner.
1980  "Dorney Park Road" that once bisected the park is closed.  A fence is erected around the park and an admission fee now required to enter the park.
1983  A major fire burns several attractions including the 1916 Philadelphia Toboggan Carousel (purchased from Shellpot Park in Wilmington, Delaware in 1932) and the Bucket of Blood.
1985  Harris Weinstein purchases the park.
  Wildwater Kingdom opens.
1992  Cedar Fair L.P. purchases the park.
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