Thursday, May 24, 2018

Dorney Park Planning New Dorm for Employee Housing

Dorney Park has applied for zoning permission to build a brand new employee dormitory, to be located on the park's property.

According to this news story, the new dorm would feature 100 units in an "L" shape, standing three stories tall.  The article mentions that the dorm would be located on the "Northwest corner" of the property, which to me puts it in the area of the park's current boneyard.  The story does mention the site is currently used for "material and trash storage."

© Google maps
The area in the red square is the Northwest corner of the property that is the boneyard for the park, which is also nicely adjacent to employee parking and other facilities.  It is just up the hill beyond Steel Force's station, an area that would never be developed into amusement park anyway, at least in my opinion, due to lower height limits and proximity to neighbors.

There aren't a ton of details on the facility itself since this isn't an official announcement from the park, but the "L" shape and the comparison to other Cedar Fair dorms mean it will probably be similar to ones built a few years ago at Cedar Point.  This Facebook post from Pointbuzz features some photos of that facility.

This project will allow employees to stay closer to the park, as they currently live in hotels and local colleges during the summer.  It may also give the park even more solid staffing in the early and late season, which potentially could lead to a longer season down the road.