ACE Roller Coaster Landmark

Thunderhawk (previously known as Coaster)
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Ceremonially dedicated June 23, 2021

In 1923, Robert Plarr (1895-1966) purchased Dorney Park from the Allentown-Kutztown Traction Company, which had been managed by his father, Jacob, since 1901. As one of his first additions, Plarr replaced the park’s gentler Scenic Railway coaster with a newer, more thrilling underfriction roller coaster from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). Designed by Herbert P. Schmeck (1890-1956), the out-and-back coaster was built along an existing trolley line and opened on March 30, 1924. It was named simply Coaster.

In 1930, Plarr rehired PTC and Schmeck to redesign and reroute the original layout of Coaster into an even more spectacular design. It featured diving drops and twists that redirected the course over the neighboring trolley tracks and into the nearby picnic groves before heading back to the station. The structure was painted yellow in 1954, with locals affectionately calling the ride “yellow coaster” for many years. During this era, the park’s Skooter bumper cars shared the same building as the loading station. The building’s façade was also adorned with the whimsical clown mascot Alfundo, which stood for “Allentown has fun at Dorney.”

In 1989, Coaster was renamed Thunderhawk. Dorney Park was sold to Cedar Fair, L.P. of Sandusky, Ohio, in 1992 with the coaster receiving a more modern loading platform in 1995. Today, the 80-foot-high Thunderhawk still thrills riders along its 2,767 twisting feet of wooden track, making it the world’s oldest PTC roller coaster as well as the oldest designed by Schmeck.