Coasting for the Kids

Riders in Red Shirts Ride Talon

It was a beautiful day for riders in red shirts to ride roller coasters and raise money for charity in Allentown, PA yesterday.  Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom was one of eleven Cedar Fair amusement parks that ran the fifth annual Coasting for Kids event.  Riders that paid a 25 dollar registration fee and raised 75 or more dollars in donations were able to come to the park and enjoy marathon rides on four of the parks roller coasters.

Webpages and additional tools were set up to help individuals and teams throughout the 11 parks in Cedar Fair’s chain collect money as well as accept offline donations.  Coaster clubs, including American Coaster Enthusiasts, The Coaster Crew and Great Ohio Coaster Club helped promoted the event.  Riders received a t-shirt and certificate for participating in the event.  They were also given other prizes if they reached a certain level of donations.

Riding for a cause on Hydra, The Revenge Coaster

One hundred percent of the registration fees and all donations went to Give Kids the World located in Orlando, Fl.  Give Kids the World is a non-profit organization that allows children with life threatening illnesses and their families to enjoy all that the destination has to offer, including Walt Disney World, free of charge.  The organization has a 70 acre resort with 140 villas for the families to enjoy when they need a break from the action.

Riders at Dorney Park were able to enjoy an hour and a half or more on Steel Force, Stinger, Talon and Hydra the Revenge at specific times.   Participants could stay on each ride and enjoy a marathon riding session but it was not a requirement.  There was at least a half hour break period between each ride session.

Dorney Park tweeted that the park raised over $20,000 in donations from this event.  A combined total from all 11 parks is said to be over $150k.

Riders were given the opportunity to enjoy Stinger,
Dorney Park's Newest Coaster

Dorney Park opened in 1860 as a fish hatchery and was slowly converted into the theme park it is today.  In 1992 the park was purchased by Cedar Fair.  Cedar Fair properties include Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

The sun sets behind Steel Force at Dorney Park
Coasting for Kids participants enjoyed some ride time on
this earlier in the day.

For information on Give Kids the World and how you can help please visit http://www.gktw.org