Hercules was a wooden roller coaster that towered over Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania, from 1989 to 2003. Built by the Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers, the ride carved its layout into the park’s natural terrain, using the hillside to produce a drop far steeper and longer than its stated lift height suggested.
At the time of its debut, Hercules set a world record for the longest drop on a wooden coaster at 151 feet, edging out American Eagle at Six Flags Great America. The record even became the subject of a federal lawsuit over competing ‘world’s tallest’ marketing claims, which was settled in Hercules’s favor. Despite its record-setting pedigree, the coaster became better known among fans for its rough, jarring ride quality than for its statistics.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Manufacturer: Dinn Corporation
- Opened: May 6, 1989
- Closed: September 1, 2003
- Height: 95 feet
- Top speed: 65 mph
- Length: 4,000 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Hercules used its hillside terrain layout to deliver a 151-foot first drop that outsized its own 95-foot lift hill, a quirk that made the ride feel far more intense than its height statistic implied. Two Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains, each with six four-seat cars, ran the roughly two-minute-15-second circuit at speeds up to 65 mph.
The coaster’s coupled-car train design produced a rattling side-to-side motion that riders and enthusiasts nicknamed the ‘Dinn shuffle,’ and the rough turn at the base of the first drop earned Hercules the unflattering nickname ‘Hurt-your-knees.’ The park attempted to smooth out the ride over the years, including reconfiguring the coaster’s triple-up hill into a double-up in 1994, and the structure underwent multiple retracking efforts during its operational life.
Legacy and Closure
By the early 2000s, guest surveys consistently ranked Hercules as the lowest-rated ride in the park, and dwindling popularity led Dorney Park to close it for good on September 1, 2003. The wooden structure was demolished at the end of that season, closing out a 14-year run as one of the park’s marquee attractions.
The site was cleared to make way for Hydra the Revenge, a steel floorless coaster that opened in its place. Hercules remains a notable footnote in coaster history for its record-setting drop and the legal battle that briefly made ‘world’s tallest’ claims a matter for the courts.
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Hercules Photo Archive: July 2001
These are original ThrillZing photos of Hercules taken at Dorney Park on July 17, 2001, restored and upscaled from the original camera files, two seasons before it closed. They show the 1989 wooden coaster: the station sign, the lift hill and big turnaround above the station, and a train on the turnaround. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Hercules FAQs
Is Hercules still operating at Dorney Park?
No. Hercules closed permanently on September 1, 2003, and was demolished at the end of that season.
What replaced Hercules at Dorney Park?
Hydra the Revenge, a steel floorless roller coaster, was built on the former site of Hercules.
Why was Hercules famous?
Hercules set a world record for the longest drop on a wooden coaster at 151 feet when it opened in 1989, a claim that led to a federal lawsuit over competing height records before being settled in its favor.
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