ComplaintsforDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My son came to the park as part of his school field trip on 6/12/23. On his way in to the park, he state that the security confiscated everybody speaker with varying size from a palm size to book size speaker. He state that the security did not give a proper explanation to why other that you cant bring it in and it has to be confiscated. What made it worse, the items that was confiscated was not return at the end of their trip. I check the park's list that is not allowed to bring in and other that the obvious item like knife, liquor and other stuff, no mention of speaker. I tried to fill a complain but the only number they have is customer service which is no help and was only refer to emailing the company which hopefully gets to the proper depart and not ignored. I don't think this is right and I see it as plain stealing. Wish me luck and I wish Dorney Park will make it right, Not just for me but for everybody else.

• Initial Complaint

  05/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a season and meal pass for my son in 2022 for the upcoming season. At the time of purchase, the entry rules allowed my son to use his pass at any time through the operating season without restriction. In April of 2023, Dorney Park changed their policy to restrict use without an additional ticket purchase for a chaperone which is not what I agreed to at the time of my purchase. I am requesting a full refund since the policy change will not allow us to use the purchased passes. Dorney Park management has been difficult to reach and has ignored my outreach to discuss this matter. I simply want a refund because they changed the rules that I agreed to last year. Thank you for your help in this matter.

  Business response

  05/26/2023

  In response to the complaint submitted by ******************* and her request for a refund, Dorney Parks position is to stay with our no refund policy.
  ******************** has spoken with several individuals here at the property and what has been explained to her is a few things:
  When she purchased her sons pass the Terms and Conditions, which she signed, specifically states that we can and many change policies and rules at any time. I have included and highlighted the section in the attached paperwork.
  That at no point has Dorney Park ever encouraged or advertised that minors are to be left unattended here and that it has always been a policy that many of our rides that a Supervising companion is needed. (Per **** Standards)
  The policy is not intended to increase our revenue to force the purchase of tickets. I explained to ******************** that we know that this policy actually decreases our ticket sales. (This policy rolled out to two of our properties in October of 22 and did decrease their sales)
  At no time are we telling her we are not enforcing the policy, we explained how it was to be enforced.
  The decision to not refund her money was based on ** ********* statements of “my son’s friends decided not to buy passes, so he had no one to go with” and that “he never comes before 4pm”. 
  I do not feel that either of these reasons are valid and I even researched her sons entries from 2022 and her statement is not factual.****** came last season 8 total times; our system date and time stamps each entry, 5 of the 8 times were before 4pm.
  ** ******* was offered a compromise of refunding her sons meal plan which is half of the cost and she refused it. In addition, she has already disputed this charge with her Credit card company so if they decide she is owed a refund, then she would receive it through the dispute process already is motion.
  Thank you for your time in this matter, if you need any more information, please feel free to contact me.
  Sincerely,
  *******************************
  Director of Park Operations

  Customer response

  05/31/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Despite the response and the reliance on the contract law that is referred to, I am not satisfied with the answer. Further knowing that they went as far as to review my son's entries to the park in the previous year I am doubly concerned that he may be personally targeted due to this policy change should he attend the park. The precedent from last year does not reflect our current situation and is irrelevant.

  The response also "cherry picked" items from our verbal discussion which are factors, but not the main reason, for the refund request. We are still unable to comply with the chaperone policy of having a 21 year old individual paying full price inside the park after 4pm.

  I had hoped that Cedar Fair management could come up with a solution such as a non-rider pass at a discounted price so that we could be accommodated, however that is clearly not something they are willing to consider. 

  While I understand that I will not get the resolution I desire, clearly keeping the revenue is more important than customer relations to Cedar Fair, I still believe this was a "bait and switch" that should have been resolved with the first outreach regarding my concern.

  I am extremely disappointed and surprised by how much effort was put forth to ensure that I would not get my funds back when other avenues (such as a simple refund as an exception) could have been explored. 

  Regards,
  
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On Sunday September 4th approximately 5:30pm my family and I were inside Dorney Park & Wild water Kingdom. We were just finishing up our second day pass we purchased online for our vacation. Was about to leave the park ,and I walk ahead not realizing my family was not right behind me they were still at booth paying for souvenir outside. Now realizing I saw them walking down towards gift shop,I was still inside the park by entrance and started walking towards them. Was abruptly stopped by Security Guard and questioned where my ticket was,I then said I was still in park was about to leave and my family and I got split up and they have my phone and all belongings on them I had nothing on me at that time .I explained to the security personnel person he was rude and obnoxious towards me and kept raising his voice saying I need your ticket to let u back in.I then explain we had went out of the park earlier to car and they gave us a paper ticket which we used to get back in prior and when we re entered we asked at gate if we needed to hold onto them cause we were going in water park they said no so we tossed them away thinking we were good for rest of day till we left.This young gentlemen insisted I wait outside of gate for my family which had no idea I was there now and I had no way for them to contact me .I then said I have to go in there to the gift shop and get them so we can leave ,he then said no your not ,and was coming towards me like he was going to do something,I moved away and kept walking ahead and he then said I'm gonna get my my Supervisor after you. My fiance was very upset as well as his daughter ,as to the way he was speaking rudely and make threats of getting security involved and again Supervisor . I was mortified being embarrassed in front of other people and being accused of trying to sneak in park when I was already inside and hadn't exited park yet.I then came back to gate with my parking pass and he laughed at me and said have a good day!

• Initial Complaint

  07/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Hello, On July 23, 2022, myself along with a group of almost 30 visited Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. We were racially discriminated against when entering the park trying to park in the lot. We had to move our vehicles twice which followed with racist remarks being made by an employee. I then arrived at Guest Services to pick up my group tickets and request accommodation passes. I was then told my child needed to be "evaluated" following with questions pertaining to what type of disability the children in my party have. Moving forward, we finally entered the park and went to the Wave Pool. The kids were able to enjoy about 45 minutes before they had to get out. None of the lifeguards were able to tell us why we had to get out the water. We sat outside the Wave Pool for over an hour while and watched no maintenance be done to get the eyelashes, ear plugs or even the life jackets out the water. While waiting we decided to get drinks. The machines were empty. No ice for water, no soda or juice to drink. This is happening on a day where the temp was over 95 degrees. Next came a guest throwing food in my child's face. Security did nothing at all to rectify the situation. That's called assault on a minor. Lastly, being that none of the ride operators knew what the accommodations pass was for or how to use it the kids were unable to get on any rides. I was able to locate a park supervisor who was able to help get us on the Tilt A Whirl Swing. The ride operator never came to ensure we were safely secured before starting the ride. Patrons behind me screaming for the attendant to not start the ride because we were not belted in. We flew around in the air for almost 5 minutes. Since the incident has happened I've contacted the park directly and spoke to a few supervisors who have done nothing but take my call as feedback. Telling me they're going to release the call because they've provided all the resolution the can is disgustingly ridiculous.

• Initial Complaint

  07/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On June 23, They randomly closed the park at 4 pm with no weather conditions without any transparent explanation to customers. Communication was horrendous. Rumor is the park was so slow that day they decided to close early. We arrived at 2 pm so clearly didnt receive anything close to fair value for our purchase. Only after pressing, we were told our tickets would be honored on future week day but must be before Sept 1. We are not interested in having to pay for gas(which is highly costly now) and parking for a return visit given there is no guarantee they won't whimsically close early again. We would rather have a full refund which gives us the flexibility to choose a return date of our choice and doesn't lock us into incurring further expenses such as gas and parking which we already spent once. order# ********

• Initial Complaint

  12/31/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On Nov 10th, I purchased 2 tickets to Dorney Park to be used on Saturday, Nov 13th. It was raining on the 13th so I timed my arrival in the afternoon when the weather was supposed to clear. I checked the website before leaving the house to make sure they were open. When I arrived, the rain had stopped but Dorney had just shut down early due to inclement weather. I talked to a park employee who told me that my tickets were good for the remainder of the 2021 season. The problem was that the season ended on November 14th, which was the following day. I wasn't able to go that following day, and sent a request through Dorney's website to credit me for the 2022 season. I sent the request on Nov 13th and then a second time on Nov 28th. I've received no response from them. I've disputed the charge through Discover and am now filing this complaint. It's unreasonable for them to state the tickets are good through the end of the season when the season ended the following day. It simply wasn't possible for me to get there that following day. I didn't even ask for a refund, but rather I asked for a credit toward the 2022 season. They never responded, which is completely unacceptable. Now I just want a refund because I don't intend to give them my business in the future.

• Initial Complaint

  11/20/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Date: Nov. 13, 2021 Amount paid: $455.36 13 tickets to Dorney Park Order #: ******** Our family already had season passes, so for our sons birthday we bought 13 tickets for our sons friends. We called and spoke to someone the day before and they said the park wouldnt close just because of rain. So we bought the tickets. We specifically planned to show up around noon, have lunch at Dorney Park, send the kids to the arcade and then theyd still have a few hours of nice weather to go on the rides.We got there and had lunch at Coasters. They screwed up the order so we didnt get the full discount our season passes entitled us to. We heard an employee say the park was closing. They told us it was closing because there werent enough people in the park.The park announced that they were closing due to inclement weather. Then a second staffer told us the park was closing because they didnt have enough visitors.Then customer service told us that our day tickets (the ones we bought for the kids) would be honored the next day but that was it. No other days. No refunds. The parking passes wouldnt be honored or refunded. They told us no one there was authorized to do anything better.And, because people make plans for the weekend, only a couple of the kids could come back the following day not enough to justify renting another van to bring everyone back.So wed like a refund for $455.36 (13 tickets + parking). Thats not even counting the van rental, $250, or the $200 for the non-discounted lunch which we only ate because we were there to be at the park.The worst part is we like Dorney Park. And now it turns out that the precise thing that made us want to come the fact that the weather might make the park less crowded and the lines shorter seems to have been their real reason for shutting down. It seems like a horrific way to treat your most loyal customers, but Im hoping theyll do the right thing and we can go back to feeling good about Dorney Park again!

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I need help with this business I went there on September 18 2021 I got hurt due to lack of cleaning and also many other things I have a,learning issue I need help to file a complaint I have tried to speak to supervisor at dorney park and waa told to use site to email them to get help I have done this every week since then and no one has called me I was hoping you could call so I can explain what happened thay day

• Initial Complaint

  10/24/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Yesterday, Sat 10/23/21, I brought my daughter and 3 friends to Dorney Park. My daughter had a season pass and one friend had a pre-purchased ticket. The other 2 needed to buy. We could not purchase online, message indicated they were SOLD OUT. Online tickets are discounted and approx $45 each. We called and spoke to a gentleman who said online has a limit but they can purchase at the gate for the regular $70 price. This was at 4:00 pm. We drove there and saw sold out signs on the way in indicating SOLD OUT, around 4:45. I waited for them to get to the gate to make sure they got in. At the gate, they were told regular admission tickets were sold out, but Season Pass holders can get in. The two others could buy passes for $90 and get in. They did buy them at $90 because they wanted to have a fun night out. This practice does not sound right to me. I can understand limiting the number of online tickets,but usually sold out at the gate means they have reached capacity. That was not the case. These kids paid double the online price and $20 over the regular price of admission. Is this appropriate and legal?Thank you,***********************

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Ordered tickets for Dorney but never selected date. Tix were auto selected for Oct1st. We were working/at school that day and needed them for the 2nd. We called and spoke to a rep who told both myself and my husband during multiple calls, no prob, just bring them Sat. And pay the diff. Between Fri&Sat ticks. Arrived Sat. And guest service wasn't sure how to do transaction. Said she'd refund our original tix and just redo for Sat. Orig. Charged $185 for 3 tix, meal tix and parking. Charged additional $99. Spent a week "pending refund", then told no refund BC they had to charge more expensive gate price, which was never mentioned before. Should have been refunded $70. Difference between Fri&Sat tix is $10ea. ($30 total). Meaning $70 refund. Manager would not respond directly to us.

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