Dorney Park Nightly Fireworks Rejected

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom will not be allowed to shoot nightly fireworks this summer.

After listening to nearly seven hours of testimony over two days, the three-member South Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board on Monday unanimously rejected Dorney Park's request to hold nightly fireworks from June 29 to Aug. 25.

About a dozen residents testified Monday against Dorney Park's desire to expand its fireworks show from three times a year to 57 consecutive nights.

In May, Zoning Officer Gerald Harbison rejected Dorney Park's application to expand its fireworks show because it would be a new use not permitted under the zoning ordinance and was a nuisance and potential safety hazard. Dorney Park's holiday fireworks shows on Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day were conditional uses that were grandfathered in under current zoning.

Residents said while they've made accommodations for the three holiday fireworks show, the noise from fireworks traumatizes their pets, shakes their houses, rattles their windows and occasionally rains smoke and debris on their houses.

Among the opponents on Monday were two Viet Nam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who said the loud fireworks would cause flashbacks.

Jason McClure, vice president and general manager of Dorney Park, said the park wanted to add nightly fireworks to draw more customers and get them to stay longer. McClure said the nightly fireworks would be lower, shorter and less noisy than the holiday shows.

The nightly fireworks would start between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., last five minutes and be shot about 300 feet in the air, or slightly higher than the 200-foot-high Steel Force roller coaster. 

By contrast, he said, Dorney's holiday shows are about 20 minutes long and use 5-inch shells that display color fireworks 500 feet in the air, as well as "salutes," pyrotechnics that emit a loud bang.