Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread

This would be the 2nd time in six years then.

^ wooden coasters are typically maintained on a daily basis if need be. Odds are that’s all that is going on with that pile of wood. There was an episode of Awesome Attractions or something like that where they go to mean streak and show the process and explain why they do it.

Went to the park yesterday. Rode the Silver Bullet early in the morning. By mid afternoon it was broke and never reopened. I was in line for Thunder Rapids and it broke. Logs got stuck on the hills. Maintenance came and got them unstuck. They ran a test cycle and mid way the same thing happened. It was closed for the rest of the day. Motocoaster was down in the morning but was going mid afternoon. I didn't notice if anything else was down. Twister was going strong. The park was quite busy yesterday. It was nice to see that it was busy for a change.

^ Our shop picnic was there yesterday which would have contributed to some of the crowds.

We went last year and had a blast, but this year it just wasn't feasible, unfortunately.

At DL right now, TR is operating again, but Twister has been down all day. I'm wondering if they will bother with opening it again, it has had problems every time I have been here this year. Also, the new Strike U Up game is already broken, it was stuck at the top with nobody on it and closed all day. Near Slap Shot, I noticed Chris Thorpe picking up litter on the paths. I didn't talk to him, but it was nice to see a person in charge leaving the office and cleaning up on the front lines! Galaxy Theatre's door was open again, and not much was going on in there, just the usual maintenance equipment.

Thunder Rapids open- still no water on large drop.

^ it would appear that you and I have had very different experiences with Twister this season. Every time I’ve been there this year (minus the first two visits) twister has been up and running without a problem! The funny thing is the only issue I encountered was one of the ride ops didn’t actually know they had to press a certain button to clear the ride and they called maintenance for it. Otherwise it’s been fine! The fountain in front of it on the other hand? Not so much. Which is a shame because it looks nice when it’s working!

Let’s just hope that Twister, Motocoaster, TR and any other ride that has been closed a couple times this season won’t be scrapped like a lot of people here have been suggesting recently... in my humble opinion, why not just give Darien a chance to get rides open? I know Twister and TR arent the most cooperative attractions this year but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be ripped out, you know? (And this isn’t a jab at anyone in particular, I promise)

^ it would appear that you and I have had very different experiences with Twister this season. Every time I’ve been there this year (minus the first two visits) twister has been up and running without a problem! The funny thing is the only issue I encountered was one of the ride ops didn’t actually know they had to press a certain button to clear the ride and they called maintenance for it. Otherwise it’s been fine! The fountain in front of it on the other hand? Not so much. Which is a shame because it looks nice when it’s working!

 

Let’s just hope that Twister, Motocoaster, TR and any other ride that has been closed a couple times this season won’t be scrapped like a lot of people here have been suggesting recently... in my humble opinion, why not just give Darien a chance to get rides open? I know Twister and TR arent the most cooperative attractions this year but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be ripped out, you know? (And this isn’t a jab at anyone in particular, I promise)

What's TR?

At DL right now, TR is operating again, but Twister has been down all day. I'm wondering if they will bother with opening it again, it has had problems every time I have been here this year. Also, the new Strike U Up game is already broken, it was stuck at the top with nobody on it and closed all day. Near Slap Shot, I noticed Chris Thorpe picking up litter on the paths. I didn't talk to him, but it was nice to see a person in charge leaving the office and cleaning up on the front lines! Galaxy Theatre's door was open again, and not much was going on in there, just the usual maintenance equipment.

I see upper management all the time at Six Flags parks out and about cleaning up paths. I go to Six Flags America quite a bit and see it all the time.

^ it would appear that you and I have had very different experiences with Twister this season. Every time I’ve been there this year (minus the first two visits) twister has been up and running without a problem! The funny thing is the only issue I encountered was one of the ride ops didn’t actually know they had to press a certain button to clear the ride and they called maintenance for it. Otherwise it’s been fine! The fountain in front of it on the other hand? Not so much. Which is a shame because it looks nice when it’s working!

 

Let’s just hope that Twister, Motocoaster, TR and any other ride that has been closed a couple times this season won’t be scrapped like a lot of people here have been suggesting recently... in my humble opinion, why not just give Darien a chance to get rides open? I know Twister and TR arent the most cooperative attractions this year but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be ripped out, you know? (And this isn’t a jab at anyone in particular, I promise)

 

 

What's TR?

TR means Thunder Rapids, the log flume ride.

Park is PACKED today. Kingdom Bound part of the reason. Ive never had to park as far away as I did today.

Wait isn't that RMC repair from 2011? Because the ride itself wasn't retraked just a few supports.

Boomerang was the only ride down yesterday.

I spoke to the ride op on Thunder Rapids and he said the second hill wont have water on it this season because the pump broke and it doesnt affect ride functionality. He also said its the oldest ride in the park which I didnt know.

Boomerang was the only ride down yesterday.

 

I spoke to the ride op on Thunder Rapids and he said the second hill wont have water on it this season because the pump broke and it doesnt affect ride functionality. He also said its the oldest ride in the park which I didnt know.

I thought Haymaker was currently the oldest ride at Darien Lake, now i'm confused.

But Thunder rapids opened the same year as viper.

^Didn't most of the Darien Lake's older rides open in 1981 with the park?

I think Thunder Rapids opened in 1981 with the park.

Just got back from the park, and out of the 4 years that I have had a season pass, this is the most crowded I had ever seen the place. This was because of the country concert. I got to DL around 1:00, and the ENTIRE lit was full, and I had to park at the back of the PAC lot, and I wasn't even going to the concert, and it was 6 hours before the concert even started. The only rides down were Viper, Silver Bullet, and Strike U Up. I have noticed that out of the 9 times I've been to DL this year, Silver Bullet has been open only once, and Strike U Up has been down the last few times I've been there, and it's brand new! Also, I can confirm that Ranger is still on the property, next to the PAC lot.

Thunder Rapids is definitely one of the older rides at the park. I'm pretty sure it was installed in 1981 and that was the first season the park was classified as a theme park. I was working at Slap Shot last night and I can confirm that Viper opened back up towards the end of the day. Silver Bullet has had several problems this season but it had been running very well for the past month and a half. As far as Strike-U-Up is concerned, I was told by an attractions attendant that it will be gone at the end of the season. I've rarely seen people play that game so and the park is not making a whole lot of money off of it. Also, I don't think it can ever be open in the rain.

Just got back from the park, and out of the 4 years that I have had a season pass, this is the most crowded I had ever seen the place. This was because of the country concert. I got to DL around 1:00, and the ENTIRE lit was full, and I had to park at the back of the PAC lot, and I wasn't even going to the concert, and it was 6 hours before the concert even started. The only rides down were Viper, Silver Bullet, and Strike U Up. I have noticed that out of the 9 times I've been to DL this year, Silver Bullet has been open only once, and Strike U Up has been down the last few times I've been there, and it's brand new! Also, I can confirm that Ranger is still on the property, next to the PAC lot.

Not bad, free park visit with concert ticket and $29.99 tickets help. Also helps that the Erie county Fair keeps overcharging for rides by a ton, $40 POP on the weekend or $29.99 admission to DL, the choice is easy. I did the math and it's cheaper to go to any other park in the area rather than pay for admission and rides at the fair for each person.

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I can officially confirm that the Strike-U-Up will only be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the remainder of the 2017 season. If you still want to try it out, those are the days to do it.

I have yet to get to Darien Lake this summer because of my summer job, social life, and church responsibilities. From what I've read on this forum, I'm kind of sad to see what has happened to the park. Maybe one visit later this month is all I need for the year. Are the broken rides a matter of a lack in funding or is there some other factor that I am unaware of?

I have yet to get to Darien Lake this summer because of my summer job, social life, and church responsibilities. From what I've read on this forum, I'm kind of sad to see what has happened to the park. Maybe one visit later this month is all I need for the year. Are the broken rides a matter of a lack in funding or is there some other factor that I am unaware of?

The only long time mechanical downtime was Thunder Rapids which is now fixed. Dont take this thread as a sign of the parks condition, the park is in good shape with occasional breakdowns that every place has.

^ ditto

As I mentioned before on this thread, it seems that people see a ride with occasional down time at the park, and they interpret it as a ride that’s certainly going to be removed and replaced by a new rollercoaster (we’ve seen this for a few years now with Twister. This year it’s been Twister, Silver Bullet, Thunder Rapids, etc.). I don’t understand why this is happening but at the same time I’ve stopped questioning it because at the end of the day, all will play out for the park eventually

Now this is just completely pathetic: I was looking at Fantasy Island's days of operation for this season, and I found that they will be open much later than DL this year. I don't get what's up with DL and downsizing themselves , ending Fright Fest, but it looks like they are getting beat by Fantasy Island, which I never thought would happen. DL really needs to step it up and get back to the way they used to be. I have heard from many people in lines this year, most of these people haven't been to DL in a few years, and they were disappointed in what the park has become lately, the two biggestthings I have heard were about one train ops and no new ride.

The Fantasy Island Hours on their website.

I was last there in 2010. I've driven by them twice in the past 2 years but haven't felt compelled to stop there. You think that'd be hard for a park with an Intamin hyper but the lack of new rides definitely played in. I think Blast Off and Brain Drain would be the only two new rides since.

Now this is just completely pathetic: I was looking at Fantasy Island's days of operation for this season, and I found that they will be open much later than DL this year. I don't get what's up with DL and downsizing themselves , ending Fright Fest, but it looks like they are getting beat by Fantasy Island, which I never thought would happen.

I noticed on FB that Fantasy Island posted they are having an Oktoberfest and Halloween event, which I thought was a bit bold of them given that the park is more geared towards the family and I immediately had the same thoughts. I do like Darien Lake but haven't felt compelled to take the four hour drive due to lack of anything new in the ride department. The addition of Rolling Thunder was the last time I was there.

I always kind of thought Fantasy Island was already beating Darien Lake due to the consistent investment the park was receiving as Martin's. While the additions haven't been earth shattering they at least had been adding new rides. I've been to Fantasy Island twice (still under Martin's) and if Apex starts to make more improvements to the park then I might just skip Corfu for Grand Island.