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Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread


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Still can't figure out if Pattycakes is a troll or not... I don't understand how you can say Darien Lake is so much better than Haunt at CW when you haven't even been.

 

One thing I will definitely say is CW was absolutely PACKED to the brim with scaresctors. Both around the park and in the mazes too. Darien Lake was a ghost town on Friday.

 

At CW I don't like how they charged parking even for Platinum Pass holders (apparently they've always done that, but we normally went during the day and stayed at night so we never left the lot), and how the meal and drink plan (despite the website saying otherwise about drinks) was no good at Haunt. It wouldn't have been terrible if it was clearly outlined on the website that meals were no good, but you have to really dig to find it on the accesso store.

 

Anyways, the haunts themselves at CW was probably the worst it's been in my opinion, but still miles ahead of Fright Fest. To say Fright Fest looks better is insulting. Trust me, I want Darien Lake to succeed, but they need to step it up.

 

I'm curious how Fantasy Island will compare...

 

I work at Fantasy Island. Their Halloween Horror is terrible. The whole time, I saw two actors in hazmat suits, those were the only scare actors I saw. There is a house, a camp type scare, like a tamed-down ScumShine, and a trailer scare you walk through, nine are that good.

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^ I've said it before, I'm all about the atmosphere that is created and I feel they did a great job with that for sure, however when I can go to Cedar Point and visit all of their houses and scare zones included with admission, you can bet money I'm not going to spend an extra $25 for subpar houses (Per person which is asinine).

 

I'm all about supporting this park - however I will do so as I always have. For the vast majority of my visits I will not partake in the uncharge attractions because to me they do not make or break my visit to the park whatsoever. Hopefully that makes some sense and I'm not contradicting myself

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^ I've said it before, I'm all about the atmosphere that is created and I feel they did a great job with that for sure, however when I can go to Cedar Point and visit all of their houses and scare zones included with admission, you can bet money I'm not going to spend an extra $25 for subpar houses (Per person which is asinine).

 

I'm all about supporting this park - however I will do so as I always have. For the vast majority of my visits I will not partake in the upcharge attractions because to me they do not make or break my visit to the park whatsoever. Hopefully that makes some sense and I'm not contradicting myself

 

There is no need to explain yourself for giving a positive review. Don't pat attention to the negative people on this forum. I love Darien Lake, I love Canada's Wonderland. IMO.

Edited by PATTYCAKES
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Still can't figure out if Pattycakes is a troll or not... I don't understand how you can say Darien Lake is so much better than Haunt at CW when you haven't even been.

 

One thing I will definitely say is CW was absolutely PACKED to the brim with scaresctors. Both around the park and in the mazes too. Darien Lake was a ghost town on Friday.

 

At CW I don't like how they charged parking even for Platinum Pass holders (apparently they've always done that, but we normally went during the day and stayed at night so we never left the lot), and how the meal and drink plan (despite the website saying otherwise about drinks) was no good at Haunt. It wouldn't have been terrible if it was clearly outlined on the website that meals were no good, but you have to really dig to find it on the accesso store.

 

Anyways, the haunts themselves at CW was probably the worst it's been in my opinion, but still miles ahead of Fright Fest. To say Fright Fest looks better is insulting. Trust me, I want Darien Lake to succeed, but they need to step it up.

 

I'm curious how Fantasy Island will compare...

 

I work at Fantasy Island. Their Halloween Horror is terrible. The whole time, I saw two actors in hazmat suits, those were the only scare actors I saw. There is a house, a camp type scare, like a tamed-down ScumShine, and a trailer scare you walk through, nine are that good.

 

You know, it would be nice if you supported the park at least a little bit. If you really think it’s that bad then why do you even work there? All you do is bash the place. They aren’t Six Flags or Canada’s Wonderland. Obviously it’s gonna take some time to build it up. It’s literally the company’s second year doing Halloween Horror, so give it a chance. Oh and just a little FYI, if you’re gonna complain about the park, don’t complain about how there isn’t enough employees in a specific area for anything. That’s simply because many of the people hired at the park seem like a good fit at first, however, they end up being bad employees and the park is doing it’s job by terminating them, even when they know they’ll be short staffed.

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^ I've said it before, I'm all about the atmosphere that is created and I feel they did a great job with that for sure, however when I can go to Cedar Point and visit all of their houses and scare zones included with admission, you can bet money I'm not going to spend an extra $25 for subpar houses (Per person which is asinine).

 

I'm all about supporting this park - however I will do so as I always have. For the vast majority of my visits I will not partake in the upcharge attractions because to me they do not make or break my visit to the park whatsoever. Hopefully that makes some sense and I'm not contradicting myself

 

There is no need to explain yourself for giving a positive review. Don't pat attention to the negative people on this forum. I love Darien Lake, I love Canada's Wonderland. IMO.

 

I’m not really going against what bill said, if anything I’m adding to it in a constructive way. It should be the optimist's responsibility to be able to admit and agree that things aren't always perfect, and to admit that when it makes sense.

 

I appreciate the alternate opinions as long as it doesn't become people unnecessarily bashing others for liking / disliking things that the park does.

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The Pirate may be sailing once again this evening/weekend.

^ Darien Lake has been busy with late season improvements. Finally fixing the Pirate. I heard that Live Nation added new LED screens in the Performing Arts Center right before the last concert of the year as well. Did anybody go to the Kid Rock concert, that can confirm that?

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It's a swinging ship.

 

It's major mechanical components consist of like 2 drive tires. If Six Flags felt like repairing it would be prohibitively expensive they would have bought a new swinging ship, and by "bought a new swinging ship" I mean the would have removed it, used it for parts at their other parks, left the dock and queue in place because they don't give a sh*t and never ever ever ever ever actually bought a new swinging ship because that would be stupid.

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Spending close to a million replacing a flat ride with the same thing but newer is pretty far down the list. You aren't really going to get much new attendance on it and that's at least the cost of adding say a second RoS train. Six Flags orders their rides in multiples so if Darien gets another flat announced next year it'll probably be something a few other parks are getting (look at how many pendulums their installing next year). If it's similar to something they already have to replace that's probably more serendipitous than for the sake of updating an old favorite.

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It's a swinging ship.

 

It's major mechanical components consist of like 2 drive tires. If Six Flags felt like repairing it would be prohibitively expensive they would have bought a new swinging ship, and by "bought a new swinging ship" I mean the would have removed it, used it for parts at their other parks, left the dock and queue in place because they don't give a sh*t and never ever ever ever ever actually bought a new swinging ship because that would be stupid.

 

I am pretty sure every other park would do the same thing. Sometimes rides reach end of life. Then they get removed. As it was already said a park isn't going to replace a ride with the same ride, that doesn't make sense. Marineland's topple tower is still standing, the whole thing, standing for years, un-operational. I went to marineland last year and I didn't even notice this ride standing there, so its not a huge deal to me. It doesn't really make sense to remove and rebuild unless the place is planning on using that spot for another ride or another attraction. Its cheaper to just leave it there. Also I can actually support this idea, because if a park has a SBNO ride, then dealing with it costs money (unless as I said it has to be dealt with to put in a new attraction and this is when they are at the point that it becomes too expensive to repair) and that is less money that they can spend on something new.

 

It also makes sense for a big park chain to buy rides in multiples, they probably get a good deal and most people aren't going to go to multiple six flags parks in different areas that have the same ride anyways so a lot of parks get something new that way and it increases attendance.

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I am pretty sure every other park would do the same thing. Sometimes rides reach end of life. Then they get removed.

 

I agree (with the exception of pay-per-ride parks who might actually replace it), the only difference is how they would deal with the empty ride pad. Again though... it’s a swinging ship. It’ll pretty much run forever if they want it to.

 

PS: Marineland is a dump and should never be used as an example of what “every other park” would do.

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Went to Fantasy Island last night for their haunt. (photos compliments of a buddy of mine I went with) -- PS: the only reason he went was because I had a bring a friend free pass and he conveniently crosses Grand Island after work. The only reason I went is because I somehow got roped into a 2019 season pass. WTF was I thinking?

 

One thing that really impressed me was that they had one of the longest haunted houses I've ever seen. MIDWAY MAYHEM. I think it was even longer than Lake Compounce's 45 minute attraction. Or something.

 

3226919f2a2429acd0902739fc9e3bb2.jpg

 

7af15a99fcdd1e77aee7a59562fde96d.jpg

 

Next up we had an attraction called "what's in the box"... we asked the employee outside the first haunted house what was in the box and she had no clue. This made me even more excited as nobody knew. Sorry, NO SPOILERS. you have to see for yourself!

 

fdd3565437c7df819ffebd8209d5e119.jpg

 

1530240bc379f99b6f3c3c700c74b783.jpg

 

1c0b1c3322bb4050519e446e520a8ed0.jpg

 

Lastly they themed their canoes (note the location on the website screenshot) to be super scary. Seriously, don't touch the water.

 

52942551db0f079199e05536964a8a69.jpg

 

9d7f1e42c3f8f6ca4dc66ffc89bb377e.jpg

 

One of the couple of scare zones (the rest are not pictured)

 

0bc1d8188caf970fed6f0041406a380a.jpg

 

To Fantasy Island's credit:

- Silver Comet is still a great ride. Yes the train was literally falling apart and chunks of it were missing, it was a ton of fun in both the front and back.

- While extremely clunky, we had a great ride on the spinning mouse (2 people only sat to one side) holy crap did we get dizzy.

- The first / largest house was actually on par with Jungle Apocalypse at Darien Lake. (No, really) -- They both had the same amount of actors, too. And unlike Darien Lake, they were actually acting and trying.

 

3630b02574816944c5512ee61a41b138.jpg

 

- "the Awakening" outdoor show, while only seen from a distance, the choreography didn't seem that bad. I caught glimpses from the Silver Comet station and on the ride.

- we missed out on the 4d upcharge thing, and some of the shows.

- Freddie Kruger was a little cold in the one scarezone so they let him wear Nike windbreaker pants

- While we didn't ride, I applaud the enclosed bumper cars / road rage cage. We saw fog spewing from the entranceway.

 

c769ce4e9407b7ade723dac272053ab3.jpg

 

- I was wearing my Wicked Cyclone hoodie and the op at Crazy Mouse was telling me about his ride on Steel Vengeance but unfortunately it was his only RMC. (is that you RJR19?)

- Mind Warp (?) was actually a really fun ride (despite the loud scary noises it makes and the trainee who released the restraints instead of hitting START.) I thought we were going to die for a brief moment. Honestly it was really good and seeing the comet upside down was neat. If it was any longer I would have puked, however. I didn't feel well the rest of the night, but maybe it was the radioactive canoes talking.

 

Well I think that's it.

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I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not....

 

I can see why you got roped into a seasons pass though, they basically force you to get one now so you don't have to pay for parking, which from what I heard is up to $10 per car (or perhaps pay for the cost based on the size of your vehicle) when it used to be free because by the time you pay for one daily admission and the parking fee the cost of those 2 things equals the cost of a seasons pass...

 

But in their defense Darien is doing the same thing, if you bought the pass when it was on the flash sale by the time you pay for one daily admission and the cost of parking one car you are already up to the cost of a seasons pass.

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- I was wearing my Wicked Cyclone hoodie and the op at Crazy Mouse was telling me about his ride on Steel Vengeance but unfortunately it was his only RMC. (is that you RJR19?)

 

Sorry, I wasn't working last night. Didn't know there was another coaster enthusiast working with me!

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Went to Fantasy Island last night for their haunt. (photos compliments of a buddy of mine I went with) -- PS: the only reason he went was because I had a bring a friend free pass and he conveniently crosses Grand Island after work. The only reason I went is because I somehow got roped into a 2019 season pass. WTF was I thinking?

 

One thing that really impressed me was that they had one of the longest haunted houses I've ever seen. MIDWAY MAYHEM. I think it was even longer than Lake Compounce's 45 minute attraction. Or something.

 

3226919f2a2429acd0902739fc9e3bb2.jpg

 

7af15a99fcdd1e77aee7a59562fde96d.jpg

 

Next up we had an attraction called "what's in the box"... we asked the employee outside the first haunted house what was in the box and she had no clue. This made me even more excited as nobody knew. Sorry, NO SPOILERS. you have to see for yourself!

 

fdd3565437c7df819ffebd8209d5e119.jpg

 

1530240bc379f99b6f3c3c700c74b783.jpg

 

1c0b1c3322bb4050519e446e520a8ed0.jpg

 

Lastly they themed their canoes (note the location on the website screenshot) to be super scary. Seriously, don't touch the water.

 

52942551db0f079199e05536964a8a69.jpg

 

9d7f1e42c3f8f6ca4dc66ffc89bb377e.jpg

 

One of the couple of scare zones (the rest are not pictured)

 

0bc1d8188caf970fed6f0041406a380a.jpg

 

To Fantasy Island's credit:

- Silver Comet is still a great ride. Yes the train was literally falling apart and chunks of it were missing, it was a ton of fun in both the front and back.

- While extremely clunky, we had a great ride on the spinning mouse (2 people only sat to one side) holy crap did we get dizzy.

- The first / largest house was actually on par with Jungle Apocalypse at Darien Lake. (No, really) -- They both had the same amount of actors, too. And unlike Darien Lake, they were actually acting and trying.

 

3630b02574816944c5512ee61a41b138.jpg

 

- "the Awakening" outdoor show, while only seen from a distance, the choreography didn't seem that bad. I caught glimpses from the Silver Comet station and on the ride.

- we missed out on the 4d upcharge thing, and some of the shows.

- Freddie Kruger was a little cold in the one scarezone so they let him wear Nike windbreaker pants

- While we didn't ride, I applaud the enclosed bumper cars / road rage cage. We saw fog spewing from the entranceway.

 

c769ce4e9407b7ade723dac272053ab3.jpg

 

- I was wearing my Wicked Cyclone hoodie and the op at Crazy Mouse was telling me about his ride on Steel Vengeance but unfortunately it was his only RMC. (is that you RJR19?)

- Mind Warp (?) was actually a really fun ride (despite the loud scary noises it makes and the trainee who released the restraints instead of hitting START.) I thought we were going to die for a brief moment. Honestly it was really good and seeing the comet upside down was neat. If it was any longer I would have puked, however. I didn't feel well the rest of the night, but maybe it was the radioactive canoes talking.

 

Well I think that's it.

 

It was me haha.

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