The actual lake was dug and filled in '54, but started as a "campground picnic park" when Paul Snyder came in, in 1964.
Didn't Darien Lake started out as a beach on a man-made lake in 1954?
This year is technically Darien Lake's 60th anniversary since the park opened in 1954 as a beach, then it became a campground, and then the theme park we know it as today when the first rides were put in circa 1979.