TheDarkMaxim
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Posts posted by TheDarkMaxim
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Looks like it will be almost identical to the one they built at Splashtown in Houston this year.
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So basically we spend most October long weekends at Cedar point, this was our first time staying at Darien Lake instead. We rent a cabin onsite in either case. Pros and Cons:
DL Pros: Way cheaper ($60/night for cabin with diamond elite vs $200/night at Cedar Point)
Pretty much no lineups (CP is slammed that weekend)
Quiet, laser show is cool, closer to home, (Toronto)
Allows dogs and campfires
Impressed with Park being open until 11pm
DL Cons:
The scare zones are a joke
Why not have concerts going even if small scale with that venue there?
Rides obviously not as good
So at $180 VS $600 for accommodations I'd probably plan DL again in the future and catch CP at a less packed weekend. Hopefully they keep improving their haunt. The one maze near Viper was pretty good.
BTW They have NO IDEA what they're doing. I went to member services and asked for my haunted house wristband and the lady said, "I told my boss I'm refusing to give them out because she gave me the wrong colour wristbands to give out last night"... omg haha
Also terrible skip the line system of Ride of Steel.. in most cases we waited longer than the normal line and you have no seat choice.
I have not been to other fright fests, only halloween haunts and screamers
I went to SFNE's the other weekend....generally I found it to be awful. The decorations and a Haunted house were pretty meh, and the actors weren't fantastic. The worst part though was the crowds, the number of people and lines everywhere really ruin the experience for me.
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- Even though they have an indoor queue with several switchbacks, they're having the standby queue form on the main midway outside the building. This is a bummer since the inside queue has some theming, is air-conditioned, and the midway got pretty congested. I think it would really help to either find a way to let the Flash Pass riders enter through the exit or remove Flash Pass entirely from this ride.
I noticed this, I wonder why. Maybe something to do with it getting too hot in there, or firecode occupancy in the line?
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I had a couple hours to kill sunday after arriving into Atlanta for work, so I decided to make a quick trip to SFOG.
Holy hell the park was packed, with every ride having basically a 1 hr+ line. I will say walking in under Goliath and next to Georgia Scorcher is pretty cool. I got in line for TC knowing that would be the only ride I had time for. It ended up breaking down part way through line. Though nearly everyone got out of line, and I was able to be the 2nd train when it re-opened 20 minutes later. TC is a pretty fast paced ride, very fun though of the 3 i've ridden (WC and SV) I would rank it 3rd. WC seems to pull you out of your seat way more, and a slower more hangtimey moments.
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Six Flags (aka literally the whole company) has a market cap of $4.36b.
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I'm guessing they'll put in metal detectors like other SF parks.
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Notice the Flash pass line called out on page 14.
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So did anything hear anything from the town meeting about a new waterpark attraction?
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Not sure the credibility, but someone on Reddit is claiming to know all the SF additions. Said Darien Lake will get a few small rides.
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Anyone have experience with camping near SFGADV?
Last year I camped at the Timberland Lake campground. While close the to the park, it was an expensive trash-heap of a campground.
The state and county campgrounds look decent, but they say "no alcohol". Camping isnt camping without having a beer around a campfire.
It doesn't seem like there are any good options?
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Not sure the reasoning for it, but its not that uncommon for the drop water to be off.
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Thank you BWALL. I just found something that makes me think that Darien Lake will indeed be getting a new coaster next year. It will be call Superman : Ride of Steel VR.
Take a look at what Six Flags New England guests have been enjoying since 2016.
I can tell you right now, that my family will be planning a trip to DL next year if they convert Ride of Steel to VR.
This will be an awesome upcharge ride for DL and will make a load of money to help pay for another train.
(Fingers crossed.)
This was only for part of the 2016 season. I dont even think SF did any rides this year with VR at any parks. I'd say they may have learned their lesson with it.
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I think everyone is also forgetting the bigger picture: Six Flags did not buy Darien Lake. They bought the rights to operate it. That alone likely severely limits the amount of capital expenditure that is possible, let alone probable.
Probably not, Darien Lake is operated under a triple net lease. This means the operator pays for all capital expenditures in exchange for low rent payments. This is similar to SFOG and SFOT.
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The park theoretically could become bigger.
The small market argument is pretty worthless, when you consider the locations of parks like CP, Dollywood, SDC, and SFNE. All parks in small market, with larger markets in a 2+ hour radius.
The best thing Darien Lake has going for it is the onsite hotel and campground which turn it into a destination for people from the Golden Horshoe, Buffalo-Niagara, Rochester, and Syracuse metros.
Is this likely, probably not. But saying Darien Lake can only stay a mediocre regional park isn't true either.
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To be fair yesterday the thunderstorms were coming in hourly waves. It was going from rain and thunder, to sunny, and back again. It did this all day, so I can understand not wanting to have to close all the attractions every hour or two for lightning.
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The free haunted bus ride they used to at Darien Lake was fairly entertaining. It would be nice to see that come back.
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I'm finding it hard to believe the landscaping or painting would be that poor.
Even in the PARC days (aka least operational budget) landscaping and painting were taken care of.
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I went to the park yesterday, the waterpark was pretty full but I got there at opening so we really didn't wait in too many lines.
The rest of the park was pretty empty. Walk on SROS, Wicked Cyclone, and Batman. Penguin's Blizzard River had a 30 minute wait, and Harley Quinn was 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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I'm curious if SF will try to provide more competition to CF (CW). Darien Lake will never be anywhere close to it, but the Canadian clientele are a major source of revenue for Darien Lake.
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With all the improvements Frontier City has done recently, this can only be very good for them. Probably not going to be included on any passes, since EPR will want their cut, unless they decide to do a Double Diamond Bling-a-ma-tized Super Batmobile Membership that lets you go to these EPR parks as well.
ERP is a silent owner in these parks. I would imagine it would be the same as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Concord CA. (Which is also owned by ERP)
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Note though, while they owned these parks previously, they are not buying them back. SF bought the operating leases from Premier Parks, while ERP will retain ownership of the park.
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Congrats... you guys are a Six Flags park again.
Source: http://investors.sixflags.com/news-and-events/press-releases/2018/05-22-2018-210951050
This strategy SF has be pursuing lately is pretty smart from a business stand point. By simply leasing the park and not owning, it requires less up front capital, as well as an easier route out if required.
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Any word on Mind Eraser's conversion to Riddler? The park opens in only 3 weeks.
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They did it last year, it wasn't a bad deal actually. I think for about $15 you got like 3 full beers or 10 samples.
Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
They did briefly use it for 1 season when they charged separate entry for the watermark. 2010 i believe.