CNYCoasterguy11

I just hope whatever they decide to do they don't waste money on a stupid parade or "festival" thing like the Mardi Gras ones they have done. It feels like a cop-out when they do that when they don't want to add a ride. The money would be better spent on sprucing up the park and getting new trains for the coasters even if it isn't a sexy addition for the GP.

I have been to theme parks and amusement parks all over and even worked in one but I never see this kind of nonsense no matter where I am. Yet SFGAm seems to always have these types of issues. It just reminds me why Chicago had never been very high on my list of cities to visit. I wouldn't want to bring my family to this park onowing there's a chance a fight or even a brawl could break out. And yes that could happen anywhere but I don't ever see it so heavily publicized like it is here or so common. But I guess even the inner city needs a vacation once in awhile.

Most likely the Six Flags people are trying to get a handle on the situation and see some things in person that need work. They also most likely wanted to see how the day to day operations are including all aspects not just rides. Maybe they will want to shake up the current management at the park with people who will maybe have fresh ideas and want to make some good changes. Gets the basics first then add the big stuff down the road. Of course Darien Lake will never be a top tier Six Flags park even down the road. It will most likely relegated towards the middle like a Six Flags New England where they get a some big attractions every so often but most of the rides are average.

Yes please lets not get ahead of ourselves with the additions of new coasters and even rides. Darien Lake needs rehab and care before even more rides are added. And the second train is a big one if they are to become a full fledged Six Flags again. I remember the days of Six Flags running the park and while back then it wasn't always great at least rides like Mind Eraser, Predator and Superman always had two trains running. This is a park that could be one of the biggest and best in the region, especially since the next major parks nearby would be Canada's Wonderland and Cedar Point which are at least 2-4 hours away, and not everyone in the USA has the ability to go to Canada anymore as easily now that you need special licenses or passports. Lets focus on fixing up the park and getting back too two train operations, they added Tantrum this year so that should be enough for a year or two, and then maybe a small addition before anything major. Even some re-branding would be nice like going back to Looney Tunes or D.C. Comics.

Unfortunately Hershey has always had a space issue due to the bizarre layout of the park. What once worked in it's early days isn't enough anymore. Yes Midway America is a deadline end but one can argue that when Pioneer Frontier and what is now the Boardwalk was added that too was the beginning of the dead end area. They are never going to move the zoo, they may someday expand towards the factory buildings which actually was discussed and even had plans drawn up for it but they will not move an entire 11 acre zoo. It's not feasible and would take forever too do. If they don't expand in the old golf course area, they really should consider scrapping the Stadium and utilize that area to possibly bring the park full circle from Midway America. I know concerts bring lots of money and crowds but they could consider building a new more modern amphitheatre that could be built in a more scenic location. It most likely won't happen but it would be a good way to negate some of the dead end problem they have. The other thing they never should have done was decide to build the water park right in the middle of the regular park. Now when they want to expand they will have to remove other rides to accommodate. How many times have people speculated that Today Force was on it's way out for more water park?

We rode Wacky Taxi on Saturday after the park opened and we thought it had pretty good air time especially for a smaller coaster. After the tunnel really gets some nice pops and some pretty good speed. It really felt slightly out of control at that point. Having two trains was great, something that Story Land really needs for Roar-O-Saurus. Overall the park was great and lives up to the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens standards despite being a smaller children's park. The Character interactions were great and lines for the rides were almost non existent. Definitely a great stop if you have children.

It's really kind of sad because a park that really caters to families with small children now has no roller coaster for the under 42" group. All because one kid had an issue because a parent couldn't be smart about riding with their child. Too most younger kids this would have been a perfect first Coaster, and now that won't be the case for most. People need to stop blaming others for their mistakes and problems and have accountability for their own actions and choices. I know I'm preaching to the choir but it's all true.

This is great news, Darien Lake really needs this with all the ups and downs they have had since being sold by Six Flags. I visited the park a couple times after the sale and it just was never the same. SF wasn't always great but at least you could expect big additions, and now SF is in a better place than they were before. I think they will start small for next season and progress from there, especially since they just added Tantrum for this year. Easy things first. -- Rebrand Ride of Steel back to Superman. -- Add a second train to all coasters with only one. -- maybe get new style of trains for Mind Eraser as well. -- Rebrand the kids section back to Looney Tunes, but only the kids section not other family section. -- Bring back Fright Fest, and add Holiday in the Park later on if that does well. As the next few years progress hopefully they will have complete ownership and flag it as well. And keep adding new rides each year like at other parks in the chain. Hopefully take two as a SF will go better and help the park grow and get better.

My family and I took a quick trip to the park on Friday which appears to have been the nicer day of the weekend so far and boy was it mobbed with school band groups. The park was looking great and lots of nice new things since my last visit 2 years ago. The New Gotham City is a nice touch up of the South End, but nothing over the top. Harley Quinn was looking great as they tested it. My one real complaint on the day was the horrifically slow food service lines. I understand when groups show up it can take longer as everyone usually orders separately, but I waited in a line for simple chicken tenders and fries which took over 30 minutes to get, and it wasn't because they were making them, they had one person taking money and dishing out food while a second person was cooking. And while I could have gone to other locations it was the same scenario elsewhere. While the park was great and the rides solid it was disappointing to see them strike out so badly in the food service department. They either need to have more people stationed at major food locales or open more spots with the people they have when they know they have large groups showing up. Of course not having the water park open to take some of the crowd away probably exacerbated things. I will give props to the Joker crew, they had that thing moving and getting people thru the line and on the ride. Maybe a 10 minute wait from the moment I stepped in line til I got on the ride. Superman crew was pretty good too.

With the struggles of the SeaWorld parks it really would be a good move to open a new park or two that could help generate revenue for them that don't involve animals. That's not too say they wouldn't continue to improve those parks but using Sesame Street would be good for all groups really. And Sesame Place next to Busch Gardens would be great for families that maybe have younger kids who wouldn't get as much out of Busch Gardens, especially if most of their time would be spent in Forest of Fun anyways.

So not too change the subject too much since Battle for Eire is the big news this year, but I have seen some reports on various sites that SEAS may be looking to add a third gate to BGW. It appears to be a Sesame Place children's park that would incorporate Forest of Fun into the new park. I do remember SEAS saying they had considered adding two new Sesame Place parks and maybe this is one of their possible locales. I think this would be a neat idea, and could turn Busch Gardens into the next big multi park resort to go along with Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. I wouldn't be surprised if they would even consider adding a hotel or two as well to really keep people on their property. I know they have some experience in that department from the past. Just wondering what other people thought of this and if anyone here had heard of this or received the supposed survey.

I have to agree about going to Fantasy Land instead. It's close to the falls and has some fun rides. And it is very affordable compared to Marineland. And much more manageable in terms or park size. Not to mention the Silver Comet is a great wooden coaster. The aquarium in Niagara Falls is small but still nice and they just opened their new renovated penguin exhibit. Definitely worth a visit if you at the Falls since it's literally right there, and I believe the American side attractions can be grouped together using a special attractions pass.

So I will be visiting the park in Mid August with my family and my daughter is too short for the coasters. I was wondering if anyone knows if the park currently has single rider Lines for the coasters or if just getting a quick que unlimited is a better option so they won't have to be waiting for me if there are long lines?

Today they posted on their Facebook page that Sea Viper wasn't the only new addition coming for next summer. Many have already begun to guess a SBF Spinning Coaster which would be a good fit for them.

Worst Idea ever, why take out the log found if they were just going to place it on the old Cuda Falls site? It also would be a nightmare to build compared to a flat piece of land where TR was. This is why most can't take this thread seriously.

It may have cost more due to the building challenges they had to work around, like the fact that it was built on a pier in very tight spot. I'm sure that isn't as cheap as a basic build on open land. However you also have to take into account the cost of removing the log flume, unless they aren't counting that as part of the final costs.

I really hope the rumors are false as Curse is my favorite non-coaster ride at Busch Gardens. It really is a great achievement for a park that's not named Disney or Universal to have such a high quality ride. It's also not that old really but I do get that operating costs must be high for it. Hopefully they keep it open or at worst down for a year to refurbish it and then reopen it the following season. With the new Simulator opening in Ireland it wouldn't be missed as much but would still be a loss for the park.

A new coaster isn't a bad thing, I just wish it was a little more "custom" than they are touting. Something that they could point to and say there's nothing like it. However a new addition is always good, maybe they will leave some of the old log flume pond for a creative touch, and have a little themeing which seems like something they have been trying to do more of than in the past.

I'm a little disappointed, I thought they would do something a little more exciting or original for once. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, its certainly not, but it still doesn't excite me enough to say 'I have to go there next summer', and I live less than 3 hours away. Plenty of other bigger additions to check out elsewhere nearby.

Town has approved the Plan for Legoland http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2017/10/legoland_new_york_approved.html#incart_river_home It looks like even if the towns people try to stall certain land plot sales the project is a go but with a modified plan, this is great news and I cant wait to take my daughter here once it's opened being so as close to my home of Central NY.

I'm surprised no one has really mentioned Dollywood on this list. Almost that entire park is one heavily and well themed area. I love the 50's theming and the craftsman's Valley. Its a little weaker in the County Fair and Far side of the park from about Fire Chaser on down to Thunderhead (with the exception of Mystery Mine) but still better than most. I also love anywhere in Busch Gardens Williamsburg and obviously the Disney parks but they are in a league of their own. For a smaller park Great Escape has a decent Ghost Town Section that isn't as good as it used to be but still has some neat facades and buildings. Nightmare used to have a really neat outside queue line when it was open and most can still be seen from the log flume.

Thank you, I figured there was a thread somewhere

Not sure if anyone has been discussing this but I've seen on a few sites now that Merlin may want to buy the two Busch Gardens Parks from Sea World Entertainment. Not sure how credible the rumors and reports are but it would be an interesting development. I personally think if they could purchase the entire division of parks it would be beneficial financially for Sea World. However there appears to be a contract clause for Merlin that says they cannot have any Cetaceans (Dolphins, Orcas etc.) So they may not be able to actually but the Aquatic Parks. The other big Curve Ball I see would be the Sesame Street IP and park. The parks all utilize this IP and if one is sold but not the other someone would have to stop using them. Most likely the Busch Parks. It also begs to ask what is done with the Sesame Place Park and possible future parks they want to build. Lots of interesting things could happen depending on what goes down if anything does. Anyone want to throw in their two cents? Once again not sure if this has been discussed but wanted to throw it out there.

Can anyone tell me what crowds are like during Christmas Candyland? were thinking of going the first weekend its open, I've never done a park outside of Disney at Christmas Time. I've also been to Hershey plenty of times during the summer, so I was just wondering what the comparison is too that.

If these awards really meant anything wouldn't Walt Disney World be able to win every single award theoretically? I mean aside from say best sea life park lol. But seriously almost every catergory you could slide in a Disney ride or park. I think Busch Gardens is a well landscaped park but come on, Animal Kingdom could easily take that claim too.