SbSteveZ

Judging by what they did with Frontier City’s site, no. As someone who can understand the anticipation, I think my bigger concern is that I have yet to be able to upgrade my gold membership to something a little better than the baseline membership. I tried several times to try and take advantage of those sales they do so frequently but have since given up since I continue to get an error. For me I think that’s been a big reason that all the “changing over to six flags” stuff has been something I’ve been paying close attention to. For others, it may just be the excitement of a big name in the amusement industry being back in the Buffalo area or something like that, I can’t speak for everyone. Perhaps I’m too optimistic?

^ For what it’s worth, I would assume most fairs also utilize concerts for boosts in attendance. Both the Erie County Fair and New York State Fair have fairly large concerts during their runs in their own respective venues. ECF has a temporary stage but if I’m not mistaken NYSF has a permanent one

Hersheypark Arena? There’s that one right outside the gates of Hersheypark. Both Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island both have their own variant of amphitheaters but I don't know that either one actually uses them for concerts. If anything I've seen really small events like cheer contests or something. Kings Island has Timberwolf Amphitheater, and Canada's Wonderland has the Kingswood Music Theatre

^ A good point to build off of (pun intended). Last year, tantrum didn’t officially open until June 1st, with previews the weekend prior. That being their last brand new ride since 2012 I believe (not counting the used drop tower), it’s probably fair enough to use that to guesstimate when the new swing will be ready. But then again, I’m not sure how much the year round employment changed with Six Flags coming in. Or if they’re contracting similar crews to install this new ride for that matter EDIT: Whoops! Totally forgot Rolling Thunder. As if that ride hasn’t had its fair share of issues.

^ Knowing Darien Lake and how they operate I’m gonna take a stab in the dark and say this is what’s going to happen - we’re going to get MAYBE 1 or 2 construction updates on their socials, and POSSIBLY one “nearing completion.” Post before the season starts (or later on if it really does take until June to open this thing) - the updates on theming will not happen until the season begins, as Darien Lake is pretty poor at off season updates. In their defense they were doing a lot better with during the season posts this year (2018) but their off season posts have been very sub par, even for Darien Lake standards, and I wouldn’t expect that to change any time soon. Don’t get me wrong, I also want to see updates and know what’s going on in the park, but currently that’s not something this fan base is going to get unless someone drives by and sees something or when the park opens people post trip reports.

Welcome to the new Six Flags Era. Goodbye Darien Lake, hello, Six Flags Darien Lake! “ Darien Lake will be rebranded Six Flags Darien Lake when the park opens this spring for the 2019 season. The Coaster Capital of New York is also debuting an exhilarating, new attraction—Six Flags SkyScreamer—the tallest attraction in the state of New York. Towering high above the park at a staggering, 242-ft. in height, this thrilling swing ride will reign supreme as the region’s new, iconic symbol—beckoning guests of all ages from near and far. “Six Flags is a world-renowned leader in thrills and innovation and we are delighted to return the Six Flags name to our park,” said Six Flags Darien Lake President Chris Thorpe. “Our new Six Flags SkyScreamer is a dramatic, unique addition to our lineup of thrilling rides and attractions and now all Members and Season Pass holders can enjoy free, unlimited visits to Six Flags Darien Lake, Six Flags New England, The Great Escape and all Six Flags theme parks across the country. It’s an incredible value that only Six Flags can offer.” The park’s latest attraction, Six Flags SkyScreamer, takes 32 thrill-seekers 24 stories into the air while spinning round and round at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Guests soar through the clouds with majestic views of the park and surrounding countryside far below. By night, Six Flags SkyScreamer’s bold, synchronized illumination patterns will light up the skies. Six Flags Darien Lake opens for the season on Saturday, May 4. Guests arriving at the park will be greeted by a revamped main gate area with a towering, new digital pylon and a new Six Flags Darien Lake entrance sign.” (From the Six Flags Darien Lake website)

^ honestly it’s a shame they don’t post more pictures of the park in the off season. I know that post was from Live Nation and not Darien Lake but it would be so much nicer to see some actual content instead of constant posts about sales that aren’t as “limited time” as they want you to believe. One day... Good thing I follow Tony and the Cedar Point socials for my off season wishlist.

Pretty sure it is the tallest and fastest DIVE coaster named "Yukon Striker". That is good enough for me, pretty sure it will be good enough for a large proportion of Wonderland visitors this year. Does it really matter otherwise? Fixed

Not sure about permanent parks, but I know there's at least one (and probably more) traveling. I rode on at the MD state fair just this past summer. Wade Shows owns one, they do the NYS fair. Plus, I believe Strates Shows (Erie County Fair - NY) also has one, or at least they had one recently. I know Strates a couple of years ago got rid of their top spin, so I wouldn’t be surprised if another ride bit the dust from their collection.

For those looking to attend, registration for Coasting for Kids is now open. http://support.gktw.org/site/PageNavigator/c4k_parks.html

Aside from the new ride I’d be curious to see what other changes are in store for the park. How much will they “Six Flags-ify” Darien Lake, for instance.

They are modifying the current cue and that’s about all that’s staying. If you look at the drawings the entire twister set up minus the queue is under the new ride’s location. No waterfall, front “plaza”, exit ramp or any of that will be remaining - based on the drawings provided

I wouldn’t get your hopes up, that was just being used to point out landmarks in the area for reference. As nice as it would be to have a more scenic route to take again, why would they divert traffic away from their shiny new ride? For what it’s worth it’s nice to see a new ride in the back corner of the park. It looks like it’s going to be a great addition at a great location. I’m glad Six Flags made the decision to bring a popular request to the park!

Ah, good times! Really though, I didn’t mind any criticism. I just hope Six Flags doesn’t pull my logo and rebrand the ride around the Joker or something like that. If they do, I hope they’ll let me take the portal sign off their hands. [emoji7] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That would be awesome if they indeed let you have your sign! Let’s hope they keep that name around for a while though it’s nice! In other logo news (since I’m seemingly obsessed now), Six Flags Over Georgia has made a post with a similar logo, perhaps they’re rolling it out to a few different parks for 2019.

Attached. They used it very briefly in 2012. EDIT: if you check out this link you can see the comments attached to the logo as well, it’s funny - they seem to be quite similar to comments made recently about the logos the park has used in recent discussion here.

^ Quite interesting indeed. Looks like some fun with the Paint Bucket Tool could fix that easy peasy Speaking of Coasting For Kids, does anyone know when registration typically opens? The website only says "park coming soon"

There’s nothing wrong with looking at and discussing a park’s brand. Just because the park had a crummy logo doesn’t change anything about the experience except me thinking “gosh I don’t like that logo” on occasion during a visit. To be clear, the thing I dislike most about Darien Lake’s logo use is that it’s currently 100% inconsistent. We have Fun Country, Atom Logo (with and without the atom), Destination Fun Logo (with and without the flag), and for a season, that orange logo popped up on some merchandise - even if it was fairly rare it still happened. I’m sure everyone understands that the logo of a park is the least of the worries of the average visitor and likely 99% of enthusiasts as well. However, I appreciate attention to detail, and that inconsistency shows poor attention to detail right off the bat. If they played it similar to Cedar Point, and selectively branded with certain logos for nostalgic purposes - such as the logo used for Steel Vengeance or the logo with Space Spiral on the vintage apparel then that’s fine, that’s the entire point they’re trying to make. Obviously I’m going waaaaay too far into detail about my personal gripes over something as simple as a logo, and most of what I’m saying won’t matter once Six Flags throws their logo on everything. however, it’s a discussion thread, and to me this is an interesting topic - as boring as graphic design, typography and brand recognition may be to most others - it’s still a part of the world of amusement parks. No, I will not avoid a park because it’s logo sucks. No, I will not be that guy consistently telling people in the queues that the logo sucks. Yes, logos and brand recognition bother me sometimes. But they bother everyone. Rougarou, Valravn, Rolling Thunder, Tantrum and even Steel Vengeance at first all got negative reception to their names and logos. People even criticized Rolling Thunder’s logo directly to the person who created it - which was a complete shame. Everyone understands and agrees that the rides name doesn’t mean anything, but people can and will still complain about it if the off-season is slow enough.

The best thing about this - though I know you’re being sarcastic and I appreciate the comedic take - if a park I visit has a botched logo or something similar (such as a visually displeasing one like Hersheypark IMO), I’ll still go to the park, but the logo will bug me the entire time. I’m not usually super vocal about it BUT being a graphic designer and working on logos and other advertisement material, I can’t help but notice issues with what should be the most important piece of brand recognition a park has.

^ I liked the atom logo, the issue I had with it though is that it represented 0 of the coasters actually in the park. I know it was just intended to look cool but I’m a stickler for things like that. I loved the font of that logo, and I feel that the logo in use now took what the atom logo was trying to be, and made it appear friendlier. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but let’s be honest the current logo took the “thrill park” look right out of the picture. Sure they’ve been trying to be more family oriented but did they have to make the logo feel like a sanitized PG version of the old one? If this only makes sense to me, so be it - but if I had to choose, I’d take the old atom logo - just without the atom.

^ It’s almost laughable to me how a logo from only 12 years ago can look so outdated. Apple has used the same logo since 1997 and it still looks modern and fresh. Same for Cedar Point up until recently, they used their last logo from at least 1994 until 2017, and even though it has since been retired, it still looks totally fine. The Darien Lake logo on the other hand? Looks like outdated garbage now. Maybe it’s because it’s “changed” so many times? With the atom, without the atom, the orange logo they used for a month in the off season, then the now defunct “destination fun” logo both with and without the flag on top. At least with six flags there can finally (hopefully) be some consistency. Yes, I am a logo nerd. I accept and embrace it

Two things worth noting here First and foremost, looks like Coasting for Kids is coming to Six Flags Darien Lake in 2019, A wonderful charitable event for sure, I’m happy to see it heading to my home park. Second, and seemingly interesting news for this thread (maybe perhaps a little bit because of my asking about it), note the logo being used for the park on this slide. It’s the typical Six Flags logo, but has a blue rollercoaster pattern behind it. Something I have not seen before in Six Flags Park logos - though to be honest I’ve never actually looked for it. Could this be the new logo that they will be implementing for digital media advertisements? I’m curious to see if they update the sign off of the 77 since it still has the 2007 logo on it, but at least I’d expect they throw a new sign on the front of the park’s entrance. They’ve changed it 3 times in the past 10 years, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did it again. Photo Credit - ACE

Quite a tough one, I’m almost wondering if it’s Happy Firar or Nick Knacks at Castaway Bay. Tricky indeed!

^ that makes me wonder what that extra 5% was that couldn’t be achieved to get the blue train ready to roll for the busier times of the season, namely Fright Fest which brought crazy long lines for Viper. If the train was that close to ready, then I’m not buying the decision to not get it in operable condition.

^ I know the wraps haven't been in the best condition, since people seem to obsess over peeling them, but I don't remember them being so bad that it looked beaten up. It seems to have (based on my recollection) typical wear and tear - especially since they've been in use like that for almost 4 years. That stuff isn't 100% permanent as much as we would like it to be.

Darien Lake is the largest theme park in New York State if I understand correctly. If they invest in a well rounded and well done holiday event, there is not a doubt in my mind that people would show up for it. Their half baked Halloween event brought insane crowds. Viper had an almost 2 hour line one of the last weekends I visited, and those pay-to-do haunted houses had solid lines the entire time. To try and argue that the park wouldn’t have similar results with a HITP event to me is a little bonkers. There’s so much potential for them to have the premier, top of the line must do holiday event. And compared to most other events in the area, that would be wonderful to have. I’d gladly drive a half hour or so to see what they can pull off. For comparison let’s think of what we have now Hamburg Fairgrounds - 2 mile lights display, featuring small family activities, aside from the display the only other thing worth much time is the Kandy Kane show and lets be honest the Festival of Lights has seen much better years Great Pumpkin Farm - if they still do it, they had a 1 mile lights display with similar events to the fairgrounds The Ice at Canalside - ice skating, curling, bumper cars, icicle bikes. Yes they have the adult refreshment place, but it’s not much of a holiday event, more than it is a winter event. They have a one night tree lighting which this year was crazy packed - but it’s also worth considering it’s in the city, parking isn’t always great, and not everyone is in to skating and skating-esque activities Niagara Parks Winter Lights - this is more or less a drive through event with some outdoor elements that were added this year, it’s a cool thing to see and their lighting sculptures are 3D instead of the 2D scenes that the fairgrounds have, which is a nice change - and it’s free unlike the other things mentioned, however it’s a crowded slow crawl that feels more like rush hour with lights around you more than a holiday event - but that’s just my opinion My point with all of that is that there isn’t really anything like what Six Flags does at most of its parks near SFDL, and to put the effort into an event like that? It could easily become the best holiday event in all of WNY. And if you look at how crazy busy the fairgrounds have been this year, with the lack luster lineup they have this year, you’ll know right away most Western New Yorkers could care less about the weather conditions. If they want to attend a holiday event, they’re going to. No matter how stale it may be (they really gotta mix things up and offer some more - they keep cutting it down and it doesn’t look good for the future of the festival if they keep it up).