Golddisk

I think a good solution here is if you don't like the thread then don't read it... As to doom monkey's post I agree with Sk610 that a roller coaster could fit in the area without moving shipwreck (where else in the park would it go to anyways?), by placing the new coaster in the cuda' area and behind shipwreck.

Moving the slides it really out of the question. They are built to the terrain under them so without having all new supports fabricated (or the terrain modified for them) it's not going to be moving anywhere. On top of that, there is no room in the water park to move them to even if they could be moved. Nothing is special about these slides other then that they help take a lot of strain off the others during the water park's busy summer months.

It's certainly in a good location but would need tons of money poured into it. Most of it's larger rides have been removed (apparently this was to smuggle drugs in with the ride parts when they were shipped out) and even if they were still there they'd be inoperable by now I'd assume. The park has a pretty "colorful" history under its past owners from what I'm reading... They were pretty crazy.

Ever dreamed of owning a theme park? Okay, we all probably have. Now your dreams can come true via eBay for only $2.2 million. The abandoned Spreepark in Berlin, Germany is up for sale. The park has been closed since 2002. You can read the full article about it here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57619304-1/buy-an-abandoned-amusement-park-on-ebay/. It appears to be in really decrepit shape, but that's to be expected since it's been left to the elements for 12 years.

I've seen some pictures of the former Six Flag New Orleans park, but those were taken illegally so I can't share the link. They were pretty interesting though. It's sad but also cool to see what happens to the parks once they are abandoned. As to your Olympic reference, virtually every Olympic complex falls into disrepair pretty quickly after they are over because there are so many facilities and no use for them. I remember reading somewhere that some of them are converted for other uses, but many are just abandoned. That's sad when you think of how beautiful some of the venues are and how much they cost to build!

People always complain about The Ride of Steel at Darien Lake being poorly themed and named because it was done haphazardly after Six Flags pulled out. Personally, I think the name could fit in possibly with paint change, especially with the way HFC is trying to theme the park after the area around it and New York State. There was a time when steel was a major industry in Buffalo so with some adjustments it could definitely fit in.

I think they can still improve an area of the park as the area in front of Galaxy is seriously in need of some improvements. It could also potentially include the area around prospectors pizza, batting cages, and the bumper cars. Speaking of area at Darien Lake that needs improvement, I could think of two other places in the that needs improvement; the Ride of Steel/Predator area and Hook's Lagoon! Yes, we know. This is only the billionth time its been brought up. Hook's Lagoon needs improvements? I don't think it really does. There are other areas the park would be better of spending money then on that. Ride of Steel area certainly could use some fixing up but that's not happening this year. There's a pattern to areas being improved which is something new for that area of the park. Since there's nothing new over it won't been happening this year and it wouldn't really make sense for it to either...

I think they can still improve an area of the park as the area in front of Galaxy is seriously in need of some improvements. It could also potentially include the area around prospectors pizza, batting cages, and the bumper cars.

There wasn't hesitance due to falling attendance (that actually sped it up if anything, as they wanted it to increase attendance this year) but rather falling profits at CNL. I still say something is probably coming to the UFO area (I really can't seem them leaving it bare for 2 years in a row) but based on their announcements so far it might not be a ride. HFC is obviously in Darien for the long run though as they appear to have extended their contract. It was up for renewal and they renewed Darien's but not Elitch's. I take this as a good sign that they have some big things down the pipeline.

Sorta, but Nik has also said he has wanted to stay in and be more apart of area (ie. His museum he wants in nf) and I guess this is one way for him to do that.

Nik Wallenda and his family will be at Darien Lake from June 23rd to labor day. They will perform twice daily in the galaxy theater. They will also be running an interactive tight rope training for guests at the gazebo stage. Personally I'm not sure this will be enough to boost their attendance very much but we weren't expecting too much more than this I guess (most of us at least).

Here are some shots Darien Lake has posted on FB:

They had one of these before in galaxy I believe. Here's what I would expect: 1. Something in the old UFO area. It refurbishment was supposed to take at least two years anyways and Darien Lake has confirmed via Facebook it will not be making a return this season. 2. Most likely no Lake Monster announcement. It's hard for me to say much more about LM unless Darien Lake says more about it. 3. Another Tim Hortons stand wouldn't surprise me. The one they do have tends to get VERY long lines on busy days. If there is another one, I expect it to be close to the campground.

According to a comment on Darien lake's Facebook page they are getting a new website designed and it's release will coincide with a huge announcement later this month. That means the announcement should finally be here by the end of this month and it appears it might be something big.

The entire Darien Lake Facebook page is just sad. Opening commenter CONSTANTLY posts stuff to the FB page, on one of their posts this is what happened: "I wonder what rides/attractions that are going to be new for 2014?" -"You really are obsessed with this park to the point of scary." --"I wouldn't say "scary", more over obsessed with Darien Lake!" And again: "I love the pun that you guys made in a reply about 'Cuda Falls being "king of the hill" in your water park for 20 years. I love sliding down the slides of 'Cuda Falls! please make 'Cuda Falls next week's ride of the week!" Only days before the above post: "Hey Darien Lake, are you guys going reopen 'Cuda Falls in 2014? They were my favorite ride in the water park. It's going to 20 years since you guys replaced Rainbow Mountain with 'Cuda Falls!" - (Darien Lake's Reply) " 'Cuda Falls certainly has been the "king of the hill" for the past 20 years! The status of the 'Cuda Falls waterslide complex will be discussed in a future Ride of the Week." -- (Opening poster's reply) "I hope you guys reopen it, because I saw a glimpse of it in the wrapped up carousel picture that guys put up!" --- "Oh my god, do you ever stop obsessing about the same stuff over & over?" And if I looked through the past month of so worth of the page I would probably find 15-20 similar posts all from the same person...

They just hired a new marketing manager at the begining of December, which is about the same time their online presence started to pick up.

Darien Lake has been doing quite a bit better than EG. I've never been to EG but it sounds like they were really struggling last year and the park even went as far as cutting back on hours. So that might be why Herschend chose not to renew the EG contract but keep Darien Lake. I also think that Darien Lake has a lot of opportunities for expansion and updates. Plus, as said above, Darien fits pretty closely with Herschend's other parks and themes.

Elitch Gardens isn't being managed by Herschend anymore so I while it would be awesome for Darien Lake to announce their new attractions, I don't think we can look to EG for any hint as to when that would happen. Elitch is now being managed by Premier Parks LLC from what I see. I'm happy Herschend still appears to have DL though. Herschend is a great company and it would be really sad to see them leave the park.

Herschend doesn't seem to be managing EG any longer, it's been removed from their website. Not sure if this will have any on Darien though.

Here's one of the giant wheel at Darien Lake. It's one of the few Ferris wheels left that is still driven manually from what I've heard/believe.

Darien Lake has just put up their 2014 schedule which can be found here: https://www.darienlake.com/plan-a-visit/calendar/ It appears to be mostly the same as previous years except for the last week in August when the park closes an hour earlier than in the past.

And by the fact attractions was added to that post I'm guessing that must mean some type of new ride. Another thing I've noticed is that a lot of people are complaining about the park increasing it's season pass price but what people need to realize is that NYS increased minimum wage to $8.00 an hour which surely affects a theme park quite a bit!

I found something really interesting today. According to this article, Buffalo news - Erie County Real Estate Transactions a company called Darien lake Buffalo Llc bought 4 properties on Niagara Falls Blvd. I'm assuming this company is linked with Darien Lake based on the name. Looking on google maps and street view, the properties currently have an abandoned looking house, another house, an abandoned looking motel, and some vacant land. All the properties are in a line. They were purchased back in September.

I'm not sure what the plans are for Cuda Falls for next season but I do know that originally it was planned to open this past season. The number of operating trains, as with any park, is based on attendance. I don't think there was enough attendance overall to justify running 2 trains on the coasters. The bathrooms are actually cleaned multiple times a day but I imagine there are dozens of reasons as to why they quickly are dirtied again.

Based on what I heard over the summer was that Herschend was interested in purchasing Darien Lake but not Elitch Gardens and CNL was only willing to sell them as a package. I also think it was CNL's decision to hold back on Lake Monster, not HFEC. As for the low attendance this season, I believe that the number was somewhere atleast 75,000 less then last year. I'm guessing CNL wouldn't want to sink a lot of money into something after a poor attendance season (even if it was caused mostly by poor weather).