coasterkid124

A dive coaster is probably pretty plausible because it would kill two birds with one stone being both a dive coaster and a hyper. I'm still not sure why so many people don't consider Xcelerator a "true" hyper. I get that it's short, but I would like to see something more unique than just building something for the sake of height when Xcelerator is already 200 ft. I really wish that more parks would give the Hyper GTX a shot. They're very low risk and low cost, and I've heard nothing but good things about Lightning Run. I thought for sure these would have popped up everywhere by now because of what they can do in such a small footprint.

I find it amazing how quickly CP's maintenance crew responds and fixes things around the park. At some parks, if a coaster valleyed, you wouldn't see them reopen for a few days or maybe a week. It could be just because CP may be so used to it being at the location that they're at, but to have the coaster reopened on the same day is just astonishing nonetheless.

I still like this concept art better... Not very believable though. I could never see Six Flags dumping that much money out onto one property.

What are the chances of any rides shutting down in 14 mph winds with 26 mph gusts? The forecast for the day I'm going keeps changing, but its looking pretty good besides maybe wind.

Lol, it even came complete with the trashy carnival music package. I really wish Lake Winnie the best with this one. I've been hearing nothing but problems with all Top Spin models lately.

I believe the metal box on Powder Keg's train is a pneumatic control for the restraints. It communicates with the computer and unlocks or locks them when needed. They work similar to hydraulic ones, they just use air instead of oil. Nice trip report. Theming like that makes me wish that Darien Lake was still under Herschend's umbrella.

I'm in shock because nobody has heard anything about this, but I'm not too surprised. Last time I saw Martin, he looked pretty old and he must have just wanted to finally step away after this many years. I guess this explains why there was no new addition this year. Anyways, Apex's largest operation is Indiana Beach, and judging from how nice that park is, the group seems to do a fine job. I know it's a pipe dream, but a Steel Hawg clone would give me a reason to visit again. Hopefully some new management comes in and gets operations working a bit better. That's the only thing that really needs an improvement. Otherwise, maybe there's finally some potential for growth and that's great to hear.

Walibi Holland looks like a really nice park. They even themed a Boomerang, which is pretty cool. They really take pride when opening an attraction, which is something I wish that more American parks would do. You don't need to go over the top to be a theme park; sometimes the nice little touches can really spruce things up.

After how insane it was riding this weekend, I've actually changed my mind. Never touch Predator ever. It's probably the most painful ride in the world, but there's nothing like it anywhere. "Are you crazy?" posts incoming...

World's longest park bench.

In all of the years I have visited the park, I have never once seen anyone use the test seat. I'm not even sure it worked there at the end. Mostly it was used as a photo spot for kids who were too short to ride. One thing I didn't see yesterday was anyone having to take the "walk of shame", which is a first. The train really doesn't ride much differently, but there is some more leg room on the sides, which helps a lot because I always carry stuff in my side pockets. The airtime didn't seem as powerful as always, but the train will need some time to work itself in. For a park of DL's size, RoS is really a special ride. The only issues I can see arising this year is from the new electronic portions that were installed. It was causing some issues early yesterday.

Unfortunately I did not get any pictures, but I did make it out to the park today for a few hours. I won't rag on the park too hard because it's only the first day of operation, but two things that stick out the most were the unmotivated operators and the aesthetics of the park. Forgive me for the long report, but I would just like to update everyone on what has changed. Ripcurl Racer is about halfway done, and there were a couple of guys working on it. It's gonna be a stretch to get it open in two weeks but it looks very nice from the parking lot. It's bright and will be very interactive as people enter the park. Ride of Steel (2x)- The new train looks great. The restraint is a traditional T-bar, and the seatbelt is the double buckle like Millennium Force and TTD have. Unfortunately, the train hasn't really fixed the rattle issue that has developed around the helixes, but it is a lot more comfortable and feels like the ride is running a little faster. Although the train is more of a first generation chassis, the hardware on the ride is second generation. New conductor rails have been added, and the control panels have been updated. The park even had to add two new buttons that state something like "Ensure all restraints are secure and accommodate the largest rider". I know that Maverick and Skyrush have these. These buttons caused problems for the ride early in the day, but it ran pretty consistently for the rest of the day. Predator (2x)- Once again, some very minor track work and structure work has been done just to get the ride running. I don't think I've ever seen Predator running this fast. Part of me wouldn't mind if they keep it just like this because I have never been on such a wild and rough ride. The crew working the ride was one of the slowest, and the ops kept talking and looking around when riders were waiting to board. Viper (2x)- Honestly, Viper is probably one of the smoothest looping Arrows out there. They also removed that annoying railing in front of the station that caused gridlock. Now once you enter the station, you can go to any line immediately. The only complaint that I have with Viper is how horrible the station looks. The shingles are falling off and the paint is peeling all over. I wish they would just put a little money into fixing up some of the buildings that are crumbling. Mind Eraser (1x)- To finally answer everybody's question, no, Mind Eraser's paint job has not been finished. It doesn't seem like any more supports have been painted, and the track hasn't been touched at all. I hate how just like with RoS, they began to paint the ride and just stopped in the middle of it. It makes no sense that the park would paint Cuda Falls before taking it down a couple of years later, and not finish painting their major attractions. 'I did not ride Boomerang or Motocoaster, but they were both running. Twister was the only ride down all day, and quite frankly it's probably inevitable that the ride will be the next one out. The ride never runs anymore, and nobody seems to care about it. Sleighride received some new lights, and the tunnel has been removed. It's all open now. One disappointing aspect today was how bad the park looked today. The pavement needs to be sealed or redone completely in many spaces. Even the parking lot could use some work. Also, many buildings and rides are looking worse than ever. Red paint is starting to pop through on Hoot N Holler, and it's only 4 years old now. I will say that it looks a lot better now with Ranger gone, but it's queue is really an eyesore to that area. Maybe some of these things will get attention still before the summer operating season, but some areas of the park are really showing their age.

I haven't been to Fantasy Island in years, and I probably won't be back unless they have something big to offer. They've taken out some of the better rides they have had to offer, and the operations for Silver Comet are still horrible. I don't even think they added a new ride this year. I wonder who will get a new coaster first. Fantasy Island or Darien Lake? It's been forever. Edit: Looking at Fantasy Island's map, it seems like it was updated for this year, and the ferris wheel is still there.

It doesn't even look like the paint on Lightning Run's rails has worn yet. I really want to see more of these Chance coasters show up.

Just took the survey for SFGADV, and it asked me about a Joker or Wonder Woman themed coaster (which we know that they are getting The Joker this year). It also asked which one would is more likely to be a wooden coaster. I think its the same generic question for all parks.

I can't believe that the park is already open next weekend. I haven't even ordered my passes yet

I don't know if I can ever open this thread again after that announcement.

People always "judge the book by its cover" for DL. I'm not saying it's the greatest park ever, but it does deserve a little more credit. RoS and Predator are good enough to travel for. Viper, unlike many Arrow loopers, is very smooth and has minimal headbanging. Motocoaster is also a fun little coaster. Boomerang is good for Boomerang standards. The only coaster that I really don't like is Mind Eraser, and there's not much you can do about it. But between an okay collection, unique collection of flats, and a good modern waterpark, DL isn't a bottom list park anymore. If we could get a good filler coaster in the future, it would do wonders. Last year, DL actually won an award from somewhere for one of the top 10 waterparks to visit in the country. It really says something considering the size of ours compared to some others around the country.

Those are the coolest shirts I've ever seen in my entire life!

It probably will end up being a game of some sorts. If it were a ride or a retheme of something, it would have shown up on the map. We can always hope and dream that it will be something a little more spectacular, right?

^I don't think you're giving Darien enough credit for their recent additions. They have done a superb job with landscaping and making everything modern. Actually beats out Six Flags in most cases.

Didn't that security guard realize that he was standing right next to the Zodiac Killer?

As suspected, DL confirmed on Facebook that despite getting a similar style train to the originals, there are no plans this year to run two trains on RoS. So we're probably looking at Viper, Predator, and Mind Eraser for two train ops this season.

I don't usually mess with any water parks that are upcharge. I've been to CP's Soak City maybe three times out of 20+ visits during my lifetime. What usually affects my decisions about included cost water parks are: 1) Have I visited it before? If so, is there anything new, and is it worth it? 2) Are the lines long? Would I get more done in the dry park? For my home park, I probably hit the water park about 65% of the time. I love Darien Lake's water park, but if the lines get extremely long, then I have no problem skipping it. I would love to go in every visit, but sometimes I feel like I could have more fun on the dry side and wait less.

Do you have a Platinum Pass? If not STAY ON PROPERTY so you get Early Entry. Seriously... I'd enter the resort gate and go straight to Maverick. Besides that what you do with Early Entry is up to you. You could hit Valravn, you could probably get a very short wait for Gatekeeper (don't try this once 10:00 hits) or you could hit Millennium Force but do Maverick first. I wouldn't suggest anyone visiting on a weekday in May get a Fastlane before you get there. It takes 2 minutes to buy them at a shop if you see the lines get long but on a weekday in May the rides may generally be station waits or in the case of Millennium Force down the ramp but no further than the merge point. Maverick's almost a guarantee to be beyond the merge point and Dragster is a pretty safe bet but that's really about it. Thanks for the tips! Most of the trip is still up in the air and depends on my friends and their needs. But I will most likely get a Platinum Pass for myself for other trips, and stay on property so my friends can get the early entry. Seeing that I can only stay one day, I chose the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend to try and avoid the crowds. But either way, my plan is to bullet straight for Maverick and work my way back down the park. Valravn is the main reason for the trip, so if that's open I'll probably do that during early entry as well.