coasterkid124

According to Screamscape, this will actually be the "Wild Thang" ride from Magic Springs, which is also operated by Premier. I don't know how well the ride operated there, but seeing that this is a relocation there is potential for even more issues. Too bad the park doesn't have too much room to expand on the water park. Their play structure seems to be a hit with all ages.

Astroworld didn't deserve the fate that it received. It was one of the nicer looking Six Flags parks and had a unique collection rides too. If Grand Texas ever comes to be, it looks like it will be a great park. But I don't think it will ever be able to replace the special memories that people reminisce on from Astroworld. It won't be the same and it won't have those same wonderful rides that people enjoyed through their lives.

I've heard more bad than good when it comes to the Power Surges. They seem to have a lot of problems and Knoebels still hasn't been able to set theirs back up despite trying to get parts all year. As for CNL, they were supposed to sell off many parks but nobody has heard any news regarding any buyers or a sale. This is true for all of their properties, and I think that nobody has made an offer yet that will please CNL.

Just because they're getting one doesn't mean we have to. The other Cedar Fair parks aren't building a Dive Coaster. I wouldn't trust a Power Surge anyways. They have been known to be very unreliable, just look at all the issues Knoebel's has had. The park is finally getting rid of most of the unreliable rides, and we don't need any more. What's the issue with a water slide that will take lines away from other rides and be something that everyone can ride? Would you rather get nothing?

For once I think they might be doing the right thing. It's not like there wasn't many other spaces in the park that they could have put it. Both attractions were kind of an eyesore and took away from what could be a nicer area.

^Beat me to it Asking one of your "fiends" would be pretty tough. Who would want to go to an amusement park with someone they hate? Asking a friend would be a lot easier.

If they plan on doing a Joker theme, they better not junk up the area with cheap props. I'd rather see them keep that area open and clean, which was the point of tearing down Fort Independence.

Unfortunately most of these singers are getting up there in age, and have mainly lived unhealthy lifestyles while younger. I have a bad feeling that we'll be seeing a lot more this year. It's a shame because I can relate to these musicians unlike what we have today. These are people who actually sang and used instruments instead of computerized effects.

^I've never been on a Kraken Racer, but I've been on the generic model at Fantasy Island and the OctoRacer at Seabreeze, and they were both comfortable and exciting. It sort of reminded me of Colden Tubing if you've ever been there. The chances aren't as great as they were a few years ago, but what other choice does the park have? If they go for a full GCI retrack, there's a good chance it wouldn't do anything for the ride. This isn't like Ghost Rider, where it once was a smooth ride. Predator has been rough since a little after it opened. I don't see the park scrapping it and building a new coaster there when RMC could save most of the structure. Remember that Lake Monster was Herschend's concept, and they are gone now. Nobody quite knows what Premier's long term intentions are yet, but something needs to happen soon. The new trains have helped the ride, but it has been 10 years since the last major retrack, and the park has been holding off with any major repairs. I really believe that RMC is the ride's only hope if the park is going to keep Predator (meaning not tearing it down, just redoing it).

If that's really the budget for this ride, I think I would rather have seen the park go with a Sally ride like Justice League. This could turn into Nemesis Sub Terra 2.0, where people will ride it a few times and get sick of the same cheap gags especially with VR involved. VR is a turn off for a lot of people before even riding.

That's more of a maintenance expense than an additions budget, but with CNL running the show it's tough for Premier to manage their funds and see what departments get what. While there's a need to keep all attractions running good, and these projects are necessary, I can't see the park growing to much with this joint operation continuing. Just to put it into perspective, even if Premier wanted to propose a big project every season, a new cost would arise. All of the older rides can go down at any time, and the park still needs funds for sealing midways, painting, and landscaping. Not to mention Predator, which is turning into a black hole of costs.

^That's something that worries me a little bit as well. Now, I'll greatly take any additions and am excited for the Kraken Racer, but as for the dry side, the ride total has remained the same or went down for the past few years instead of seeing an increase. Most of the park's moves (excluding Rowdy's Ridge) have been sideways moves rather than additions. Raging Seas was replaced with Blast Off, UFO was replaced with Rolling Thunder, and Ranger was just taken away without replacement yet. Doug did say to expect this year to be similar to last year, so maybe something else will come. I'm all for updating the older rides, but I would like to see steady expansion at the same time. It isn't just the flat department, but the park could really use a new coaster. It's good to see them rehabbing the existing coasters in the park, but I can't imagine down the line people returning year after year to ride the same ones. Predator cannot continue to operate under the same status quo either, and something is going to have to happen to it in the short term. Premier's plan to "add something every year" is very intriguing, and they've had a good track record so far on their other properties. But I worry about their ambition to add something large, as it may be a major risk to their small, and relatively new company. Burke and Story have the experience and have done it before, but will they do it now is my question.

It seems like Merlin has lost their magic when it comes to illusions and special effects. I think they're trying to rely on VR too much now, and CGI won't get them any attention because it just isn't the same as real effects. John Wardley was a master at this and it's why the old school dark rides ended up being so good. I won't judge until I actually hear reviews on the ride, but I was hoping for a little more from their "expensive and revolutionary dark ride".

I've gone airborne on the one at Fantasy Island a few years ago. It kind of knocked the wind out of me but felt great at the same time.

Unless something truly disturbs the area or causes a safety issue, I've come to the realization that the planning board should just about approve of any new attractions for the park. They realize how important Darien Lake is to the area, and the revenue that it brings. Even if something large were built that would cause larger attendance, it wouldn't cause a safety issue on the roads which were built to handle the traffic. As I've said many times before, Premier is doing a wonderful job, and I don't think that it will be too long before they start building bigger.

Sorry for the double post, but it seems as though the water slide will be going over the former Splastown gate as expected. The slide will not go over the path way, but it will end right next to Hook's Lagoon. Here are the planning board's documents: http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/docs/planning/T_01_DAR_1_16.pdf Looking good! Cant wait to try it out.

It surprises me that the Buffalo News would get something like that wrong (granted that it isn't a big headline), but thanks for the response Doug. Could just be an assumption from the writer, but I'm relieved to hear that the hill will remain vacant for now.

Well, according to the Buffalo News, the plan has been approved by the Genesee Planning Board, but there is a surprise: So, the surprise is that the slides seem to be going in over the old Barracuda Bay hill. While I don't necessarily have a problem with it, I thought that the plan for that site was future expansion of the dry park. I can see there being a problem in the long run with people not wanting to cross the bridge. I can see if it was determined that it would be too much work to level the ground for an expansion, but I just hope that Premier will have the appropriate land in the future for a big investment like a coaster. There are always other spaces, but the central location of that just seemed to good of an option.

No official records have been posted on the planning board's website yet, but last year Rolling Thunder and Brain Drain were filed in January and February of last year respectively. So there's a chance that we may be seeing something else next season too. With all of the other small additions, I think that this will be all, and that's totally fine with me. Dragster Drench and Hydro Racer have been very popular at Fantasy Island and Seabreeze, and neither had long waits when I visited both parks. I'm sure that Darien's situation will be a bit different being a larger park, but this is a high capacity attraction, which is something the water park needs. The "Kraken" model is also unique from the other two models with the twisted tunnels at the beginning. Good to see that Darien is continuing this partnership with Proslide. They have given the park some fun, quality products over the past few years. The water park has turned from an old dilapidated, and unreliable water park, to one of the better modern water parks in the country. Hopefully the park will contract them again to redo Hook's when the time comes. That whole "pirate" area is really the only eyesore left in the area. The structure itself and surrounding buildings could be freshened up.

I can't even. We find out that the park is adding a new slide complex and a bunch of exciting new features around the park, and the pity party for Cuda Falls still continues. I'm glad that it is rotting in a field right now, and Premier decided to move onto bigger and better things. Anyways, I am very excited for the Kraken Racer, and it should be a perfect fin in the park. My one complaint about the water park in the past was that there was not enough to do for single riders, but that has been changing for the better. Plus, it's a perfect family-thrill ride with a 42" height requirement. It's high capacity, will help alleviate other lines, and something everyone can enjoy. I don't think that anyone should be disappointed, because there was a point where most of us thought that the park was taking the year off with all of the other improvements, so this is just a bonus at this point. I think that it will end up going over the former Splashtown entrance, because it isn't used anymore and there's enough space. But there is a possibility of it going next to Big Kahuna as well near the picnic pavilions. I don't think that the park should/will place this over Cuda Falls' old site. That's prime real estate for expansion. Premier is doing an awesome job so far, and I hope they can keep it up.

That's really good to hear. Premier has found a good balance of what to spend the budget on, and I've been really impressed so far. I'm guessing that this will be some sort of family ride seeing that the last three additions were thrill rides. I hope that it's something that everyone can enjoy though. I want to be able to ride it on a regular basis. I think that in this short time, they may have already one-upped Herschend.

Any song sung by David Bowie, I'm listening to right now.

I've been checking every month and nothing has been mentioned, but it's likely that within the next 3 meetings we'll see something if the park plans on adding any rides. I'm not sure if they have to publish all building plans though, or only if it's a larger attraction (like Rolling Thunder or Brain Drain). I don't recall them having to submit something like Scrambler which is low to the ground and really didn't disturb anything. I don't think that news stations "spy" on the meetings because there are more important things going on in the world. But word did get around quick from either local newspapers or reporters and the announcement was made earlier than expected.

Alton Towers is definitely doing the right thing making it optional. I feel like probably only 50% of riders will be wearing the headsets once the "new factor" dies down. Forcing people to put on headsets would definitely take a bunch of ridership away in the long run.

16/20 High score! Not for long though, I'm sure.