coasterkid124

I haven't visited the park at all for the Halloween event, but it was from what I've heard a lot smaller than normal. The attendance levels weren't too good either. It seems like the park only did the event because they had to or practically nobody would visit.

This doesn't look too well. Premier is a very small company and hasn't really handled a project this big before. I can't judge them until we actually see what they bring, but this is truly sad news. So does this mean that we have no chance at all that Herschend will buy the park? Is there a possibility that next year they will or did they leave because they didn't want it anymore?

^and^^ Herschend from what I hear is very interested in the property. There is a lot more work that they need to do, but the last two big investments really show their commitment to the park. Not only that, a lot of the old rides are already being refurbished or removed. Three or four older rides have already bitten the dust. Plus you have to see Darien as not only a theme park, but a major money making property. There is also a campground, hotel, and major concert venue that is one of the largest around. Any theme park chain would be interested if and only if the price was right. Edit: I stand corrected. Apparently Premier is taking over Darien now

It's something that I've thought of but i really have a busy schedule right now between work and other projects at home. Even if I showed these to management, I'm sure that they wouldn't give me anything for it or really care. They would probably reply with the usual "Thank you, we'll submit these tithe creative department". I imagine that things are a little hectic at the park now that the season is over and all this ownership business is going on.

Your wish is granted! I personally like this combo myself. The green wouldn't go any darker, so i messed with the opacity to bring in some of the darker teal color. If you notice the sky looks more orange, it's because it is. I dyed the background to paint the track easier. If I took my time, I could've painted each rail and tie, but that would have taken about a week. At least we get to see what the combination would basically look like.

Thank You! The compliment is much appreciated. I'd like to show a little bit more of the design process. What I do is create a new layer, then dye the whole screen a certain color. After messing with the settings, I erase the paint from around the objects that I am painting. Here's what the supports look like painted: To change the colors, I can easily bucket fill the colors that I just painted. Here are a couple of simple ones that I completed with Viper: The colors of the track were supposed to be red and royal blue, respectively. However, the more faded a surface is, the more faded the paint comes out. Like on the shiny decals of the trains, the paint came out fine. It's one of the kinks that I am working out. I hope to do more of these, and just not for this park. It might take awhile depending on my schedule, but RoS is one that I would like to do. It will take a little longer though, as the Intamin box track has a lot of ties. I will gladly take the challenge, and someone can even provide the photo if they want to.

Here is something different that I don't think anyone has done here before. Recently I've learned how to use a program called GIMP, which is basically a free version of Photoshop. One thing that this allows me to do is change colors of objects. Now here is how this relates to the park. We have all been discussing about what rides should get refurbed or repainted. One of the rides that needs it the most is Mind Eraser. This is the original photo taken by user Tanks4me05: After altering the colors of the supports, here is what they would look like painted green: This is really a better way to test colors than the traditional system, because you can see what the finished product would look like. If there are any specific colors anyone would like to see, I could alter the picture again. Altogether this took a few days to complete but it was fun to do, and I am happy with the result.

^Not exactly. A lot of the buildings in the area remained the same but were completely refurbished. The food area was redone and an Anchor Bar was added. Also a new mister was added, and the carousel and Giant Wheel were refurbished. Also the sky coaster was renamed Redhawk. They are mostly little things but it made a huge impact on the area.

Terry Pegula is a local billionaire who bought the Sabres (NHL) and the Bills (NFL). I originally posted his name as a joke because he has been buying things like crazy here. But as always people take the joke too seriously and run away with it.

I don't even think that I will be going to the park anymore this year. I normally go for Fright Fest once, but this year is kind of lame. The last time I was even at the park was before September for the Motley Crue concert. It's pretty unusual for me not to visit at least once every couple of weeks or so, as I have been a season pass for 10 years or so now. I think the reason is because there isn't much of a reason to go anymore. With the water park closed, Outbreak being lame, and me having to juggle a busy schedule with work, there are more cons than pros. I hope that whatever the park decides to do during the offseason will please us after a disappointing year.

^^ I've stayed once at the hotel. It is nice, but nothing to get too excited about. The hotel itself smelled like a hospital and the rooms are unorganized making them hard to find. But the rooms are your generic hotel room. They are nice and comfy and you can get a good view of the park if you are on the right side. Nothing about the room was out of the ordinary and it is a good deal for that price. It all depends what you like. I personally prefer a cabin or RV rental, but the hotel is overall nice and clean.

Even if Darien did end up like Wild Adventures I would rather have that then sticking with CNL. Herschend would be devoted to actually spending money and upgrading parts of the park that look ratty and old. Even if Herschend doesn't buy the park right now that doesn't mean that they still won't manage it until they were ready. Let's say that Paul Snyder buys the park back. He's gotta be near 75 or 80 by now so once he's ready to give up the park (maybe because of illness or death, god forbid) Herschend would finally be ready to buy it.

If I remember correctly, RoS plaza was one of the next areas to be worked on. That is if Herschend decides to stay. I don't think that RoS could be rethemed anymore as most people would still call it either Superman or RoS. A paint job and freshening up of the area would be nice though.

If he did he mind as well buy the entire city of Buffalo while he's at it.

Paging Terry Pegula.

Even on off days the overflow lot usually has to be opened. The main lot probably holds about 400-500 cars alone. As mentioned before concerts are one of the main reasons why the park does so well. There are no other major venues around here. Yes there is First Niagara Center, but that only holds 18000 not including seats that are removed for stage equipment. Darien can hold 20000. Plus with Sabres games and other events it is really hard to book there. Same goes for the campground. You can't find many campgrounds around here unless you travel an hour or two

Darien Lake isn't going to close. Someone will see what a gold mine it is and pick it up. Unlike parks like Geauga Lake or Hard Rock park Darien has a consistent attendance rate, major hotel, concert venue, and a campground. You have to imagine that they make a profit as big as some major parks without having the same large attendance rates. It could even be the original owner Paul Snyder. He said that he would have bought the park if it was sold alone and not as a package. I wonder what type of ideas he would bring.

The park could never get rid of alcohol. They make so much money of of it it's astonishing. The price for one can of beer at a concert is ten bucks. The normal price in the park is six.

If Herschend wasn't interested, they would have pulled out like they have done with Elitch Gardens. I'm sure that there are a decent amount of companies interested due to the large profit that could be made. You have the concerts which get admission prices, merchandise, and refreshments (where beers can go for $10 a can). Then you have the accommodations with the campground and hotel, and finally the park itself. I really hope that Herschend will pull through, which I think that they will. Joel Manby wouldn't let such a gold mine slip through his fingers.

^I think you're best off searching the thread for the answer because it has been discussed many times in the past and isn't really relevant to the park anymore. But if you want the quick answer no it was damaged during deconstruction and is nearly impossible to reassemble. It is just being saved to raise the parks value.

I think that the park would have rather skipped it this year, but there was too much of an outcry to have it. There would really be no point to have the park open at all in October if it weren't for Fright Fest. Road Rage is a cool addition but Twister Possessed literally was the same ride with the no flipping cycle and one speaker that played music. Plus they don't open those rides until later in the day.

I'm not too sure about a water slide complex, but it has been 5 years since the Splashtown investment. It would make sense to make an upgrade, but at the same time there are a lot of holes that need to be filled in-park.

Some more details of this year's Fright Fest (Outbreak) have been released. It will only be run for two weekends this year and only on Fridays and Saturdays. http://www.darienlake.com/halloween.php There are no big attractions this year like the field trip or proposed boat ride like last year. But the haunted house is free, and there is a new attraction, Grim Lizzies. It doesn't seem like the park is opening up the area behind RoS plaza either. They may just move the haunted house into the Galaxy Theater now that Nik Wallenda left. It would make sense, as all of the attractions are close to each other. Hopefully this is a smaller version of Fright Fest because the park is focusing on construction for next year early. This of course is assuming that we get a new flat package like earlier mentioned.

IMO the coaster polls are the most messed up. Outlaw Run should have been top 5 no problem. 3 of the coasters above it should probably not even be top 10 either. The steel poll is better, but I do not agree with some of the B&Ms passing Intamins.

Sad about MF winning, as I prefer any one of the Ride of Steel clones to this. They provide more airtime. I think that Cedar Point should have won the best park award, but Europa Park is great too. There are some parks that could overthrow Cedar Point, but none are actually ready yet.