rjr19

Here’s my thoughts on HITP at Darien. Sure, we have many winter events around the Buffalo area, and they are quite successful, such as The Ice at Canalside, or the Festival of Lights. But there’s one thing that separates Darien from Canalside or the Hamburg Fairgrounds. Location, Location, Location. When it’s real snowy outside, people are cautious about driving long distances. A lot of people likely wouldn’t want to drive forever down the 90 for it. For example, where I am, up closer to Niagara Falls, it takes roughly an hour to get to DL. Many wouldn’t want to do that in potentially nasty winter weather. Another thing is that people just wouldn’t have a huge motive to drive about an hour each way for a winter event, when there are so many closer options in wintertime in the Buffalo Niagara Region. I’m just not sure if enough people would be willing to drive out to the middle of nowhere in bad, snowy weather to go to a holiday event. I would do it, but I bet that many would not.

So the only coaster that may possibly get two trains is Viper, correct?

Is RoS planned to get two new trains or just one new train some day? I could see SF just getting two new 2nd gen trains for it, especially given the age gap the two trains would have if they bought another gen 1. Also, the current RoS train seems to already be having restraint issues.

I wish that they could have at least announced its removal and whe. it would close for the final time so that we could get one last ride on it, or open it for this last weekend of the season. Kinda dumb that the don’t let people give it a final goodbye since it is never open.

Cripes I didnt even notice. Looks like theyre replacing it judging by the new wood in the other spots. Maybe they can actually have water flowing down the drop next year, too. Or maybe that is just wishful thinking . Has anyone here met the one older woman who operates Viper, her name is Vicki? She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Saying hi to everyone, and just overall having a super nice tone when talking to people. Example: I saw a guy with a cup of beer. In that situation, most ride opens just say “you need to finish it” in a demeaning tone. Vicki said “just a heads up that it needs to be empty when it is time to ride, but don’t rush, plenty of time sweetie”. It just makes you feel so much better. Another thing, I was in the train right after her shift ended. When we pulled out, on the curve by the photo stand at the exit, she is at the gate waving and shouting “have a wonderful ride!”. Her shift was over but she still wanted to ensure everyone’s happiness. That is dedication. We need more ride ops like her in the park because it truly makes the day that much better.

Ride of Steel has had a really good year. I have not seen it down during any of my visits. Then there was 2016, where it was down more than it was up.

After hearing all the negative Fright Fest reviews, I was skeptical, but I enjoyed it, even if some of the scarers didn’t seem very dedicated. I loved all the theming, lighting, and fog effects. The park looked awesome at night. I loved the rides that were running without the lights: Viper, Rolling Thunder, and unintentionally, Tantrum and Giant Wheel . Another thing I noticed that I’m not sure if it came up or not was the tunnnel lights on Viper. Red and white flashing lights illuminated the tunnel at night, which was so cool to see! Also, I can confirm that Pirate was open today and was running faster and higher than last year. Didn’t do the houses, just didn’t think to, but walking around the scare zones showed me that the actors didn’t seem to really care too much. They weren’t the least bit scary, but oh well. Overall it was a good event, especially with such short notice and limited time for planning! Didn’t think to take any photos, but I’ll try to next visit!

Sorry, I wasn't working last night. Didn't know there was another coaster enthusiast working with me!

I work at Fantasy Island. Their Halloween Horror is terrible. The whole time, I saw two actors in hazmat suits, those were the only scare actors I saw. There is a house, a camp type scare, like a tamed-down ScumShine, and a trailer scare you walk through, nine are that good.

Awesome TR! I can’t wait to get out there whenever I finally can to go check out Fright Fest for myself!

That’s disappointing as it is fairly easy and quick to set up, and a cool experience. Even Fantasy Island is doing that this year for their Halloween Horror event.

I’m just wondering if somebody could help me: I bought a gold season pass and processed it at the park a few weeks ago. The other day, I decided to purchase the premium dining plan online. Where do I go to get the dining plan added to my season pass card?

I’d say to just give them until next year, by then it will surely be in the app as it will officially be “Six Flags”.

Found the answer to the Hounted House question: $10 for one house of $25 for all three.

It is still listed on the website. That’s strange that it wasn’t mentioned on the article you saw.

I do appreciate the little bits and pieces of Halloween decor that has been popping up recently, being a Theatre Designer and Technician I was much more interested in the Source Four lighting instruments that I saw in almost every corner and in every flower bed. These instruments are incredibly versatile for those who dont know of them - they can be colored, project images, spin, rotate and the size of the image / light can be made larger or smaller by swapping out a barrel (similar to a camera). This to me is huge because it looks like they're gonna light the park up like a Christmas tree for this event. I could care less about the scare actors and attractions if the park is gonna be bathed in red and orange and whatever other colors they decide fit their palate. I even noticed they had lights in the street lamps throughout the park being more festive purples, reds, blues, greens etc. which even that little detail to me was very nice. Did I mention the fog machines? Source Fours (or ERS instruments for the nerds back home) and Fog Machines can be used to create some pretty wild and cool effects with minimal effort required. Plus, if you're a dork like me, you'll love to look around and see where all of these things are set up throughout the park during the day, and appreciate how they are used during the night! If anyone ever has questions about these types of things please do let me know - I'm always happy to talk about this kind of stuff, especially theatrical instruments and their application in the theme park industry [attachment=0]ae7a7f-304a79-download__3_.jpg[/attachment] / End Theatre Babbling I saw those lights all over the place when I was there last weekend. I was curious as to how much those things can do. That is really exciting and I will definitely go at night during Fright Fest to see all the awesome lighting!

Why wouldn’t they just keep the rides open until 8? It’s just plain stupid to close everything down an hour before the show starts. I would say this means two train ops is likely, but now that one blue car is running on the orange train, it tells me it is serving as parts for this season. Maybe next year though.

Yes, the member cards are actually nice thick cards with a design on them. The season passes are generic. Also, saw this on the park’s Facebook, figure some people might find it interesting:

You still need a card to go with the biometric scan, it just replaces having a photo. You cannot enter with a fingerprint alone at Six Flags. I haven't seen the Darien Lake ones yet but I'm guessing it's the same thing as the regular six flags season passes. Essentially a huge barcode, a generic six flags logo, and a number underneath the barcode. Also: https://www.sixflags.com/national/biometric-data-tos Thanks for the clarification. I’m unfamiliar with the way Six Flags does their passes. I guess SF just didn’t want to splurge on nice cards like the typical DL ones. But yes, they are just as you described: generic logo, big barcode. I guess it doesn’t really matter as it saves money for more important needs. Here’s how it looks. (Sorry about the bad quality)

That looks DELICIOUS! On the cheap looking passes. I looked into it a little more and I think I found the reason why. Six Flags is going to do fingerprint scans next year, and the card won’t be necessary. The card is basically just for this year until they get the fingerprint scanners.

Oh, and one more thing: can I purchase a season dining plan with a gold pass, or do I need to be a SF member? If I can, where or how do I get it? Also, is it actually worth it for the deluxe plan?

I went to the park today to process my 2019 gold pass. Noticed some interesting things about the park. First off, does anyone know what’s up with RoS? They were only allowing people into half of the rows. The back rows of every car were blocked off. This seems quite concerning. Next, the haunted houses. Camp ScumShine is under Viper. It is being built. Jungle Apocalypse is in the Galaxy Theater. I can confirm this as there are signs up on the building now. The third one (can’t remember the name) is in one of the catering pavilions. They are building walls around it to enclose it currently. Lastly, Tantrum was having issues earlier. Never knew there was an elevator for the lift hill before. I also can confirm that Train #3 is gone. The transfer shed doors were all open during the breakdown with no other train to be seen inside. It appears it has already been cannibalized for parts. The other thing I found weird was that you don’t process your pass in the building anymore. That is just for the initial purchase of the pass, on computers. You process and receive the card at a Six Flags Lane at the front gate. Then, you pick the bottles up at a tent near Slingshot. Also, the cards themselves look and feel very temporary for whatever reason. Now for some photos: Here’s the haunt in the catering pavilion (I know it’s a bad picture, it was taken from the RoS station) The camp ScumShine entrance. Here’s what every other RoS row looked like, all blocked off. Very strange, anyone know what’s going on?

I get the feeling that, if/when the park rethemes it to Superman, the general reaction will be, "Wait... since when has it NOT been Superman?" You're right - reverting back to Superman would be such a non-announcement. I would not be surprised to see the park take it in another direction like giving it a Bizarro overlay, similar to what SFNE did a few years back. That would at least make the ride experience seem fresh and new - and while they are at it, bring back train #2... Honestly, the Bizarro treatment would be just plain stupid for RoS. It has been over 10 years since the Superman name was dropped yet literally everybody still calls it “Superman”. Same will happen if it was renamed to Bizarro. People are always going to know it as Superman, no matter what name it has. Just rebrand it to Superman, add fog effects, some theming, and a second train, and it will be perfect.

So SkyScreamer is going in Twister’s current plot?

I am kinda hoping they run this park like Great Escape - minus all of the DC/Looney Tunes themeing. That was one things about GE I really enjoyed. It definitely made it seem a lot less corporate for me. Its already confirmed that its going to be Six Flags branded so I doubt you get your wish. Although other than the Batman stunt show, Looney Tunes kiddie area and S:ROS, there wasnt a ton of theming the last time it was SFDL. I’m all for the park not being overloaded with DC/Looney Tunes themeing, but RoS is BEGGING for the Superman branding to return. Having S:RoS as the only branding would be perfect. Everybody still calls it Superman still anyways.