Haymaker

Two trains at once. Like I said, there are 3 trains, but they havent run two train ops since 2015.

Viper still has 3 trains according to a poster here, and I noticed the train theyre using is numbered 3. They just havent used a second train in about 4 years.

Thanks! That helps. What kind of waits can I expect during the week?

Might go to CP later this summer. What are crowds/wait times like on a Monday or Tuesday? Do they have parent swap or single rider lines?

Daily operations begin today

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SFDL loses on not replacing the Giant Wheel lights alone. Back in the day when ROS had the floods and the smoke it looked intimidating at night, but Steve is right... nothing at DL is lit like it should be.

I did peruse the SFA thread when it looked like I was going to be in that area, and the parallels to this thread were quite striking.

I dont recall where this is?

Have fun. Don't bother with Fantasy Island if you don't have to. There isn't much of a park left there believe me on this. Its not worth paying the admission and parking to go there. If you are made of money and want to spend then its ok to go there, but it will probably be very disappointing. If you are going I suggest waiting for the weather to warm up and the kids to get out of school so they will actually have staff and the water park will be open, then it won't be bad at all. They charge for parking now unless you buy the seasons pass and they don't allow any food or drink in the park. You can't have a family picnic anymore because of these restrictions. There is a tim hortons and a pizza place within walking distance of the park, use these instead of buying park food. The seasons pass is the same price or less as a day ticket from what I can see when you factor in the parking charge, so one time visitors get screwed. One thing for sure is you can do this park in a couple hours and there won't be long lines. If you don't have a pass for free parking at SF parks then darien lake charges $20 for parking now. Casino is the only good place to eat on the NY side. Please avoid every other eatery you see on the NY side, they are all ripoffs. There's a bunch of places in the casino that serve decent food for a reasonable price. You can also eat the Fallsview casino in Canada for a reasonable price. Canada will charge you for parking but if you go to the lot at the back of the Skylon Tower, take the main road and turn left when you see the admiral inn, this takes you to Robinson street and you will end up in this lot, feed the meter you can park all day for $10 canadian which is really cheap. Aquarium of Niagara in NY also charges for parking but you can park on a nearby street and walk. American falls is currently a huge (toxic) dump because there is so much construction downtown you won't even know where to walk or drive, unless you are going to the casino I suggest avoiding it. The main entrance to the falls area is even blocked off. Even though they charge for parking you might be better off going directly to the Canadian side and walking around, given that most of the green space downtown in NY is under construction (not the gorge, just the green space around the falls). Maid of the mist boat ride and cave of the winds are awesome attractions and are must do in Niagara. If you do anything else do these, view the falls and get out of there and go to another city for dinner. Something else I wanted to mention here that literally no one has ever talked about and an announcement that has gone totally under the radar. Despite Marineland's horrible publicity its actually a decent park with friendly workers, at least it was when I went there in 2017. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the workers were. You can bring your own food right into the park and park for free. Out of all the WNY parks this is the one I had the most fun at. The park added people mover trams this year and has a 2 acre waterpark opening sometime this year, hopefully. Regardless they are building a water park and its already in progress. They are also removing the topple tower if it isn't already gone and it seems they making huge investments to the park. There will be a new ride at some point in the next year or 2 that replaces the topple tower. The Walrus passed away recently so you won't be seeing that if you view the large sea animal show they have. You mentioned the SS tower, the last time I was there they were only running one side one car on it so prepare for a long wait. The flying dragon is a must do and the Sky Hawk (huss condor) is the best ride in the park IMO. The teacup ride is really intense. If you haven't been to Marineland in a very long time or ever I think they may have added some things to the coaster from the original build. If you think the casino is the only good place to eat you mustve never eaten outside of downtown NF.

You can get good views of the falls bu walking across the Rainbow Bridge. The better views are actually in Canada because the falls are on the American side, so the straight on view is from Canada. You can get up close on both sides.

Guys... heres your answer. Its a parts donor.

Anyone have the list of bring a friend days? I cant seem to find it, nor can I remember if there are bring a friend anytime passes.

https://darienlake.com/

Spoke too soon

Still yet to be open this season: Grizzly Run, Pirate, Shipwreck Falls, Corn Popper and Blast Off. Big Kahuna wasnt open today but there was water in the pool so I dont know if it was open earlier this weekend. With Corn Popper not on the closed rides list up front, I wonder if its next to go.

I havent been on it in a long time because my kids arent tall enough, but have sections of ME track spine always been faded to white/steel or are they actually prepping it for paint?

I had to wait 2 cycles, but it was a Sunday evening so the park crowd was on the downturn.

There were a few displays last year

Old pics

Rodeo RoundUp was Corn Popper's other name. Crazy Quilt was removed when they built the Emporium and they moved Lasso there. Crazy Quilt's cars made a Halloween appearance about 10 yrs ago.

Crazy Quilt, no contest. Followed by Cascade Canyon or Floodgate Falls. I liked UFO but not sure how I would handle it now that im older. I wonder what happened to the restoration plan for it.

Fantasy Island had a Rotor called Devil's Hole back in the 80's (possibly early 90's?). The Devil's Hole ride there now is a Wisdom Gravitron with a custom name and design. A Gravitron is different from a Rotor in that riders slide up the slanted walls on a Gravitron, whereas on a Rotor, the walls are vertical and the floor falls away leaving riders stuck in place. Just an FYI.

Didnt Darien Lake have the last Huss Ranger until they removed it a few years ago?

As far as I know, there are only three Rotor rides (permanent or mobile) left in the States. A Chance portable model at Sylvan Beach, a permanent Chance model called the Tumbleweed at Frontier City, and the rare SDC model called Turkish Twist at Canobie Lake. Overseas though it's a different story as it seems there are several traveling Rotor rides on the fair circuit, including a new SBF/Visa model called Gravity with translucent barrel walls, and the classic Pluschies Rotor that tours the German Fun Fairs. This Rotor features a walk-through fun house as the queue, and the main ride structure is surrounded by a three-tiered viewing area just like the good old days. I think I mentioned this before, but there are some really crazy pictures of old Rotor rides from the 50's where the entire viewing area is packed with people watching the brave riders. And back then, you had to pay the same amount to watch as you did to ride, so I assume the ROI was pretty good for a Rotor ride! That's one thing I never liked about Gravitrons. The ride was not designed for spectators. Heck, first time I saw one I had no idea what went on in there! Fantasy Island has one called Devil's Hole. What about Calypsos and Octopuses? Waldameer had an Octopus but it was in pieces last time I was there. Cedar Point has a Cakypso, it used to be my favorite ride at Darien Lake.