Photo TR: Six Flags Darien Lake. August 4th 2006

Movieguy · August 5, 2006

Well, yesterday I made my first ever solo trek to SFDL. I've been to the place twice before, once in 1990, when the Predator opened, and again in 1999 with a friend. Although the experience was a mixed bag, I still enjoyed myself, mainly because of one great coaster that made the trek worthwhile.

I'm of course referring to Superman: Ride of Steel. A coaster that I had actually never ridden until yesterday...I ended up riding the thing 6 times, since they were actually doing a pretty good job running the thing with two trains, reducing the wait time.

If it's true that the SFNE version of this coaster is better, then it must be phenomenal, because I enjoyed this version immensely. The first drop is perfect, great G's going through those turns, and wonderful airtime through a couple of hills.

After hitting Superman the first two times, I headed over to the neighboring woodie, the Predator. Now, I can remember riding this the year it opened, and I loved it. I even liked it when I rode it back in 99...this time however...OUCH!

I never did mind roughness on most woodies, but this one was just unbearably rough. God, what is it about modern woodies that makes them deteriorate so quickly? I even gave this thing a second chance later in the day...not smart! My right shoulder was stiff for the rest of the night thanks to that second ride.

This was a mistake I made again when I rode on the Viper, another arrow steelie that I had fond memories of from 99. I swear, my head has never been bashed around so much on an arrow looper. And when I gave it a second chance, the thing gave me a lingering headache.

The Mind Eraser, the resident Veklona SLC, was in a bad way when I got there...there was only one running train, but I still waited in line, so I could get the credit. It didn't really give me a headache, but it still threw my head around quite a bit. Good god, skip this one.

The only other coaster that didn't beat me up, surprisingly, was the Veklona Boomerang. That one actually gave a fairly smooth ride. It did make me a bit dizzy though, the second time around, and a coaster's never done that to me.

The only show I caught while I was there was the Batman Thrill Spectacular. Well, seeing as how this is Darien Lake, the show was hardly spectacular, but it was still a nice excuse to get away from the heat. I also took part in a Karaoke party on one small stage later on in the day. I sang "Lightning Crashes" by Live, for those who are curious.

The park's food, though not outstanding, was pretty good, especially since they got a boost from Papa John's Pizza and all...Pizza Hut will always be the best chain in my opinion, but Papa John's is right up there with it. They also had some halfway decent fried chicken that I ate for lunch, and the Perry's Ice Cream stand is always a good stop.

After all this, I got a Tazmanian devil plush for my sister, and headed to my motel for the night. Overall, I had a decent experience at what is probably considered the worst of all the Six Flags parks. I haven't been driving for too long (long story), so just the experience of doing all this by myself made the journey worth it.

But I have one thing to say to Six Flags regarding Darien Lake:

GIVE US A BEEMER, OR GIVE US DEATH!!!!

Coasterlicious · August 5, 2006

Good old Darien Lake....... well im glad to see its still beating people up!!..

Though I must say I enjoy the Viper.... Ive always thought it was smooth compared to others.

And yes, if it wasnt for Superman, I dont see how anybody would bother going to this park anymore, besides the good concerts they get!...

Atleast its only an hour drive from here, so I can go...... get beat up ....and still be able to make it home.!.

With this freakin heat thats been around lately ive been feeling like taking a dive on Shipwreck Falls.... Actually that sounds really really good right now.

Movieguy · August 10, 2006

I have an on-ride photo of Superman that I just put through my new scanner, and converted into a JPEG file by changing the last part of the file name...unfortunately, to put the file size under 150 k, I have to the photo really small, like roughly the size of my palm...is there any way I can reduce the file size without making the picture really small?

CoasterFanatic · August 10, 2006

^ You may want to knock the compression up a little bit. They refer to it as "Quality" in most programs.

You should easily be able to fill the screen with a 150K JPEG image.

Movieguy · August 10, 2006

I usually use paint...what programs usually do this compression stuff, because I can't find it there, and I can't afford photoshop mind you, lol.

cprocks22 · August 10, 2006

Great TR, i cant wait for the pictures. Yes the Superman:ROS at SFNE is MUCH better, and i love the one at Darien Lake. The layouts are different, but still awsome.

EDIT: Any photo editing program, if theres even a basic one that came on your computer, that would work.

Movieguy · August 10, 2006

Hmmmm...I can't seem to find anything on my computer that will do this "Compression" or "Quality" stuff...plus the HP photosmart software that came with my printer, seems incapable of locating any images that aren't .bmp files...

Darien Laker · August 10, 2006

I'm not sure why, but Viper seems to be having a bad year. I've never gotten beat up on it before like I did this year. The trains have no padding on them, and they could really use it (even like Cedar Point's Corkscrew has, would be better than what Viper has). It's still the second best coaster in the park though, IMO (our line-up is just THAT BAD lol).

Quite frankly i'm fed up with Darien Lake though.

Movieguy · August 10, 2006

This is really trying my patience...I want to put this on-ride photo up, but every place i search for using the terms "image compression" take me to these big tutorials.

Is there anyone here who can tell me how to reduce the file size of my picture, in english maybe?

Update: Ok...I fixed it...I realized I was trying to change it the wrong way, lol.

Movieguy · August 10, 2006

Ok, here's me on Superman: Ride of Steel...more photos coming, as soon as they're developed.

mightypotato · August 11, 2006

I was at SFDL about a month ago, and I had roughly the same experience as you. Except the pain machine that is Predator was closed (had the credit anyways, not about to go on it again). Viper also banged me around extremely hard, especially through the batwing element. My sister had bruises on her arms from the ride. I also agree that the park needs a new (stress new, not the Batman stand-up currently in storage from Astroworld) coaster badly.