Philrad71 Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Last weekend, three of us made a trek out to Darien Lake theme park, between Buffalo and Rochester. I had not been to this theme park in a good five or six years. Basically, DL is a theme park/hotel/campground resort that was plopped down in the middle of farm country. Interesting when you can see an SLC with cornfields and barn silos in the background! We stayed at the campground (it is mammoth!) which offers theme park admission for up to six people with a one night stay. The package was around $150 for a motor home site with water and electric. If you don't mind a nice long walk to the park, you can pay about twenty dollars less. We chose to pay the extra twenty bucks and be fairly close to the entrance. It was kinda cool because there was no actual admission entrance on this side, it was basically a security checkpoint for those with bags and that was it. No lines! Being that we did not have to check out until 1:00 the following day, we got to go back the next day for more rides on 'Ride of Steel' and OCC moto-coaster. The park was pretty crowded, but being that it was a Saturday, we kind of expected it. The water park had huge lines for the Tornado and Big Kahuna - which had about the worst dispatching I have ever seen for a waterslide. On some of the other rides, I noted opportunities for better dispatching. Ride of Steel was stacking two trains when there were only two in operation. The ride is nice and long with a great first drop over water. Kinda shaky at times, but easily the best coaster for this park. Overall, not a bad park. I did not ride Predator as we could literally see people getting jack-hammered over the hills (no thanks). I also did not bother with the SLC - Mind Eraser. The one at the former GL last year was enough of those for one lifetime. Viper was a walk-on at night. My first looping coaster gave a decent ride towards the front seat. Not too herky-jerky for an old Arrow! They also had some interesting flats in which I managed to get some night shots. One thing that I had noticed about the Boomerag was a new contraption for a headrest which I had not seen on previous boomerang coasters. They seemed to help with the excessive headbanging and I can honestly say that I had two decent rides in the back without ear boxing! I know a lot of people bash these types of coasters, but I really like them! The one that is slated to go from GL to Carowinds needs some love, but that is the only bad one that I have ever ridden and got off with a headache. No where near as bad as the hang-n-bang SLC's! The laser/fireworks show at the end was a nice way to end the day. For a small park, it was a fairly impressive show. Overall, the park was a nice weekend visit for us. One or two more decent coasters and this very well could be a big draw for out-of-towners looking for a decent weekend vacation getaway. See ya... OCC riders sharing some hot summer fun memories. UFO is like a Round-up that actually goes ALL the way up! The Ranger is one of those upside-down pirate rides. Not a good ride choice for those with GERD like me! Dusk at the Skywheel (with no lights) With night vision goggles... OCC Zamperla. Not a bad coaster - kinda quick though... **Note hat** Someone actually knew how to interpret a warning sign! Six loops await you! Enjoy! New Vekoma patented Boomerag headrests. They actually seemed to help the ear boxing! Then we have Superm...no wait. It's called 'Ride of Steel' now. I heard that they consulted with Cedar Fair to develop the name! Viper - my first upside down roller coaster! Rode it back in 1983 when it was all of one year old - I was all but eleven. Shrieks of terror and pain await all S&M fans on this gem! Predator - jackhammering guests since 1990 and proud to be rated one of the worst coasters ever! "Cuz, it's the Predatah ahead a yah!" Many props to Ice Cube for allowing me to use his lyrics in this trip report! Representin' Western NY, beeeotches! Know why? Welcome to friggin' Fun Country! Welcome to downtown Darien Center!
Ensign Smith Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Hi Philrad, newbie here. How would you say general park operations were, compared to the SF days? I'm highly interested to hear how PARC is handling running a park of this size.
Philrad71 Posted July 27, 2008 Author Posted July 27, 2008 ^ It would be hard for me to make an assessment on this park compared to when it was operated by Six Flags. I only recall being there once during the Six Flags tenure and don't remember it being too bad. This time around was a mixed bag. Entering the park and looking at the landscaping, it looked to be a nice, clean park. However, the area over by the water park entrance (locker area) could have used a little clean-up. More trash cans perhaps? Employee friendliness was noted. The crew on Boomerang was great as I chatted with one of the ride attendants about the ride and newer looking restaints. On another note, I had pointed out the poor dispatching on Ride of Steel and Big Kahuna. A lot of the slow dispatching on Ride of Steel was more of people that could not get their lap bars to lock. I can't blame the ride crew on that, as people obviously weren't checking the test seat at the ride entrance. The attendant at the entrance was only checking the height of the little one's, but not the size of some of the heavier guests. I witnessed at least three people that could not get the lap bar to lock and then had to exit the ride. That will obviously stack trains and delay lines. I could not figure out the hold-up on Big Kahuna while we were in line. They would send one raft down, then wait, then send three or four in a row. Once we got up to the top, we determined that it was the raft elevator that was getting jammed, therefore the rafts were not making it up the lift. While I could understand there being jams, the ride op's seemed more intent on goofing off and dumping cups of water on guests in line below than trying to dispatch. We waited in line almost an hour, but the line did not look to have more than 75 people in it! Another complaint on this ride was that it split for guests wanting to pair up with other guests and one line for 3+ groups of people. It didn't matter which line you were in, they were still sending people down in groups of two or three, when they should have been pairing them up. The rafts could easily hold 5-6 people! Other than that, the park was a fun take. I worry about the economically depressed area that is Western NY and the future of some of the local parks. Because we tend to have the highest gas prices in the country (save for California, Connecticut, and Hawaii), I worry about the parks chance at survival. Darien Lake is pretty remote, but does lie between Buffalo and Rochester. While the park was busy for a Saturday, I would imagine that during the week, the place is a ghost town. With Buffalo being the second poorest city in the country combined with the outlandish price of gas, I hope that it doesn't mean a demise for the areas amusement parks! Hopefully, PARC will continue to invest in this park and add some new attractions in the coming years, but only time will tell.
Recommended Posts