coasterkid124 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 My husband and i were planning on going to the waterpark this Saturday. We have a 2yo- so we will be hanging at the pirate ship and doing the big Kahuna once or twice (he's 39 inches)....wondering what kind of lines we can expect and how crowded the toddler/preschool area might be. It's supposed to be 80 with a chance of rain. Hoping it keeps young families away! The kiddie area shouldn't be too bad but they may rotate ride ops. Expect a long line for Big Kahuna. It can reach over an hour at points. As for the rest of the rides he may be tall enough for, waits shouldn't be too long especially on rides like the pirate and bumper cars. You're main wait will be for water rides and possibly the Moose on the Loose if you go on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkMaxim Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 My husband and i were planning on going to the waterpark this Saturday. We have a 2yo- so we will be hanging at the pirate ship and doing the big Kahuna once or twice (he's 39 inches)....wondering what kind of lines we can expect and how crowded the toddler/preschool area might be. It's supposed to be 80 with a chance of rain. Hoping it keeps young families away! Hit the waterpark immediately (opens at 11), specifically Big Kahuna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Buffalo+Rochester is larger than Cleveland. But I will say it again, the GTA is enormous and is one of the best things going for the park. In the US and Canada it's the third largest metro having recently passed Chicago. The Cleveland area usually includes Akron as well since it's about the same distance as Buffalo/Rochester so I would think that both metros are relatively close in size/population. Geauga Lake used to draw folks from Youngstown and even Pittsburgh but even if you were to include them you still couldn't touch Toronto, which is a blessing for Darien Lake. Land wise, much of the land the park owns is on the other side of 77 actually. Ill have to get that map again to show this. I find that surprising as I always thought most of the land they owned was in that immediate area around the park and campground. So I guess that farm that you can see behind the PAC from the Giant Wheel is not part of the property? I appreciate the info you give, DM, regarding Darien Lake. It helps me understand more about the park and the resort property since I'm not a local but have been there quite a few times over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkMaxim Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Heres the map I was talking about. Much of their land on this side of 77 is developed. There are a bunch of federal wetlands on the rest of their property, however I don't know much about the restrictions on developing that land. One other thing, that long skinny set of parcels is a former rail line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk610 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 That may be the most interesting map i have seen in a while. I always wondered where the majority of the parks land is. i know they own a lot but exactly here has always been the question. With that being said, it appears that all of the parks land on the same side of rt 77 is pretty close to fully developed without infringing on the current campground. If they plan on growing the park there are only a few options that i can see. First is the area past predator/Ros out to rt 77 and over towards the hotel. This is a very large area and will definitely take a significant time to expand into. The second idea i have would be to relocate the current parking lot across rt 77 and put the main entrance basically where the current parking toll gatessand and expand into the parking lot creating a main walkway where that street is and a spoke type of area off that going in all directing just about where the current main gate stands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I'm quite surprised they own that much land across Route 77 from the park. Without relocating the current parking lot how hard would it be to move the PAC to another location yet still be within and easy stroll from the park? At its current location it seems to block off any future expansion beyond Viper/Grizzly Run/Rowdy's Ridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkMaxim Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 It would be a very expensive move. Really, moving anything across the street would not be cheap or easy. I would say space is really not an issue in the near term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 This is a point that has been discussed before but if you remove the go kart track, there is a bunch of room behind for another Cuda Falls size plot maybe a little bigger. With gas prices rising, I don't see a reason to keep the go karts or batting cages unless they are very profitable. With that being said, if the park grows enough in time, could there possibly be another hotel or resort built across the street? Great Escape did an indoor water park years ago and it is very successful. But of course this would take years, possibly near 20, and I don't know if the town would pass it or if there's any other issues that would shoot the idea down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraAB87 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 The gokarts are pretty old from what I understand so perhaps they are set for removal soon. It has to be getting expensive to run and maintain them. They are also expensive to ride so the last 2 times I was at the park there was almost no one on them so they can't be too profitable. Most places like pole position raceway use the newer electric karts which are no doubt cheaper to run and don't smell or smell very little. I would like to see the park remove some of the up charge attractions and put in some things that can be ridden with regular gate admission instead and this would be a good start. I also can't believe how much DL charges for a skycoaster ride... Insane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I can't believe people pay to do it. I think it would be fun but I'm not blowing 60 bucks for a minute of fun. Hopefully the go karts do get removed. It takes up to much real estate in a dead end area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 ^I agree, the go karts and the batting cages need to go! That space is prime real estate for something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraAB87 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Considering DL made and broke a BIG promise to all the guests this year by announcing 2 train operation then never following through with that they owe it to the guests of this park to remove at least 1 of the up charge attractions and put in another ride that can be ridden without having to pay extra. If they started removing up charge attractions and putting in regular attractions that would make the park look really good in the guest's eyes! Seriously who is paying to ride the slingshot, skycoaster or some old gokarts, I sure am not. Assuming they are the same karts I ride those karts when I was like 14 and I am 32 now. I am not sure what the life span of a gokart is but something tells me they are getting a little old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 They are not going to remove something if it's making them some money though I do agree that the price to ride Red Hawk and Sling Shot are astronomically high compared to similar attractions at other bigger parks. At CP Friday their new Slingshot was getting steady business all day and they charge $25 for it. What's Darien's price, isn't it like $35 or $40 (I know the last time I checked the skycoaster I believe it was $40 for a single flyer which is outrageous). The park needs to seriously reconsider the pricing for these two attractions. The only upcharges I could see being removed are the go-carts and batting cage. Their location is on prime development land as well as being a bit out of the way from the rest of the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 The way I see it, if they lower the price for the Slingshot and Sky Coaster, more people will ride and the park would make more money. But I've been on board with removing the go karts for awhile now. There is a ton of room behind it for new expansion and could house a whole new area larger than the Cuda or RoS plots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk610 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Yes I agree that removal of the go karts should happen sooner rather than later. The problem is that they cost alot to maintain and run. the batting cages are just the initial investment and electricity to run. My guess is that the batting cages actually make money, where the go karts are probably not all that profitable. With that being said, the batting cages can sure be relocated into another area of the park in order to free up some prime real estate for expansion. I find it very sad to see twister sitting over there kinda away from everything else. if they were to remove the go karts, the could build a new area and expand back that way and be able to tie twister into the rest of the park. Plus they could easily go back a bit and add a bunch without infringing on the campground by too much. A coaster the size of Batman The Dark Night at SFNE will fit in that space going back towards the campground and then give the park a path to put flats and other things on with no problems at all. Just to give you a point of reference, that area behind the go karts is just about the exact same size as the area that cuda falls once occupied, but going all the way back to the main gate. With that said, the park has room for expansion, it's now about CNL forking over the money to do it right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraAB87 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 If the karts were bringing in a lot of money with constant lines then it would be ok even if it cost money to run and maintain but that is not the case because when I was there, there was no line at all. I seem to remember these karts being 2 rides for $5 but the price has increased exponentially for them. DL has to remember that this is WNY and their park isn't exactly world class like CP and $60 for a skycoaster ride and $8-10 per kid per gokart ride is well out of reach of most WNY'ers who can barely afford admission to the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Peabody Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Darien's Slingshot is $20. I believe the Skycoaster is $35/$25/$20 but I'm not entirely sure about that. I was too busy dodging rain on Saturday to take any pictures, but the park was fairly crowded due to the Gus Macker tournament. I was surprised that the major rides kept running despite the rain, which was quite heavy at times. The giant wheel was closed all day but it looked like all the coasters were kept open. I got an early pre-rain ride on the Predator and found it smoother than it had been on preview weekend. A lot of people complain that it's too rough, but it has improved over the last couple of years. The Nik Wallendas show was impressive for a free show and well worth the time. I'm looking forward to seeing it again the next time I go to the park in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkMaxim Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Everything except for the giant wheel can operate in rain. Only if the rain is severely limiting visibility, or if lightning is within 10 miles will other rides start closing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk610 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Why can't the giant wheel operate in the rain? Is that something Recent? I have been caught on it in a rain storm before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I could be wrong, but since the wheel itself is driven by rubber tires, when the rim gets wet the tires lose a lot of traction. The park wouldn't want to take any risks of riders getting stuck. Another time you can see this sort of thing happen is on RoS. At the brake run when the kicker wheels get wet, they struggle to pull the train back into the station. This can actually shut down the ride too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matman-TheRide Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I'm going today! I can't take pictures unfortunately, but I was thinking that when I get back I can update you all with progress on the Scrambler's return. Does that sound goody-goody to you people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkMaxim Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I could be wrong, but since the wheel itself is driven by rubber tires, when the rim gets wet the tires lose a lot of traction. The park wouldn't want to take any risks of riders getting stuck. Another time you can see this sort of thing happen is on RoS. At the brake run when the kicker wheels get wet, they struggle to pull the train back into the station. This can actually shut down the ride too. Yep that's it exactly, even the lightest mist can cause the tires to slip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk610 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Well i was reading screamscape and SF Ne is closing cyclone forever as of Sunday. the rumour is that Rmc will be transforming it with the i-box treatment. with that being said, tis the season to start construction projects, especially large construction projects...coasters. If Dl actually is building a new coaster for next year, they will be starting to show signs of construction soon. And if they are making the Predator transformation, they may make announcements to get your last rides in now. For those going to the park in the coming weeks, keep your eyes open for any signs of construction anywhere in the park. Basically ride the giant wheel and lookaround at everything. i am not going to the park until the end of august, but when i go i will definitely look around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 We'll here's what we know so far for future rumors. I'm not trying to throw fuel in the fire rather just list the facts we know: The park told someone in an email that a coaster being built from scratch isn't likely in the next 5 years at least. Lake Monster would be a rebuild of Predator not a new coaster. RoS plaza is one of the next likely areas for a refurb. Sidewinder concept could be the next flat. UFO's pad is still vacant, no signs of construction. If Lake Monster is being built, Predator would have to be closed soon. Skyline Attractions is announcing their first project August 1st. The Cuda Falls area is about 3 acres, or roughly Maverick could fit (thanks to Dark Maxim for info). Locker building was just repainted meaning it may stay. UFO's status still unknown. There is room for expansion behind the to karts. Attendance is a main factor in a new attraction. No signs of any construction or new shipments in the park. Ideas of a new restaurant and circus have also floated around. The park has not teased anything yet unlike parks such as Carowinds, Hershey, or Holiday World. Fell free to add anything that I may have forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk610 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 This is the first i have heard about this email stating that no new coasters from scratch in at least five years. do we have a copy of this? also this does not kill lake monster or any flat ride additions. btw, hfe des have a flying carpet used ride sitting at celebration city that could come to Dl rather easily and cheaply. To be honest, i am rather ex tied that they don't want to build a new coaster from scratch in the next few years. That tells me lake monster transformation will most likely happen soon, and also that they plan on upgrading the flats and possibly the waterpark as well. i say a flat and a waterslike this year with lake monster oyster in 2016, followed by a flat and a waterslide each year after that and then and the fifth year, a new big coaster. By that time hfe will have the park to the point where they want it in order to put a new coaster in to bring the crowdsPoint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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