Matman-TheRide Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I will say that this just goes to show you that no matter what the park installs, people will not be happy. I for one think that both aditions will be very good for the park. The waterslides will be a very needed addition to the waterpark. DL really needs more to do in the waterpark and almost any addition on that side will be a good thing, and this one has the box launch system, which will be unique to the area. I just hope that they do it right and plan ahead so that next year they can add the speed slides off the same tower they are building this year. On the super loop...yes it is a carnival staple, but it is almost a perfect replacement to the ranger. It doesnt do anything to replace ufo, but it is almost an exact replacement for ranger. Also, a good number of larger parks are adding these rides this year. With that DL is on the mark with some of the other park across the country, which is exactly what they did when they added hornets nest Other people are too harsh on Darien Lake. Do the rest of you folks realize that Darien Lake is a medium sized park? This is like telling a Walibi park that they suck because they don't compare to Six Flags Magic Mountain. It truly is unfair. Darien Lake could use a new roller coaster I will admit, but I am certain that they are not getting a giant B&M anytime soon. The Brain Drain slides and Rolling Thunder are great for what Darien Lake is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Yeah see Darien Lake would need somewhere around $100+ million to contend with the lineups of the parks you listed. I'm not saying Darien Lake is a bad park at all, I have no problem with what it is. But that's just it- it is what it is, and that's a park that hasn't received proper capital to do the projects we would have liked in the past. There's hope for Darien Lake, there's hope for almost any park, for that matter. But until then, we should take this park for what it is, and hope it's on track to being a very good park, because the truth is, it isn't there yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Darien Lake is very mediocre. It's current coaster lineup consists of two standard Vekomas, two family/kiddie coasters, a rough wooden coaster, a rough Arrow, and one Intamin Hyper. Only one of those coasters would ever really attract enthusiasts and or normal guests. While any coaster would attract more guests initially, good ones keep them coming back. The way that the park was built is preventing it from expanding even more. All of the coasters were pretty much built around the perimeter of the park. Due to the flats and lakes in the middle, there is not much room for a major coaster. The park has a lot of land, but the majority of it is water covered, across the street, or used for parking/campground. There are only a couple of immediate places that a major attraction like that could be built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Please take your fanboy glasses off for just a second. Do you truly believe Darien Lake will be able to compete with arguably the three best coaster line-ups in the country? A park thats basically been neglected by its owners are suddenly going to kick it into gear and add major investments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Please take your fanboy glasses off for just a second. Do you truly believe Darien Lake will be able to compete with arguably the three best coaster line-ups in the country? A park thats basically been neglected by its owners are suddenly going to kick it into gear and add major investments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdude Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Yeah, that's not likely. Darien Lake is not a major park like the places you mentioned, it is a mid-size park that is primarily in competition with Martin's Fantasy Island, Seabreeze, and Waldameer. Darien Lake currently has a better coaster line-up than at least two of those three and, for anyone without a passport to head to Canada's Wonderland, is easily the regional thrill capital. While they could use another big coaster (and their ride line-up in general is a bit lacking), there is no reason the park needs to or should even consider attempting to compete with the major parks. I visited Darien Lake a few year ago, and I'd consider the park one that is worth visiting if I'm in the area, but not one I'm going to make a significant detour for. Was it a bad park? No, it just doesn't have many unique attractions to attract visitors from outside the region. While it may be mediocre from the perspective of some enthusiasts, the park is a great place for locals, and if management is smart that is who they will aim their additions at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie Warrior Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. This is probably the dumbest thing you've ever posted. And that's saying something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matman-TheRide Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I just don't get it why so many overzealous theme park/roller coaster fans excluding me would think Darien Lake is a "mediocre" park. Sure it's no Cedar Point or Disney World, but I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. LOL! Such an accurate point. Now allow me to ask this - Do any of you folks think that Walibi Holland will ever get a strata coaster? Darien Lake is a medium sized park, and that is okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Maybe I should just be thankful that Darien Lake has got something this year even if it's just two water slides and a carnival Super Loop. I wonder why didn't Darien Lake put the new slides in the old Barracuda Bay/Cuda Falls area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraAB87 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Maintenance and operations and guest services are 3 areas where DL really need to improve, ever been to the park most people who go are miserable while they are at the park, and no this does not apply to all parks because I have never seen such miserable clientele at any other park. Guest friendliness needs to improve, 2 train operation needs to become mandatory for all coasters and cleanliness needs to improve a lot. If this happens and 2 train operation returns and is done well then DL will be a park worth visiting. Otherwise it's a park where you will spend 50% or more of your visit waiting in line for ROS. If you have been to a park that has 2 train operation vs one that does not you know how much of a difference it makes and even the GP can see it, you don't need to be a hardcore enthusiast to see why the line does not move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk610 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I think all of us believe that DL,needs a new coaster very badly. The problem is that costs have skyrocketed putting even small coasters out of reach. I saw the other day that Lagoon, a small park in Utah is adding a basic three inversion Eurofighter. The cost was over $20 million for something that nobody would consider a huge coaster. I can only imagine how much a coaster like Kumba would cost in todays money. I think ROS only cost 10-12 million when it was built, today may be three times that much. Also, I would expect the next coaster to be a wooden coaster as they do tend to be cheaper Unfortunately, DL just does not bring in enough guests to pay off an investment like that quickly. Basically if they add a coater, it may very well be the only addition for 2-3 years. I would like to see DL do like they are now and add some flats and get the park in better shape before making a major additions. Also, the waterpark needs some attention, and slides tend to be relatively cheap and popular additions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I think all of us believe that DL,needs a new coaster very badly. The problem is that costs have skyrocketed putting even small coasters out of reach. I saw the other day that Lagoon, a small park in Utah is adding a basic three inversion Eurofighter. The cost was over $20 million for something that nobody would consider a huge coaster. I can only imagine how much a coaster like Kumba would cost in todays money. I think ROS only cost 10-12 million when it was built, today may be three times that much. Also, I would expect the next coaster to be a wooden coaster as they do tend to be cheaper Unfortunately, DL just does not bring in enough guests to pay off an investment like that quickly. Basically if they add a coater, it may very well be the only addition for 2-3 years. I would like to see DL do like they are now and add some flats and get the park in better shape before making a major additions. Also, the waterpark needs some attention, and slides tend to be relatively cheap and popular additions Considering Fury is $30 million, I don't think such a basic hyper coaster with mostly two and three spine track would even approach $30 - $36 million. I'd guess more in the $18 - $20 million range, if a coaster with such an outdated layout were even built. But that's besides the point. Small coasters can be affordable for parks the size of DL. Not that coasters are what this park needs most- from what I've read, it seems infrastructure/guest experience could use and overhaul beforehand. After that, there are PLENTY of coasters well under the $10 million range. Unfortunately for DL, it isn't in a large chain that can install some relocated rides that are in working condition. Six Flags America is an example of that- their ride/coaster lineup has improved greatly since 2011 on a very, very tight budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsupercity Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 LR at KK was cheap and fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdude Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I think all of us believe that DL,needs a new coaster very badly. The problem is that costs have skyrocketed putting even small coasters out of reach. I saw the other day that Lagoon, a small park in Utah is adding a basic three inversion Eurofighter. The cost was over $20 million for something that nobody would consider a huge coaster. I can only imagine how much a coaster like Kumba would cost in todays money. I think ROS only cost 10-12 million when it was built, today may be three times that much. Also, I would expect the next coaster to be a wooden coaster as they do tend to be cheaper Unfortunately, DL just does not bring in enough guests to pay off an investment like that quickly. Basically if they add a coater, it may very well be the only addition for 2-3 years. I would like to see DL do like they are now and add some flats and get the park in better shape before making a major additions. Also, the waterpark needs some attention, and slides tend to be relatively cheap and popular additions Have you even looked at Cannibal? It's not just a basic Eurofighter, it's a custom ride built by the park that's over 200 ft tall and 3,000 ft long with an elevator lift and extensive theming. Anybody would consider that a pretty big coaster, especially at a mid-size park. If Darien Lake wants a new thrill coaster, they could get a Eurofighter, an El Loco, or even a Chance Hyper GT-X for $7-10 million, and all of those would be a good fit for the park. A GCI would probably be in the same price range as those and would also be a nice fit. Point is, there's plenty of affordable options for the park as long as you don't expect a giant coaster or a new B&M or Intamin (which would be more in the $20 million range). Does Darien Lake need a new coaster? Yes. Will they get one in the next few years? Possibly. Is it the biggest priority right now? No. But given how Elitch Gardens was on my visit last summer if you give Premier a couple years the park will be back in good shape, and then perhaps it will be time for a new headliner attraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 All I want is that Premier continues with what Herschend started by not just adding a few rides here and there but also improving the areas around them - new paint, pavement, theming, landscaping - to give each area of the park an identity of sorts since HFE created themed sections a few years ago. I'm hoping Premier won't abandon those theme areas. A new coaster will come in time but for now I'd like to see the flat rides get updated. Rolling Thunder is a step in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRice92 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Maintenance and operations and guest services are 3 areas where DL really need to improve, ever been to the park most people who go are miserable while they are at the park, and no this does not apply to all parks because I have never seen such miserable clientele at any other park. Guest friendliness needs to improve, 2 train operation needs to become mandatory for all coasters and cleanliness needs to improve a lot. If this happens and 2 train operation returns and is done well then DL will be a park worth visiting. Otherwise it's a park where you will spend 50% or more of your visit waiting in line for ROS. If you have been to a park that has 2 train operation vs one that does not you know how much of a difference it makes and even the GP can see it, you don't need to be a hardcore enthusiast to see why the line does not move. This, I know when I go to the park I have my enthusiast goggles on and want to see two train operations. However on my visit last year MULTIPLE times in multiple lines I head the GP complain about how slow operations were. And I can saw without a doubt they were by far the slowest operations of any park I visited last year. I think just and improvement on operations & guest services could help this park a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Rex Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I would have rather Darien put a Technical Park Vortex, or even just a used Huss BreakDance in place of the U.F.O. I really don't understand why so many parks are going to Super Loops. This is yesterdays technology. I mean are these parks (including D.L.) that hard up for the money? You have to spend money to make money. No one is gonna travel miles, and spend tons of money to see, and ride a Super Loop. I am also really disappointed that they are not re lighting the Giant Wheel. I think it is disrespectful to a park Icon not to relight it. This is why so many people bypass D.L. to go 6hrs to Cedar Point. The park is cleaner, more well maintained, and they keep up on cutting edge technology. Again the larson Super Loop is a big waste of time D.L.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 So a brand new Super Loop is bad because it's "old technology" but you would be okay with a used Breakdance? Makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Rex Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Well I see what your saying on the Breakdance Coaster guy. Of corse I would want Darien to invest in the brand new Vortex, or a new ride. With the exception of a Super Loop. I mis worded myself. I should have said they might as well have gotten a used Breakdance, but I will say I am more impressed with Technical Park, and Huss than Larson. I mean the UFO they just removed was the only of it's kind in America. Tons of carnivals have a Super loops, and now tons of parks. (Can't argue with me on that right?) The root of the matter that concerns me about Darien is that the owners are getting cheap on thrills. I mean how much is a new Super Loop? To us the price tag would seem astounding, but to a corporation like CNL it is a drop in the bucket. Even more so to them it's an investment if they can get more people to come to the park, and spend more money. You might get a few locals excited about it, but that's not going to draw bigger attendance numbers. Think about this. what fun is it if you go park to park, and they all have the same rides? The same rides they have at your local carnival. I really think they need to think outside the box, and make the park unique again. If not I fear for Darien's future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Rex Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 DarienLaker "I personally think that there is some hope for Darien Lake's future in trying to "beat" Cedar Point, Six Flags Great Adventure, and/or Six Flags Magic Mountain in the ways of roller coaster line ups" [ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golddisk Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 2015 hours have been announced on the website http://www.darienlake.com/park-hours/. Looks like the park won't be open in October this year. The summer hours are pretty much the same as they've been for years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Maybe they not having a Halloween/Fall event this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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