Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread

[Manic Monte]

^ Only in that it's another terribly short Gerstlauer ride that seems to have generated some excitement with a layout that's probably even less interesting than this one imo.

 

But it is replacing a Boomerang, so yeah I guess...

[Haymaker]

Its just a mockup and not necessarily the finished layout:

 

For Darien Lake's newest thrill, roller coaster planned to open next summer

 

By Aaron Besecker | Published 3:11 p.m. November 3, 2017 | Updated 1 hour ago

 

 

A tall and twisting roller coaster aimed at attracting visitors from beyond the region and the state is on track to open next summer at Darien Lake theme park.

 

Details are sketchy, but the theme park appears to be eyeing a roller coaster that travels 44 to 62 mph with a completely vertical incline and a drop that goes beyond vertical.

 

"This is a biggie," said Tom Turnbull, president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

 

Darien Lake Holdings LLC has submitted plans to the Genesee County Town of Darien to demolish the Thunder Rapids log ride and construct a new ride.

 

Documents filed with the town included drawings of a "Euro-fighter"-style roller coaster from Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, a German manufacturer of coasters and other rides. The drawings were labeled "preliminary information" and "work in progress."

 

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The design of the roller coasters range in height from 73 to 141 feet and feature tracks with descents of between 97 and 121 degrees, according to layouts on the company's website.

 

Chris Thorpe, general manager of Darien Lake, could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the company issued a written statement on Thorpe's behalf:

 

“The entire team at Darien Lake is committed to investing in the park and the economic development of Genesee County," the statement read. "We are thrilled with the new proposed ride and anticipate being able to announce the full details in the coming weeks, once the proper approvals are received.”

 

The park has seen consistent attendance levels for three years, though the Genesee County theme park's 2017 season was dampened by wet weather, with 42 percent of operating days hit by rain, according to the company.

 

The new roller coaster is aimed at improving the park's draw regionally and from across the state, as well as the northeast United States and southern Ontario, according to Thorpe's notes submitted as part of the planning board application.

 

The Genesee County Planning Board is scheduled to review the project on Nov. 9 and offer a recommendation to Darien officials. The Town of Darien Planning Board, which holds the final authority to approve a site plan, meets on Nov. 20.

 

Darien Lake Holdings LLC was awarded $360,000 in sales tax breaks for the project by Genesee County Industrial Development Agency on Oct. 26.

 

The total capital investment for the project is $4.5 million, according to a document from the county agency.

 

The theme park was purchased last year by EPR Properties, a Kansas City, Mo.-based real estate investment trust, from CNL Lifestyle Properties. It was sold by Six Flags Inc. to CNL in 2007.

 

Darien Lake last opened a new roller coaster – the $3.4 million Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster – in 2008. The thrill ride features more than 1,100 feet of track as high as 40 feet in the air and passengers travel at speeds from zero to 40 mph in three seconds.

 

The theme park is also home to what it says is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the state, the Ride of Steel, which opened in 1999 and cost $12 million.

 

Darien Lake unveiled a new water slide, known as the RipCurl Racer, in 2016.

 

For Turnbull, head of the county chamber of commerce, the project will be a boost for the park and for tourism in the region. Darien Lake serves as a big economic engine for Genesee County, Turnbull said.

 

In the past when the park has unveiled new rides, especially major new attractions, they've seen dramatic surges in attendance, he said.

 

"It should be great for Darien Lake," he said. "It will be great for Genesee County."

[pryonisys]

I'll be interested to see the actual design of it when that comes out, but it sounds like this will be fun. I am sad they're taking out the flume though as I really enjoy those.

Understandable, but still sad.

[Golddisk]

I don't really see the comparison. My issue with this ride is that it's replacing a ride that (in my opinion) is most likely a better ride. Hang time looks great and is replacing a terrible Boomerang.

 

Again, I get this move. Financially it's probably very smart and I don't blame them for doing it, but personally I'm not a big fan. If it were going in that huge open field I'd be singing their praises but it's replacing one of the better rides in the park and that's a shame.

 

I thought TR was a good log flume, too. But it barely operated the past season, so I guess I am not fully surprised by the decision to remove it although I would have prefered the ride filling in one of the empty spots around the park rather than replacing another ride.

[EliHorton]

Wow! This is amazing! I absolutely love it! Sure it is sad that Thunder River is leaving, but this will definitely be a great new ride! Here's what I'm wondering though: I thought they said that the ride would cost 4.5 million dollars; however, Krater (a clone of Iron Shark) cost ten million dollars.

[coasterbill]

Its just a mockup and not necessarily the finished layout

 

Oh yeah I figured that, they probably won't need any of this unnecessary stuff for their purposes.

 

Relax, it's a joke.

[ride of steel]

I really wanted a euro fighter I've never ridden one.

I'd name it....lake monster.

[Geauga Dog]

I only had the chance to ride the flume once and I thought it was rather decent. Sad to see another park staple going away but I'm not surprised that it's being removed given how many times it was posted in this thread that it was down this past season.

 

I don't get the complaining about the new coaster being a Eurofighter. I've only been on one (Dare Devil Dive at SFOG) and I think this will be a good fit for Darien Lake. Let's hope for lap bars on this one.

[Sk610]

I think this is a win win. They are getting rid of a great ride that was a huge favorite, but was a staffing and maintenance nightmare. They are adding a much needed coaster that is unique and looks like it could be fun and and a good starter coaster that is a step up from Motocoaster and a step below Viper.

 

My guess is that they went with the most basic pre-configured model they have, or got one used. That would totally fit Premier's past actions with a good number of cheap clone coasters like boomerangs and SLC's. I will miss thunder rapids, but there still is Shipwreck Falls, and DL is getting a new coaster!

[coasterbill]

I don't get the complaining about the new coaster being a Eurofighter. I've only been on one (Dare Devil Dive at SFOG) and I think this will be a good fit for Darien Lake. Let's hope for lap bars on this one.

 

Again, I don't think anyone would be complaining if it weren't replacing an objectively better ride. Eurofighters are fun for what they are and the larger ones can be flat out amazing. I don't mean to harp on this thing but I figured I'd clarify.

[Shavethewhales]

So to be clear, it's not confirmed that they will go with the Iron Shark layout? Like they just submitted that as an example?

 

I rode Iron Shark earlier this year and enjoyed it, but the whole point of that layout was to fit it onto a tiny pier. Somehow it would just rub me the wrong way if an expansive park like DL got a clone of it just to be cheap. I know they are going for a small budget, but I'm sure there isn't that much difference in engineering costs to come up with a slightly different layout to fit the actual site. In any case $4.5 million isn't going to buy much, but Iron Shark is very fun albeit short.

[EliHorton]

It seems like more people are complaining about how the log flume is getting torn out rather than how fun the new roller coaster looks. I think this will be a great addition for them. They are tearing out a ride that was costly to maintain and didn't receive the ridership to justify the costs to keep running it and they are replacing it with a new coaster that will no doubt boost attendance and will not require as much maintenance as a log flume, especially if they only run one or two cars at a time. Plus it will no doubt hype visitors as they enter the park since the new coaster will be fairly close to the park entrance. I'm still just baffled that they are getting a new coaster and that they are getting ANY new Gerstlauer coaster in 2017 for four and a half million dollars. And I like the idea of using the "Lake Monster" name.

[Haymaker]

Maybe its 4.5 mil new money and they sell TR?

[EliHorton]

Maybe its 4.5 mil new money and they sell TR?

Hmmmm. Possible. But who would buy a 30+ year old log flume? And they couldn't possibly get a whole lot of money from scrap. And there is no way that they could have bought the new ride used, I mean there are only two Iron Shark models. Hmmm. RCDB says that Krater cost ten million dollars to build. Perhaps most of that cost was from ground blasting, I mean it looks like it sits on a hill so the ground may have required lots of prep.

[ride of steel]

Maybe its 4.5 mil new money and they sell TR?

Hmmmm. Possible. But who would buy a 30+ year old log flume? And they couldn't possibly get a whole lot of money from scrap. And there is no way that they could have bought the new ride used, I mean there are only two Iron Shark models. Hmmm. RCDB says that Krater cost ten million dollars to build. Perhaps most of that cost was from ground blasting, I mean it looks like it sits on a hill so the ground may have required lots of prep.

But they could scrap...Batman the 'scape.

[jedimaster1227]

Darien Lake was such a nice park to visit back in 2008 so I'm glad to see them continuing to invest. These Eurofighters are crowdpleasers and they have a few moments that pack a punch so if this is the route they take, I'm sure it will only bring them success.

[Philrad71]

Maybe its 4.5 mil new money and they sell TR?

 

From the Buffalo News:

 

"Darien Lake Holdings LLC has submitted plans to the Genesee County Town of Darien to demolish the Thunder Rapids log ride and construct a new ride."

 

Link

 

Personally, I am hoping that they go with a similar Infinity design like The Monster at Adventureland as I think that would be a perfect fit for this park!

[coasterbill]

Given the cost I'd pretty much bet the house on an Iron Shark clone.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ That's my guess too, especially since it was in the plans, but I wouldn't rule out one like Hydrus or Untamed too. I think that one is in the same ballpark.

 

It's a bummer they're removing the flume to put this ride in, but it seems like a nice addition to their lineup. The EuroFighters, particularly if they have lapbars, are really good rides.

[Janusz]

I love how after a coaster draught like DL has had, when they announce that they're putting in a coaster, you guys freak out about losing a 30 year old Arrow Flume Ride... Idk if you guys are aware, but that's right around the lifetime of an flume. The rumor of TR getting removed had been swirling around the park for a few years now simply because of how much of a nightmare the ride had become to maintain. Odds are it was one of the things Premier had heard a ton about from DL maintenance and the new owner ended up giving them the freedom to do it.

 

I'm also willing to bet that the bad publicity from a possible lawsuit against Knotts over their Arrow log flume wouldn't help much in the decision to keep it, not to mention the fact that Log Jammer at Kennywood (another Arrow flume) is being ripped out this season as well.

 

Since they said it was a custom layout, I don't imagine it would be too much larger than any of Gerstlauer's 320 models when looking at the price. Given that it's a Euro-Fighter and not an Infinity, it'll probably keep the normal train design and have otsr to my dismay. This is still a huge step for Darien Lake and I'm really looking forward to seeing what dreams Premier has, and what EPR is willing to approve during their period of ownership.

 

Y'all need to get hyped! This is great for DL!!!

[coasterbill]

Idk if you guys are aware, but that's right around the lifetime of an flume.

 

Flumes don't have "lifespans". What are you talking about? You just need to maintain them just like any other ride. Often that maintenance can be expensive, but flumes don't have lifespans. As I've said, I get the move... I think it's most likely a downgrade. I don't expect everyone to agree with me.

 

I'm also willing to bet that the bad publicity from a possible lawsuit against Knotts over their Arrow log flume wouldn't help much in the decision to keep it, not to mention the fact that Log Jammer at Kennywood (another Arrow flume) is being ripped out this season as well.

 

Again... what?

 

The people who would prefer the flume ride to a small Euro Fighter and the people that routinely complain about a coaster drought are two separate groups of people. Given the size of the market and their ownership situation, I've never had an issue with this park's coaster lineup. They have one of the best hyper coasters in America. For a park the size of Darien Lake, that's borderline amazing. Their other coasters are also pretty impressive for a park in that type of market. Going 10-15 years between coasters for a park like Darien Lake is totally reasonable in my opinion.

Edited November 4, 2017 by coasterbill

[larrygator]

It seems like more people are complaining about how the log flume is getting torn out rather than how fun the new roller coaster looks. I think this will be a great addition for them. They are tearing out a ride that was costly to maintain and didn't receive the ridership to justify the costs to keep running it and they are replacing it with a new coaster that will no doubt boost attendance and will not require as much maintenance as a log flume, especially if they only run one or two cars at a time. Plus it will no doubt hype visitors as they enter the park since the new coaster will be fairly close to the park entrance. I'm still just baffled that they are getting a new coaster and that they are getting ANY new Gerstlauer coaster in 2017 for four and a half million dollars. And I like the idea of using the "Lake Monster" name.

 

Let me sum up why you see so much complaining in this thread.

 

Combine

1 part internet, where most people complain

1 part Darien Lake enthusiasts who are frequent posters on TPR, you know the type that are never satisfied and enjoy complaining

1 part rabid log flume enthusiast, who complains about every log flume removal

1 part rationale TPR enthusiast

 

Of course the there will be more complaining

[ride of steel]

Guys this ends a 10 year coaster drought, this is it the eurofighter from Screamscape, the rumored romoval of TR it all came together just how we predicted, and your complaining that the 30 year log flume is going away,

[bluestreak]

With Darien being in the spotlight the last couple days, it makes me realize how much I miss ride of steel. God I love that ride.

[Mr. Corn]

While some people may be slightly upset that TR is getting removed, how about we look at all the upsides i'm about to list below:

-First New Coaster in 10 years

-Will be a great step up from Motocoaster

-Much lower maintenance costs for the park which means there will be a bigger budget for things like lights on the ferris wheel being replaced, and new paint for Viper's station

-Great marketability that'll bring new guests to the park

-Has a nice mix of hang time, fast turns, and some mini pops of airtime

-Fairly reliable

-Will bring some much needed new life to the park's skyline which can only attract more people

 

So while I get being upset about a log flume closing is a big deal, or a SUPER big deal to coaster bill), let's be happy we're getting a new coaster. (Low key not even sure why I typed this as logical thinking isn't normally accepted in the Darien Lake thread)