Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread

[SbSteveZ]

^ in my opinion I think the issue with the queue for viper is that it's too long of a line for a ride that quite often does not have more than a 5-10 minute wait. How does it make sense that everytime anyone wants to re ride the viper, not only do they have to walk all the way around the initial U-turn, the entire lift hill and the drop, but then they also have to walk the insanely long queue line that I've never seen much farther past the ramp just before you enter the station. I get it that they probably want to keep the length just incase they have to deal with insanely long lines, they would have the capability for it. But the issue lies in the fact that they don't typically have to deal with that at all. So why not cut down the length of the queue? Worst case, they put in some of those cow herder things (see RoS and Motocoaster) so JUST IN CASE, they can put a few chains up and boom. They have ample space for people to wait in line for the Classic DL Viper. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time a theme park cut the queue length for a ride, and Darien Lake has done it before! Look at the predator queue. When you get to the stairs, you can clearly see they cut out a good chunk of the line area. I'm pretty sure that's a smoking spot now. And if not, it's a place where people can wait for their friends who are crazy enough to ride that beast. (Me and the Predator have a love hate relationship, I love to hate it. Yet, I do ride it whenever I'm at the park.)

 

Not to totally rant about it, but it's not fair of you to be saying that it doesn't matter, when in fact, a reroute would absolutely matter. I think that even though the purple line would work the best, the red line would be the most realistic. However, even if they did just shorten it to the red length, it would be a lifesaver towards the end of the day when you're feet are starting to hurt! I'd love even that slight change so much!

[Geauga Dog]

I actually like the purple line as well. I'm the kind of guy who likes to have the ride exit close to the ride entrance for easy re-rides (I'm not lazy that I won't walk around). There really isn't much in the area where Viper's current entrance is except Rolling Thunder but you have more foot traffic in Rowdy's Ridge which could slightly increase ridership.

 

The green line would only work if the ride exit was relocated to go towards the Galaxy Theater, which would not be a bad idea as it would help liven a relatively dead part of the park (i.e. where there is a void in attractions. There isn't anything between Pirate and Bear Valley Bumper Buggies). The one year I went, back when it was still Six Flags, it was towards the end of the season and they had the Mind Eraser side closed off, making everyone exit towards the theater's entrance plaza.

 

As cool as it is to walk under the second corkscrew you also pass a very ugly eyesore in the process.

[coasterkid124]

To me, there are just other worries right now. Just look at the pics from a couple of pages back of Viper's station. The paint is peeling, wood is rotting away, and the shingles look ready to slide off the roof. I would much rather see rehab money go into that than shortening the queue for convenience. Like I said, with over 30 years of operation I haven't heard one complaint about the length of the line.

 

Not trying to be a stickler here, that's just my opinion. I would be all for a queue re-route if it meant opening up some space for a larger scale ride. That mini golf course is taking up a good chunk of room.

 

Maybe they could break up the old pathway in a way that Viper's "old entrance" would be the entrance for a new ride where golf was. Then they could use the purple line for a new entrance for Viper, and still be able to reuse Ranger's pad for something small. Use the leftover money to rehab the queue and station areas, and it's a pretty solid addition to the dry side.

[TheDarkMaxim]

Spend $10k+ to shorten a queue line so people down have to walk as far

 

or

 

Use that money for repairs/paint/general upkeep of the rest of the park.

 

They're not going to change the queue unless a major reno is done in that area (such as a new ride).

[Sk610]

I agree that re-routing the que for viper would be a luxury. It is definitely not needed and money could be spent elsewhere. I do think the best thing would be to paint the entire station and possibly even rebuild the entire structure. I find it very interesting how much the park has invested in painting buildings in the last few years, and left Vipers station off the list.

 

I would support a hybrid que for viper following the red line, but not removing the old que so if it does get busy, they could easily extend the line as needed. Also, that old mini golf needs to go. If the use the old ranger que house, they could add a nice ride in there with more than enough que space. I think a true drop tower in there as the ride could not have a huge footprint.

[Tackleberry]

I remember when the line did fill up a good chunk of that queue.... but were talking at least 16-20 years.

[SbSteveZ]

^ Call me crazy but I'd even like a star flyer or wind seeker type attraction. And I only say that because it seems a little unorthodox in my opinion for the park to add another drop tower. Up until Hershey's announcement this morning, I don't think any parks have added more than one drop tower. Especially in more than one spot in the park. (Yes, I understand those multiple tower structures exist, but I'm referring to the single shot towers, freestanding from one another.)

 

And there's also rides like Canada's Wonderland's new Skyhawk. That seems like a fun one. The only issue is that Canada's Wonderland is so close, I'm not sure if having a clone ride would be a good idea (with the exception of a Windseeker/Starflyer. Because each park has different views to offer)

[rjr19]

I was at Canada's Wonderland a few weeks ago, Skyhawk is a lot of fun... Once you figure out how to flip the plane, this seemed to be very confusing to the majority of riders. I agree that a Windseeker-type attraction would be a great addition to the park.

[Geauga Dog]

^ Call me crazy but I'd even like a star flyer or wind seeker type attraction. And I only say that because it seems a little unorthodox in my opinion for the park to add another drop tower.

 

You're not crazy - I think a Star Flyer/Windseeker would be a great addition for the park.

 

I wish they would add a second tower to Blast Off to help with capacity but the ops I've encountered there in the past have been good at getting the ride loaded and launched as quick as they could.

[zach2012]

A 150-200 ft Funtime star flyer similar to some of the first ones six flags installed would be a great fit in the park. There could possibly be room in that grass area between twister and motocoaster. That would liven up that area a bit more.

[SbSteveZ]

Yesterday I took my 7th trip of the season out to Darien Lake, and as usual, I had a pretty awesome time! For the first time in 7 visits, RoS was running ALL DAY! I was shocked! Otherwise, the park ops were just as fun as they have been my past few visits, the weather was great, and I look forward to my remaining visits this year.

 

This visit's points:

1) for those of you who haven't seen American Rock, I recommend it highly. The actors do such a great job, they have a wonderful selection of songs and it's a nice way to kick back and relax for a little while.

2) Beaver Brother's Has some great food, but the service is slow. I don't think it's at the fault of the waiters though. It seemed like only one girl was waiting tables the entire time we were there. If they even had one or two more waitresses or waiters, I feel like the service would have been much faster.

3) Boomerang is starting to concern me with how slow it is going up that lift. It can't get much worse than it already is..

4) The Bumper Cars ride op was fantastic. I didn't catch his name but he was allowing riders to ride 4 consecutive times. I've been saying for a while I think that the bumper cars at DL have too short of a ride cycle! Thank you to him for making the ride a little longer and a lot more enjoyable (we all know how guests love freebies!)

5) viper has been amazing this year. We did front row and back row just to compare and each side of the train had amazing speed, and force distributed throughout the ride. My favorite section in the front seat is the first loop, the best part in the back seat is the corkscrews.

6) at around 8:30, they started to do some testing of the fire effects at the laser stage, it was pretty cool to see them messing with the effects, and even cooler to watch people walking past the stage freaking out, likely because they haven't seen the show before (or at least not while it's had the fire effects)

7) last but not least, I decided to buy the glow with the show sticks, and they were actually really cool! Minus the fact that one of them failed to sync up with the show, the other three made the experience a LOT cooler than I was expecting them to. I recommend them highly!

 

Enough of me blabbering, onto the pictures!

As has been customary with my past trips, we start the day off on the Ride of Steel

Such a crowd pleaser recently!

Though it's probably just for the fence (looks like they've been trying to strengthen it recently) a stake at a theme park is always something that can peak curiousity. (See: Mean Streak)

One more shot of the station

As is pretty obvious, the station is just as bad as everyone has been saying, whether it's paint peeling or wood rotting, it isn't looking pretty...

Next, we take a trip over to Viper to check out this station everyone is so worried about

Though it's not a surprise, considering it's the first week of August, the 2nd train on viper is non existent

Though the station looks terrible, the ride itself, looks great!

What a skyline! I wish they'd work a little more on it though *cough* Starflyer *cough cough*

The Hydration Station from the water main break issue was still set up, but the water tasted like sewer. Hopefully that wasn't the case when it was the only drinkable tap water in the park!

Boomerang is seriously struggling. They need to do something for this ride before it isn't even able to ascend the first lift.

Hey look! A sharp!

If you look under the Viper lift in this picture, you can see the Ranger! (I tried to get up closer but the road was blocked off, from what I could tell)

I do like the sign, it builds character.

I seriously thought these were real! I thought it was so cool that they had all of these birdhouses! They're FAKE!!

Well looky looky which ride is getting some attention!

... That's the boomerang on there, but okay, I suppose you can have the sign by the SBNO twister if you really want to

I think it's time for a nice stroll across the bridge!

I like that they're trying to get some cooler merchandise but what's up with that Ferris wheel? And what roller coaster is that on the far right?! (I'm such a critic, I know)

Oh. I guess not.

Our Ferris wheel looks really nice during the day, if only it had some lights on it at night... (CP Stlye would be appreciated.)

I loved how RoS looked from this angle (taken near the fascination building)

We sat in this building for easily 2 hours just playing nonstop. I highly recommend 35 for anyone wanting to have a lucky shot! Whenever we were in there that number was being called the most!

Little bird friend by Mind Eraser sat there chirping at anyone who walked by. It was pretty adorable

Silver Bullet and Haymaker happened to be running at the same time and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture. Also gotta love the RoS photobomb

#ArtsyFartsy shot

COLORBLAST is awesome, and these glow Wands made it even better. If you get a chance, please do try them out!! Thanks for another good day, DarienLake!

This is what I was talking about earlier with the shortening of queue lines. Upon looking into it further, it looks like the Thunder Rapids line was also cut short at some point. (This is for predator)

I don't know why I love this gum wall, but I do. It's getting crazy this year!

[TheJewelOfJool]

500ft RMC Aquatrax with 20 inversions confirmed.

[coasterkid124]

Pretty soon there's gonna be more closed rides laying around the park in storage than actual operating rides

 

I'm really just hoping for some attention in the dry park again for next year. One flat, another RoS train, and a little paint would totally satisfy me. Hopefully they can get Twister going again too if that's the plan.

[PATTYCAKES]

Amazing pictures, Steve. 3 weeks and my family will be there too! It's been a few years since we were there last. We can't wait!

Your park looks beautiful, congratulations! Don't worry about Viper's station, a little wear adds character.

 

They have 3 weeks to fix Twister for my family.

I remember the gum wall. That is totally NASTY!@

If that stake was near a fence at Wonderland, our "experts" would be predicting a coaster, yep even with only one stake.

 

Darien Lake needs some mascot characters walking around, like the big parks. I remember dancing around the fountain with all the Looney Tunes characters, when I was younger. It was a lot of fun for kids and adults. I miss the characters. Even just generic mascots like the Beaver Brothers or maybe a Viper or Predator character or how about a Moose for Moose on the Loose.

 

Is there any NEW merchandise this year? Shirts, hats? How about any pins? I have a lot of pins from the Six Flags era. Maybe I should post pics of them.

 

[Philrad71]

Thanks for the photo trip report...saves me from having to post my own!

[PATTYCAKES]

Who owns Darien Lake right now? Is it Premier?

[TheJewelOfJool]

Who owns Darien Lake right now? Is it Premier?

It's owned by CNL Financial Group, but it's operated by Premier.

[PATTYCAKES]

This may be of interest to you all.

 

This Wild Water Kingdom (Toronto, Canada)

 

icon_STOPPark News - (8/2/16) Premier Parks LLC has officially acquired the closed Wild Water Kingdom waterpark in the Toronto area. Premier Parks, headed by Kieran Burke, is looking forward to rebuilding the waterpark into a new first class waterpark and will announce their plans in the near future.

[TheJewelOfJool]

This may be of interest to you all.

 

This Wild Water Kingdom (Toronto, Canada)

 

icon_STOPPark News - (8/2/16) Premier Parks LLC has officially acquired the closed Wild Water Kingdom waterpark in the Toronto area. Premier Parks, headed by Kieran Burke, is looking forward to rebuilding the waterpark into a new first class waterpark and will announce their plans in the near future.

I'm adding this to my list of things to do in Toronto now, thanks. It's also a bit off topic.

[PATTYCAKES]

I thought it would be okay because Wild Water Kingdom in Toronto is now kind of connected to Darien Lake.

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by PATTYCAKES

[TheJewelOfJool]

I thought it would be okay because Wild Water Kingdom in Toronto is now kind of related to Darien Lake.

 

But it barely is.

[PATTYCAKES]

Jewel, are you saying you are 13 and your parents have never taken you to Wild Water Kingdom? Have you been to Darien Lake?

[Sk610]

So apparently Premier is starting to buy more parks as opposed to just managing them. Could this be a sign that they may purchase DL? If so, could the loot this waterpark for DL and other properties attractions?

[TheJewelOfJool]

Jewel, are you saying you are 13 and your parents have never taken you to Wild Water Kingdom? Have you been to Darien Lake?

I haven't gone to Wild Water KIngdom because I haven't stayed in Toronto until this year. My family usually goes to the Smokey Mountains for vacation, so the only parks that I've gone to are Cedar Point, Dollywood, and Canada's Wonderland.

[SbSteveZ]

Amazing pictures, Steve.

 

Is there any NEW merchandise this year? Shirts, hats? How about any pins? I have a lot of pins from the Six Flags era. Maybe I should post pics of them.

 

 

First off, thanks for the compliment! It's really appreciated

 

Secondly, they've been adding a lot of new merchandise over the past two years, I've seen some pretty top notch magnets, bumper stickers and some awesome shirts too. Then there's some novelty tees that are likely aimed towards teens with the words "relationship goals" and "squad goals" on them, featuring the DL name on them too, even if they have nothing to do with the park. Merchandise is merchandise I suppose. I know they aren't new, but I'm pretty fond of the stuffed animals with the old(ish) DL logo on them, you can buy stuffed animals just about anywhere but only here can you buy awesome Darien Lake ones! (Same with their rainbow colored basket balls!) I'm a sucker for Theme Park branding on merchandise, if it isn't obvious...

 

Though I have yet to buy any apparel this season, I did get some shirts last year and as I may have said on here, they are starting to look almost like apparel you would find at a large world class theme park. I love that, because in my mind it shows the potential the park can have. I've even seen some shirt designs (like the pie chart shirt in the emporium that has the ride speeds, lengths and times on them) that exist within other parks aswell (the pie chart one I've also seen at CP, with different coasters, of course ) so to shorten up my long answer, it may not all be new, but a lot of it is pretty awesome.