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Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread


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Since Fantasy Island doesn't have its own thread and people seem to post about it here I thought I'd share this. I got a season pass renewal email this morning that listed everything they plan to add for 2019. It boils down basically to a new family coaster and some costumed mascots.

 

Anyway, here's the link: http://fantasyislandny.com/new-in-2019/?utm_source=email_ZOHO&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=2018_8.1_fantasyisland_sph&utm_content=2019Atrractions

 

I might renew just for the Oktoberfest and Halloween events.

 

I think there are some better options that they could have gone for. This looks just like the family coaster they got a few years ago.

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Since Fantasy Island doesn't have its own thread and people seem to post about it here I thought I'd share this. I got a season pass renewal email this morning that listed everything they plan to add for 2019. It boils down basically to a new family coaster and some costumed mascots.

 

Anyway, here's the link: http://fantasyislandny.com/new-in-2019/?utm_source=email_ZOHO&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=2018_8.1_fantasyisland_sph&utm_content=2019Atrractions

 

I might renew just for the Oktoberfest and Halloween events.

 

I think there are some better options that they could have gone for. This looks just like the family coaster they got a few years ago.

 

It's a Dragon Wagon, it's probably cheap so they grabbed it up for more fun for kids, plus it does go with the fairytale theme they're going for.

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Although it isn’t the greatest choice, it is cheap, and I honestly think they need ANYTHING to stay alive right now. I currently work at FI and this year is the worst season attendance-wise for them in a long time. Every time I am there, the place is totally dead. Most Ride-ops are just sitting at their rides waiting for a single person to even get on. Lines are 100% non-existent. Even Silver Cimet is a 1-Ride-wait for the front or back seat (it is a back-seat coaster in my opinion). I think the higher prices and parking charges are deterring people away from the park.

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Higher prices at Fantasy Island? After taxes and fees for a single season pass it was **$40.82** and that includes parking, friend passes, etc. I think last season is was ~$34. I don't know how they stay in business with such cheap passes. They used to charge a WHOLE lot more before Apex came in (even more than Darien Lake's season pass!)

 

I agree that the one day full price ticket isn't worth it, but even if you buy *one* pass for $40 and use the bring a friend anytime ticket you are paying less than $20 for a single day ticket if you go with someone. If you only go ONCE it's still cheaper to buy a pass and use the unrestricted friend ticket. lol.

 

I have no clue how they are surviving to be honest.

 

I just bought a 2019 pass today as it's good for this year as well as next and all the benefits for this year and next year. And I'm really just curious just how bad the Halloween event is. You get a free ticket for Friday nights Halloween event in addition to the unrestricted ticket.

 

If your post is any indication of crowds I will pick a day to marathon Silver Comet. See if I can beat my previous record of 119 rides in a single day lol. I haven't been to the park since working there back in... 2006? Damn I'm old.

 

I'm curious how much the Six Flags Darien Lake pass will go for in September. I'm guessing $55 + taxes and fees. Excited for that, too. Unless they only go the discounted membership route this year. I guess we'll see.

 

EDIT: found an official source. A 2016 pass to Martin's Fantasy Island was $69.99 plus tax/fees for a single person. I don't know how anyone can complain about their prices when they went to an all time low with Apex. Decreased *perceived* value due to the parking charge, maybe, but in actuality it's a hell of a deal and is way less to go than the Martin's day. Hell, looking at their discounts page it seems to me they aren't even charging absorbent $$$ for food and drink.

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A Batman segment during Ignite the Night.... hmmm

 

Seeing the changes SF is already making to the park tells me that they might get the flagship “Six Flags” naming next year. They are changing prices, bringing in Fright Fest, and now Batman is back in the park. This could be leading towards a solid future for DL.

 

As for Rolling Thunder being stuck at the top. Maintenance does that to work on the bottom of the ride. They can keep it in place like that so that the train isn’t in the way when they need to fix the bottom. Most likely it was done on purpose. Are most Super Loops unreliable? Because ours seems to be down way too much for a fairly new ride. It was also down all day when I was there about a week ago.

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Well, we visited last night and arrived around 6 for $20 evening passes. Here’s my thoughts...

 

Didn’t have to pay $20 to park (assuming because there was a concert). Park entrance area is well kept enough and in general park is decently maintained landscaping wise. Went to Predator and line was basically a station wait (20-25 min). Ops weren’t terrible most of the night. Predator seemed to be an exception to that. Ride itself was really... meh. Not been taken care of too well and also not a terribly interesting layout. Moved on from there to the Boomerang which was actually a decent one. Rode Motocoaster which is always a fun little ride. The launch is just enough to be a little surprise every time. In line for Motocoaster, I discovered something very odd. The Antique Cars almost looked like they were attached to one another. Turns out they just load a convoy of like 6 at a time and then just dispatch them all simultaneously. Found that odd. Enjoy your ride in traffic!

 

Highlight of the evening was remembering the Fascination Parlor. A couple machines were out of order but it was nice way to spend a few minutes. Viper ran pretty well honestly. Not too many issues with it. Walked on around toward Mind Eraser. Considered Moose on the Loose which would’ve probably been the highlight of the day but it was a bit of a line. Entered Tantrum’s line but ended up changing our minds for Mind Eraser, incorrectly assuming it would be shorter.

 

Again, it was only the switchbacks in the station, so it seemed like we’d be in good shape. This is where Darien Lake’s true colors shined. Ops were fairly slow but the real issue was the line design. During the last switchback there are two entrances to the zone where you pick a row. People (including myself) kept getting bottlenecked at the entrance toward the back of the train with really no intention to ride toward the back. There was an empty area between that entrance and the entrance toward the front so people just started cutting under switchback. I don’t even know if I blame them entirely but the way everyone was ‘forced’ to behave is a direct result of the poor like design. In addition, there were plenty of people attempting to jump way up with their friends. I’ve never seen so many people just bail on the line or express frustration liks in that line. All they need to do is chain off that entrance to the back area and have one entrance like other coasters.

 

After this, hustled over to Ride of Steel which ran less rattly than SFA. Great ride. Managed to hustle back to Tantrum and get a ride on it (fun, short ride), finishing all 7 credits and ensuring I never have to return. Unfortunately, I just had a not so great experience. I absolutely recognize you get what you pay for with ops and the clientele. That’s certainly the case here. Oh and the icing on the cake is $1.49 for a cup of water, which I think is a first for me.

 

I really hope this doesn’t come off too harsh. I generally have a good time when I go to parks; even SFA was pretty alright with me. But this was an exception. Went to get a nice cold beer afterwards, finishing the occasion the only way that seemed appropriate.

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A Batman segment during Ignite the Night.... hmmm

 

That’s been in the show since May. It’s part of their formula to always include a children’s show theme song of sorts - and with LEGO Batman doing well, it was a perfect fit for the show. And admittedly one of the high points of this year’s performance

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A Batman segment during Ignite the Night.... hmmm

 

Seeing the changes SF is already making to the park tells me that they might get the flagship “Six Flags” naming next year. They are changing prices, bringing in Fright Fest, and now Batman is back in the park. This could be leading towards a solid future for DL.

 

All but confirmed judging by these email addresses.

Screenshot_20180805-134417_Chrome.thumb.jpg.a40cbf581d0ccaac7885aed200a58249.jpg

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0KnLTmmwMY

 

Ignite the Night looks amazing this year!

Did Six Flags add some lasers?

When I saw ITN in 2016, it did not look like this.

Absolutely amazing!

I also enjoy the tribute to Canada much better as it doesn't focus only on hockey.

 

I also found this.

 

 

The public relations rep at the end, mentions capital improvements and new attractions in the future.

Perhaps it is a different Six Flags this time. I, as a Canadian Darien Lake lover, am getting very excited.

 

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I know the Batman coaster was removed from the boneyard, but I wonder how much money and effort it would be to restore it. Restorations of old coasters are possible as SkyRider from Canada's Wonderland was removed, restored and moved to Italy, where it is once again in operation. Could Six Flags be restoring the Batman coaster for Darien Lake? Obviously they wanted that coaster at Darien Lake sometime when they owned it before, and just recently it was moved from the boneyard. I'm just wondering, that's all. I mean, if I owned a restorable roller coaster, I think I would restore it and put it back into operation. Does this make sense to any of you?

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Does this make sense to any of you?

 

Since you asked:

No... it doesn't.

 

Does anyone *actually* want to see this ride rebuilt? Even if they were crazy enough to refurbish it?? The ride is 32 years old.

 

975e38747a999524ceaf395935eeb04b.jpg

 

Sorry if I'm coming across as rude, I just find it ridiculous that this is still being talked about after 13 years of it sitting in an overgrown field. Even still now that the track has finally been removed.

 

Even the GM last year had said on multiple occasions that it's not even considered storage and they have no plans to rebuild it:

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/bdn05/roller-coaster-remains-mothballed-at-darien-lake-20170504

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0KnLTmmwMY

 

Ignite the Night looks amazing this year!

Did Six Flags add some lasers?

When I saw ITN in 2016, it did not look like this.

Absolutely amazing!

I also enjoy the tribute to Canada much better as it doesn't focus only on hockey.

 

I also found this.

 

 

The public relations rep at the end, mentions capital improvements and new attractions in the future.

Perhaps it is a different Six Flags this time. I, as a Canadian Darien Lake lover, am getting very excited.

 

 

New this year for Ignite the Night was the strobe light upstage center that they used during the Thunder sequence. Otherwise everything is the same from last year. They do update the lasers once every couple years - I know the multi-colored laser they had last year was being very fitty, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that one was replaced this year. (If anyone cares, last year they added 6 new LED fixtures that they use during the preshow and now during the show since they are on moving heads and can rotate unlike the older Parcans they used to use)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0KnLTmmwMY

 

Ignite the Night looks amazing this year!

Did Six Flags add some lasers?

When I saw ITN in 2016, it did not look like this.

Absolutely amazing!

I also enjoy the tribute to Canada much better as it doesn't focus only on hockey.

 

I also found this.

 

 

The public relations rep at the end, mentions capital improvements and new attractions in the future.

Perhaps it is a different Six Flags this time. I, as a Canadian Darien Lake lover, am getting very excited.

 

 

New this year for Ignite the Night was the strobe light upstage center that they used during the Thunder sequence. Otherwise everything is the same from last year. They do update the lasers once every couple years - I know the multi-colored laser they had last year was being very fitty, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that one was replaced this year. (If anyone cares, last year they added 6 new LED fixtures that they use during the preshow and now during the show since they are on moving heads and can rotate unlike the older Parcans they used to use)

 

Thanks Steve. I knew it looked better than the 2016 show.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0KnLTmmwMY

 

Ignite the Night looks amazing this year!

Did Six Flags add some lasers?

When I saw ITN in 2016, it did not look like this.

Absolutely amazing!

I also enjoy the tribute to Canada much better as it doesn't focus only on hockey.

 

I also found this.

 

 

The public relations rep at the end, mentions capital improvements and new attractions in the future.

Perhaps it is a different Six Flags this time. I, as a Canadian Darien Lake lover, am getting very excited.

 

 

New this year for Ignite the Night was the strobe light upstage center that they used during the Thunder sequence. Otherwise everything is the same from last year. They do update the lasers once every couple years - I know the multi-colored laser they had last year was being very fitty, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that one was replaced this year. (If anyone cares, last year they added 6 new LED fixtures that they use during the preshow and now during the show since they are on moving heads and can rotate unlike the older Parcans they used to use)

 

Thanks Steve. I knew it looked better than the 2016 show.

 

I’m always happy to discuss the laser show at the park, it is one of my favorite night time shows! If the last time you saw the show was in 2016, That’s when they made the most notable enhancements since 2013 when Ignite The Night debuted its new #Colorblast title paying homage to Laserblast and of course adding the new full-spectrum solid state laser. Before this, the show only had 3 green lasers (one on either side of the stage, and one slightly more powerful one in the dead center). It is interesting to see how much things change with the show from year to year - especially the small things. As I mentioned last time with those LED preshow lights. Next to no one usually notices something like that changing but it’s nice that they continually improve on the shows infrastructure! (Being a Theatre Design and Technology Major, naturally I notice and geek out over most any theatrical elements of the show that change, even if it’s something small and unnoticeable to the general public)

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Anyone notice Aaron Radatz calling the park “Six Flags Darien Lake”? I had a screenshot to share but it looks like iPhone’s new file system and this forum still disagree every now and again. Darien Lake retweeted it if any one wants to see it

FC135C3F-AD88-4422-9FB9-A7E8319E22F1.thumb.jpeg.3f5389d6c2e4c3c9202795b003a4f241.jpeg

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