Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread

[DarienLaker]

My guess is that spot next Shipwreck Falls since the other end of the bridge where the current water park is now get very crowded with people let alone it's already crowded with attractions. If they get rid Hook's Lagoon for Wahoo Wave, they won't have any kiddie water slides.

[DarienPoint]

^ Well we don't right now anyways, they're coned/roped off...

[mzehler]

I used google maps and the ProSlides Behemoth Bowl 40 and TornadoWave 60 hybrid from Over Georgia, since someone said that the footage from the announcement includes this slide and another and I think this was the bigger of the two, and as long as I did my scaling correct it could easily fit in the strip behind Kahuna, behind Brain Drain pointing north to south, or even in between brain drain and tornado with it's splash down pool fitting right in that grass plot.

[DarienLaker]

^ Well we don't right now anyways, they're coned/roped off...

Then why is Hook's Lagoon still open if the water blasters and dump buckets aren't no longer working and the slides closed off?

[DarienPoint]

^^ Honestly I think that's so cool that you did that lol. Props. Either way, good addition haha.

 

^ Well we don't right now anyways, they're coned/roped off...

Then why is Hook's Lagoon still open if the water blasters and dump buckets aren't no longer working and the slides closed off?

 

Wouldn't have the answer to that.

[Wagon127]

^ Well we don't right now anyways, they're coned/roped off...

Then why is Hook's Lagoon still open if the water blasters and dump buckets aren't no longer working and the slides closed off?

Wait, are you suggesting we arent telling the truth? Have you never walked through hooks lagoon? There are plenty of things at hooks lagoon that make it worth it being open. Yet slot of the extras it used to offer do not work, which is disappointing

[DarienPoint]

^ Either way, it looks like an eyesore and it's begging for a redo.

 

Great Escape last year quietly opened another kids area across from Bucket Blasters and it wasn't advertised in the 2019 announcements video. So maybe?

[SbSteveZ]

^ Didn't Great Adventure also open some water thing this year too?

[DarienPoint]

^ Yes, but it was kind of announced (also I think SFOT did this), but I don't think Great Escape really announced Shipwreck Cove at all. Either way, it was just an interactive splash pad but it got you soaked, it was pretty cool.

[michaellynn4]

Great Adventure has typically announced additions for Hurricane Harbor a couple months afterwards (usually January). This was true for last year's addition as well as the play structure we added in 2016.

[DarienPoint]

^ But Great Escape didn't really announce anything about Shipwreck Cove, I got there in July, looked at the map and was like, "Wait there's two new additions?"

[michaellynn4]

^ But Great Escape didn't really announce anything about Shipwreck Cove, I got there in July, looked at the map and was like, "Wait there's two new additions?"

 

Shipwreck Cove was incorporated into the main "New for 2019" announcements alongside Bucket Blasters as an expansion and rebranding of the water park into Hurricane Harbor:

 

Six Flags Great Escape Resort, New York’s most thrilling resort property, will rebrand its outdoor waterpark as Hurricane Harbor for the 2019 season, offering guests a bigger, better and wetter experience. The park will undergo a major expansion with more to see and do than ever before, including two brand-new, family attractions: Bucket Blasters, where riders will spin around in barrels for a good old-fashioned water gun battle, and Shipwreck Cove, a fun activity pool with interactive water sprays, geysers, and fountains for hours of water play entertainment.

[DarienPoint]

^ I think we're being rebranding to HH, so it's always a possibility, if not in the future.

[SbSteveZ]

^ no need to think we are, SplashTown is 100% becoming Hurricane Harbor in 2020.

 

This won’t be a “Cedar Point Shores” style refresh but it will likely have some signage updates - but I won’t expect anything too crazy minus the new slide.

 

If they can install it on that plot o’ land across from the bridge I feel like that would be pretty neat. Otherwise - what do I care? Seems like it’ll be a nice addition regardless of where it ends up.

[DarienPoint]

^ Well when I was at HH at The Great Escape, it looked like some of it was updated aside from the expansion with Bucket/Shipwreck. The wave pool looked nice and sported the HH logo, as well as a new "entrance" to the water park. I'd say almost everything looked like it had a fresh coat of paint on it.

 

In the member email, it DID say something about tropical fresh coat of paint, we can only hope lol.

[SbSteveZ]

Though it may or may not be the case, I wonder if they’re waiting to see attendance numbers for the entirety of 2019 before they make a decision about the return of any licensed characters.

 

If this is the case, it could be part of why they didn’t mention anything like the “Return of Superman” similar to SFNE in 2017.

 

Or I’m a hopeless dreamer and we’re without the DC universe in 2020. (Which is probably the case)

[DarienPoint]

^ They were saying that they're giving the park a few seasons before they decide to invest more money into this park.

[anonymouscactus]

^ who is "they"?

[richwoodrocket]

^ who is "they"?

Dippin dots guy

[DarienPoint]

Pretty sure a few pages back it was stated that Six Flags was going to see how the park does before deciding if they're gonna put money into this park.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ who is "they"?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/THEY.

 

Not sure why They would be talking about Six Flags, though. Not really on brand for them.

[SbSteveZ]

Took a couple laps around Predator this weekend, and due to the fact that I tend to let friends of mine pick where they want to sit on Coasters, I ended up riding in the back both during yesterday’s nice weather and tonight’s rainy weather.

 

Shockingly, I found both rides incredibly amusing and fun. To the point where I didn’t feel like the roughness was bad, more or less I thought it made the ride a fun time,

 

This being compared to front seat rides attempting the “Mean Streak Method” was completely night and day. I thought this coaster was on its way out but honestly after the rides I had on it this weekend, it may just still have some life left in it!

[DarienPoint]

^ It HAULS in the rain, it's so fun! Rode it today when it was raining a good amount before the downpour, actually got airtime after the turn around back to the station.

[Haymaker]

The email said the re-brand includes new paint and re-theming so I would suspect itll look quite different. Wonder if that means theyll paint Big Kahuna because its pretty faded.

 

Take this for what its worth but a DL lifeguard said on IG that its going between Big Kahuna and the wave pool.

[Samuel]

I had a good time at the park this past week (my first visit in several years), and here are some of my quick thoughts & a few pics:

 

-- Ride of Steel remains one of my favorite coasters. I thought it was underrated when I rode it years ago and still feel the same. Even with the long straightaway and helix-heavy layout, I'm just laughing and enjoying the whole ride through. I had more pure fun on this than on other noteworthy coasters like Fury and Phantom's Revenge, and that's high praise for Ride of Steel rather than a knock on those also-great rides. The front seat is particularly excellent. Awesome airtime, speed, and first drop, just the right amount of intensity, and a better location over water than SFA's version. Worth a visit on its own!

 

-- Predator was not good, although other riders seemed to be smiling and having jostling fun. I appreciated the smooth turnaround with new wood, but most of the drops were of the familiar Dinn variety -- it's like shuffling down a rockslide and praying that each pullout doesn't jackhammer too badly. I've been on worse and there was some airtime, but it's not far from that "just thankful to survive" category. It is a good-looking coaster near the water, though. I'd love to see an RMC treatment on the scale of Twisted Cyclone someday.

 

-- Tantrum was new to me. While it's very smooth, I was thoroughly nauseated! I had the big barf face from RCT, which surprised me because I'm still OK with other moderate loopers like Sky Rocket. To be fair to Tantrum, my nausea tolerance has been rapidly receding. I've cut out spinning and most flat rides, and sometimes inversions now get to me, too. The drop's exciting, and the ride's a quick and perfectly smooth blur, but holy guacamole I was close to throwing up. This makes me antsy about riding Steel Curtain soon, but I'll still give it a go.

 

-- I ate at Beaver Brothers Cafe and recommend it. My burger had a small patty, but it tasted flame-broiled and quite good. The restaurant has interesting decor, refreshing AC, beer, a reasonably-priced menu, spaciousness, and the restrooms are low-traffic and clean, making this a solid option when you need a break in the park.

 

-- Ride ops were friendly and generally pleasant, and the park looked colorful & vibrant enough. Most coasters ran one train, which often ballooned station waits to 30 minutes, but I'm not expecting Cedar Point ops and was just glad that everything was open.

 

-- The pellet dispenser for fish and duck feeding gave me ONE pellet per quarter. I apologized to the fish and ducks for the letdown.

 

-- I wasn't sure that I would renew my season pass at the park, but once there I was talking myself into it. I had questions, and while the guy at the season pass center wasn't a jerk, he wasn't helpful and I left without renewing for now. I asked about the membership tiers and his answers were a lot of, "oh, yeah, um, basically like, okay, so it depends, but you're good."

 

Huh? I don't have a season pass for next year and I see there's a sale going on (I'm making it very easy for him). It says here that I'd also get a golden ticket that can be used like a bring a friend on most days next year...

 

"Oh, it's not most days. It's just, like, bring a friend sometimes, that's all."

 

What are the restrictions?

 

"Uh, you don't have to do anything for it, you'll just get it, so you're good."

 

Huh?

 

I ended up educating myself from an info sheet and wall signs in the pass center while the guy sat there. He didn't engage me at all, ask me about what I'm looking for or how often I visit, explain any perks I might enjoy, etc. I knew I wasn't going to be talked into Diamond Elite, but when I walk in willing to give more money to Six Flags then and there, someone with communication skills should be eager to reel me in. I couldn't get clear answers about whether some perks would kick in that same day, on my next visit, or not until next season, and I left confused and without a renewal.

 

-- The star flyer looked good, and I like its location because I've felt that the far bend around the park's central lake looked tacky with go-karts, batting cages, and little else. Those things are alright for arcade/laser tag centers, but the star flyer is a more legit and welcome attraction to that edge of the park.

 

-- I love the slingshot ride, but I didn't feel like forking over the $40 while feeling dizzy post-Tantrum. It's my favorite slingshot model, and I highly recommend it if you're new to the park or slingshot rides.

 

-- I only took a couple of pics, mostly of my favorite nook in the park on the path next to Predator. This path, along with the path at Cedar Point between Magnum and the beach, are two places where I'd set up camp and live if I could:

Sun shining around the central little lake (among many small lakes & ponds) throughout the park.

Ride of Steel & Predator approaching evening.

You don't expect to find such a tranquil spot in the back of the park.

My favorite park area.

Beautiful and quiet, even with Predator rumbling next door.

Add a hammock and I'd stay all summer.