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Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread


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If they are spending money to fix the Boomerang, hopefully they have ordered new trains for ROS and Motocoaster at the very least

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On 3/25/2024 at 9:44 PM, Sk610 said:

If they are spending money to fix the Boomerang, hopefully they have ordered new trains for ROS and Motocoaster at the very least

One would hope, but you know they haven't
If I had one request for the park it would be that they manage to get multiple trains running for most of their coasters (I just don't see it happening any time soon)

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I grew up in Syracuse and have been visiting the park since I was 5. I also worked there as a Rides Supervisor from 2009-2011 while in college. 
 

The leadership team at Darien Lake was and remains incredibly tenured and talented. That said, the “hopefully this year xyz will be better!” comments I’ve seen floating around the internet/coaster forums & message boards for 20 years now. It continues to be essentially the same conversations which has been interesting to watch over the years. 

I have a sentimental attachment to the park and care for its success, but to think something as major as a 2nd train coming to the park for Ride of Steel is frankly a pipe dream. Could be wrong, but I don’t believe that Six Flags approves capex, it’s the property owners (previously CNL, not sure who it is now) which means their hands are tied to an extent.
 

John Hildebrandt mentioned in his book on Cedar Point (Always Cedar Point) that Gemini had a hard time competing against The Beast back in the late 70s because you can’t really “sell” a coaster to the public by using hourly throughput as a value proposition. I can see why the threat of Boomerang’s closure took precedent over increased ROS capacity.  

During my time, if and when we did have 2 trains available for ROS, we ran them 7 days a week regardless of crowds. We knew it was important and was always a pet peeve of mine when managing my area of the park. It just tended to take a while to have an available second train (e.g. in 2009 we don’t get it until early August). Intamin has always been notorious in the industry for not being the best about keeping parts in stock, or over charging if it’s not a white glove client of there’s. Vekoma was much easier to work with from what I recall.

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When will this park finally get branded again?? Ride of Steel feels so empty without the Superman theme. And did we mention the late Don Kennedy doing the announcer spiel in the station??

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On 3/23/2024 at 5:33 AM, Haymaker said:

Word on that is there was a stress crack or it failed a fatigue test somewhere (axle seat maybe?)

The loop has had numerous welds added to it in recent years, my money is certainly on that.

On the subject on trains, hopefully they at LEAST will bother to get second trains operable on attractions that still have them, i.e Viper, Pred, Tantrum. One train on a eurofighter is beyond ridiculous.

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7 hours ago, rjr19 said:

The loop has had numerous welds added to it in recent years, my money is certainly on that.

On the subject on trains, hopefully they at LEAST will bother to get second trains operable on attractions that still have them, i.e Viper, Pred, Tantrum. One train on a eurofighter is beyond ridiculous.

I'm sure someone can and will correct me, but my understanding is that they at least have parts for 3 trains for Viper, originally had 3 trains for Tantrum, and 2 for Predator, but they've just used all of them for parts.  As someone who has never done maintenance on a coaster train I don't understand why they can't get 2 trains running on Viper and Tantrum (last time I was at the park Tantrum was running 2).
I'm sure the other trains have been parted out pretty extensively though and I'm sure it would take a lot of work to get the other trains running, but we can wish.

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7 hours ago, pryonisys said:

I'm sure someone can and will correct me, but my understanding is that they at least have parts for 3 trains for Viper, originally had 3 trains for Tantrum, and 2 for Predator, but they've just used all of them for parts.  As someone who has never done maintenance on a coaster train I don't understand why they can't get 2 trains running on Viper and Tantrum (last time I was at the park Tantrum was running 2).
I'm sure the other trains have been parted out pretty extensively though and I'm sure it would take a lot of work to get the other trains running, but we can wish.

Viper makes zero sense, I know for a fact they have 2 operable trains for it. At the start of the 2022 season, the second was quite literally on the transfer track fully assembled and maintenance was told to take it off as it “isn’t worth wasting money to run it”. Also, a third for spare parts in a storage shed near the amphitheater.

 

As for Tantrum, I was told it was a spare parts related problem, I translate that as a “Six Flags doesn’t like Gerstlauer so they don’t want to give them more money towards spare parts”.

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16 hours ago, rjr19 said:

The loop has had numerous welds added to it in recent years, my money is certainly on that.

On the subject on trains, hopefully they at LEAST will bother to get second trains operable on attractions that still have them, i.e Viper, Pred, Tantrum. One train on a eurofighter is beyond ridiculous.

My comment was in regards to the Giant Wheel, not Boomerang.

Last I knew they ran 2 on Tantrum pretty consistently. ROS is the only one without a second train available I believe. 

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13 hours ago, pryonisys said:

I'm sure someone can and will correct me, but my understanding is that they at least have parts for 3 trains for Viper, originally had 3 trains for Tantrum, and 2 for Predator, but they've just used all of them for parts.  As someone who has never done maintenance on a coaster train I don't understand why they can't get 2 trains running on Viper and Tantrum (last time I was at the park Tantrum was running 2).

I can confirm that the third train for viper (yellow train) has been scrapped for parts since at least 2009. When I worked there, there were no remnants of even the fiberglass bodies anywhere on property. 

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4 hours ago, Haymaker said:

My comment was in regards to the Giant Wheel, not Boomerang.

Last I knew they ran 2 on Tantrum pretty consistently. ROS is the only one without a second train available I believe. 

All of 2023 Tantrum ran with 1. They kept saying it was a parts related issue, but with a whole 3rd train available if you wish to poach parts from it, it’s a little odd that somehow they still weren’t able to have 2 operable..

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I know most days the park isn't that busy, but from a service standpoint they really should have two trains for ROS, Motocoaster and Tantrum.  They don't have to run them daily but when needed

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6 hours ago, Sk610 said:

I know most days the park isn't that busy, but from a service standpoint they really should have two trains for ROS, Motocoaster and Tantrum.  They don't have to run them daily but when needed

I’d add Viper to that list, that thing can get quite the line, given its ride duration. That one would be easy as they literally have 2 functional trains for it, it’s a matter of the extra money spent on the wear and tear of 2 trains over 1.

 

Moto and RoS would be more difficult as I’m pretty sure Moto’s second was poached for parts and well, obviously there is no second one for RoS.

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But viper actually has a second train they could use, they just choose not to.  For ROS and Moto, they need to go purchase new trains

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18 hours ago, Sk610 said:

But viper actually has a second train they could use, they just choose not to.  For ROS and Moto, they need to go purchase new trains

Motocoaster has two trains still. ROS obviously does not

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I've been to the park a few times over the span of 20 years and always enjoyed it.  It's a beautiful park and they have some unique coasters, especially the classic Arrow Viper.  It one of the best Arrows still in service (size, look, pacing).  This is the coaster I want them to keep forever so I hope they take good care of it.  Arrow is not in business anymore and Viper is a custom model so getting track pieces fabricated is a little harder. Glad to see Boomerang is getting proper care but I find it weird that they had to replace a piece of track so soon.  The Boomerang at La Ronde is one of the oldest Boomerangs and I think it still has its original track pieces.  Also glad Predator is getting track work, it really needed it!  Superman, or ride of steel should I say, Intamin's first hyper is always good and not like the others.  Moto Coaster is a blast, and Tantrum was a wonderful addition.  So DL is a good park IMO with good staff.  You add the waterpark and the campground next to it, my kids and I have always had a great time there and wanted to go back.

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On 4/5/2024 at 5:05 PM, Haymaker said:

Motocoaster has two trains still. ROS obviously does not

If they have a second train for Motocoaster, they need to run it more often. That coaster has some of the longest lines in the park.  I have not seen it on the transfer track, so I just figured the second train was used for parts

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On 3/27/2024 at 5:54 PM, Skysthelimit said:

^I’m sure the Six Flags social media team has the intel ready and available on both of those topics. 

I don't think they'll ever rebrand it...

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21 hours ago, pryonisys said:

Agreed, I think they would have already done it if they were going to rebrand it

So it's doomed to be "Ride of Steel" forever?? This is just JRA era level nonsense.

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5 hours ago, DannySixFlags said:

So it's doomed to be "Ride of Steel" forever?? This is just JRA era level nonsense.

All it meant when it was branded was some logos. Nothing spectacular

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I would not be surprised if SF does not "brand" rides at SFDL because they only operate the park, not own it.  If the were to officially purchase it from EPR, then they would have more skin in the game and I bet you would see characters everywhere

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