jslim39 Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Once I heard I would be visiting my grandparents in Rochester, I took advantage of the trip and made sure we stopped at Darien Lake. I was worried a little bit, because there were BIG crowds, and it was around 90 degrees out, so I was worried about wait times. But luckily, the worst was a 45 minute wait at the end of the day for Mind Eraser (front seat). All coasters were running two trains though. Despite these factors, I still had a great day. I give Darien Lake Theme Park an 8/10 Ride of Steel - 10/10 AWESOME coaster! I rode it a few years ago, and forgot just how powerful it is. The first drop is like a freefall, and EVERY hill after it has some airtime, especially the 3rd hill, and the bunny hops after it, you got some MAD ejector airtime. Predator - 4.5/10 Errr.... I'm not sure what to think. I was expecting worse, but that by NO means makes it a great ride. There was NO airtime, and the train had a seizure at the bottom of every drop. I still don't think it is AS bad as everyone says, (I think Zeus at Mt. Olympus is worse), but it still isn't much fun. Mind Eraser - 8/10 WOW! I braced myself the whole ride, after hearing the bad stories about Vekoma SLC's, but I LOVED Mind Eraser. I guess I can see how it could be uncomfortable to some, as you are WHIPPED around the inversions, but I didn't find my three rides (2 in the front seat, one near the back) to be bad at all. Underrated coaster, IMO. Viper - 7/10 ***NEW CREDIT*** While not the biggest, fastest, or most inverting (anymore), I still liked the coaster (I've always admired Arrows). The vertical loop was really forceful, and the corkscrews produced some mad hangtime. The tunnel was cool too. MotoCoaster - 8/10 ***NEW CREDIT*** I thought this coaster would be a pile of boring CRAP, but this thing is snappy. The launch was short but sweet, and the thing was just a little wild monster. Boomerang - ?/? CLOSED Well I missed another new credit... boo hoo... I rode Sidewinder at Hershey, and didn't enjoy it much, so I wasn't to worried about missing this one. I'll finish off with this overview of MotoCoaster's crazy little layout I was pleasently surprised, Zamperla, keep on making coasters! MotoCoaster signage ...which was closed all day Boomerang... Mind Eraser doing it's thing The park's extra charge Slingshot ride The park's log flume Mind Eraser again Slingshot, Shipwreck Falls, Viper, and Mind Eraser Heading towards the corkscrews Signage Viper's boomerang, or double batwing, or inside out cobra roll... whatever you want to call it Here's some more Viper Time to spin the big wheel! Closest to a dollar without going over goes to the showcase! In case you forgot where you were... Carosel My sister, my grandpa, my cousin, my uncle, his girlfriend, and her daughter Painful swooping turn Predator again Big drop Those front seat riders are wise to have their hands down Ooh... floater airtime hill Ferris wheel again I loved this sideways camelback hill Another lift shot Mind Erasing in progress Speeding towards the brakes I know most of you TPR readers HATE SLC's, but I loved this one In case you forgot what ride you're heading to Mind Eraser doing it's thing The credit whores rejoice! The psychology section of the park: Brain Teaser and Mind Eraser Going up... The Ranger Lift shot Viper's TECHNICAL first drop Beautiful corkscrews Helix fun A fun, forceful Arrow loop Technically, this is Viper's 3rd drop... It's the Arrow masterpiece, Viper! What's that I see? MotoCoaster from across the lake My grandpa, who is 60+ years, and still enjoys a good ride on the Viper. Congrats pops! Darien's skycoaster Big ferris wheel Lift fun Pre-lift fun Going up... fast CRAZY MAD AIRTIME?!? Not so much... MAD CRAZY AWESOME airtime! Seriously! Brake shot B Brake shot A Something was wrong with the wait clock. It said one hour, then half an hour about a minute later, then an hour and a half five minutes later! WTF? Not horrible, but not really fun either Yea boi! Sweetness Yeah.... ummm...... Owwie Don't tell me what to do! YAY! Darien Lake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmmrules! Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Mind Eraser-OUCH!!! Mind Eraser has got to be as painful as Kong at SFDK since they are both the exact same layout!!! & Motocoaster aka Poney Express are such a waste of space & time. Why were they even built??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PriestofSyrinx Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Viper seems like it could beat out Tennesee Tornado out of my Arrow Looper number one spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Darien Lake is a cool little park! I went there for the first time this May and definitely plan on returning next summer. Nice pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic738 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Thanks for a great TR with some decent pictures! My son and I may have been visiting there the same day - we were there the day of the Brad Paisley concert. When we got there it was packed - I didn't know there was a concert that night - but lines were not too bad. I agree with most of your ride comments. I was pretty disappointed with Predator (but we rode Boulder Dash earlier in the week and I think that spoiled us and made almost everything else that week pale in comparison). Out local park - Six Flags America has a Mind Eraser (plus we rode one at SF New England) an I think Darien Lake's is the best of the three we've ridden. Ride of Steel was kind of creepy for us. We have the Superman Ride of Steel at SF America (and it's our favorite ride there). The creepy thing is that Darien Lake's ride is a MIRROR image of our local ride. So it was really weird riding this one - almost like something out of the Bizarro world! I think I put Darien Lake's ride a bit above ours. I liked how most of the ride was over water - gave some cool effects while diving down hills and through helixes. etc. I really like Darien Lake - probably not my absolute favorite - but had a great selection of rides. I wouldn't mind getting back someday. Thanks for the photo memories! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreditCrazy Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Nice TR. Glad to hear a really good review of Ride of Steel, and if you want a bad SLC, ride T2 at SFKK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odene497 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Nice pictures! That sucks that Boomerang was closed for you, it's not all that rough as far as Boomerang's go. And I'll agree with you that Mind Eraser isn't too bad. Did you ride Predator in the front at all? The ride has GREATLY improved over what it used to be. I find a front seat ride to be totally enjoyable. No, it's no Boulderdash, but it's fun. ^^^^Viper is a great ride, but I still think Tennesee Tornado has the edge. -Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyweird Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Nice PTR. I'm hoping to go to Darien Lake next summer, but I've already got so much stuff planned that I'm not sure I'll be able to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traincrossin Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Very nice TR! I'm surprised you liked Mind Eraser so much. For some reason this guy reminded me of Big Mike. I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspellx5 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 On Predator, the red train seems to shuffle alot more than the black one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLMindEraserTL Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Im very happy you enjoyed your ride on my SLC and I'm very glad you had a wonderful time at the park. Our maintenance guy for Mind Eraser takes alot of pride in his SLC and is CONSTANTLY there making sure everything is running great. A true asset to the company. Unfortunatley you were not there while I was working, with a 3/4 filled queue i can get the wait to 30-35 minutes with two trains. Glad you had fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jslim39 Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 Im very happy you enjoyed your ride on my SLC and I'm very glad you had a wonderful time at the park. Our maintenance guy for Mind Eraser takes alot of pride in his SLC and is CONSTANTLY there making sure everything is running great. A true asset to the company. Unfortunatley you were not there while I was working, with a 3/4 filled queue i can get the wait to 30-35 minutes with two trains. Glad you had fun! No problem. I've ridden some good B&M's (Raptor, Dueling Dragons, Great Bear), and I still LOVED Darien's SLC. Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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