Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread

^This sounds like a trick

^ personally I have to say that riding Predator with CoasterBill's Mean Streak method made it so much more of a fun ride than I ever remembered it being in all my years of going to Darien Lake. I like the back row too but you can't deny the fact that it is BRUTAL back there in comparison to the rest of the train. If you only have time to ride the coaster once - As if the wait time would ever be more than 15 minutes - then I'd say ride in the front ala the Mean Streak method. If you have more time or after your first ride want to ride again, I'd say explore the other parts of the train to see what you prefer!

I am not sure if I could stand to go to this park more than once a year, for those of us coming from Buffalo/Niagara transportation is an issue, thruway construction, insane thruway traffic, long lineups at various points on the way there (while in the car), 1000 times more obnoxious drivers than usual on the way to to the park make it a miserable drive in to the point where going more than once a year is out of the question no matter what. Exiting the park I have had no issue and that was great but various things caused me to never want to drive to the park again, as it was the most aggravating drive I have ever experienced the last time I went. If you live close by or perhaps coming from another direction, since from Buffalo/Niagara there is only one way into the park and one route you can take which makes it ever so more annoying than going just about anywhere else where there are multiple entrances/exists and multiple ways to get there even if everyone is coming from the same direction, even parks like waldameer have multiple ways to get there (they have 2 entrances for cars at Waldameer and they are on different roads, I think if we took the opposite way than what I did it would have been faster but it wasn't so bad). And of course everyone is going to Darien lake and again everyone is being obnoxious and there is no way out of it since there is only one road to the park. I was in the traffic to get to Waldameer and it was not nearly as bad as this was. The parking is messed up too, you have to drive around the whole lot since they block off the front part of the lot at a certain point, even if there are spaces available, turns out its actually a shorter walk to the entrance if you park in the overflow since you have more spaces to pick from and can park at the back near the entrance so this works in your favor in the long run and just walk straight to the entrance, even though the lot at darien is never not a walkable distance anyways.

Somehow I think it would be faster for me to get to Seabreeze or Waldameer, as I probably spent as much time as it takes me to get to Seabreeze or Waldameer in the car just trying to get to Darien lake, (when darien lake should really be a 45-60 min drive from my house to the entrance of the park maximum) battling obnoxious drivers while any park is going to have some traffic and there are obnoxious drivers everywhere this was absolutely insane the whole way there and no it was not a concert day and I cannot imagine what that is like given what I have already experienced. I could definitely make some comments about the ... very rural.... and twisty road drive to seabreeze... but that was not a crowded drive filled with obnoxious drivers and we were able to take our time getting to the park (there was literately no one even behind our car which was awesome).. The GPS did all the work and we got there fine.

If I am going to ride the same things over and over with a seasons pass I would rather go to Fantasy island as its much closer to me and dealing with the grand island bridge only isn't so bad, sure they don't have everything Darien does but the park never gets so overcrowded that it causes massive problems with thruway traffic or that there are intense lineups to get into the park and I could be there in 20 min easy on a good day and be back home in 20 min maybe a little longer on a bad day, this would allow me to go to the park, do what I want and come home in a reasonable amount of time without having extensive time commitments that have to be spent waiting and battling traffic leaving more time for park fun. I think time commitments are important for everyone and driving for an unnecessarily long 1.5 hours to who knows how long minimum to get to darien lake from the falls then time for parking and getting into the park, its okay for the once a year trip especially if you have kids that are begging to go but to go 15+ times per season would be absolutely insane for me and I would probably be ready to kill myself if I had to put up with the traffic and obstacles to get to the park that many times during the summer. Contrary to popular belief, Buffalo and the surrounding areas are actually quite a hike for us that live in the falls, and its almost like its another world away in some cases but something you hear all the time, Buffalo, buffalo buffalo, come to buffalo for this... oh just a short drive away from the falls (takes an hour to 1.5 hours from the falls to actually get to destination), Buffalo isn't just the hop skip and jump from the falls that everyone makes it out to be.

Guaranteed again, this depends on your location, schedule and when you are able to go to the park has a lot to do with it, if you live in a direction where you can get in and out quickly with a pass and have free time during the week when the park isn't so crazy and plan carefully around work traffic the pass may be an excellent option, In this case I can totally see going to the park, hitting the waterpark for a couple hours for fun on a hot day and then returning home.

If darien lake was more of a destination, restaurants, shopping, other entertainment, like Erie PA is then I would consider a pass and going a few times a year instead of just one or perhaps one time every couple years. I think the locals echo it best as in Darien lake is the park you go to once every 10 years and it barely changes or changes very little from the last time you went, this is what everyone locally tells me about Darien lake. I am finally going to fantasy island after a very long absence this season and in looking at the park map I have ridden about 10% of the parks rides that are there now so its going to feel like a whole new park to me.

Wow that was a rambling rant, with a lot of false info. Where do you live, because you dont need to take the Thruway all the way there and theres hardly any traffic on the mainline 90E even if you do. Tell me where you live (town or nearest landmark) and ill ease your driving troubles...

^^ I have family in Buffalo, and there's never been any big traffic potatoes during my trips to Darien Lake. I'm sorry if you had a couple of rude or unsettling experiences on the road, but that's most everywhere you drive. I've seen middle fingers and heard horns in Buffalo rush hour traffic, but you gotta shrug it off and enjoy life, no matter where you live. And I know what you mean about the DL lot funneling cars to the back near the concert venue, but it's really just a large park/concert parking lot like any other. I don't think there's anything particularly off-putting about it that should ward off anyone from going to the park.

I enjoy my trips there just for the Sling Shot (my favorite sling model) & Ride of Steel, which I informally think is in the top-half among US hypers.

Taking the back roads is a lot quicker than the thruway, at least from where I'm at. Even if you're taking the traditional route down Broadway, through the village of Alden, and straight to Allegheny Rd, it's slower than the shortcuts I take. You just have to be smart about what roads you take (which I'm not going to reveal because there are almost no cars on them, and I don't want to ruin that).

I once raced my friends taking the "long way" and made it to the park at least 5-10 minutes before them from the same point, following all speed limits and road signs.

Edit: And actually looking at Google Maps, it claims that my way is .1 miles longer and should take 2 more minutes. I think that avoiding the village with the 30 mile an hour speed limit and traffic lights really breaks the flow.

I've never had to take the thruway either. If I'm going from UB (in Amherst) I'd take the 33, to Genesee, to Walden and then the 77 is right there. Easy as cake. Or if I'm coming from home I just take Walden all the way down to the 77. There are SO many ways to get to the park and almost all of them are relatively quick and not a pain at all. Especially for people who know the area. I've even taken broadway down to the 77 before because a friend of mine lives in the Lancaster area. Sure, you could take the 90 if you wanted to but it's not at all a requirement unless you're coming from father away than Buffalo and even Niagara I'm sure you could get away with something along the lines of taking the I-90 to the Walden exit and then following it down if construction on the thruway is really that big a deal. Which, to be fair it can be annoying but in buffalo we only have two seasons. Winter and Construction season. It's just something we all need to (and usually do) prepare for!

EDIT: On the note of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, it takes me a half hour max to get into the Falls from UB, maybe 45 minutes from home and if I'm actually in the City of Buffalo I'd say it takes 20 minutes. I remember when I was little I thought Niagara Falls was forever away but even with my past few trips out to Niagara Falls, CA. It's like 25 minutes away from the peace bridge if that. So yes, the cities aren't next door neighbors that are 3 minutes away, but they cerianly aren't that far apart either. And that goes for both Niagara Falls USA and Canada in relation to Buffalo

I come from just east of Syracuse when I visit and it takes maybe 2-2.25 hours to get there on the thruway, yeah traffic can be bad north of Buffalo but it's not that bad. I go out to Buffalo all the time to do stuff and it's no worse than any other Upstate city. Just a pointless rant about nothing really.

Taking the back roads is a lot quicker than the thruway, at least from where I'm at. Even if you're taking the traditional route down Broadway, through the village of Alden, and straight to Allegheny Rd, it's slower than the shortcuts I take. You just have to be smart about what roads you take (which I'm not going to reveal because there are almost no cars on them, and I don't want to ruin that).

 

I once raced my friends taking the "long way" and made it to the park at least 5-10 minutes before them from the same point, following all speed limits and road signs.

 

Edit: And actually looking at Google Maps, it claims that my way is .1 miles longer and should take 2 more minutes. I think that avoiding the village with the 30 mile an hour speed limit and traffic lights really breaks the flow.

We probably go the same way...

^Yeah, most people I know either go that way, or Genesee. Depends on how close they are towards Cheektowaga or Depew/Lancaster. My dad, who lives in West Seneca, told me that he used to take Clinton all the way down when he used to go. There are a ton of different ways with little traffic, so it makes the thruway obsolete.

Just because Google or MapQuest suggest a certain route, doesn't mean you have to take it. I've tested over the years many iterations of the route and found one that I'm happiest with. A big thing for me was avoiding that damn village where all the grannies drive 20 mph. Now, I take a side street with a 35 speed limit (which 45 is acceptable), and the main backroad leads right to the park with a 45 speed limit (55 - 60 is okay here).

I live in the city of Niagara falls near downtown, coming from here we take the grand island bridge and the thruway to the batavia exit I think it is, we go through the Williamsville tolls and this is where the issue starts, sorry if I didn't describe my route too well, its been a couple years. The lineup for the williamsville tolls were insane, and we could barely get through (think of a free for all), after getting through that it was fine, until we got to the thruway batavia exit, there is another toll just after that, I believe this is just before the pembroke rest stop, where there was a lineup, this is where we encountered the obnoxious darien lake crowd, people hanging limbs out cars, smoking out car windows, screaming out the car windows, I did not see the middle finger thankfully but we saw just about everything else, drivers texting and talking on cell phones while driving and not paying attention.. making it worse, i know some of these things are an issue everywhere but they seemed to be way worse in this area. Then the fact that there is only one stretch of rural road to get to the park that everyone has to use, this can get really backed up at times. Fortunately the park crowd didn't consist wholly of drivers like the ones we saw coming into the park. The parking was not bad as the lines were not long to get into the park and as I said even though you have to drive around the whole lot it actually works out in your favor since you get to park further back but closer to the entrance. I've gone to Erie, PA a few times for both Waldameer and the shopping there and Seabreeze in Rochester and even the Strong museum of play which takes about an hour and a half to get to from my house if I don't take a rest stop which is pretty impressive and I have had no issues with the obnoxious type of drivers I saw on this darien lake trip. Perhaps I just hit a bad time? I did not go during the kingdom bound festival either.

Mustve been a concert or special event, because what you described is not normal.

Interesting about the traffic issues to and from Darien Lake. It takes me four hours to get to the park and I've never had any issues with the traffic or drivers in the past. Of course I'm leaving Cleveland by 5:30 AM in order to make it to the parking lot before opening (and getting a decent spot). The only traffic issues I've had have always been at the westbound toll booth in Cheektowaga/Airport area before the 290 split to Niagara Falls/Grand Island. Never understood why it's so slow getting through there.

A bit off topic but I never understood why there is only one rest area (Angola) between Buffalo and the PA/NY state line. It gets a bit crowded with the amount of people who stop there.

The only traffic issues I've had have always been at the westbound toll booth in Cheektowaga/Airport area before the 290 split to Niagara Falls/Grand Island. Never understood why it's so slow getting through there.

I have to drive through that mess just about every day. The reason why it gets so congested is because everybody is trying to merge onto the 290, and there's only one lane to do so. Nobody around here knows how to merge, and nobody wants to let other cars in. So people ride the middle and left lanes until they get to right before the exit, then slam on their brakes and force their way in.

It causes gridlock all the way down the 90 sometimes to downtown. Whoever designed that system with only one lane to merge on needs to be hung. There are really two lanes, but one is coming from another entrance onto the thruway, and it's filled with cars anyways.

Interesting about the traffic issues to and from Darien Lake. It takes me four hours to get to the park and I've never had any issues with the traffic or drivers in the past. Of course I'm leaving Cleveland by 5:30 AM in order to make it to the parking lot before opening (and getting a decent spot). The only traffic issues I've had have always been at the westbound toll booth in Cheektowaga/Airport area before the 290 split to Niagara Falls/Grand Island. Never understood why it's so slow getting through there.

 

A bit off topic but I never understood why there is only one rest area (Angola) between Buffalo and the PA/NY state line. It gets a bit crowded with the amount of people who stop there.

Rest areas are generally every 35-40 miles outside cities, and theres only about 70 miles between PA and Buffalo.

^^ I have family in Buffalo, and there's never been any big traffic potatoes during my trips to Darien Lake.

Maybe they MASHED into SaraAB's car at the Williamsville tolls? And SPUD out of control!? Maybe we can all CHIP in for an ez-pass to make the tolls a little easier.

As far as the original post, seriously, traffic in Buffalo and the surrounding region is nothing even close to being horrible. You can't base it on that ONE time you drove on a few years ago where all the stars aligned. Traffic can suck around the Darien Lake exit on a concert day, and that's about it. These complaints are pretty outrageous in my opinion.

Rush hour at the blue water tower is acceptable to complain about because that merge is not designed properly, but we all have it easy in Buffalo based on my MANY travels.

Yeah, most people I know either go that way, or Genesee. Depends on how close they are towards Cheektowaga or Depew/Lancaster. My dad, who lives in West Seneca, told me that he used to take Clinton all the way down when he used to go. There are a ton of different ways with little traffic, so it makes the thruway obsolete.

"Up next on The Californians..."

I live in the city of Niagara falls near downtown, coming from here we take the grand island bridge and the thruway to the batavia exit I think it is, we go through the Williamsville tolls and this is where the issue starts, sorry if I didn't describe my route too well, its been a couple years. The lineup for the williamsville tolls were insane, and we could barely get through (think of a free for all), after getting through that it was fine, until we got to the thruway batavia exit, there is another toll just after that, I believe this is just before the pembroke rest stop, where there was a lineup, this is where we encountered the obnoxious darien lake crowd, people hanging limbs out cars, smoking out car windows, screaming out the car windows, I did not see the middle finger thankfully but we saw just about everything else, drivers texting and talking on cell phones while driving and not paying attention.. making it worse, i know some of these things are an issue everywhere but they seemed to be way worse in this area. Then the fact that there is only one stretch of rural road to get to the park that everyone has to use, this can get really backed up at times. Fortunately the park crowd didn't consist wholly of drivers like the ones we saw coming into the park. The parking was not bad as the lines were not long to get into the park and as I said even though you have to drive around the whole lot it actually works out in your favor since you get to park further back but closer to the entrance. I've gone to Erie, PA a few times for both Waldameer and the shopping there and Seabreeze in Rochester and even the Strong museum of play which takes about an hour and a half to get to from my house if I don't take a rest stop which is pretty impressive and I have had no issues with the obnoxious type of drivers I saw on this darien lake trip. Perhaps I just hit a bad time? I did not go during the kingdom bound festival either.

Interesting about the traffic issues to and from Darien Lake. It takes me four hours to get to the park and I've never had any issues with the traffic or drivers in the past. Of course I'm leaving Cleveland by 5:30 AM in order to make it to the parking lot before opening (and getting a decent spot). The only traffic issues I've had have always been at the westbound toll booth in Cheektowaga/Airport area before the 290 split to Niagara Falls/Grand Island. Never understood why it's so slow getting through there.

 

A bit off topic but I never understood why there is only one rest area (Angola) between Buffalo and the PA/NY state line. It gets a bit crowded with the amount of people who stop there.

I have had issues a few times with the Williamsville Tolls especially in the summer, never in the non-peak travel seasons. I went to the park definitely after opening so I was not stuck in a huge opening lineup but I can't remember what time I arrived, probably around 2pm. It was August 2015 that I last visited the park, maybe there was a special event somewhere else in the area or there was temporary thruway construction. It was not Erie County Fair week.

Yeah, most people I know either go that way, or Genesee. Depends on how close they are towards Cheektowaga or Depew/Lancaster. My dad, who lives in West Seneca, told me that he used to take Clinton all the way down when he used to go. There are a ton of different ways with little traffic, so it makes the thruway obsolete.

"Up next on The Californians..."

Do you ever look at ride of Steel and say:"wow there's a guy up there", then relize it's a control box.

Since I did bring it up not too long ago, it looks like Darien Lake updated their in-park shows tab and they have the 2017 offerings! The main shows being American POP! And Ignite the Night: COLORBLAST. As I said when I last brought it up, I was a fan of American ROCK so I do hope it's POP counterpart is just as fun. Only time will tell! As for Ignite the Night, I've been a huge fan of Laserblast/Ignite the Night/Ignite the Night Colorblast since I was little, so of course I'm glad they have kept it going for so long!

http://darienlake.com/in-park-entertainment

They updated the map for viper but not mind eraser.

They updated the map for viper but not mind eraser.

The map looks like last years to me...

They updated the map for viper but not mind eraser.

 

The map looks like last years to me...

The one we got in the mail had viper 35th emblems on it.