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Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) Discussion Thread


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Here's a mini update from my afternoon out to Darien Lake:

 

- There's no doubt that they're working on getting Thunder Rapids up and running. I have some pictures that I'll share here, but I did want to mention it appears that there's some large piping being staged right past the loading dock, plus there was a boat at the bottom of the last drop of the ride - again, images to follow.

- The silver bullet was running a longer cycle today. As mentioned on here before, it used to start it's decent right back down as soon as it got to the peak position. I noticed today, it's actually spending some time up at the max angle now. And it wasn't down at all while we were there!

- Tiester is still on that 4.5 flip cycle, which I'm content with! It's a good time!

- There's no signs of construction- not even as much as a marker or a stake in the ground but I'm remaining optimistic. Since it is only June, and this is Darien Lake we're talking about.

- the Predator crew was absolutely awesome. They were telling jokes, interacting with one another as well as the guests, giving hi-fives as the train left and entered the station, I had a fantastic time with them! - I believe I said it last year too, but I love the ride ops and their energetic funloving attitudes! Blast off, Viper, predator, and twister all had great crews today!

- I give Darien Lake credit for running Ignite the Night even when right as the show was beginning it started to pour. It was a cool experience and for those who weren't afraid of the rain I think it was a great time. Now here's some pictures from the quick trip:

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You read that right, RoS was closed :(

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Galaxy Theatre is open again from behind! No stages in there anymore!

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Thunder Rapids Parts.

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I'm not sure why this is here, but this is here.

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Motocoaster was also down. But it loooked like they were working on it!

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First of all, moto coaster had a very intense launch when I went on, and second I see a basketball, third I think they were running thunder rapids and then the pump broke and they are replacing the pipes hence why the boat got stuck.

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Wow - why two coasters closed? Especially Ride of Steel? Going on Monday for first time and this has me worried.

 

I do hope for your sake that Ride of Steel was only down because of the weather - because it is a great ride that would be a shame to be missed. Have fun on your visit! And if you can, be sure to check out American Pop in the Grande Theater and Ignite the Night #COLORBLAST at the laser stage (near boomerang). In my humble opinion, I think the laser show is one of the best things Darien Lake has to offer! It's a truly unique and world class experience you just don't get anywhere else (from what I've heard)

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^ Viper's 35th Anniversary celebration is set to be June 29tb, which is this upcoming Thursday. The park hasn't given any information on what they're doing aside from the fact that on that date they're gonna do something. I'm imagining some sort of speech by Chris Thorpe infront of the ride entrance - similar to Millennium Force's 10th anniversary party at CP, maybe some sales on Viper gear, and perhaps a few snake themed decorations around the viper plaza. I was hoping the last ark would begin to give some info on the event before now, since they have it on the back of the park map. But who knows except the event coordinators what to really expect out of this thing.

 

EDIT: I also feel I should add this little snipit I found on the Season Pass Lodging discount page, because for what its worth, people haven't been too happy with Darien Lake's (rather short to be honest) list of closed rides so far this season: "Due to being a seasonal employer, limited rides and attractions may only be available before June 23rd or after August 20th. Some rides may have limited hours – or be rotated during the day."

 

Translation: "Be patient please, we're doing what we can with what we have"

Edited by SbSteveZ
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^ Viper's 35th Anniversary celebration is set to be June 29tb, which is this upcoming Thursday. The park hasn't given any information on what they're doing aside from the fact that on that date they're gonna do something. I'm imagining some sort of speech by Chris Thorpe infront of the ride entrance - similar to Millennium Force's 10th anniversary party at CP, maybe some sales on Viper gear, and perhaps a few snake themed decorations around the viper plaza. I was hoping the last ark would begin to give some info on the event before now, since they have it on the back of the park map. But who knows except the event coordinators what to really expect out of this thing.

Thanks for the info

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From my understanding, there will be a small ceremony and my friend who has worked at the coaster for more than 20 years told me that he will be cutting the ribbon at speaking at the ceremony. The park has posted to Facebook and Instagram with the following message

 

"Come celebrate the 35th season of roller coaster fun at the Viper Anniversary Party on June 29th! Perry's Ice Cream will be serving a special ice cream flavor in honor of the Viper - head right to the coaster when we open at 10:30 to check it out!"

 

This party sounds like fun. It's too bad the 20th anniversary of Mind Eraser isn't getting as much recognition aside from the souvenir cups, but that's probably because Viper has been much more popular and because it has the distinction of being the first roller coaster with five inversions.

 

On a side note, all of the rides and slides should be fully operational by now with the exception of Thunder Rapids. Moto Coaster seems to be having maintenance problems at the moment but it should be fixed soon.

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This party sounds like fun. It's too bad the 20th anniversary of Mind Eraser isn't getting as much recognition aside from the souvenir cups, but that's probably because Viper has been much more popular and because it has the distinction of being the first roller coaster with five inversions.

 

... yeah or because Mind Eraser is a train wreck dumpster fire piece of sh*t.

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This party sounds like fun. It's too bad the 20th anniversary of Mind Eraser isn't getting as much recognition aside from the souvenir cups, but that's probably because Viper has been much more popular and because it has the distinction of being the first roller coaster with five inversions.

My guess would be they aren't doing as much for Mind Eraser because it's nowhere near as unique. Viper has historical significance as far as Arrow loopers go, Mind Eraser on the other hand is a Vekoma SLC.

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Moto coaster has been broken down for a while now (since sunday as far as I know) and vipers had a hour long line on Sunday, Aso did every other ride execpt for boomerang. I rode slingshot and it was fun, worth every penny. And it got really cloudy ad cold around 4 or so, so we left.

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Was at DL earlier today. I wasn't able to make it to Viper's anniversary ceremony, but from what I saw, it seemed like a nice event for the Viper. The ride-ops were outside giving out commemorative Viper holiday ornaments, and Red Velvet Perry's Ice Cream dubbed as "Viper Venom" was given out. There also was a news crew at the entrance, doing Plinko for prizes for the kids. Overall, it was pretty nice for Darien Lake to do something for Viper's 35th. As I was at the park, I had noticed that Thunder Rapids is still dry, with that one random log on the track after the final drop. Grizzly Run was closed, but water was flowing, and Motocoaster was still closed, which is beginning to worry me. I think it has been at least two weeks now that it has been broken. Due to the constant on-and-off rainfalls, ROS was closing down quite a bit, but the Ride-Ops were opening it at any opportunity where they could safely run it. They also were moving very quickly to dispatch trains to get as many runs in as they could before the next wave of rain came in. Also, due to the rain, the park was dead today, not even half of the parking lot was full, from what I had seen. Line were non-existent! I don't think that I waited more than one cycle on any ride, even tohugh most of the day was actually pleasant, weather-wise! Overall, it was a great day at the park!

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Yesterday the ops on RoS were averaging about 1:45. ME was between 2-5 mins. Boomerang was 2 mins. Moto coaster took all freaking day. Viper was a good 1:30. Predator was moving swift due to the lack of riders.

Edited by ride of steel
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I did notice some construction to the side of the show building next to Viper. I was in the back concert parking grass, not inside the park. Some markers and moved dirt. Most likely not for anything exciting, but I thought I'd share.

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Viper 35th Anniversary Celebration

 

As you may know, this past Thursday was the 35th Anniversary party for Viper. It occurred right as the park opened with free ice cream and cookies commemorating the coaster’s milestone. Chris Thorpe and Mary Best were both there as well as “Viper Tom”, a guy who’s been operating the Viper since 1993. Chris and Tom both made quick speeches before they cut the ribbon. After the fact I decided to try and talk to Chris and to be honest, he is an absolutely great guy and he really seems to enjoy his job. He has such a passion for the park that I for some reason wasn’t expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise. He mentioned to me how he was the one who decided to paint the Viper black again because he really loved the classic feel, and I agreed, it looks much nicer than the old green! As the poster above said, Thunder rapids was still empty, and I have a picture of the log s/he referred to in a previous post a few pages back. As for today; here’s some pictures!

 

(I would've posted this sooner but iOS 11 Beta 1 has a new picture format .HEIF which wasn't converting properly to .JPG for some reason.)

 

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Chris Thorpe and Viper Tom preparing for their "Grand Re-Opening" Speeches

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Everyone in the crowd for the initial ceremony (and a bunch of people after the fact) got these nice Viper 35 cookies

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Viper Venom ice cream was also given out (in sample size) as well! I think this is a regular flavor that they temporarily renamed to Viper Venom but I'm not too sure. All I know is that it was great stuff :)

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After the ribbon was cut, the crowd all shuffled into the queue for their first rides on Viper after the coaster's grand re-opening

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Ride of Steel as seen from the Waterpark.

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We even made a friend!

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As some of you may recall, I am a big fan of American Pop, and recommend it to anyone coming out to the park!

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Shows are at 2:30, 4:30 and 7:00!

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I also highly recommend Ignite the Night! Showing every day at 10:10pm when the park closes at 10:00 (this changes for Harvest Fest)

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For the rumored 2018/19 coaster.

1. The screamscape rumor

2. The construction markers. Is it possible that they are removing the rotting theater by viper? Or making it an indoor one like Rock Bottom Plunge.

3. The 55th annaversary for the park.

4. They got nothing major this year and a small waterslide last year.

Edited by ride of steel
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Great to see the park acknowledge Viper's anniversary. It's a landmark for the park and rightfully deserves the attention. Hope it has a long life still ahead for it given the fact that quite a few Arrows have bit the dust in the last ten years.

 

If there is some credibility to the rumors for 2018 my guess would be it's from Gerstlauer but not sure of the make. It could either be a Eurofighter/Infinity or spinning.

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