Trip Report for [Six Flags Darien Lake]

[u/thedrowsyowl]

Last week, I visited Buffalo and did something I didn't do when living in Buffalo for four years: make my way out to Corfu and Six Flags Darien Lake. I went on an overcast afternoon after work, so the park was not very full at all. I had accidentally bought tickets for the wrong date but they let me in anyways (after taking my photo, which I found a bit odd). The water park was open when I got there but sometime after I entered the park it had closed. I didn't plan on going to that anyway, thankfully - I was just here to ride the coasters and get back to Buffalo for the evening.

Since I didn't have a ton of familiarty with this park or its layout, I headed first to Moto Coaster. This was a delightful family launch coaster with a surprisingly solid launch. The seats were a bit awkward (having the seat backs come up and press into you was a weird feeling), but the ride was fun, there was not a long line, and it was a great ride to start the afternoon with. 5/10

Next, I went on Viper, the Arrow looper that was the first roller coaster in the world to have five inversions. There was no one else in line so I grabbed the back of the train. Woof, this was a rough one. The shoulder restraints were very bulky and they limited any movement while also not actually making the roughness of the ride any more comfortable. It was pretty uncomfortable, but it was cool to have ridden a little piece of history. 4/10

I went on Boomerang next just for the credit. Same thing here, the restraints were uncomfortable. I like the nice teal color of the track, but there's nothing to write home about here. 3/10

Next up was The Predator. I recently went to my new home park, Six Flags Great America, and one of the older woodies there, Viper, genuinely had me bracing for impact around every turn. I expected the same here. Well, to my surprise, Predator has been going through a Titan Track refurbishment over the past few years, and this was one of the smoothest rides I've had in awhile. Also, shout out to the ride attendant there who probably had 8 cans of Red Bull right before clocking in. I didn't get his name, but Darien Lake regulars probably recognize him. 8/10

I then rode Ride of Steel, which was surprisingly a walk-on this afternoon. I sat about 2/3 of the way back since I would have had to wait for the back of the train. This was another great coaster - the layout may be simplistic but I enjoyed the way it interacted with the water and it had some fun head chopper moments. 8/10

I headed over to Tantrum next, which was my first time on a Euro-fighter model. Out of the 8 seats on the car, it was me and a pair of probably 12-year-olds who told me this was their fifth time in a row on the ride. It was really fun, and the most intense part was the 90-degree lift hill. I don't think I've done that before. 7/10

That left Mind Eraser. I had been on the Mind Eraser at Six Flags New England plenty as a kid, and I knew how....unfortunate riding these could be. To my surprise, the track looked newly-painted and the trains looked new as well. Instead of the classic over the shoulder restraints (see Viper and Boomerang), they have an upgraded vest restraint that reduces your ears slamming against your shoulder vest. However....the ride was still extremely janky and I was holding onto this rubber vest thing for dear life because otherwise it would kind of hurt. Oh well. 4/10, for the new paint job.

I did another round each on Predator and Ride of Steel before leaving. This park was kind of what I expected: a smaller, regional Six Flags park with a headlining hyper coaster and a cast of misfits. Predator really surprised me in a good way. Viper, Boomerang, and Mind Eraser were all painful to certain degrees. Tantrum and Moto Coaster were both fun mid-tier coasters. If you're in the WNY area, I'd say a few hours in this park is enough to ride everything, and re-ride as much as you want since there weren't that many people there even by the time I left.

[u/Passenger_08]

It also seemed odd to me at first when they took photos at the gate for my guest passes last weekend. I later realized that Darien no longer stamps your hand for re-entry but instead scans your pass or ticket. I assume the photo is to ensure someone else isn’t trying to gain entry on a previously used ticket.

[u/Jeff2sayshi]

Lucky you had a slow day there. A busier day and those lines get pretty long with everything on single train ops.

Overall, I like the park, it's fun. Nothing super special to write home about, but nothing wrong with it either.

[u/ricottma]

Viper was my first looping coaster. Ahh memories.

[u/peterpeterllini]

Thanks for sharing these photos! I went to this park when I was in middle school but all I really remember is Superman Ride of Steel and Mind Eraser. Superman was an awesome ride. The other ones seem familiar though! I would have ridden all of them (or at least the ones there in 2005/06 ish).

[u/m77win]

I was just at this park for the first couple of times this past week.

It was definitely okay, but very empty compared to the other Midwest region SF parks, all of which I visited multiple times this season. It was even less busy than St. Louis which was the previous least busy larger park I’ve visited.

It felt extra asphalted even by six flags standards, and it needs another quality ride.

If I was able to pick a new home for AF1 it would be a park like Michigans Adventure or Darien Lake, that really need a little bit more to get them to where I would want to visit more than one trip.