Darien Lake Park

Darien Lake Goes High Tech

DARIEN CENTER, NY ( WKBW ) When you head out to the amusement park this summer, don't forget your smart phone! Even parks are going high tech these days.

Visit a park like Darien Lake and you're sure to see park goers relying on smart phones as they walk around. General Manager Chris Thorpe says today's customers have higher expectations than in the past. "We see more people gravitating to technological advancements and using smart phone applications to have fun around the park," he said.

With a smart phone app, you can get the park map and guide right on your phone and easily plan your day the high tech way.

Thorpe says Darien Lake must keep up with customer demands. "You also see a different level of expectation in the entertainment experience with bigger rides, faster rides, but also a move to convenience like cabanas in our Splashtown water park," he said.

This is the first year that Darien Lake is being operated by Herschend Family Entertainment. Park visitors will notice changes like more guest services, more cabins for overnight camping stays, an expanded sea lion show and a Thomas the Tank show for little ones.

This season, Darien Lake is out with a new dining package and has a 4th of July fireworks and laser light show planned for Monday.

TR: Darien Lake (06/18/2011)

Place: Darien Lake Theme Park Resort (Darien Center, NY)
Date: Saturday June 18, 2011
Weather: sunny with temperatures in the high 70’s
Crowds: Heavy
Time Spent at Park: 10:30 am to 5:00 pm
Announced Closed Rides: Ranger
Other Rides Down Throughout the Day: Lasso, Ride Of Steel, Raging Seas

Costs and Expenses: Gas- $47, Park Admission- $37.97 (discounted tickets from Wegman’s), Parking- $8, Rapid Ride Pass- $15, Lunch at Beaver Brothers Restaurant- $13, Fascination- $5, Soda from in-park Subway- $3.99, Tolls- $7.65, Dinner at McDonald’s on NY Turnpike- $9. Total Expenses: $146.61.

Park number four for the 2011 season found me heading east once again, this time to Darien Lake near Buffalo. This would be my fourth visit to DL in the last 5 years and my first under Herschend Family Entertainment’s management. I will say this- there was absolutely no noticeable difference between this year with Herschend at the helm and last year when PARC was still in charge. The park was mostly clean and the employees were mostly friendly. The one thing I did notice that was an improvement was two-train operations on all coaters (except Boomerang of course). In any case, I met up with my good friend Jeff M. and we were off to explore this former Six Flags park. I really have no idea what order we did things in, so I’ll just review the rides in random order.

For those unfamiliar with Darien Lake, the park has a strange and sort of confusing layout. Upon entering the park, guests proceed down a long pathway that features the Splashtown waterpark on the left and a Funtime SlingShot on the right. Proceeding further down this pathway, guests will eventually be able to turn right and visit most of the park’s remaining rides, or head to the left where the park’s wooden coaster Predator and the towering Intamin MegaCoaster Ride of Steel are located. Rides are sort of just plopped down randomly, but the park does look nice and it has a nice atmosphere that thankfully wasn’t ruined during the park’s brief stint as Six Flags Darien Lake.

Darien Lake is known for having a unique collection of flat rides, and they don’t get any more unique than the Huss UFO. One of only two such rides in North America, the UFO whirls riders at a pretty high speed, plastering them to the backrest they are standing against. The wheel then lifts to a 90-degree angle, exerting some intense forces on the passengers.

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