Same here. I even contacted the park management and suggested that they use some of the metal to make into commemorative keychains with an engraved image of the ferris wheel on it. How cool would that have been to have a piece of actual park history like that? So many people would have loved that! They never did anything with the idea sadly.
The additional titan track on Predator is nice to see. The hill after the downward turn REALLY needs it too - rode it yesterday and it was actually painful. Motocoaster was also closed up until a few days ago. Not sure why, but it seemed to run fine yesterday. Mind Eraser is actually tolerable in the front 2 rows.
The midway improvements and Titan Track on Predator are certainly nice, but overall it still feels like there isn't enough value for money (especially with the addition of a separate charge to get into the waterpark) to justify going out for a daytrip. Maybe Six Flags ultimately is planning to turn Darien Lake into some kind of seasonal resort (for example by encouraging staying onsite with discounts instead of daytrips), but as of right now there isn't enough to tell if that's their intent or not..
It's $35 for a day ticket only. I payed maybe 70 some for a tickey/parking/meal/drink combo. How much cheaper do you think a day ticket should be? I mean.... its $30 to get into Seabreeze an hour up the road with much less in the ride department. What the park would need most is trains for the rides they do have. I was just there, and every coaster was single train ops, and I didn't see any trains in the stations. That would make a bad day if it's busy. Thankfully I think everyone was at the waterpark.
"Guests are complaining that your park entry fee is too expensive." So... more closed attractions? I don't see any of these things as a positive improvement, aside from Predator. Congratulations, Six Flags, the midway now looks like any other respectable park. Routine maintenance isn't a development. Arcade games also aren't going to justify your higher prices (aka "soft guest cap" in RCT lingo), FYI. With regard to Predator, geez, just redo the whole thing instead of this piecemeal stuff. Besides, I didn't think the first half was a problem anyway. It's the 2nd half that has the roughness and pacing issues. I'll stick with Cedar Fair. As a Buffalo area resident no less.
Yeah a lot of those are fair complaints, rumor is that they’ll do the whole thing for Predator over time. They did lower daily ticket prices to be fair
Yeah a lot of those are fair complaints, rumor is that they’ll do the whole thing for Predator over time. They did lower daily ticket prices to be fair
I’m not entirely certain but I am older as in around 32 and when I was a kid I specifically remember the waterpark being enough charge attraction it’s sad to see it go back to that but it is what it is if I’m not mistaken it used to be 15.
Oy vey this park is ridiculously sad....it had so much potential but it seems whoever owns it doesnt want to invest in it then complains its not making any money 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Ultimately I think this is what pisses me off the most. Look at where it was in say 2005. We conceivably could have had a competitor to Cedar Point by now. Instead we now have an ever-shrinking lineup, and the thing that to me makes them really bush league is this insistence on one train ops. You don't find that anywhere else, at least not anywhere else that wants to cater to crowds.
@sabretooth1997 exactly. I live in Rochester so I've grown up with this park and like u said in the early 2000s it seemed like this park was gonna grow and grow BUT after six flags sold it the first time it got bounced around between owners and yet again noone wanted to invest in the park and make actual improvements. Now here we are full circle with six flags owning the park again but now stripping it off rides and attractions but still raising the prices then saying oh well its in a bad area blah blah blah..people will go if it was run better, cleaner and had better rides!! Plain and simple
It’s sad to see them take out more than what they are putting in, taking out a couple of rides and games with not putting anything but seating in the areas
I like how the website has a 50% processing fee to purchase tickets. More closed rides, I don't see myself going to Darien Lake this year. I went to King's Island last week and got admission (both rides and waterpark), parking, and all day dining for $65.
Last year season passes were about $40 and including parking and the water park, this year they raised the price to $60 and took away parking and are charging extra for the water park there’s not enough rides there to justify an increase like that, this was our first year not getting passes in a while
Went for the first time Sunday, July 21st or 22nd, and we had a great time actually. Park was pretty slow. The longest I waited was about 15 mins, even though every coaster was only running one train. I can see how that's a problem on busy days though. Anyways, not sure why everyone dogs on this park so much. It's not horrible. Thankfully I was there on a slow day I guess.
The uncharge on the water park is so dumb six flags keeps jacking up the price despite how small and inconsequential the park is compared to others maybe if six flags actually made some serious improvements to the park it would be worth but it’s in my opinion just been mostly tacky new paint jobs and looks to the same old stuff that’s progressively breaking and loosing quantity.
The water park is getting to the point where it’s with a lot of other big name parks… the water park is great imo…. They’ve done enough to the water park… fix the amusement park now
thank you for this video. I was going to go there tomorrow since I haven’t been there in 10 years thought, THE, admission, price was a little high but was still going to go anyway until I heard you say that the waterpark was an additional $10 and from what I read turns out to be more like $13 I would’ve been really pissed off had I got there and found that out so thank you for saving me money and aggravation.
@@amusementscape Thank you very much I was explaining this to my concert crew, you used to have to pay for riding rides a couple years ago then I'm assuming?
Darien Lake simply is not a priority for Six Flags, the obscene number of rides being removed is unsustainable and frankly feels cheap and apathetic. A fresh coat of paint on the midway games seems like a bare minimum and having been visiting this park for more than 40 years it's unbelievable the way they have started to gut the park. Wheb they removed the Giant Wheel it was a loud message to the patrons that your feelings aren't important to us, nor is your park. They don't need to spend years deciding what ride to put in its place, they simply don't desire to spend the money. They could've simply done what so many other parks have done over the last decade and replace the old wheel with a new modern one with a modern LED lighting system. It's not rocket science, they just aren't invested in the park and attendance will suffer. Start investing in this park again!!!
What they need to do is dump money into the park… you need to downs money to make money… but you’re right, with all the other parks they have Darien lane is on the low end of the list
Water Park is an up charge now…. Yikes. off topic but Niagara is doing rough too I’ve been there on a Saturday with like 40 other people total. They seem to be closing any chance they get and shortening hours. I don’t see it lasting.
Unfortunately people aren't going to flock to the place with just one coaster available and two adult flat rides. The water park and kiddie land are great for kids, but there's not much of anything to cater to older guests yet. Hopefully their addition/expansion is approved by the state and opened soon. Looks like they have a lot of stuff ready to go back there.
The water park is absolutely fine… it’s the only thing that they’ve upkeeped and keep doing stuff to… I knew they were gonna start charging soon… hopefully it’ll bring in money for better attractions… the roller coaster list is abysmal
Good to see Darien lake becoming an even more crappy park…. Been going there my entire life ands it’s just getting more and more crappy. I drive 4 hours to CP once a year for a long weekend. I think the park was at its best the first time SF owned them and they still had shows on the theater(now just a haunted house for fright fest)
I gladly drive to Toronto nearly every weekend for Canada's Wonderland. With Fast Lane you also get to bypass 90% of the dolt teenagers that seem to be an epidemic there. CP/KI trip coming up next month. Waldameer and Seabreeze are also solid semi-local daytrip alternatives, and Niagara/Fantasy Island should be looking to surpass SFDL in quality for good any day now at this rate. SFDL is history to me. Are they still even better than Marineland?
@@sabretooth1997 I have been wanting to go to sea breeze just for the history of it. 4th oldest (operating) amusement park in the country. DL was my first ever park, and where I rode my first coaster I was 8 and motocoaster was still in its first season and that was my first ever coaster. It’s a shame
@@sabretooth1997 When Niagara adds a half-dozen rides and coasters that adults without small children can enjoy, maybe. And until Darien loses most of its coasters and starts a graveyard for all the animals dead to their negligence, let's not compare it to Marineland. :P
@@brianstart8276 Well, I was being facetious about Marineland. ;) But, behind every joke is a kernel of truth - with the rate Darien Lake seems to be in freefall and nobody in charge seems to care, I suppose it's not totally outside the realm of possibility. Not so much Niagara. Ultimately, I don't think they really compete with Darien, at least they shouldn't. More like Waldameer and Seabreeze or even Great Escape. Just a different class of park (not better or worse, just different).
The predator is 1 of the worst rides at the park imo. It’s still slow, no air time… it’s just a sad sad ride… it needs a RMC treatment to be worth anything. The park has soo much potential but they refuse to do what they need… I can only hope they do something great in the next year or 2… but I’m not expecting it
Lol everything new?? This is all things that should've happened years ago. They need SF to purchase the park instead of just manage. That way we can see some type of real investment!
EPR needs to let it go imo… let six flags take over everything… six flags just operates it, six flags won’t put money into something they don’t own… six flags dies parks better imo… let six flags take it over again cause they’re the ones who actually have it a good ride
@@craigvoak654 epr had better lease deals with groups who operrated the park and even without owning it invested money into it. They were more expensive deals so epr went back to cheap old six flags
I love how fast predator is running this year, it went from #3 in the park for me to #2 in the park!
Definitely moving up for me too!
It’s still a terrible ride, only roller coaster it’s better than is boomerang
@@craigvoak654 did you ride it this year?
it became my all time favorite this year
We have been 3 times this year and pretty much all rides open. Staffing better
Yup. Been pleased with that
Agree! Went for the first time today and vastly improved from my visits last year.
Thanks for the updates! The midway games really do look nice. Still can't get used to not seeing the iconic Ferris wheel.
Anytime! And yes, it needs a replacement!
Same here. I even contacted the park management and suggested that they use some of the metal to make into commemorative keychains with an engraved image of the ferris wheel on it. How cool would that have been to have a piece of actual park history like that? So many people would have loved that! They never did anything with the idea sadly.
If there’s 1 thing that works it’s that. It makes it aesthetically pleasing… but if that’s the best to happen… it’s pretty sad
My apologies for the lower voiceover quality, I had some nonsense copyright issues so I just had to deal with that!
The additional titan track on Predator is nice to see. The hill after the downward turn REALLY needs it too - rode it yesterday and it was actually painful. Motocoaster was also closed up until a few days ago. Not sure why, but it seemed to run fine yesterday. Mind Eraser is actually tolerable in the front 2 rows.
Yeah it’s just in a really odd spot right now. Glad to hear Motocoaster is open
The midway improvements and Titan Track on Predator are certainly nice, but overall it still feels like there isn't enough value for money (especially with the addition of a separate charge to get into the waterpark) to justify going out for a daytrip.
Maybe Six Flags ultimately is planning to turn Darien Lake into some kind of seasonal resort (for example by encouraging staying onsite with discounts instead of daytrips), but as of right now there isn't enough to tell if that's their intent or not..
Yeah I agree, they need a couple of better rides. Still a ways to go
It's $35 for a day ticket only. I payed maybe 70 some for a tickey/parking/meal/drink combo. How much cheaper do you think a day ticket should be? I mean.... its $30 to get into Seabreeze an hour up the road with much less in the ride department. What the park would need most is trains for the rides they do have. I was just there, and every coaster was single train ops, and I didn't see any trains in the stations. That would make a bad day if it's busy. Thankfully I think everyone was at the waterpark.
The season pass is worth it for the water park alone… we can only hope they can come up with a A++ coaster. It’s what the park is missing
"Guests are complaining that your park entry fee is too expensive."
So... more closed attractions? I don't see any of these things as a positive improvement, aside from Predator. Congratulations, Six Flags, the midway now looks like any other respectable park. Routine maintenance isn't a development. Arcade games also aren't going to justify your higher prices (aka "soft guest cap" in RCT lingo), FYI.
With regard to Predator, geez, just redo the whole thing instead of this piecemeal stuff. Besides, I didn't think the first half was a problem anyway. It's the 2nd half that has the roughness and pacing issues.
I'll stick with Cedar Fair. As a Buffalo area resident no less.
Yeah a lot of those are fair complaints, rumor is that they’ll do the whole thing for Predator over time. They did lower daily ticket prices to be fair
Yeah a lot of those are fair complaints, rumor is that they’ll do the whole thing for Predator over time. They did lower daily ticket prices to be fair
The “Family” sign got removed this week, maybe a ride being relocated from another park?
I appreciate that they brought back the laser light show but they still close way too early causing it to not be dark enough.
Yeah I think 10pm closings would be good. But Six Flags is stingy
I’m not entirely certain but I am older as in around 32 and when I was a kid I specifically remember the waterpark being enough charge attraction it’s sad to see it go back to that but it is what it is if I’m not mistaken it used to be 15.
I’ll miss grizzly run it was always one of my favorites especially on them hot days walking around
mind eraser is awesome now with the new train its not the vest restraint but its more rattling then headbanginh now
Definitely same with the viper whatever they did there has that thing running fast and smooth
Oy vey this park is ridiculously sad....it had so much potential but it seems whoever owns it doesnt want to invest in it then complains its not making any money 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Ultimately I think this is what pisses me off the most. Look at where it was in say 2005. We conceivably could have had a competitor to Cedar Point by now.
Instead we now have an ever-shrinking lineup, and the thing that to me makes them really bush league is this insistence on one train ops. You don't find that anywhere else, at least not anywhere else that wants to cater to crowds.
@sabretooth1997 exactly. I live in Rochester so I've grown up with this park and like u said in the early 2000s it seemed like this park was gonna grow and grow
BUT after six flags sold it the first time it got bounced around between owners and yet again noone wanted to invest in the park and make actual improvements. Now here we are full circle with six flags owning the park again but now stripping it off rides and attractions but still raising the prices then saying oh well its in a bad area blah blah blah..people will go if it was run better, cleaner and had better rides!! Plain and simple
I went there this year it was good I still wish the orange family slide was open😢 but the coasters we good and slides!
It’s sad to see them take out more than what they are putting in, taking out a couple of rides and games with not putting anything but seating in the areas
Hopefully it gives them room to do something good with it… I don’t mind them taking things out if they have future plans
They need a couple new roller coasters get a launch with a small top hat and a dive coaster they have plenty of room for 3 or 4 more big coasters
Can you do another update video on Niagara Amusement park? I'm especially wondering when they're going to open their expansion.
Yeah I will soon. They unfortunately haven’t made much progress
I like how the website has a 50% processing fee to purchase tickets. More closed rides, I don't see myself going to Darien Lake this year. I went to King's Island last week and got admission (both rides and waterpark), parking, and all day dining for $65.
The evening pass thing at Tops is up to $30 as well, if I recall. I saw it but didn't really pay much attention to it.
From what I remember they actually decreased prices this year. Ride availability has been improved, with the notable exception of the removals
Games was purchased by an outside company so sadly the new changes weren’t done by Six Flags
Last year season passes were about $40 and including parking and the water park, this year they raised the price to $60 and took away parking and are charging extra for the water park there’s not enough rides there to justify an increase like that, this was our first year not getting passes in a while
Hey I went to the park last year and big kahuna was open hehe
Went for the first time Sunday, July 21st or 22nd, and we had a great time actually. Park was pretty slow. The longest I waited was about 15 mins, even though every coaster was only running one train. I can see how that's a problem on busy days though. Anyways, not sure why everyone dogs on this park so much. It's not horrible. Thankfully I was there on a slow day I guess.
The uncharge on the water park is so dumb six flags keeps jacking up the price despite how small and inconsequential the park is compared to others maybe if six flags actually made some serious improvements to the park it would be worth but it’s in my opinion just been mostly tacky new paint jobs and looks to the same old stuff that’s progressively breaking and loosing quantity.
The water park is getting to the point where it’s with a lot of other big name parks… the water park is great imo…. They’ve done enough to the water park… fix the amusement park now
thank you for this video. I was going to go there tomorrow since I haven’t been there in 10 years thought, THE, admission, price was a little high but was still going to go anyway until I heard you say that the waterpark was an additional $10 and from what I read turns out to be more like $13 I would’ve been really pissed off had I got there and found that out so thank you for saving me money and aggravation.
Understandable! Glad I could help!
I purchased a concert ticket at Amphitheater do I get to ride rides for free also
@@adambrown9105yes you do!
@@amusementscape Thank you very much I was explaining this to my concert crew, you used to have to pay for riding rides a couple years ago then I'm assuming?
It needs more rollercoasters
Darien Lake simply is not a priority for Six Flags, the obscene number of rides being removed is unsustainable and frankly feels cheap and apathetic. A fresh coat of paint on the midway games seems like a bare minimum and having been visiting this park for more than 40 years it's unbelievable the way they have started to gut the park. Wheb they removed the Giant Wheel it was a loud message to the patrons that your feelings aren't important to us, nor is your park. They don't need to spend years deciding what ride to put in its place, they simply don't desire to spend the money. They could've simply done what so many other parks have done over the last decade and replace the old wheel with a new modern one with a modern LED lighting system. It's not rocket science, they just aren't invested in the park and attendance will suffer. Start investing in this park again!!!
What they need to do is dump money into the park… you need to downs money to make money… but you’re right, with all the other parks they have Darien lane is on the low end of the list
They need 2 or 3 more big coasters dive launch and a rmc would be great
Water Park is an up charge now…. Yikes. off topic but Niagara is doing rough too I’ve been there on a Saturday with like 40 other people total. They seem to be closing any chance they get and shortening hours. I don’t see it lasting.
Yeah it’s a rough situation all around there. I wish I had more positive stuff to say
Unfortunately people aren't going to flock to the place with just one coaster available and two adult flat rides. The water park and kiddie land are great for kids, but there's not much of anything to cater to older guests yet.
Hopefully their addition/expansion is approved by the state and opened soon. Looks like they have a lot of stuff ready to go back there.
The water park is absolutely fine… it’s the only thing that they’ve upkeeped and keep doing stuff to… I knew they were gonna start charging soon… hopefully it’ll bring in money for better attractions… the roller coaster list is abysmal
🔥🔥🔥
Thanks my man!
The place is a joke now. Last yr water park was 3/4 closed. " we can't find employees"
Good to see Darien lake becoming an even more crappy park…. Been going there my entire life ands it’s just getting more and more crappy. I drive 4 hours to CP once a year for a long weekend. I think the park was at its best the first time SF owned them and they still had shows on the theater(now just a haunted house for fright fest)
I gladly drive to Toronto nearly every weekend for Canada's Wonderland. With Fast Lane you also get to bypass 90% of the dolt teenagers that seem to be an epidemic there. CP/KI trip coming up next month. Waldameer and Seabreeze are also solid semi-local daytrip alternatives, and Niagara/Fantasy Island should be looking to surpass SFDL in quality for good any day now at this rate.
SFDL is history to me. Are they still even better than Marineland?
@@sabretooth1997 I have been wanting to go to sea breeze just for the history of it. 4th oldest (operating) amusement park in the country. DL was my first ever park, and where I rode my first coaster I was 8 and motocoaster was still in its first season and that was my first ever coaster. It’s a shame
@@sabretooth1997 When Niagara adds a half-dozen rides and coasters that adults without small children can enjoy, maybe. And until Darien loses most of its coasters and starts a graveyard for all the animals dead to their negligence, let's not compare it to Marineland. :P
@@brianstart8276Darien Lake still has the best attendance in the region by far from what I know, maybe with the exception of Waldameer
@@brianstart8276 Well, I was being facetious about Marineland. ;) But, behind every joke is a kernel of truth - with the rate Darien Lake seems to be in freefall and nobody in charge seems to care, I suppose it's not totally outside the realm of possibility.
Not so much Niagara. Ultimately, I don't think they really compete with Darien, at least they shouldn't. More like Waldameer and Seabreeze or even Great Escape. Just a different class of park (not better or worse, just different).
The predator is 1 of the worst rides at the park imo. It’s still slow, no air time… it’s just a sad sad ride… it needs a RMC treatment to be worth anything. The park has soo much potential but they refuse to do what they need… I can only hope they do something great in the next year or 2… but I’m not expecting it
Any chance the coasters that have more than one train are running them?
Unfortunately not that I know of
They’re not, they don’t need to realistically… not enough ppl in the park
Yo
Whats good
Do you think the Park improved at all since the last couple of years?
I do actually! I think I’ll do a full video on this in the winter, but the beginning on 2021 was probably where the park bottomed out
@@amusementscape glad to hear that! Plan on going this Sunday for the light show.
@davyjones3105 bringing that back was cool. I liked it a lot
Bugubug
Bugubug
Lol everything new?? This is all things that should've happened years ago. They need SF to purchase the park instead of just manage. That way we can see some type of real investment!
Boycott this park! Force EPR to sign a new lease that doesnt involve six flags
Yes! Make the hot-potato game that has crippled Darien Lake continue!
EPR needs to let it go imo… let six flags take over everything… six flags just operates it, six flags won’t put money into something they don’t own… six flags dies parks better imo… let six flags take it over again cause they’re the ones who actually have it a good ride
@@craigvoak654 epr had better lease deals with groups who operrated the park and even without owning it invested money into it. They were more expensive deals so epr went back to cheap old six flags