Six Flags Darien Lake Trip Report
Saturday, June 23, 2001

(I have a new appreciation for how long these trip reports take to write. Please excuse any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I am educated, but spare time is not plentiful in my life.)

I want to preface this trip report by saying that I am usually very positive about theme parks. I try not to be too critical of parks and rarely slam them on the site. I have waited two weeks to write this trip report so I could cool off and put some of the events of the day in perspective. I tend to find that people make things out to be worse than they are on the day of the event. Taking time to think about it puts things into proper perspective.

Unfortunately, as you will read below I am still very angry with the park over an outrageous policy and the operations I experienced during my visit to Six Flags Darien Lake. I think the park deserves the criticism that is forthcoming in this trip report.

The day started too early at the Reid household where I was staying. I was woken at 6:15 a.m. by your typical alarm clock, but what made it worse was the fact that it was 3:15 a.m. in Los Angeles my hometown. Again, like Friday on our way to Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, we started the day with not one, but two stops at Tim Horton’s. I am just amazed at how many stores they have and how popular they are.

The drive to SFDL was uneventful, but filled with good conversation about coasters and parks. It took about 3 hours to arrive at the park and on the way the weather turned from beautiful to heavy rain. As we drove, we got a glimpse of Martin's Fantasy Island and the Silver Comet. I also got my first look at a distance of Niagara Falls, well the mist that is.

We arrived at SFDL at about 10:30 a.m. Considering it was raining, I could not believe the number of cars piling into the parking lot. In addition, SFDL felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. It is not immediately off a highway, which surprised me.

What impressed me the most was what stood before me towering over 200 feet in the sky. Superman Ride of Steel is an awesome sight and the drop was so steep compared to the other hypercoasters I have ridden. This was going to be my first ride on an Intamin hyper and I was looking forward to it.

The Reids lent me a poncho for the weather. I have to say the Reids come prepared. They pack a cooler with drinks, have the rain gear in the car. They are experienced theme park visitors.

Entering the park we immediately headed towards Superman. The line appeared to be short extending just outside the station and not winding in the queue at all. I guessed 15 minutes maybe and I would find out how wrong I was!

First off, Superman was running with only one-train. Why I haven't a clue? I even asked and the operator could not even say when the last time she had witnessed two train operation. It really makes you wonder why the park was running only one train on a Saturday in the summer season. Wouldn’t you operate at full capacity on a peak-operating day? Yes, the weather was bad, but the people were coming out regardless and the line at 10:30 a.m. was enough to fill both trains on every single pass through the station.

I also want to mention that Superman is a long ride and really should never be run without both trains, unless the park is very uncrowded. When they run only one train the capacity is actually less then half and the dispatch time averages 4.5 minutes if all goes well. So lets be generous and unrealistic since we know that crews are slow and people often have troubles boarding.

For argument sake lets say they can dispatch on an average of 3.5 minutes. Now multiply this by a five train wait which should be short line. If you do the math the line is about 17.5 minutes. With two train operation the park is able to dispatch a train almost every 2 minutes since the load and unload is done while the other train cycles the circuit.

Entering the station Kevin noticed that the wait for the front was short compared to a normal day. If I remember correctly, it was a six-train wait. Most of the other rows were about five trains. Now we had already waited about 10 minutes since it took forever to get about 50 people in front of us inside the station. Now based on the dispatch time I figured it would be about a 30-minute wait for the front row.

But what happens next just made me very angry. While waiting for the front a wheel chair and five people with the disabled person came up the exit ramp. Of course, they wanted to sit in the front. Oh well it would delay us for one train I thought. Wrong! When the train returned to the station they did not get off. Instead, they stayed on the train, which I could not understand. At this point, I was pissed and calmly asked the ride operator about the policy.

I was told that the handicap may ride twice every two hours on every ride in the park. Now let me begin by saying I am all for equal access rights if possible. However, I would like to add that I am against special treatment, including cutting lines and double rides. Further, to allow six people to cut the line is complete bull. I can see you and a friend, but not a group of this size. This policy as the operator at the control panel stated to me shows favoritism towards disabled people, which is not the way the laws require parks to comply. What they have done is created a situation that is completely unfair with majority of the parks guests.

It took us an hour to ride Superman once and there was hardly a line. The single train operation was horrid. By noon, the queue was FULL and they continued to run only one train. I would guess the line was two hours. Further, the crew was so typical of a crew with one-train operation, not rushed and lazy. They were slow to address issues, walked casually when checking lap bars, it was just the typical I don't care and I am lazy attitude that you see with most single train operations. When you have two or more trains on the circuit at once the crew must work at a more acceptable pace to keep things running right. With one train on the circuit, the trains do not stack up.

Now I want to comment a bit more on the handicap policy to put in perspective of how unfair it is. In the best case scenario of being at the park from 10:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the crowds that day I probably could have gotten on about four to maybe five rides on Superman Ride of Steel during my visit. That would have been all the rides.

Now with the crazy and completely unfair handicap policy a guest with those special privileges could have ridden Superman technically 8 times in the same period and ridden all of the other coasters in the park 6 times each since they do not have to wait in any lines and they are permitted double rides. I will end here, but this single incident has left me with a VERY NEGATIVE opinion of Six Flags Darien Lake. I think this is a good time to point out how one little thing can ruin the entire experience for a guest.

Oh my ride on Superman...well it was fun. It is a good coaster, in fact a very good coaster, but I am still mad about the incident so I could care in the least about how good of a ride it is or not. The ride in the rain was a bit painful, but I really could have cared in the least.

While in line for Superman I got a good look at the Predator. It really looks like it could be a great wooden coaster. It has a great looking layout with some resemblance to the Cyclone coasters. We stopped by Predator after Superman, but they were only running one train (the black one). Kevin was disappointed since he claimed the red train was smoother. In addition, the line did not look long to me, it was just outside the station, but Kevin said half an hour so we skipped.

Next, we rode the Boomerang, stopped at the camp store, and then I took a ride on the Top Spin, which ended up being a double ride of two different ride programs. This was a great combination of ride programs.

We had lunch afterward and I was impressed with the quality and variety of the food. Six Flags Magic Mountain has such a poor selection of food and the quality is bad. SFDL exceeded my expectations in the food department.

After lunch, we took a ride Viper a fun Arrow looper. They were running two trains and the crew was fast so there was no line, but then this is not the flagship coaster at SFDL.

We took a break after Viper to play some games and then we saw the Batman Stunt Show. Yes, I dumped about $5 in quarters in some colors game and another $2 on some game where you race horses by rolling balls into different holes. I rarely play games.

The Batman Stunt Show was an indoor show and just hilarious. This show is bad compared to the one at SFMM and I just laughed and laughed. Kevin did not understand what was so funny. Overall, I enjoyed it, but maybe it is just something about the bat bike and the goofy stunts. It cheered me up some.

After Batman we walked over to Mind Eraser, your standard Vekoma hang and bang. Unbelievably they were running two trains on the Mind Eraser.... Now why not Superman? The line was reasonable and we took one ride. Again, as I have said before I think the SLC coasters are fun.

Finally, it was off to get our ride on Predator. When we arrived, the line was down the stairs from the station and going up and down a few rows in the queue. It did not look too long to me, but then why should I think that after the appearance of a short line on Superman this morning. Kevin looked at it and said an hour. I wanted to try it so we waited. Turns out it was only 20 minutes, even with only one train thanks to the EXCEPTIONAL crew that was operating the coaster. After the first ride, we went back for a second.

Now as for Predator I have mixed feelings about the coaster. On the first ride, Kevin insisted that we ride in what some would call the worst row and I sit on one side of the train that is supposed to be bad. Guess what it is a rough and miserable ride. I expected a bad ride and more than lived up to its reputation.

For the second ride, we rode in the front row and I actually felt that Predator was an okay ride. The front was smoother than the rear of the train. There was some air and it was fun. With some work, Predator I think could be a good wooden coaster. It is apparent to me that it needs some work since good wooden coasters do not run like Predator does. Also, the trim breaks need to go.

I want to again commend the crew on Predator for the effort and speed with the single train operation. When the trains pulled into the station, they were fast and really showed that they were interested in keeping the trains moving. I left this coaster with a positive experience. I wish I could say the same for the Superman crew in the morning, but I cannot.

Now while we were in line for Predator in the station we could overlook the Superman queue below. It was full, packed and during they continued to run one train. The other train (red one) just sat on the transfer track for no apparent reason. During my second ride on Predator, I continued to watch Superman run, but wait.... Did I just see the red train go? Yes, that is the red train running on Superman. At 4:00 p.m., they FINALLY started to run the second train. If you think I was annoyed earlier...just imagine how I felt now.

I had traveled from California to visit these parks and honestly, the only thing I really wanted to ride at SFDL was Superman. Had they been running a second train earlier I would not have been so mad at the unfair handicap policy. Further, I would not have wasted an hour in line to ride in the morning. It probably would have been 15 minutes. I also probably would have had four or five rides completed so far instead of just one.

Now lets talk about BAD guest service. Imagine you got in line and stood there for what had to have been a two-hour wait. You are next to get on the ride and they now after two hours in line decide to add the second train! Would you be pissed? ABSOLUTELY! Had they been running two trains from the get go then you would have waited less then half the time you did. This is a perfect example of POOR MANAGEMENT at this park. What is really sad is the fact that I’ve come to expect this when I visit a Six Flags Theme Park.

We were ready to leave the park to head to Martin's Fantasy Island, but I did not fell satisfied coming from California to leave with only one ride, in the rain on Superman Ride of Steel. So we delayed leaving and gave up probably six rides on the Silver Comet so I could get a second ride on Superman. With two trains running and the queue completely full, the line was 40 minutes. The crew was also running efficiently now because that is what happens when you do not give them a situation where they can be lazy.

For the second ride on Superman I rode in the second row...how fitting. I will admit the drop is amazing. I could not keep both hands up, it was not comfortable yet with how steep it is. The highlight of Superman was the airtime. That second hill, third hill and the three bunny hops on the return deliver airtime perfection. I am so in love with this ride that I now must get to SFNE to ride the better version of this coaster. Unfortunately, I do not look forward to visiting another Six Flags Park.

Now I will conclude by saying there were some nice things about SFDL. In fact, I would love to say some more kind things about the park, but I will hold back on my praise since the park does not deserve it.

The handicap policy of double rides is completely wrong! I am still very mad about the special privileges given here. I want to state again that I am for equal treatment, but against special treatment.

Further, the single train operation on their number one attraction on a Saturday during the summer season is completely unacceptable! I would excuse unexpected mechanical problems, but it is obvious that this was not the case since after having a two-hour wait for most of the day they finally decided to put a second train on track. This just tells me that this Six Flags park suffers from poor management like so many of the other Six Flags parks I have visited. It is such a shame.

Next trip report Martin's Fantasy Island... trust me in the next report I will have nothing but positive things to say about this park.

Eric Gieszl
Ultimate Rollercoaster