Well, where do I begin? This past weekend held my last coaster trip of the season. As planned, I attended SFDL and PCW, arriving in Toronto on Friday and leaving Monday morning. This trip report will encompass SFDL, with another on Paramount Canada’s Wonderland to follow.

We left early Saturday and headed toward SFDL (Six Flags Darien Lake.) The Reids were gracious enough to go about 45 minutes out of their way so I could see Niagara Falls. Fascinating. We stayed until about 12:30 since Darien Lake did not open until 1:00pm (?) So we arrived in the vicinity and miles away I was the first to see Superman. The closer we got, the more my heart pounded. I was surprised at how much SFDL varied from my perception. It was in a remote place far from any metropolitan area. But ooh the sight of Superman, perfectly placed at the very front of the park.

Now, the park was empty when we arrived, a good sign. Kevin had a bad experience on his last trip there so he attended with some apprehension. We promptly approach the ticket booth to purchase our 5 admissions. While Kevin orders his tickets, a lady approaches me with a group of boys. Apparently the entire group did not show and I was given three admission tickets for FREE! That’s right! Free! Kev’s apprehension was quickly disappearing.

In we go, and my first impression is how much it resembles SFKK. More spread out, but similar. Each person I encountered was pleasant, but really did not come in contact with any employees long enough to determine the service. The dispatches were steady and the ops kept things running, so I rate its employees well. But speaking of employees, there weren't enough running attractions since half of the park was non-operational. Not that big of a loss, but when you’ve traveled 10 hours to get there it can be disappointing. Rather than dwell on it, I decided to look for the good things.

Good things:
Superman, Superman, Superman. Great ride. Now my #3 steel. Why? Airtime. It is chock full of it. Other than the first drop, the third drop was the best with a sharp peak and a quick right turn while descending. The ride had several flat straight-aways and areas with "down time" such as the time between the first and second drop. There was no mist, and no tunnel that was publicized by the park for this ride. But it had plenty of speed and thrill. There were seatbelts, but they did not hinder one bit, a tad uncomfortable since the lap bar pushed them into my waste. I found loosening the belt and pulling it above the lap bar helped. Speedy lift hill, silent. Take the hint Arrow. The elevated seats were fun but lost something the farther back in the train you sat. The back seat was best because of the massive airtime you got. The final brake run (magnets) stop the train at the last minute and scared me to death each time I rode. There are no mid-course brakes and only one trim on a final bunny hop, but it was not in use. All in all 9 rides for the day, never waited over 10 minutes and could have stayed on all day and been happy. It was worth the trip.

Boomerang – actually the smoothest standard boomerang I’ve ridden. And first I’ve ridden with Vekoma trains. Maybe that was the difference. I only rode it once; boomerangs do not hold my attention that much (not a loop fan.) And once you’ve ridden an Invertigo the thrill isn’t there. Glad I rode and would definitely go again.

Viper – was suprisingly smooth. I expected the standard Arrow banger, but it delivered an enjoyable ride. I love the tunnel at the final helix and enjoyed yelling with everyone as it passed through. They could loose the standard Arrow mid-course brake run, but probably helped with the smooth transition into the corkscrews. Watch out for those trees. I believe I rode about 3 or four times, lost count. Never a wait. I did get a scare though, when a larger patron rode front seat and his OTSR would not come down as far as it should for a safe ride. The restraint was completely horizontal and they sent the train anyway. They do not even check restraints. They tell you to! Hmmm didn’t they just have trouble with this sort of thing not too long ago on Superman?

Paratroopers – First time riding one of these and actually had a thrill. It must have been the aged look of it. I got that uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that my gondola would come off. Of course it didn’t and I had fun.

Halloween show at Grand theatre – I’m not usually big on amusement park entertainment (singing and dancing) and not big on Halloween either. But this was quite enjoyable in both respects. The show was long, and entertaining with good music (partially lip synched. Tsk Tsk Tsk!) and nice transitions. Down side? Bring your earplugs! It was way too loud! When the first organ chord began, everyone nearly jumped out of his or her seat. It was almost deafening.

Cleanliness – I only saw noticed two sweepers, and that was when we were leaving. Yet the park stayed extremely clean all day including the restrooms.

Disappointing things:
Closures – I already mentioned them. Batman Stunt Show in particular. I really wanted to see it. I love the one at SFKK and was anxious to see how much they differ. I must point out that the argument has been made that the park does not have enough employees to run all the rides. However Kevin and I spoke to one of the costumed "ghouls" that the park was paying to walk around the park and ride. If they can pay them to just walk around, why not train them on running one of the closed attractions? They added absolutely nothing to the "scary" atmosphere. Especially when they ghoul had trouble positioning his lap bar because of the rubber skeleton hands he was wearing!

No postcards – I collect them from parks. They had 3. None of them of a newer ride. The souvenirs were pretty bad, unless you like something with Superman’s image on it. I did find a nice stuffed Riddler doll to add to my Batman collection, but thought the rest of the merchandise was poor. Not nearly as bad as SFKK’s though.

Food – I chose the chicken strips at the Chicken Ranch Café. Blue cheese-dipping sauce? Ewww, next time, I’ll try a burger.

The park has plenty of room to expand. And I can see a lot of potential there. The day as a whole was a success. Mostly due to the fact that no rides had a long wait. It puzzled me that they had about 3 haunted houses and each one had mobs of people waiting. I just don’t get it. Give me a good ride on a coaster any day. I love Superman and can’t wait to fly again, although I may have to wait a while. The company made the day terrific. The Reids always do. But this trip wasn’t over…PCW was next…