Six Flags Darien Lake - 6/27/2026
After having breakfast at a local restaurant in Batavia, Shawn, Brian and I drove to Six Flags Darien Lake.
The park opened at 11:00 and we arrived about twenty minutes later. Once we were inside the gates we decided to turn to the left
and circle our way around the park. Up first was Predator. Now the question is; is it a wood or steel coaster? Built
as a wood coaster by Dinn Corporation for the 1990 season, from 2022 to 2026 more than half of Predator has been retracked with "Titan
Track", which many now consider it to be a steel coaster. This may be the first time I have experienced Titan Track and I was
extremely impressed. This gave an incredible ride and I was in love with this coaster. That is until we reached the final
quarter of the ride which still had the old wooden track. It was rough and a jarring shock from the updated track. Now let's
hope the park continues to replace the old wooden track with Titan Track in the future.
Right next to Predator was Ride of Steel and we all rode in the front car. This coaster opened in 1999, as Intamin's first
mega coaster with its 205 foot first drop. It has high speed banked turns and helixes, great airtime hills and for some unknown
reason, long straight flat sections of track. It's a great coaster.
We headed to Roomerang next but as we approached, we saw that it was closed. It must have just closed down because we saw it
running earlier in the day.
Next, we all rode Grande Carousel and Brian and I rode Blast Off, the park's S&S launch tower.
We walked around the lake and Brian and I rode Moto Coaster. This ride opened in 2008 as Zamperla's first moto coaster. It
features a flywheel launch into a climbing banked turn up to the coaster's highest point and then followed by a series of zip-zags and a
figure-eight course. There are no dips or airtime hills at all. It's still a good family thrill coaster.
Sky Screamer was our next ride. The ride cycle on this tower swing was unlike any I had been on before. Usually it simply
spins the way to the top, a few laps at the top, spin on the way down and the final stop at the bottom. But no, this ride adds to
the ride cycle. During what would normally be the final descent, the spinning velocity increases and the ride climbs back to the
top of the tower. And then, the final descent and stop at the bottom. I like this new operational mode.
We followed up with a round on Bear Valley Bumper Buggies. Then we were looking forward to a ride on Viper, the park's classic
Arrow looper and the park's very first roller coaster. But the ride was closed. And from the looks of the grass growing in
the queue, I would say that the coaster had not been open at any time so far this season.
Hornet's Nest, a Larson flying scooters was our next ride. After that I was the only one of us that was brave enough to ride
Moose on the Loose. It’s not that Brian and Shawn were fearful of the danger, but rather they were scared of being embarrassed
riding a kiddie attraction. Moose on the Loose is a gentle single rail ride where riders sit atop a runaway moose through
multiple comedic scenes with the side effect of having the childish chant of “The moose, the moose, the moose is on the loose” repeating
endlessly in your mind for the rest of the day.
Up next, Brian and I rode Sleighride, a Mack Rides matterhorn. The two of us followed up with a lap on Mind Eraser. This
was another Vekoma SLC clone with updated trains. It was still bumpy and jerky, but with less head-banging.
I then took a solo ride on Tantrum. This is the park's newest coaster which opened in 2018. It is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter
with a vertical chain lift and a 97 degree first drop. And it features three inversions, an Immelmann, cutback and inclined
loop. It's a lot of coaster thrills in a compact space.
For the final ride of the day, Brian and I rode Ride of Steel in the very back row. This is a mirror image of Ride of Steel at
Six Flags America near Washington, DC, but for some reason this one here in New York feels more intense. This is the best ride in
the park.
After a little more than six hours at the park, we made our way to the main gate and left just before 5:30. The park was very
clean, and you can tell improvements and upgrades are happening, which was nice to see. Although, the park overall feels somewhat
dated and a bit run down in just a few areas. There's definitely untapped potential here. Ride of Steel and Predator were
definitely the highlights for me. The coaster lineup would have felt more solid if two of the major coasters hadn't been
closed. Having said that, only Ride of Steel is a standout coaster if you're comparing it to larger parks. Overall, we had
a good time and enjoyed the visit. With the right investment and continued improvements, I think Darien Lake could absolutely live
up to its full potential. I wish Enchanted Parks the best of luck as they will be taking full control of the park in 2027.
We drove back to our hotel in Batavia where we showered, had a nice dinner at a local restaurant and rested up for tomorrow's long
drive home.
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