Darien Lake, previously known as Six Flags Darien Lake, is an amusement park between Buffalo and Rochester in Darien, New York, off the New York State Thruway (I-90). Darien is a town located in Genesee County, New York. ... Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) is the worlds largest chain of amusement parks and theme parks and is headquartered in New York City. ... Nickname: City of Good Neighbors, Queen City, City of Light Location of Buffalo in New York State County Erie County Mayor Byron Brown Area    - City 136. ... There is also a Rochester in Ulster County, New York; for that town see Rochester, Ulster County, New York. ... Darien is a town located in Genesee County, New York. ... New York Thruway Trailblazer The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway) is a limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of New York. ... Interstate 90 (abbreviated I-90) is the longest interstate highway in the United States at nearly 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers). ...

It was once owned by Six Flags until being sold to PARC 7F Operations Corporation on January 11, 2007 along side six other parks.

History

An older park logo.

The park first opened as just a campground without any amusement rides. In 1964, a pair of water slides called "Hydro Force" were added to the campground. Eventually, rides were added to the mix when investor Paul Snyder invested amusement rides into the park and called it "Snyder's Darien Lake." At first, the park had a country theme, earning it the nickname Darien Lake Fun Country. During the Fun Country years, the park became the showcase for Huss' flat rides. The park's first Roller Coaster, The Viper, was built by Huss and Arrow Dynamics and opened in 1982. At the time, it held the record for most inversions on a coaster. "The Ranger", another Huss ride, was added in 1982 as well. Image File history File links Sfdllogo2. ... Huss is the surname of: a Swedish noble family Henry Holden Huss John Huss, also known as Jan Hus Pierre J. Huss Toby Huss Huss Township, Minnesota Huss Maschinenfabrik another name for Rock Salmon sold in England as Fish and chips This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles... A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ... Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster design company based in Clearfield, Utah. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The orignal logo

Eventually, in 1983, Snyder sold the park to Funtime Parks. The "Fun Country" theme, along with Snyder's name, was dropped and the park operated as simply Darien Lake. The Funtime era brought the park numerous improvements, including the Vekoma-built "Fun Wheel" ferris wheel in 1983, which was the showcase of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee—at the time, the largest ferris wheel in the world. Other improvements of the late 1980's include a Kids' Area called "Adventureland" in 1987 and the Grizzly Run Rapids in 1989. The 1990's brought more improvemends such as the addition of the Barracuda Bay waterpark and the wooden roller coaster The Predator in 1990. Image File history File links Logo-6flags. ... Vekoma-built Limit (Heide Park) Vekoma is a roller coaster and thrill ride designer with its facilities based in the Netherlands. ... A Ferris wheel on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, USA. A Ferris wheel (or, more commonly in the UK, big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim. ... A water park is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds (water playgrounds), lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing environments. ... This article is about the year. ...

In 1995, Funtime Parks was purchased by growing park chain Premier Parks (now Six Flags). Throughout the Premier era, the park experienced the most additions. Upgrades included three new coasters: the now-defunct Nightmare at Phantom Cave in 1996, Mind Eraser in 1997, and Boomerang: Coast to Coaster in 1998, along with the Popeye's Seaport themed kids area (now Looney Tunes Seaport), and two major waterpark additions (Hook's Lagoon and Crocodile Isle). 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) is the worlds largest chain of amusement parks and theme parks and is headquartered in New York City. ... A Popeye comic book cover shows Popeye, with his characteristic corncob pipe and single good eye, and his girlfriend Olive Oyl. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ...

In May, 1999, the park opened for the first time under the Six Flags name after the numerous upgrades from the past few years. Millions of dollars were spent on adding Looney Tunes and DC Comics themed attractions. The most notable addition was Superman: Ride of Steel, the world's first Intamin Hypercoaster. A criticism of the Six Flags years at the park, though, were the lack of rides being added and poor customer service. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Superman: The Ride of Steel is a roller coaster that exists in various versions at several of Six Flags amusement parks, including: Six Flags New England, Agawam, Massachusetts Six Flags America, Baltimore/Washington, D.C. Six Flags Darien Lake, Darien Center, New York The Six Flags New England ride was... Expedition GeForce Intamin AG is a company based out of Wollerau (Switzerland) and is headed up by Sandor Kernacs. ... A hypercoaster is a roller coaster that has been built with the first hill being at least 200 feet in height and specifically designed for speed and airtime. ...

Due to financial struggles throughout the chain, Six Flags indicated interest in selling off Darien Lake and other smaller parks beginning in 2006. In a radio interview on Buffalo, New York radio station WBEN on June 26, 2006, the park's original owner, Paul Snyder, told the interviewer that he has been in contact with Six Flags and was trying to buy the park. The park closed a month early for the 2006 season on October 1, 2006 due to Six Flags' fiscal situation after cutting park hours and closing several shows and attractions in August. Nickname: City of Good Neighbors, Queen City, City of Light Location of Buffalo in New York State County Erie County Mayor Byron Brown Area    - City 136. ... WBEN is a radio station serving the Niagara, Buffalo and Western New York area. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The sale to PARC 7F-Operations is expected to be completed in March 2007, at which point they will immediately sell Darien Lake and the other parks to CNL Income Properties, then lease the parks back from CNL. PARC is expected to continue operation of Darien Lake, but it is unknown what the name of the park will be. Six Flags season passes will be honored for 2007. CNL Income Properties is the resort division of CNL, a $13-billion real estate investment company. ...

Pending the sale, the park remains the second largest in the Six Flags chain, the only one in the chain with on-site campgrounds, and one of only two in the chain with their own hotel on-site. The park also holds major concerts at its performing arts center, the "Darien Lake Performing Arts Center".

Rides and Attractions

Roller Coasters

• Boomerang: Coast to Coaster - Vekoma Boomerang coaster that flips riders forwards and back. Height/drop 116 ft.; speed 47 mph.
• Brain Teaser - The park's only kiddie coaster.
• The Mind Eraser - New York's only suspended looping coaster. Manufactured by Vekoma. Height 109 ft.; drop 87 ft.; speed 55 mph.
• The Predator - New York's largest overall wooden roller coaster, made by the Dinn Corporation. Closed for rest of 2006, will reopen in 2007 after renovations. Height 95 ft.; drop 83 ft.; speed 50 mph.
• Superman: Ride of Steel - One of the Northeast's tallest and fastest roller coasters. The ride takes riders up 208 feet and at speeds of 73 miles per hour. Designed by Intamin AG. Height 208 ft.; drop 205 ft.; speed 73 mph.
• The Viper - The park's first major roller coaster, the ride was the first one anywhere to turn riders head over heels five times. Designed by S&S Arrow. Height 121 ft.; drop 75 ft.; speed 50 mph.

Vekoma-built Limit (Heide Park) Vekoma is a roller coaster and thrill ride designer with its facilities based in the Netherlands. ... A Brain teaser is a form of puzzle that involves a lot of thinking (mental/cognitive activity). ... The Mind Eraser is a steel roller coaster at six different Six Flags amusement parks. ... The Predator is the largest Wooden roller coaster in New York State, located at Six Flags Darien Lake. ... Expedition GeForce Intamin AG is a company based out of Wollerau (Switzerland) and is headed up by Sandor Kernacs. ... The Viper is a steel looping roller coaster located at Six Flags Darien Lake. ... Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster design company based in Clearfield, Utah. ...

Water Park

The Big Kahuna water slide ride.

• Big Kahuna - A family tube slide relocated from Six Flags Astroworld.
• Crocodile Isle - A large family wave pool.
• Baracuda Bay - Four White Water West "tube slides" (two enclosed, two open) that replaced the old Rainbow Falls slide complex. Currently closed for the rest of 2006.

Aerial view of the Tornado.

• Floodgate Falls - A cascade tube ride that has been closed for the rest of the 2006 season.
• Hook's Lagoon - A huge, five story tall water playground with slides.
• Tornado - ProSlide Tornado slide, riders go through a giant funnel.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 387 KB)Picture taken by myself on 082406 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 387 KB)Picture taken by myself on 082406 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (700x1038, 59 KB)tornadoes are my dream . ... Download high resolution version (700x1038, 59 KB)tornadoes are my dream . ...

Flat Rides

• Bear Valley Bumper Buggies - Classic bumper cars attraction.
• Giant Wheel - The icon of the park before the Six Flags era, the second largest Ferris Wheel in North America at 165 feet tall.
• Grande Carousel - A carousel.
• Haymaker - Small, spinning flat ride.
• Lasso - Family wave swinger attraction.
• Pirate - A swinging pirate ship ride situated on the lake.
• Raging Seas - An intense spinning attraction.
• Ranger - Inverting pirate ship attraction.
• Rodeo Round-Up - A swinging and waving flat ride attraction; formerly the "Corn-Popper."
• Scrambler - Classic spinning flat ride.
• Silver Bullet - A 360 degree spinning ride that tilts; formerly the "Spinning Wheel."
• Sleighride - Toboggan up and down the "slopes" of this intense ride.
• Tin Lizzies - A relaxing antique car ride situated on the lakeside.
• UFO - A HUSS UFO.
• Twister - A Top Spin

Bumper car at a small town fair Bumper car is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electric cars that draw their power from an overhead grid, which is turned off by the operator at the end of a session. ... A Ferris wheel on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, USA. A Ferris wheel (or, more commonly in the UK, big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim. ... A carousel in a summer festival in London, with traditional animal mounts, barley twist poles and fairy lights. ... A pirate ship is a type of amusement ride, consisting of an open, seated gondola (usually in the style of a pirate ship or galleon) which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of centrifugal and gravitational force. ... HUSS Rides is a German-based amusement park ride manufacturing company. ... The Flying Saucer, a UFO operating at Luna Park Sydney The UFO is an amusement park ride designed by HUSS Maschinenfabrik in the 1970s, based on the companys Enterprise rides. ...

Water Attractions

• Grizzly Run - A soaking river rapids ride. It will be renovated, reopening in 2007
• Shipwreck Falls - A soaking plunge ride that generates a 20 foot wave.
• Thunder Rapids - A soaking log flume attraction.

Upcharge Attractions

These rides are not included in the admission price. Cost varies from ride to ride.

• Boat Docks - Rent a paddle boat and paddle in the lake.
• Miniature Golf - The park offers two different miniature golf courses.
• Sky Coaster - An intense skydiving like attraction that soars 180 feet above the lake and rushes you at 70 mph.
• Slingshot - A ride that catapults you to speeds of 80 mph and heights of 300 feet.
• Watkins Glen Road Rally - Go-Karts attraction.
• Turbobungy - A beefed-up version of the trampoline.

See also

• Incidents at Six Flags parks
• List of contemporary amphitheatres

// This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Six Flags-owned theme parks. ... This is a list of contemporary amphitheaters, not to be confused with Roman amphitheaters Alpine Valley Music Theater Blossom Music Center Celeste Center Coors Amphitheatre (San Diego) Cricket Pavilion Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Darien Lake Performing Arts Center DTE Energy Music Theatre Greek Theatre (Los Angeles) First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre...

External links

• Six Flags Darien Lake website
• Ultimate Roller Coaster - Darien Lake, NY