There was sad news out of the Buffalo, New York area yesterday as an Iraq war veteran died while riding Darien Lake’s Ride of Steel roller coaster. Apparently, the man, Sgt. James Hackemer, was a double amputee as he lost both legs in a roadside bombing in Iraq. Ride of Steel (formerly Superman – Ride of Steel) is nearly identical to Six
This is a photo of Darien Lake’s Lasso. It’s a swing carousel or wave swinger built by Zierer. I took this photo on my first trip to the Buffalo area park back in 2003. It was my wife’s home park growing up. Years later, this photo was chosen by Schmap as the icon for Darien Lake in their Buffalo guide. I think
A Review of Mind Eraser & Its Many Clones The concept of Vekoma’s Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) is a great one. It’s a compact inverted roller coaster(even though the model name has ‘suspended’ in it) with riders fixed below a tangle of twisted track. They are popular additions at theme parks with about 30 clones or slight variations around the globe. I’ve ridden the Mind Erasers
I figured I’d recap my 2008 theme park trips all in one post including my favorite and worst rides of the year. Thanks to reader Daniel for the idea after he recapped his year. If you have trip reports you’d like to share for last year or in the future feel free to send them in and I’ll post them.
MotoCoaster Marks New Era for De-Flagged Darien Lake On my recent trip to Darien Lake, near Buffalo, NY, I was happy to see that the park is thriving post-Six Flags. PARC Management, the new operators, have the park hitting on all cylinders. They even invested in a first-of-its kind motorcycle-themed launch coaster in the Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster. Darien Lake
Darien Lake & Waldameer Park Trip I'll be visiting Darien Lake this Thursday and Waldameer Park on Sunday. I'm looking forward to re-visiting Darien Lake now that PARC Management runs the park. I've heard good things and I'm anxious to see how different it is post-Six Flags. I'll also get to ride the coasters that I missed last time as
Darien Lake’s MotoCoaster Gets a New NameDarien Lake, near Buffalo, NY, is building the first Zamperla MotoCoaster. This week, the park announced a new name for its first new coaster in nine years. Named after the popular reality show, the ride will be known as the Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster. The partnership makes sense. Especially when you consider that the
Darien Lake Gets First New Roller Coaster in 9 Years It’s been a long time coming for the Darien Lake faithful. The park located just outside of Buffalo, New York hasn’t received a new roller coaster since Superman: Ride of Steel in 1999. No longer a Six Flags theme park, PARC Management wants to make a splash in 2008 with
Recently I was contacted by Schmap.com. They found one of my Flickr pictures and wanted to use it for their Buffalo Schmap Guide. I agreed and it’s been posted to their mini-review of Darien Lake. Check out the review here. I should probably let them know that Darien Lake is no longer a Six Flags park. Anyway, check out their
A First Look at an Ex-Six Flags ParkDarien Lake, which was acquired from Six Flags by PARC Management, has recieved a number of changes during its first season under new owners. There’s a new web site and an official new name, Darien Lake Theme Park Resort. The new site has video footage of the park and several of the attractions.
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