If you bought SFDL, how would you Improve it?

I personally think I've done a good job of restraining myself.

I really think that SFDL needs 3 things. If they were to get a new big coaster, a B&M floorless would be perfect but that is completely out of the question and would not happen for a few years. Anyway, I think that:

1. A drop tower - either an Intamin or a double tower Comboshot. Either of those would be perfect 'thrill' addition and would be relatively cheap

2. Some type of family coaster such as a Wild Mouse or a Zierer coaster to attract families.

3. A better waterpark with more body slides as well as a lazy river.

Only the first one would truely interest me but for the park, the combination of the 3 would be great.

the family environment needs to be brought back. ive heard that back in the days of just plain darien lake, the higher ups were alot different. the managers treat the employees like they are expendable, and in all cases, this comes back to haunt them. when they are firing people left and right from a minimum wage, labor intensive, customer service job, replacements start to get hard to come by.

personally, i still love good ol' darien lake, and in the area that we live in, we are lucky to have this place. a major concert venue, some good roller coasters, other rides. some things will never change, the predator needs new trains, this, that, yeah, its old. we have one of the nicest looking parks, amazing landscaping, and room for expansion. lets focus on those trains for the predator and painting some rides, and enjoying what we have. becasuse if this place went the route of idora or chippewa or crystal beach, we would all kick ourselves in the ass for whining now, and not enjoying it

the expansions will come. we arent the biggest money maker in the chain, so we just have to wait.

plain and simple.

i'd say paint the rides get new trains for predator and fix the lights on the Giant Wheel which has looked dismal forever now and i'd be happy

although i agree it was more of a better atmosphear when i was younger

^ money comes from attracting guests. You attract guests by adding rides, which has failed to happen over there. SFDL will get more $$$ when they spend $$$ to put in some new rides! You know what, I'm going to stop now. DL was my childhood park, I grew up in that park, that's where I started my love for coasters. I really can't bash them too much, but it's dissapointing. Now, I've moved, and my homeparks are SFNE and Great Escape (I live right in the middle of the two). SFNE is a park that isn't rejected too much (opening up a can of worms right now, my bad) and Great Escape is Great Escape. Both parks are seeing some $$$ year after year. DL isn't. Maybe it's location, but then again, there's over 2,000,000 people living in the Buffalo/Rochester area. Final word from me is: Build a new ride, and you will see most of these 2,000,000 pass through those gates.

I went there back in late August. I had a good time - I don't think it's that bad of a park it's just that SF has no idea what to do with it.

1. Go over park operations - retool areas that need improvement. Rework employee training to reflect better customer service.

2. Remove Mind Eraser and replace with a mid-sized Beemer invert or floorless.

3. Move the water park to a larger plot of land since it seems shoe-horned into that small corner. Darien has enough land to afford this move.

4. Refurb a couple flat rides a year until they all have been worked on - get them looking and running like new with new lighting. I noticed how badly faded rides like Raging Seas and Sleigh Ride were. Plus Raging Seas seemed to be running slower than I remembered and a couple of the ships were taped off.

5. Replace the asphalt with more feet friendly pavement and add more trees/landscaping - anything that would not make the midways so darn hot.

6. Repaint the coasters. Keep Predator - give a full retrack (though it may take a few seasons) and get new, non-trailered PTCs.

7. Add a few new flats - Intamin Giant Drop, Chance Morgan Revolution, Zamperla Hawk (to replace Ranger), MACK or Bertazzon Musik Express (don't know why they don't have one already), Huss Troika, and Chance Morgan Wipeout (just to name a few).

8. Get rid of Batman Thrill Spectacular - it hasn't changed in five years. Use the space for new rides.

X Factor

Yes, 2 million people, but did you know that's one of the smallest of the Six Flags markets?

You can add rides year after year but if the park experience is bad then the guests won't make multiple visits in a year. Getting people in the gates is one thing... bringing them back is another and very important in the success of a park. Think of how many people enjoy Disney and Universal and go back often...

On that note, the two visits I made this year were better than the ones in previous years. The park is improving, even if slowly :)

edit: they probably don't have a music Express because Raging Seas is fairly similar. *** Edited 10/24/2005 2:46:20 AM UTC by Jophish***

Also keep in mind that there aren't too many areas that size that support 3 or 4 parks like Niagara/Buffalo/Rochester do.

SFDL, Martin's, Seabreeze and Marineland are all viable options to potential guests in the area. (and I wouldn't count out people just blowing a day at the Falls doing all the crap there is to do there as competition either)

Most places that have that many parks in a relatively equal distance are either tourist traps (and one could argue that the falls is, but you aren't pulling the average Falls tourist all the way over to SFDL or Seabreeze) or some of the largest metro areas in the country (and I don't believe Buffalo even comes close to qualifying).

Quite simply SFDL will never be the 'big' park you'd expect (or hope for) in comparison to the rest of the chain. It's not going to happen.

Expecting SFDL to get a new beemer or S&S tower is almost the same as complaining that Martin's or Seabreeze aren't adding those rides.

I aggree on X-Factors Predator comment.

I would also move the waterpark and put in another resort.

I just wish they'd move SFDL to Southern West Virginia. We'd love and take care of it, and never forsake it like the local villiage idiots.

What's with Raging Seas...funny stuff how ya notice when you're travelling. THREE Mack Sea Storms in the area...that's bordering on overkill even though it's a ride I like.

New England is STILL that way with Galaxis even though Canobie lost theirs...

Want a Rock-O-Plane? Go to the PNW, they're swimming in them, even though they're pretty rare rides.

SFA and PKD both have a Premier Spaghetti bowl...

Why do rides *cluster* that way? Doesn't it make more sense to have stuff that's DIFFERENT from your neighbor?

Then again, why are ALL three Rides of Steel (arguably the best steel rides since Anton) all being hogged by the Northeast? Share the wealth guys! ;)

.. at least the south has the world's greatest looping coaster :):)

I would start by working on the coasters they already have....

I don't think running three trains on Viper would ever really be efficient. Running two keeps the line short enough, and it's got the least stacking of any coaster in the park. Instead, it should just get some new trains, or maybe even just some updates to the trains they have. Even putting padding on them like what's on Boomerang would be a major improvement to what's there now (a headrest that stops halfway down your back and makes your position all awkward). Viper could use paint as well. Whether they do it green and black like now, or all black like it used to be (I wish, but it's never going to happen).

Predator needs something. I don't know what it needs, but something's gotta change there. At least the trains. It also needs to be able to run two trains without so much stacking and/or one of them being run empty.

Mind Eraser doesn't really seem like there's anyway it could be made smoother. SLC's are rough. It should, however, be able to run two trains more often and without so much stacking. The paint job seems not as bad as SFDL's other steel coasters, but it's still faded.

Superman, again there's the stacking issue. It could use a paint job, it looks way to pink.

Boomerang could use some paint. It also seems to have alot of down time.

Screw it. I would close it down, and keep Supes for myself. ;-) I think it would almost fit in my back yard as well. I would auction off the other coasters. :-)

I can't really bash Darien TOO much. I had a good day last year, and a not-so-good day with Gator this year. If I didn't have a SF pass I probably would of *****ed more.

Maybe the Buffalo/Rochester peeps are just jaded because they have so many awesome parks to choose from (Marineland, Seabreeze, etc.) ;-) THAT was a fun trip.

-Tina

Competition...

...all y'all forget about Canada's Wonderland, which is considered SFDL's main competition (in their eyes, according to their upper management). It's the closest large park near the same demographic. Rochester folks can use the ferry to get there & Buffalo/Niagara peeps can just cruise down the QEW in about an hour or so to get there.

...Wonderland, a park with 14 coasters & good flat rides up the wazoo who keep adding something major year after year. If SFDL wants a PIECE of Toronto's demographic, they can't just advertise (which they do on Canadian radio & television), they have to give something that Wonderland doesn't have. A Hyper coaster was one thing... but that was 7yrs ago! A Beemer is something Wonderland doesn't have & could use that as a good marketing tool.

...remember, SFDL's market isn't only Rochester & Buffalo. It also includes to a lesser extent (but still includes) Toronto, Erie PA, Syracuse, Utica, & the southern Niagara Ont area. That's about 8 million, give or take.

Ah, seabreeze. I love that place, nice small park. Wasn't happy when they moved the Quantum Loop. (now it's in columbia!)

That makes sense then. All the smaller parks in Rochester and Buffalo are easier for people to go to. Still, if they put in a new ride, they would get more people.

Remember, there are only 2 rides SF has put in since they took over: Twister and Shipwreck falls (superman was already in the making under prior ownership).

EDIT: OMG! DARIEN HAS SOME RIDES RUMORED TO BE ON THE WAY!!!!!!!! http://www.screamscape.com/html/six_flags_darien_lake.htm

Now i have to go next season! *** Edited 10/24/2005 11:44:23 AM UTC by italianstallion***

I think you forgot your [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] quotes in there, man.

When we went to PCW, I felt as though the Prime Minister himself coulda come to the park that day and wouldn't have been treated any better....good LUCK having the management at SFDL pick up on THAT. Not gonna happen.

IJ:ST broke down less than an hour before closing, and with 13(!) other coasters at the park, they GOT their newest attraction up and running post-haste...even on a short operating day before schools let out! Wow!

I paid full admission to get into PCW (I know, I know, LOL), and left feeling like I had MORE than gotten my money's worth. The *only* thing I paid for at SFDL was parking, and I left feeling cheated....out of my TIME if nothing else.

Seabreeze was one of those "WOW!" visits. I didn't know what to expect, if anything.

AWESOME little park. If I had to do it over I would of taken Bill there instead of Darien. :-)

-Tina

*** Edited 10/24/2005 2:46:30 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

As DawgByte II said, it's all about addressing local competition.

• PCW has nice wood and introduces new family attractions and flat rides year after year.
• Seabreeze has a spinner, a classic woodie, and the friendliest staff

I can't comment on Martin's Fantasy Island, and the biggest draw for Marinelane is animals.

What should SFDL do?

• take meaningful steps to improve customer service. The park needs more fan-boys.
• Don't try to fix what isn't broken. No mods to Viper or S:RoS. Keep booking hot concerts.
• Add some good wood - think small, family friendly. Don't waste money on Predator - it's a lost cause. (Think about CP -- Mean Streak is there to stay, but Blue Streak adds some balance.)
• Promote the hell out of the awesome kids area.
• Promote the on-site accomodations too -- this is something local competition can't offer.
• Add a new family friendly attractions that appeal to a wider audience, like a spinning coaster or a ride-through shoot-em-up like Buzz Lightyear or MIB.
• Tear up some parking lot and put the waterpark all in one place - no bridges, no convoluted burning-hot asphalt paths.
• When considering flat rides, why not consider a drop tower, even if it's a small one.
• If there's cash available, replace Mind Eraser with the tried-and-true Batman clone. This not only offers a smoother ride, but it increases capacity 40% (20 to 28 riders per train). That would pull fans from PCW. (PCW's adult-sized invert is Top Gun, which attracts the longest lines and is almost as painful as Mind Eraser.)

That's my rant on SFDL.

*** Edited 10/24/2005 3:16:35 PM UTC by greatwhitenorth***

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TeknoScorpion said:
I just wish they'd move SFDL to Southern West Virginia. We'd love and take care of it, and never forsake it like the local villiage idiots.

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hey, not ALL of us locals hate the place. plus, whenever i hear non-enthusiasts talk about their times at the park, they all love it. the locals that keep posting this crap need to be banned from ever going back to the DL, so they realize what theyre missing out on, and shut the hell up once and for all!