Motocoaster at Darien Lake Article

The Buffalo news had a article about DL's new coaster. It has one pic and it also tells about price changes at the park.

http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/313394.html

Its sad when your best friend asks you the exact running time of a ride. Good thing I didnt know.

Sorry about the Darien Spelling Error. Thats what happens when you cant type.

Its sad when your best friend asks you the exact running time of a ride. Good thing I didnt know.

Sounds like the GM has a good grip on things:

"In a conglomerate of national parks, what's good for one is not necessarily good for another," said Christopher Thorpe, who was named general manager last month after the exit of longtime GM Brad Paul. "We're better positioned to be responsive to changes in the local market."

The video looks good and its nice to see them dropping prices

Of all the steel rides going up this year, two of the most *intriguing* in terms of how their respective parks are affected (revenues AND attendance) - Pony Express and Motocoaster.

Of course, I have a personal soft spot for PARC-7F....fellow Floridians... ;)

P.S. ^^Rob, I've been to the park twice, '05 and '06 - getting rid of the old GM ranks right up there with SFMM replacing Del Holland. Yeah, it was pretty bad up there...

*** Edited 4/3/2008 2:37:20 PM UTC by rollergator***

You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)

At least those parks seem to be taking steps in the right direction. The changes aren't earth-shattering but over time they'll probably do the trick.

I like how:

A) They finally got a new GM, after years under Hitler rule where little progression was done
B) The new GM has experience at other Six Flags parks which are marketably more successful, so should have some background on what makes a park successful.
C) How this is definately a step in the right direction in terms of a small ride to see how it will hit the general public.
D) The pricing structure, to lower it regionaly since the economy [locally and] nationally is on a down-turn.
E) The fact Motocoaster is located in Darien Square... a step in the right direction since that is a good move for traffic & the best 'themed' area of the park.

I hate how:

A) Attendance was noted at 950,000. HALF of the peek of 1.7 million in 1999.
B) Parking prices weren't mentioned to be reduced, which actually COULD have a greater impact than a 5-dollar reduction (if the parking-price reduction was noticable, like $3.00 vs $7.00). It's all psychological because the $5.00 per ticket savings is obviously greater.
C) (This is a biggie) The coaster looks like a carnie-ride. They placed it in the old Darien Square pools, of which they could have torn up and created concrete footers in soil... instead it has a "porta-coaster-on-parking-lot" feel to it. I hope the landscaping/theming will make up for it.