5/7/01- The changes of 2000
Written by: Alan Jacyszyn
There was a bigger difference of the park than I expected after walking in. This is a look at all the "little" things that changed around the park, and not just the major things the park has announced. Lets start off with the Predator. They definitely re-tracked it some more over the off-season, and there is still wood sitting underneath. Half of the queue line rails have been taken out for this ride (finally), and the restraints have changed. The trains are the same, but the new restraints are newer and work better than the old restraints. They have a "square-like" handle coming off of them... well, its hard to explain (I'll have a pic of it soon...). Next comes Superman: Ride of Steel, only a few minor differences. In the second row of each car, there is a new foam handle to hold on to. Secondly, there is a blue stripe painted along the station right near the track (think of it as a "yellow safety line" but right along the track part) and makes it look a little cooler. Lastly, I don't know if its just me or not, but it seems the first row of each car's seats are closer together than the second rows. Maybe its just my imagination but it seems that way. For example, when you reach for the handle on the seat in front of you, the handle is not directly in front of you, but it seems you have to reach more towards the center(its kinda hard to explain). I remember last year always reaching straight out, so I really can't tell you if it just "seems" that way, or if it really is. Walking along the games midway, you may notice a couple changes. First comes mini-lane bowling! This game costs $2.00 for one ball/chance, and you have to roll a strike to win a prize. Pretty simple, a really cool game, but is it really worth it? You'll have to make the call on that one. This game is in the place of the "Bank Shot Game", which was right in the center of the row of games in the "back area". Bank Shot moved to its own little kiosk where Dime Pitch was, and now features 6 different stations instead of four like before. Dime Pitch is completely gone from the park (makes me wonder because I thought they made a lot of money off of it...). There is a new shop called Winter's Treasures which replaced the water taffy/candy shop right near the skycoaster and the chicken house. Other changes around the park include some new cement poured in some places, and it seems like they are starting some landscaping jobs in places (lots of empty dirt places around). Wonder what happened to the old fashioned, wooden Grizzly Run queue line? Well its all gone, and the whole entranced moved further back and replaced with metal rails. I feel like it kind of "destroys" the feel of the ride, but It can now hold a lot more people and is a little more organized than before. I didn't get a chance to try out the brand new bathrooms in the campgrounds (lol), so no review for that. And lastly, all of the "Gum Of Fame's" are gone! Not only was all the gum removed (from rides like Mind Eraser and Predator), but I think they went out of there way and even re painted/stained them, because I didn't notice anything left. In previous years, I know they removed the gum, but parts were still there and you could still see the area where they stuck it because they couldn't get it off, but I think they finally took extra care into it and made it look like it never happened. Lastly, the Ranger is just a little messed up. After swinging back and forth (like the pirate) a whopping 7 times... we finally went over (7 times I think) and than the ride is over. The tide still only goes over one way, which totally defeats the purpose of the ride, its sad really, and why it swings back and forth so many times I don't know either. Other than that, I can't really remember anything else, although I didn't get a chance to ride every ride, or get a close look at everything, so you might get an update on this soon.
Well, there you go, to read more about Darien Lake (including a new predator editorial/review) go to my website.
Alan Jacyszyn
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