| |
| Location |  |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | 1979 |
| Owner | EPR Properties (November 2016 - present) |
| Operator | Six Flags (2018 - present) Premier Parks (2015 - 2017) Herschend Family Entertainment (January 2011 - 2014) PARC Management (March 2007 - January 2011) |
| General manager | Mark Kane |
| Previous names | Darien Lake (2006-2018), Six Flags Darien Lake (1999-2006), Darien Lake Fun Country |
| Area | 980 acres |
| Website | https://sixflags.com/darienlake |
Six Flags Darien Lake is an amusement park located in Darien Center, New York, USA.
History
Darien Lake first opened in 1954 as a campground, but later expanded into a theme park between the years of 1979 and 1981. The park's first roller coaster, Hoot N Holler opened in 1981. In 1982, Darien Lake introduced the first roller coaster in the world with five inversions, Viper. In 1990, The Predator opened at Darien Lake as the largest wooden coaster in New York state. In 1996, an indoor roller coaster Nightmare at Phantom Cave was relocated from Kentucky Kingdom where it operated as Starchaser. In 1999, Nightmare at Phantom was relocated to Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, as Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon. It operated at The Great Escape until 2006. In 1997, the Mind Eraser opened as the only suspended looping coaster in New York state. The following year, Boomerang: Coast to Coaster opened. Then in 1999, Superman: Ride of Steel (Now known as Ride of Steel) was built as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in New York State. In 2018, a new coaster, Tantrum, a Gerstlauer EuroFighter 380 and virtual copy of Iron Shark at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, opened with much acclaim.[1]
On March 29, 1982 Ohio-based Funtime Parks acquired a 50% stake in the park.[2] In June 1985, Funtime purchased the other 50% and became the sole owner of the park.[3] Darien Lake was sold to Premier Parks on August 15, 1995 as part of a $60 million deal that also included Geauga Lake and Wyandot Lake.[4]
As part of a restructuring, in 2007 Six Flags sold Darien Lake to PARC Management. PARC simultaneously sold the park to CNL Lifestyle Properties who leased it back to PARC to operate.[5] Herschend Family Entertainment took over operations of Darien Lake and Elitch Gardens, starting January 25, 2011.[6] Operations were transferred to Premier Parks after the 2014 season.[7]
In November 2016, the park was sold to the Missouri-based EPR Properties. EPR are known for owning the Schlitterbahn chain of waterparks.[8]
On May 22, 2018, it was announced that Six Flags had repurchased the park's operating lease along with four other former Six Flags properties, including Frontier City in Oklahoma.[9] The park officially returned to Six Flags branding for the 2019 Season.[10]
Darien Lake announced in September 2020 that it would remain closed until 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, the state of New York had not allowed amusement parks to reopen.[11]
Roller coasters
Present(8)
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boomerang Coast to Coaster | Vekoma | Shuttle | May 16, 1998 | Operating |
| Hoot N Holler | Zierer | Kiddie | May 1981 | Operating |
| Mind Eraser | Vekoma | Inverted | May 17, 1997 | Operating |
| Moto Coaster | Zamperla | Motorbike | May 3, 2008 | Operating |
| Predator | Dinn Corporation | Wooden | May 1990 | Operating |
| Ride of Steel | Intamin | Hyper | May 15, 1999 | Operating |
| Tantrum | Gerstlauer | Steel | May 25, 2018 | Operating |
| Viper | Arrow Dynamics | Sit-Down | May 1982 | Operating |
Past
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Closed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightmare At Phantom Cave | Schwarzkopf | Enclosed | 1996 | 1998 | Relocated to Great Escape |
Cancelled
Attractions
Operating
Closed
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Closed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMX Motocross | Hampton Rides | Roundabout | 1980s | 2011 | Relocated to Elitch Gardens |
| Crazy Quilt | Mack Rides | Calypso | 1981 | 1998 | Scrapped |
| Critter Chase | Zamperla | Junior Jets | 1988 | 1997 | Stored - reopened in 2010 |
| Giant Wheel | Vekoma | Ferris Wheel | 1983 | 2019 | Scrapped |
| Grizzly Run | Intamin | River Rapids | 1989 | 2019 | Scrapped |
| Raft Adventures | Zamperla | Junior Jets | 1996 | 2010 | Unknown |
| Raging Seas | Mack Rides | Sea Storm | 1981 | 2012 | Scrapped |
| Ranger | HUSS | Ranger | 1982 | 2015 | Scrapped |
| Red Baron | Chance Rides | Junior Jets | 1980 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Scrambler | Eli Bridge Company | Scrambler | 1999 | 2011 | Stored - reopened in 2014 |
| Thrillbilly | HUSS | Troika | 1981 | 1983 | Unknown |
| Thunder Rapids | Arrow Dynamics | Log Flume | 1981 | 2017 | Scrapped |
| Twister | HUSS | Top Spin | 2000 | 2018 | Scrapped |
| UFO | HUSS | Round-Up | 1982 | 2012 | Scrapped |
References
- ↑ "Darien Lake Opens Tantrum". Amusement Insider. https://www.amusementinsider.com/2018/05/darien-lake-opens-tantrum.html.
- ↑ "Geauga Lake-Funtime posts earnings decline", The Akron Beacon Journal.
- ↑ "Funtime buys all of park", The Akron Beacon Journal.
- ↑ "3 Theme Parks Sold To Premier", The Daily Oklahoman.
- ↑ "Six Flags sells parks for $312 million". Variety. https://variety.com/2007/biz/news/six-flags-sells-parks-for-312-million-1117957179/.
- ↑ "Herschend Family Entertainment To Manage DARIEN LAKE THEME PARK RESORT and ELITCH GARDENS". CNL Lifestyle Properties and Herschend Family Entertainment. https://web.archive.org/web/20150315112650/http://www.hfecorp.com/about/HFE-CNLAnnouncement012511.pdf.
- ↑ "Darien Lake's new owner: 'Business as usual' at theme park". NYup.com. https://www.newyorkupstate.com/western-ny/2016/11/darien_lakes_new_owner_business_as_usual_at_theme_park.html.
- ↑ "Darien Lake has new owner, who isn't talking about theme park's future". https://buffalonews.com/business/local/darien-lake-has-new-owner-who-isnt-talking-about-theme-parks-future/article_feca8a19-3f4b-5107-a3a3-a51acb8cbcb0.html.
- ↑ "Six Flags Adds Five More Parks to US Portfolio". Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006328/en/Flags-Adds-Parks-Portfolio.
- ↑ "Darien Lake Adds Six Flags Branding + New Swing Tower in 2019". NewsPlusNotes. http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2018/08/darien-lake-adds-six-flags-branding-new.html.
- ↑ "Six Flags Darien Lake + The Great Escape Announce Plans to Stay Closed in 2020". NewsPlusNotes. http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2020/09/six-flags-darien-lake-great-escape.html.
| Amusement parks operated by Six Flags | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | |||||||||
| Former | |||||||||
| Cancelled | |||||||||
