Darien Lake- August 31st, 2017

On day two of my three day Western New York Amusement Park trip, I had met up with Logan Benjamin again from The Amusement Parkrats, his mom, Nikki, and Logan's friend Michael. The visit was a cool one as the temperatures were below seasonal for the final day of August. Despite the fact, I had gotten on many rides and even made a quick trip to Darien Lake's water park, Splashtown. Logan, Nikki, and Michael had to leave Darien Lake earlier than expected but that gave me some time to capture some very nice evening shots of the park before I called it a day. Since I had captured many photos of Darien Lake, let's get right to them!

I had arrived at Darien Lake a tad early but, it gave me time to a) get a close parking spot, and b) get some photos of the rides from the parking lot. Here is a view of the Mind Eraser from the parking lot before heading in to the park.

Here is the Viper making it's final test run before the park opened for the day.

Here is a view of Darien Lake's main entrance. It looks nice and well maintained.

Here is a look at the Giant Wheel looking from the paring lot.

Here is the Ride of Steel, Darien Lake's largest roller coaster giving visitors their first ride of the day.

Overlooking the water park, here is a glimpse of a train load of passengers getting some airtime before returning to the station! 

At Darien Lake's entrance there is some nice landscaping from trees to flowers. Shortly after this photo Logan, his Mom Nikki, and Michael had arrived at the park for the day.

After getting some rides on the Viper, Mind Eraser, Ride of Steel, and some other attractions around the park, we decided to take a relaxing ride on the Giant Wheel. But before we did, I captured this photo of the Boomerang, which was broken down during our visit.

Here's a partial view of the Viper's loop from the Giant Wheel.

Here is a look at the Motocoaster from the Giant Wheel. 

In order to get this shot of the Ride of Steel, I had to turn around in my seat. Too bad the sun hadn't come out a little sooner.

As we were going around, I managed to capture another photo of the Viper and the Performing Arts Center, which pulls in some large names from what I understand.

Here is a view from the Giant Wheel of the park's two-out-of-three water rides. The two pictured here are the Shipwreck Falls (right) and the closed Thunder Rapids log flume (left). It was a rather cool day so we didn't venture on to any of these! But, we did go into the water park a little later on!

Here is a bird-eye view of the Silver Bullet as seen from the Giant Wheel.

After making a brief stop at Darien Lake's water park and getting a bite to eat, Michael and I ventured around the park for a little while. Here is Michael kissing a fish. :-p

To my surprise, The Twister (A Huss Top Spin) was open after being closed for a very long time prior to my arrival to Darien Lake. Since it is a rare ride nowadays, I decided to take a spin (or five throughout the day, to be exact). Thanks to Michael for capturing the next few photos of me while on my first Huss Top Spin ride! I personally now prefer the Top Spin over the Mondial Splashover which is Riptide at Canada's Wonderland.

After insanely looping 4 or 5 times, The Twister rocks back and forth before coming to a stop.

Here I am after the ride was completing its cycle. Later that day I would ride The Twister four more times as it was truly amazing! 

Here is a "backdoor" view of the Boomerang which was broken down during our visit. If you look to the left, you can see half of Logan. ;-) Prior to this photo, Michael and I were in line for the Motocoaster but it unfortunately broke down. But, I managed to get on it later that evening.

While Michael was getting his ride in on the Predator, I took some time to capture a couple of photos. Here is the Ride of Steel's station as seen from under the Predator.

Here is the park's Scrambler. It unfortunately didn't light up at night so I didn't get any spectacular photos of it.

Here is the Predator's train heading up the lift hill.

Here are some park visitors getting some amazing airtime on the Blast Off!

Here is the park's Wave Swinger, the Lasso in full swing.

Here are some passengers "enjoying" their ride on the Predator. I think Michael was near the back of this train.

After Logan, Nikki, and Michael had left shortly before 5 pm I had managed to capture some nice shots of some rides and attractions as the sun began to slowly set. Here is Shipwreck Falls coming in for a splashdown! 

Here is a display of beautiful flowers nearby the Corn Popper.

Here is the bright and cheery Mind Eraser sign on a cool, late-August day.

The Sleighride is another classic ride at Darien Lake which looks beautiful during the day and somewhat at night!

Here is a classic shot of the Viper as the train maneuvers the loop!

Here is a sideways look at the batwing inversion of the Viper.:-)

Here is The Twister during mid-operation. It sure provides an amazing ride experience!

Here is a closeup view of The Twister from the queue line. It appears to be made out of wood but that is the doings of a very clever print from the manufacturer's art department!

Fortunately the Motocoaster was up and running again. So, after taking another ride on the Twister, I ventured over to the Motocoaster.

The MotoCoaster is a flywheel launched roller coaster manufactured by Zamperla. It was added to the park in 2008.

Passengers on the MotoCoaster sit on motorcycle type seats. It provides a fun and unique riding experience!

After taking a fast ride on the MotoCoaster, I made my way around to the front of the park. While on my way over, I captured a photo of Boomerang being down. If you look closely, you can see the chain for the second lift hill hanging down towards the ground!

Here is the sign for the Boomerang. It is located in an odd spot, well after the entrance for the queue line.

Here you can see a glimpse of Blast Off, Red Hawk, The Giant Wheel, and a bit of the Boomerang. Also, you can see the Viper far off in the distance, as well as the Pirate.

While these buildings are no longer used as stores, they still have planters that get filled with beautiful flowers. The landscaping team at Darien Lake does a very good job!

Here are some black-eyed Susan's nearby the entrance to the park's resort.

Here is Blast Off launching towards the sky! 

Here you can see the various owners of Darien Lake by just looking at the garbage can. Most prominently is the former Six Flags logo as the park was known as "Six Flags Darien Lake" from 1999-2006.

Here is Darien Lake's Carousel.

Here is Darien Lake's Giant Wheel. As noted, it originally came from the 1982 World's Fair held in Knoxville, Tennessee. At the time it opened, it was the World's largest Ferris Wheel. The Giant Wheel opened at Darien Lake in 1983. In more recent years, the lights have been removed so you cannot see it as well at night like you once could.

Here is a look up the 165 foot high Giant Wheel from its base.

Over looking a roof located within the center plaza of the park, you can see a glimpse of the Giant Wheel.

Here is the extremely rare Silver Bullet in action. It is an Enterprise ride but was manufactured by Heintz Fahtze. It has been operating at the park since 1981.

Unfortunately the Haymaker was down during my visit to Darien Lake. It is a paratrooper type ride which was also manufactured by Heintz Fahtze and has been at the park since 1981.

Here is a view of some of Darien Lake's architecture which was added and modified throughout the years.

Here is the beautiful fountain and central plaza that sits at the center of the park. It is surrounded by a nice arrangements of flowers and shrubs.

Here is another view of the central plaza that is situated near the center of the park. 

Here is the Silver bullet reaching its maximum altitude.

Here is another view of Shipwreck Falls before it closed for the remainder of the day. 

Here is the Rolling Thunder mid-operation.

Here is the closed Thunder Rapids log flume. Unfortunately, it looks as if it may never operate again.

The Mind Eraser sure was providing thrills for all those who rode throughout the day.

I decided to take a second ride on the Mind Eraser. While walking through the queue line, I captured this photo of the Sleighride and Rolling Thunder.

Just as I was passing through the queue line, the train passed by allowing for a perfect photo opportunity of the Mind Eraser. While Vekoma SLC's are known to be rough and unenjoyable, the Mind Eraser was actually quite smooth compared to Flight Deck at Canada's Wonderland. But as many of us know, B&M's inverted coasters are currently the best in the industry!

Here is the Sleighride once again as the sun slowly began to set.

Here is the Mind Eraser featured far behind its own sign.

Although I didn't ride it during my visit, here is the Hornet's Nest 'flying eagle' ride. This one was manufactured by Larson Rides.

Here is Darien Lake's Corn Popper in operation. We had taken a ride on it earlier in the day.

Here is the entrance to the Corn Popper as it is tucked behind the trees.

Here is the all-new for 2015 Rolling Thunder. As you can see it has a very nice LED light package which makes it highly visible at night! Rolling Thunder is manufactured by Larson Rides and is a Giant Loop model ride that stands 70 feet high above the ground, eventually sending riders head-over-heels many times.

Here is the giant Wheel and Blast Off fading into the night sky.

Here is a train of riders about to take a 200 foot plunge on the Ride of Steel at sunset. 

Here is the Boomerang. It is very photogenic, possibly due to it's bright teal track and vibrantly white supports. Also being along the water helps give it some amazing appeal most Boomerang coasters do not have.

Here is a silhouette of the Viper's cobra roll as a train passes through at high speeds!

Here are the Tin Lizzie's, a gas powered antique car ride. There are not many around any more but Darien Lake still has theirs. I believe another park I had seen gas powered cars was at Dorney Park during my visit two years ago.

Here is The Twister waiting for some more passengers. I believe the reasoning for it appearing so empty (other than the park being less busier than usual) is due to its location as it is located at the back of the park.

While on my way over to Ride of Steel, I managed to capture another photo of Lasso, this time with its lights on.

While waiting to board the Ride of Steel, I captured a couple of nice photos of the train returning into the station. The airtime on the Ride of Steel is insane!

Here you can see the train approaching the two final airtime hills (which are glimmering in the sun) prior returning to the station.

After taking an exhilarating ride on the Ride of Steel, I had captured two photos of the final airtime hills as darkness was encompassing Darien Lake.

Here's another view of the final airtime hills on the Ride of Steel with an orangey-coloured sky.

Here you can see the park's 'Jo's Eatery' and the Predator as the sun was setting.

I decided it was time to take a ride on the Scrambler. It was a nice ride but I was disappointed that the lights never came on.

The Slingshot had a very vibrant light display at night as many florescent lights are connected to the lattice structure. It really stands out at night!

I took my 5th and final ride on The Twister for the day shortly before this photo was taken. Although there are lights along the front of The Twister, they unfortunately never came on during my visit as the park got dark. There weren't even any floodlights that shone on the ride. This was a common occurrence with some of the rides at the park. They had lights but they didn't work. :-(

Here is the Viper with its train entering the first part of the bat wing inversion.

Here is the train exiting the batwing inversion.

The Sleighride sure had a nice light display. It's too bad the top lights didn't work. But, it made the park more lively at night. Luckily the Sleighride operated forwards and backwards which was nice.

Here is the entrance to Shipwreck Falls, the splash boat ride. There is a giant shark that greets park-goers as they enter the queue line.

Here is a view of the light package on the Silver Bullet. If you look to the left, you can see the darkened Giant Wheel.

Here is a glimpse of the moon while I was enjoying my evening at Darien Lake.

As nightfall came, the game arcades became a popular choice for many park visitors.

Here is some of Darien Lake's architecture illuminated at night along the main walkway of the park.

Here is the Ride of Steel illuminated at night by some bright floodlights on the ground below.

The park was definitely emptying out as the final hour of operation for the day was approaching.

I decided to head out after a very good day at Darien Lake. It was just too cool for my liking.

Here I am after having a very good day at Darien Lake. It is a nice park with a good selection of rides and roller coasters.

During another ride on Viper, I had purchased this on-ride photo. It was a very enjoyable mega looping coaster manufactured by Arrow. As you can tell, the Viper was celebrating 35 years of operation. Up next are photos of my day at Fantasy Island. Stay tuned!