Six Flags Darien Lake - August 9th, 2023

 On Wednesday, August 9th, my Mom and I visited Six Flags Darien Lake!

Our last visit to Six Flags Darien Lake was in August 2019. Since our last visit four years ago, the Giant Wheel, Midway Marina paddle boats, and the Grizzly Run (river rapids ride) have all closed and have been removed, which I was aware of prior to our visit.

Some positive things which have occurred since our last visit four years ago include the refurbishment and reopening of the Pirate, refurbishment of the Sleigh Ride, reopening of the covered bridge near the Moto Coaster, and the use of steel Titan Track on some of the turns on The Predator. Also, the 2023 season marks the return of the Laser light show, which has not happened at the park since the 2019 season!

With the use of my grandfathered Membership, I was able to get my Mom a discount admission ticket for only $9.99. Overall, our single day visit at Six Flags Darien Lake was great as the weather was cooperative and the crowds were light. I hope to make it back again soon, rather than waiting another four years! :-)

The day at Six Flags Darien Lake started of with some clouds and a light sprinkle of rain.

The gates to Six Flags Darien Lake opened at 10am with the rides opening at 11am. I was happy to see that Six Flags Darien Lake updated their security protocols since our last visit in 2019 to match that at the other Six Flags parks.

Here is a map of Six Flags Darien Lake for the 2023 season. New this year is the return of the Laser Light show! It last occurred at the park in 2019. Also of note, the Splash Town water park was rebranded as Hurricane Harbor in 2022 with the addition of Wahoo Wave.

It was nice to see the signage that was added in 2019 with the re-re-branding of the park was still looking fresh and new like it had during our visits in 2019.

The Ride of Steel is still one of the top coasters at Six Flags Darien Lake after all these years.

Before the rides opened for the day, we waited just past the overhead bridge, near the entrance to Hurricane Harbor.

My first ride of the day was on the Ride of Steel. I managed to get on the second train of the day. It provided a great amount of airtime as I had remembered from previous visits!

After getting a ride on the Ride of Steel, I captured some photos of the sections on Predator that received steel track over the past year. Great Coaster International's (GCI) steel Titan track made the turns on the Predator much more enjoyable! Hopefully more gets done in the near future!

Here's the other turn on the Predator that has Titan Track.

Later in the day I rode the Predator. The GCI Titan Track added over the last two years made a World's of difference!

Here's a straight-on look of Ride of Steel's 208 foot lift hill!

The Lasso was a popular choice for guests of all ages at the start of the day!

My next ride was on the Blast Off. The pop of airtime at the top is always a fun time!

Here I am on Blast Off before being launched to the top!

Here is the land that was once home to the Giant Wheel. It stood non-operational during the 2021 season and was removed just before the start of the 2022 season. It looks strange not seeing the Giant Wheel stand among the park's skyline. Hopefully another giant wheel will be built on the Giant Wheel's former location.

Luckily the classic Pirate was not removed from the park, but instead refurbished for the 2021 season. The Pirate stood non-operational during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The refurbishment of the Pirate's components now make it swing higher than ever before!

After going sky high on Blast Off, I ventured over to the Six Flags SkyScreamer, a ride which I had greatly enjoyed back in 2019, during its debut season. Afterwards, I walked over to the Moto Coaster, a fun Zamperla launched Motocoaster. It too also still rides quite well.

For most of the previous decade, the covered bridge that goes over the Tin Lizzy's antique car ride was closed. But in 2021 it had reopened! Since this was my first visit to the park since prior to the pandemic, it was great to finally be able to stroll across it!

From the covered bridge you can get a nice view of the Tin Lizzy's.

The covered bridge also allows you to see the Moto Coaster from a slightly different angle.

The Moto Coaster is filled with many quick turns!

Hard to believe the Moto Coaster is 15 years old this year!

After a ride on the Moto Coaster, it started to lightly rain for a few minutes. Here is the Pirate swinging over Fun Lake, the main lake at Six Flags Darien Lake.

Here is the train on Viper going through the batwing inversion.

Here's another shot of the Pirate swinging riders high above the water, providing a surprising pop of airtime!

After the light rain had stopped, my Mom and I took a ride on the Tin Lizzy's, a favourite ride of ours that we had done together in the past.

There's one of the dark clouds that loomed over the park within the first hour of operation.

The Viper is still very forceful and thrilling as always! I am glad that this classic custom Arrow Coaster is still operational!

The Boomerang's paint job still catches the eye!

The Six Flags SkyScreamer opened in 2019 and takes thrill seekers 240 feet in the air. I forgot how intense the second half of the ride is as it begins to spin really fast as it goes up the tower for a second time! I really enjoyed the Six Flags SkyScreamer during this visit like I had back in 2019!

Six Flags SkyScreamer is a fun ride that offers a great view of the park an surrounding area!

Another ride that received a refurbishment in 2021 was the Sleigh Ride. This classic Mack Matterhorn ride didn't look to great back in 2019 as its canopy of ripped and most of the lights did not work. I am happy to report that the Sleigh Ride looks the best that it has in years as the canopy was repaired and the upper panel lights work again! Unfortunately the Sleigh Ride no longer operates both forwards and backwards, but it is still a nice ride nonetheless.

Tantrum is Six Flags Darien Lake's newest coaster that opened in 2018. During my two visits to the park in 2019, Tantrum operated with two cars. To my surprise, it now only operates with one car which made the wait to ride quite long. I am hoping that the other cars haven't been used for parts already as Tantrum is only five years old!

Despite only operating with one car, Tantrum still rides very well and provides a quick thrill!

The overbanked turn on the Tantrum is quite forceful!

The Corn Popper was delighting visitors all day long!

Planted in front of the Corn Popper were colour coordinated calla lilies.

In the afternoon the sun came out, making it quite warm. To cool off, I decided to take a ride on Shipwreck Falls. While waiting in line for Shipwreck Falls, I noticed the front row on the boat was blocked off for some unknown reason.

After a soaking ride on Shipwreck Falls, I decided to spin dry on the Hornet's Nest.

While in the area, I decided to take a ride on the Mind Eraser. In the past I have said that the Mind Eraser rides better than some of the other Vekoma SLC's that I have been on that still operate with the original trains. To my surprise, this still remains to be the case!

The water it sits over was looking quite scummy.

There was a lonely duck resting on the shores of the lake near the Mind Eraser.

As I've noted in the past, the Mind Eraser is very photogenic!

After riding the Mind Eraser, I noticed that the car on the Tantrum was momentarily stuck on the lift hill. It began operating again shortly after this photo was taken.

Here's another shot of the classic and fun Corn Popper!

The amount of airtime produced on S&S power tower rides is always a fun experience!

I always enjoy taking a spin on the Haymaker, Six Flags Darien Lake's paratrooper ride. Unfortunately, it's neighbour, the Silver Bullet, an Enterprise ride, was closed during our visit. When operating, it provides a very forceful ride!

It is amazing to see how smooth the Predator now rides on two of the larger turns!

While boarding the Pirate earlier in the day, I noticed it had been outfitted with shared lap belts in addition to the standard lap bars. I soon clued in that the lap belts were added after the refurbishment as the airtime on the Pirate is quite intense now! I rose off my seat many times throughout the ride!

In the late-afternoon, I took a spin on the Boomerang. While it still looks great, it unfortunately doesn't ride the greatest. It felt a tad rougher than it did four years ago.

The Six Flags SkyScreamer is quite visible from many areas within the park.

After a short break from riding rides, my Mom and I took another spin on the Tin Lizzy's antique car ride.

Once the ride attendant checks the seatbelt, you're good to go on your scenic drive!

In the evening, I took a second ride on the Six Flags SkyScreamer. Afterwards, I took this photo of Fun Lake with the sun glimmering on the water.

Many guests were taking in a view from the covered bridge.

A flock of ducks waddled along the shores of Fun Lake in the evening.

Here are my Mom and I before the sun began to set.

As the sun began to go down, the lights on the rides came on.

The Six Flags SkyScreamer is quite beautiful once its lights come on! After 8pm, I captured a few more rides on the Scrambler and Blast Off before heading over to see the Laser Light show around 9pm behind the Boomerang.

On our way over to the Laser light Show, I captured the train on the Boomerang going through the cobra roll inversion.

As the sky got darker, the lights on the Six Flags SkyScreamer became more vibrant.

It is hard to keep your eyes off the light show that the Six Flags SkyScreamer produces!

Before the Laser Light Summer Fest show began my Mom and I grabbed a seat on the edge of a planter directly inline with the projection screen.

Here we are before the show began!

It was great to see the return of this Laser Light show as we had greatly enjoyed it in 2019!

The Laser Light Summer Fest show consists of laser lights, music, animations and fireworks!

The show starts off with logos of the park, the show, and its sponsor before diving into the show.

The use of animations and laser lights is quite cool!

The fireworks were quite loud and definitely grabbed your attention!

The waves of laser lights that go across the sky are quite neat!

A large crowd had gathered on the lawn in front of the screen.

Looking at this photo you would think the sky had turned green as the laser lights illuminate amongst the fog that is emitted in order to see the laser lights.

A variety of classic and modern songs were played while accompanied with animations on the screen.

It can be quite tricky to photograph laser light shows.

Luckily the winds had gone down throughout the evening, making it perfect to watch the show!

The Laser Light Summer Fest show lasts for approximately 20 minutes.

The show ends with a tribute to Canada and the USA followed by a barrage of fireworks that light up the night sky!

I highly recommend staying until close to watch the Laser Light Summer Fest show as it is really good and a tradition for parkgoers at Six Flags Darien Lake!

After the Laser Light show ended, we headed out. Thanks for looking at my photos of our great day spent a Six Flags Darien Lake! I hope to return again soon, much sooner than my previous visit! :-)