Darien Lake
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Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and
resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...
located in
Corfu, New York Corfu is a village in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 709 at the 2010 census. It is named after the Greek island of Corfu. The village of Corfu lies along the southern edge of the town of Pembroke; about within the ...
, off of
Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
between Buffalo and
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
. Six Flags Darien Lake features a
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
,
water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
,
campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...
and
lodging Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shel ...
. It is owned by
EPR Properties EPR Properties, formerly Entertainment Properties Trust, is a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Missouri, that invests in amusement parks, movie theaters, ski resorts, and other entertainment properties. It owns 353 properties as ...
and operated by
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
.


History


Darien Lake Fun Country

In 1954, Darien Lake was excavated and filled. The lake was a popular swimming destination for many years. In 1964, investor Paul Snyder acquired a 164-acre (66.37 ha) parcel of land bordering the lake and opened a small 23-site campground and picnic area. Snyder continued acquiring more land eventually increasing his holdings to almost 1,000 acres (4.05 km2) of land which included seven lakes, the largest of which was Darien Lake. He stocked one of the smaller lakes, Trout Pond, with fish, increased the number of campsites and added activities for resort guests such as a small petting zoo, horseback and pony rides, paddleboats, skateboarding, tennis courts and miniature golf. From the late 70s and into the early 80s, Snyder added more attractions, including a set of water slides on a hill near the park's entrance called Rainbow Mountain, creating an amusement park he named Darien Lake Fun Country. Snyder made a deal with
HUSS Park Attractions HUSS Park Attractions (legal name: Huss Park Attractions GmbH) is a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing amusement rides at a factory in Budapest, Hungary. History of the original Huss Company HUSS Maschinenfabrik was a Ge ...
, turning Darien Lake into the North American showcase for the German manufacturer's new rides. Through this deal, the park acquired rides such as the Pirate,
Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
, Thrillbilly and the Corn Popper, for use in the park and to give HUSS a location to display them to potential US and Canadian buyers. In 1982, the newly merged
Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
Huss built and opened the park's first major
roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
,
Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
.


Funtime Parks

In 1983, Snyder sold a 50% stake in the park to
Funtime Inc. Funtime, Inc was an American amusement and entertainment company located in Cleveland, Ohio. The company was established in 1965. It owned several properties throughout its 31-year-long lifespan. History Funtime Inc. was established in 1965 w ...
, which also owned
Geauga Lake Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to a lake of the same name. The first amusement ride was added in 1889, and the park's fi ...
and Wyandot Lake Park. The Fun Country was dropped from the name, and Funtime brought in some major improvements. Funtime's first purchase was the
Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally ...
-built Giant Wheel
Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...
, the showcase of the
1982 World's Fair The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focused on energy and ele ...
in
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
and the largest in the United States at the time, which was permanently installed in the park's center. Although no longer the largest in the country, the Giant Wheel is still in operation today (*closing as of 2021 season). Entertainment was also added to the park, with the construction of the
Tops Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
Jubilee Theater (now the Grande Theatre), the Lakeside Amphitheater, a large-scale concert stage on the south side of the main lake, presenting big-name acts including
The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
, and
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
and Cinema 2000, a wide-angle movie theatre in the back of the park. In the mid-to late 1980s, there was Splashmania, a
water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
show located on Fun Lake. The improvements continued throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, with the addition of a themed kids area, Adventure Land for Kids in 1988 and in 1989 Grizzly Run replaced a kids ride area that was located where a skatepark was. In 1990, six new slides were added to the back of the water slide complex and the area became known as Barracuda Bay and an extra charge was added to the waterpark as well a new locker area, food complex, shopping area and changing rooms. Following the success of a new wooden rollercoaster at Geauga Lake in 1988, Funtime contracted Dinn & Summers to build a new wooden coaster for Darien. The Predator roller coaster opened in May 1990. Around this time, Paul Snyder, sold his remaining share of the park to Funtime, turning over all control to them. In 1992, a new style of entertainment debuted on the midway between Barracuda Bay and the Giant Wheel, a
laser light show A laser lighting display or laser light show involves the use of laser light to entertain an audience. A laser light show may consist only of projected laser beams set to music, or may accompany another form of entertainment, typically mus ...
called ''Laser Light Fantasy'' (now called ''Ignite the Night''), which included laser graphics and
fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
. The show was permanently installed in the Lakeside Amphitheater the following year, while concert events were moved to the new Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, which could hold nearly four times as many guests. In 1994, the old Rainbow Mountain waterslides were replaced with a new set called 'Cuda Falls and waterpark became included with park admission.


Premier Parks/Six Flags

In 1995, growing regional park chain Premier Parks bought Funtime, Inc. and its three parks. Premier dove right into changes and additions. In 1995, Skycoaster opened located over Fun Lake. In 1996, Adventure Land was replaced by Popeye's Seaport with all new kiddie rides like a
Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...
made to look like barrels, a hand-cranked train ride, a submarine ride, a ship themed play place (removed in 2004), children's shows Popeye's Magic Show and Olive Oyl's Circus that featured audience volunteers, and a food stand and restrooms in the then new kiddie area in an area that was occupied by miniature golf course. A new miniature golf course opened behind the then-new kiddie area near
Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
which replaced the old golf course. Also a waterpark expansion with new attractions took place in 1996 and 1997 with Hook's Lagoon (opened in 1996) the Crocodile Isle wave pool (opened in 1997) took over Adventure Land's old location by Elk Lake with new changing rooms and a food stand were built, and a bridge was built to connect the Barracuda Bay slides with the then new water park area and a boat tag game was added to the midway. Three of the old Adventure Land rides were moved to another part of the park as the Tiny Trio in 1997. From 1996-1999, Premier would also install a new roller coaster each year, Nightmare at Phantom Cave in 1996, Mind Eraser in 1997, Boomerang: Coast to Coaster in 1998 and
Superman Ride of Steel Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (cover-dated June ...
(the world's first
Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement ins ...
hypercoaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet Or, more narrowly: *Any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet ...
) in 1999. Nightmare was removed in 1998 and relocated to sister park The Great Escape. In 1998, Premier purchased
Six Flags Theme Parks Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
and began to rebrand its own parks as Six Flags. In May 1999, Six Flags Darien Lake opened under its new name, with a few major changes. Premier brought Six Flags' own character base,
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
and
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, into the parks, renaming Popeye's Seaport to Looney Tunes Seaport, added a show in the vacant former Nightmare at Phantom Cave building called the Batman Thrill Spectacular and Hydro Force, Pipeline Plunge, Riptide Run and Torpedo Rapids were removed from Barracuda Bay and Scrambler replaced Cinema 2000. The midway stage was added to replace the boat tag game and The Emporium gift shop opened in Lasso's old location, Crazy Quilt was removed and replaced with Lasso. Premier Parks formed in 2000, assuming the name "Six Flags Inc." and adding new attractions. The next major attractions installed the Twister in 2000 and Shipwreck Falls in 2002, replacing the old Cascade Canyon water slides on the east side of Barracuda Bay as well as Slingshot behind the 'Cuda Falls water slides; and the Tornado in 2005.


Troubled times

2006 was a year of turmoil for Six Flags and its parks. For the 2006 season, Six Flags moved the Big Kahuna, a family-sized waterslide, from
Six Flags AstroWorld Six Flags AstroWorld, also known simply as AstroWorld, was a seasonally operated amusement park in Houston, Texas. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was situated between Kirby Drive and Fannin Street, directly south of I-610. The park o ...
to Darien Lake and also moved the
Batman The Escape Batman The Escape was a stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride featured one inversion and originally opened as Shockwave at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1986. ...
roller coaster from Astroworld into storage at Darien Lake, with possible plans to build it. They also added an opportunity to meet with the entire
Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
at the park. Only a month into the season, however, Six Flags began pulling back the Justice League from Darien Lake and announced Darien Lake, along with eight other parks, was being considered for sale. Many parks throughout the chain, not just those for sale, also experienced numerous changes and cutbacks throughout the summer. In October 2006, after shortened operating hours and seasons, Six Flags officially announced the parks were being offered for sale as a package. Paul Snyder stated in a radio interview he would have considered purchasing Darien Lake from Six Flags if they allowed the parks to be sold individually. In January 2007, Six Flags announced a potential sale of seven of the parks to a new company, PARC 7F (officially called
PARC Management PARC Management, LLC is an operations company based in Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by are ...
). Six Flags chose to retain two parks it had originally considered for sale.


PARC Management/CNL Lifestyle (2007-2010)

In April 2007,
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
completed the sale of Darien Lake and six other parks to
PARC Management PARC Management, LLC is an operations company based in Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by are ...
. Upon completion of the sale, PARC entered into a fifty-year contract with
CNL Income Properties CNL Financial Group (CNL), formerly Commercial Net Lease, is an Orlando, Florida based private investment management and commercial real estate company. It was started in 1973 by James Seneff. The company has been a major player in efforts to redev ...
, under which CNL purchased the properties from and lease them back to PARC for operation. Because of the timing of the final sale with respect to the park's opening, PARC was unable to make any major changes for the 2007 season. The biggest changes for the season were the addition of an all-new show, Le Grande Cirque, which replaced the Batman Thrill Spectacular, and the removal of all Six Flags-,
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
- and
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
-themed signage and references. In 2008, the park debuted the Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster, its first launched rollercoaster. A
Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...
Motocoaster coaster, it was the prototype that had been running outside Zamperla's factory in Italy. PARC pledged to lower admission prices that had risen under
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...
ownership. Floodgate Falls was closed. In March 2010, Darien Lake expanded its current waterpark to
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (Darien Lake) Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (also known as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Darien Lake) is a water park located at Six Flags Darien Lake in Darien, New York. Opened in 1990 as Barracuda Bay, the water park is included with the price of admission to the ...
(featuring several new attractions and a repaint of the 'Cuda Falls waterslide complex in Barracuda Bay), a new
lazy river A lazy river is a water ride found in water parks, hotels, resorts, and recreation centers, which usually consists of a shallow () pool that flows similarly to a river. There is generally a slow current, usually just enough to allow guests to g ...
called Flotation Station, Swirl City slide complex (with four new slides) and a kiddie wave pool called Lazy Days Lagoon. 2010 also brought about some minor park changes such as
Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
being repainted with a black track, The Predator getting new trains and the addition of the Critter Chase in Adventure Isle replacing Raft Adventure. CNL subsequently announced that it had reached an agreement to terminate PARC's lease of Darien Lake and up to 17 other locations. The move was made after, according to their 2010 SEC filings, PARC defaulted on their lease obligations.


Herschend Family Entertainment/CNL Lifestyle (2011-2014)

In 2011,
Herschend Family Entertainment Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) is a privately owned themed-entertainment company that operates several theme parks and tourist attractions within the United States, and as of 2021, one aquarium in Vancouver, Canada. Founded by Jack and P ...
assumed day-to-day operation and management of Darien Lake and
Elitch Gardens Elitch Gardens was a family-owned seasonal amusement park, theater, and botanic garden in the West Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver, Colorado, United States, at 38th and Tennyson streets. For more than a century Elitch's was one of the m ...
. Rowdy's Ridge opened in 2012 with several family rides. For the 2013 season, Blast Off was placed in the newly rethemed Waterfront Boardwalk area, which included major renovations to rides like the Grand Carousel and the Giant Wheel, along with some new dining options. Laserblast received new improvements and was rebranded ''Ignite the Night.'' UFO and the 'Cuda Falls waterslides were closed and removed. The Scrambler ride returned after two years in storage.


Premier Parks, LLC (2014-2018)

Herschend Family Entertainment's lease ended after the 2014 season and was taken over by Premier Parks, LLC. New rides installed during this period include Rolling Thunder, a 72-foot Larson 22M Giant Loop; Brain Drain, a set of two body slides that drops riders through a trapdoor at high speeds; and Ripcurl Racer, a six-lane Proslide Kracken Racer. Following the 2016 season, CNL Lifestyle sold Darien Lake and 14 other amusement parks to
EPR Properties EPR Properties, formerly Entertainment Properties Trust, is a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Missouri, that invests in amusement parks, movie theaters, ski resorts, and other entertainment properties. It owns 353 properties as ...
. The park continued to be leased and operated by Premier Parks, with no immediate change in operations or staffing.
Tantrum A tantrum, temper tantrum, lash out, meltdown, fit or hissy fit is an emotional outburst, usually associated with those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence, defiance, angry rant ...
, a
Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...
Euro-Fighter The Euro-Fighter is a type of steel roller coaster developed by Gerstlauer. First launched in 2003, the trademark feature of the roller coaster is its beyond-vertical drop, which reaches an angle greater than 90 degrees. Although the majority of ...
coaster, opened for the 2018 season.


Six Flags/EPR Properties (2018-present)

In May 2018, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation acquired lease rights to operate the park, with the park remaining under the ownership of EPR Properties. Six Flags SkyScreamer, a Funtime Star Flyer, opened for the 2019 season. During this season, the park reverted to the Six Flags Darien Lake branding. For the 2020 season, it was announced that Wahoo Wave, a ProSlide waterslide, would be added to the newly re-named and re-themed Hurricane Harbor WaterPark. However, the park was temporarily closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
(except for the campgrounds and Darien Square), with no timeframe from the state of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
on when theme parks can open. Despite this, the park announced on September 11th, 2020 the park would remain closed and all season passes and tickets would be carried over to the 2021 season.


Current rides and attractions


Roller coasters


Thrill rides

Many of the rides manufactured by
Huss Park Attractions HUSS Park Attractions (legal name: Huss Park Attractions GmbH) is a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing amusement rides at a factory in Budapest, Hungary. History of the original Huss Company HUSS Maschinenfabrik was a Ge ...
were installed as part of a deal with Huss to use Darien Lake as a North American showcase for Huss's new rides in the early 1980s.


Family rides


Kids rides

Adventure Land for Kids contained all kiddie rides from 1988 through 1996 when it was replaced by Beaver Brothers Bay (previously called Popeye's Seaport, Looney Tunes Seaport and Adventure Isle) with all new rides, exclusively from
Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...
. The Tiny Trio was a set of older kiddie rides from Adventure Land located near Mind Eraser. In 2012, the trio was expanded into Rowdy's Ridge. The Bay is located on an island surrounded by the midway originally formed by Treasure Island Mini-Golf.


Water park rides


Entertainment

All show venues listed here are included with price of admission.


Fright Fest

The original
Six Flags Fright Fest Fright Fest (also known as Festival Del Terror at Six Flags México) is a Halloween-oriented haunt event held annually at Six Flags theme parks in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It mainly features haunted attractions, themed areas name ...
was an annual event held at the end of the operating season (Weekends in October, typically) from 1998-2006, which celebrated Halloween. Fright Fest added new areas to the park (Bloodstone Hollow, a free haunted graveyard and town; and Brutal Planet, an upcharge
haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the prope ...
) and different shows than the regular season (Dead Man's Party in The Grande Theater and Laser Spooktacular at the Lakeside Amphitheatre.) When the park was sold to PARC Management in 2007, the event was rebranded as "Fall Family Fun Fest," adding family oriented areas such as hay mazes and pumpkin painting in addition to the haunted house. During this event, admission to the park was free, with individual charges for each ride and attraction. A re-branded FrightFest returned in 2008 with similar elements to the former Six Flags Fright Fest and additional new elements such as the Fright Night Field Trip, a bus ride through the haunted campgrounds. (However, the event's name had a lack of space between the words "Fright" and "Fest" in order to steer clear of any legal conflict with Six Flags.) The Haunted House and the Trick or Treat Trail also returned from previous years. Fright Fest was removed from Darien Lake in 2015 and replaced by Harvest Fest. The Halloween-themed event returned to Darien Lake in 2018 under the Six Flags branding.


Magic of Lights

In August 2021, the park unveiled a new Christmas Lights display that would be taking place at the park during the upcoming 2021 Holiday season. It ran from November 19th, 2021 through January 2nd, 2022. It’s a 1.25 mile drive-thru holiday light display extravaganza running through the park. This event was free to all current Season Pass Holders and Members. It didn’t return in 2022 based on the website.


Harvest Fest

In 2015, Darien Lake replaced their fall events with a more family-friendly event named Harvest Fest. Although this idea was attempted before with Fall Family Fun Fest, here rides were included with admission and less focus was put on scary attractions. Instead of upcharge haunts, hay rides and crafts for children were included with admission. Food trucks, craft beers and other vendors were made available to offset lower staffing during the offseason. Also, the schedule of the season was shortened to end in September, rather than the end of October. In 2018 and 2019 the season was extended through October, this event took place on weekends in September until Fright Fest started. This event didn’t take place during the 2021 or 2022 seasons.


Former attractions


Past entertainment

Former entertainment venues within the park.


Other on-site entities


Lodge on the Lake Hotel

In 1998, Premier Parks made a major investment to the property with the park's first on-site hotel, designed with a North Woods theme. The $12 million Lodge on the Lake Hotel opened with 161 hotel rooms, two suites and an outdoor heated pool. A few months later, the similarly themed Beaver Brothers Cafe opened as a full-service restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and dinner.


Campgrounds

The campground and picnic area offers campsites, approximately half of which are equipped with park-owned
RVs A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...
and cabins.


Darien Square

Located within the campgrounds which includes; a General Store, 2 restaurants, a gift shop, arcade and lounge, laundry and the campground
Office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
.


Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

The
Darien Lake Performing Arts Center The Darien Lake Performing Arts Center is an outdoor music venue located at Six Flags Darien Lake in Darien, New York Darien is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 3,158 at the 2010 census. Darien lies in the ...
is an outdoor music venue on the park grounds.


Ignite the Night COLORBLAST

Concerts were formerly held at the Laser Stage, also known as the Lakeside Amphitheater. A pool was added in front of the stage as part of the ''Ignite the Night'' laser show.


Incidents

* On July 26, 1987, lightning killed three campers sleeping in tents on the campground. * On May 16, 1999, a 365 lb (165 kg) guest who had been unable to properly secure his lap bar was ejected from Superman – Ride of Steel as the car went over a camel-hump hill. He fell approximately , sustaining serious injuries. He was awarded US$3.95 million in damages. Seatbelts and an extra brake segment before the final hill were added to the coaster after the incident. * On September 6, 2009, the body of William Sutherland, a
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
resident who had been reported missing the day before, was found in a park lake. * On July 8, 2011, James Hackemer, an
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
veteran who had lost both legs in a 2008
roadside bomb An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
attack, fell to his death from the Ride of Steel. The accident was attributed to operator error.


See also

*
Incidents at Six Flags parks The following article is a summary of notable incidents at the amusement parks and water parks that are operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. In some cases, these incidents occurred while the park was under different management or owner ...
*
List of contemporary amphitheatres This is a list of amphitheatres in use today. }) , , align="right", 3,000 , - , Rhode Island , Providence , Waterplace Park Amphitheatre , Not covered , , - , rowspan=2 , South Carolina , Simpsonville , Heritage Park Amphitheatre , , align=" ...


References


External links

* *
Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
{{CNL attractions Amusement parks in New York (state) Music venues in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Genesee County, New York Tourist attractions in Genesee County, New York Six Flags amusement parks Former PARC Management theme parks Herschend Family Entertainment Premier Parks, LLC 1954 establishments in New York (state) Amusement parks opened in 1981 1981 establishments in New York (state) Funtime, Inc.