Predator is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...

located at

Six Flags Darien Lake Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It i ...

. It was designed by Curtis D. Summers and built by

Dinn Corporation Dinn Corporation was a roller coaster designing and manufacturing company established in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio, in 1983 by Charles Dinn. The company is noted for moving and rebuilding several existing woode ...

and opened on May 25, 1990.

Design

The coaster is a double out-and-back design and does so in a fairly confined space. The main section of the coaster runs along the lake to its north.

Renovations and upgrades

At the end of the summer of 2006, the last year of Darien Lake being owned by Six Flags, a major re-tracking took place and some wood was replaced on the ride to help make it more enjoyable for guests. In 2001, during an earlier tracking job, part of the queue line was removed to make way for an expanded seating area for the nearby food stand. In 2010, Darien Lake purchased 12 PTC articulated cars from Holiday World, where they were used on The Voyage. These trains replaced the original PTC trailer-style trains which were known to have an extremely rough ride. With the closure of

Raging Wolf Bobs Raging Wolf Bobs was a wooden roller coaster located at Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. Designed by Curtis D. Summers to resemble Bobs, a popular roller coaster at the defunct Riverview Park in Chicago, Raging Wolf Bobs was constructed by t ...

at the defunct

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 ...

in 2007, The Predator was the last roller coaster to operate with PTC trailered trains. In 2020, it was revealed that

Great Coasters International Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, th ...

will be replacing some sections of Predator's track with their new steel Titan Track.

References

Six Flags Darien Lake Roller coasters in New York (state) Roller coasters introduced in 1990 Predator, The Roller coasters operated by Herschend Family Entertainment {{Amusement-ride-stub