SFDL (In NY) 6/29/03 "The Day of the Rap Concert"

[coasterzak]

Okay, so we left Akron Ohio at 6:30 AM this morning for our 4 and a half hour drive to Darien Lake. It was a nice drive there, but parking was atrocious. Everything is crazy in New York. I guess it's a free for all, and I'm just not used to that sheltered back in Ohio. So, just to put everything out there without offending anything, this park is very urban. Although it sits among cornfields and silos, there is a rough crowd that visits this park, well maybe just today. Part of that could have to do because I saw 50 cent in his stretch hummer (yes the rapper was at the park) and a bunch of other rappers. This is what caused the chaotic day at the park.Rock the Mic - 6/29Show time: 6:30PMDoors: 5:00PMPerformers include:50 CENTJAY ZMISSY ELLIOTBUSTA RHYMESFABOLOUSCan you believe every single person in the Buffalo area was in the park? We got there early for an hour wait for the Superman, but by the end of the day it was about an hour and a half. I'll stop explaining and get to the trip report.So at 11 we are into the park. We head straight for the Superman Ride of Steel. It looked so intriguing from the road. After waiting almost an hour, I got a ride in the back seat. HOLY CRAP! This ride is amazing. Don't judge a coaster by it's layout. It looked like it might be a bit boring, well it's not. This ride was incredible, with some massive air, headchoppers, fast helices, and crazy drops. The plunge into the mist was one of my favorite parts. I'm surprised we got a ride on it because a train got stuck at the top of the lift hill and there was a loud buzzing sound, then the chain started again. But, I was overly impressed with this coaster and it ties Millennium Force in my book. 2 Train operation - the fastest crew in the park. I would be back.The next ride we headed for was the Predator. This is a fantastic looking coaster but I had heard a lot of bad about it. I didn't know what to think for myself other than - it's going to hurt. Well, someone told me it was worse than Raging Wolf Bobs and they were completely wrong. I only got one ride on this coaster, but I actually liked the Predator. There is some airtime, a bunch of nice little drops, and I wasn't stapled. The 20 minute wait was worth it, and it also exceeded my expectations.By now it was almost 12:30, but we got in line for the Boomerang anyways. It's a standard Vekoma boomerang coaster, what else can be said? I like them, but there was a 20 minute wait. So this could only be ridden once in my short day at the park. It seemed smoother than Mind Eraser (SFWoA) for some reason, but I like them both equally. Good ride!Now it was time for lunch. We ate in the car and a group of guys walked by and pointed at us, made a fist motion and just stared at us. They pointed, laughed and walked away. Well, it was a family in New York enjoying lunch in the car, but these men were very big and scary. This more, proved that there is a rough crowd at SFDL. I'm not one to usually stereotype, but it proved true time and time again. It started to downpour, and lightning, so we were in that car for an hour and half. All the lines emptied. Once it stopped we entered the park again and had to walk around a fight that was broke up. Both guys were wearing 50 cent T-shirts and carrying Nelly pictures. Go figure.We got a ride on the UFO. It's a cool ride. You stand and it spins around, then it lifts up. Similar to the Witches Wheel type ride, but you are standing. Neat concept, and everyone liked it. There wasn't a wait, but the park didn't clear from the hour T-storm. It just got fuller. By now the overflow parking was full, and there was no where left in the parking lot. Everything was a massive traffic jam with people honking horns. It was a disaster. We headed to the Viper.I was very impressed with this Arrow coaster. I love them all, and this one was no exception. I got in somewhere in the middle of the train, just because I was so sick of being linejumped and couldn't handle waiting for the back. It's a long story, but somehow a group of about 20 people managed to line jump us, beers in hand, without any of the ops seeing them. I was very surprised with the tunnel on this ride. It was a cool Arrow coaster, no airtime like the Corkscrew at CP but it had a bunch of good inversions. Great ride!The next stop was at the Mind Eraser. It's just a SLC. Nothing great. The Serial Thriller at SFWoA definitely isn't this rough. My head was banged around like mad. In line, once again we were massively linejumped, but in fear of being seriously hurt, we dind't say anything to the guys. The entire wait we were harassed by men behind us. I'm a 16 year old skinny small kid, what am I going to say to a 20 year old ripped man? Nothing. The ride was terrible. It wasn't worth its hour wait. We were pretty disappointed. But, we rode it. It was about 4, so we went to finish the day off on the Superman.The line for the Superman was now an hour and half. And, it just kept getting longer when people would cut through the grass with beers in hand and get in line towards the front. People yelled at them, and even the security managed to miss them. I guess I'm just easily agitated, but this bothered others too. The ride broke down twice. They must have been having lift hill problems. We heard the same buzz, and the chain started again. People bailed out of line as the train got stuck again. I don't mind that it broke down at all - I'm just happy I got another ride. I rode in the second seat and it was incredible again. This ride just takes your breath away. It seems faster than 73 mph. Great ride to leave the park on.All in all it was a good day, despite the rough crowd. I won't blame this on New York, or the area, but rather the rap concert later that night. I know there was a large group of people there to see them all. The park was packed. Can a SFDL local tell me, are waits always like that, and, is the park always that rough? I enjoyed my day and I will be back in two weeks on a Tuesday to start off a 5 day trip hitting SFDL, SFNE and SFGAdv. S:RoS rocked!

[coastrcorey]

Yikes... Sounds a bit scary lol. Superman does sound really fun! I think that buzzer is a restart siren... I've heard that on V2 last year, except it wasn't a buzz, it was an actual siren. Glad you had an ok time though.

[coasterzak]

Oh, it was better than an OK time, it was awesome. S:RoS is amazing. I figured that's what the buzzing was. Has anyone here been on that ride before, either there, or at SFA?

[Aero737]

Coasterzak, I love hearing TR's from other parks. And is beer sold in their Six Flags park? I don't think it is sold here. Correct me if i'm wrong.

[coastrcorey]

No, there's no alcoholic beverages allowed in the park (GAm).

[coasterzak]

Well let me tell you there most definitely was beer in this park. I know why it isn't allowed in SFGAm because it's more of a family park. Here, it's a big party and everyone is trashed, it's disgusting seeing all the people ruined by the beer in the park.

[chiatrain]

Nice TR, coasterzak. I'll be heading to SFDL, and hopefully I won't encounter the 'rough' crowd that you did. I believe SFGAm does sell alcoholic beverages in the park(sit-down restaurants and other places). The stand near Eagle's TV-photo booth was selling beer for about $5.00(They Card Hard).

[Chitown]

SFGAm sells beer.You can get one at Farmer's Market, the saloon in SWT, under the Eagle tent and at the saloon in Yukon Territory.Trust me, I know.

[cexd]

i've been to darien lake twice and didn't have any problems :-/. superman ride of steel is my favorite roller coaster. but i havn't been to cedar point yet so i havn't ridden MF or TTD

[coasterguy]

TTD is my number 1 roller coaster and Millennium Force is #2.

[chiatrain]

Coasterzak, the 'rough' crowd may have evolved into problems found in this article: http://sixflagsnews.com/0701031.htmA kid was wearing a bullet-proof vest and also had a loaded revolver in his limousine.

[coasterzak]

Yeah, WoW! I'm glad I got out of there when I did. I thought it was a rough crowd when I was there, apparently it just got rougher as the day went on. When I said rough, I didn't mean guns.