The Lake Erie Park Tour: 4 Days, 4 Parks, 30 Coasters

Last week, I embarked on a mini-road trip across Lake Erie for my first visit to a handful of parks. For a lake so vast, I was surprised by how conveniently I could craft a trip with very short drives and a wide variety of experiences. This is Eric from Park Rovers, and for those in search of a quick and unique park road trip, I wanted to share my experience, some tips, and reviews of what I encountered along the way.

My itinerary was simple:

Day 1: Lake Erie Cruisers Summer Carnival in Cleveland, OH and Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH

Day 2: Cedar Point

Day 3: Waldameer in Erie, PA

Day 4: Niagara Amusement Park in Buffalo, NY and Six Flags Darien Lake in Darien Center, NY

The entire trip comes in at just under five and a half hours, meaning each park is never more than two and a half hours away. This left a lot of flexibility for how I could structure each stop, and without spoiling anything you’ll soon find out that the flexibility came in handy.

I began my trip in Pittsburgh, PA where I was visiting family. I could have stopped by Kennywood, but seeing as it is far inland from the great lake that I based this trip on and I went multiple times a summer for my entire childhood, it didn’t quite fit thematically into my plans. I needed the lake within a few miles and all new experiences, not my 1,000th serving of Potato Patch Fries, as amazing as they are. However, being only 2 ½ hours to Cedar Point, Kennywood would be a very easy addition to beef up this trip with another major and very charming park.

Day One

Lake Erie Crushers Summer Carnival/ Primetime Carnival Company

My first stop of the trip technically makes this adventure FIVE parks instead of four, but unfortunately this was the final day of operations for the Lake Erie Crushers Summer Carnival run by Primetime Carnival Company, so by the time I post this all of the rides and food stalls will be packed up and on their way to the next location. I barely had to divert my drive to stop into this carnival. Sitting in the shadow of the Lake Erie Crushers minor league baseball stadium, you could see the coasters and confectionaries lit up from the highway. Time was of the essence, so I only stopped in for a quick walk around and to hop on a couple attractions, but oh boy was there a lot to take in. The ride and building facades were adorned with artwork that left you equally confused and amused with each passing attraction. Movies and famous faces teaming up in crossovers so ambitious it would bring Kevin Fiege to his knees. The carnival used a ticket system, where you could purchase individual tickets for a dollar a piece (rides ranged 4-9 tickets), or get a $30 wristband for unlimited attractions. The wristband is not a bad deal, as the carnival actually had a lot to offer in terms of ride quality and diversity. My main objective in my short visit was to pick up the two roller coaster creds that were up for grabs.

The first being Dragon Coaster, a Colmax Kiddie coaster. Now, I’m not one to disparage Universal Creative or accuse them of stealing ideas but… c’mon… look familiar? After a backwards tire launch to get your momentum going (Gronkle egg scene anyone?), you’re propelled forward for a few lightly thrilling laps. Unfortunately, I don’t have any action shots for this coaster, as I was the literal only person that rode it in the hour that I was there.

There was a dark ride with four front yard Halloween decoration level show scenes, but I’ll never say no to a little haunted house. Especially one whose facade pits Freddy Krueger in an eternal battle with Edward Cullen from Twilight.

The most pleasant surprise of my stop was Biloxi Beach Hurricane, an SBF Visa Cyclon model. My expectations were set firmly at travelling coaster, in other words a fairly low bar, and I was really impressed by not only how smooth this ride was, but also how forceful. The helix down about half way through gave some significant G-force belly feelings. In a coincidence, I spoke with the owner's sister at one point during my visit, and she said they had just purchased this model last year and are determined to maintain it at a level that will build a bit of a reputation for a great travelling coaster. I’d say so far, mission accomplished. Overall, I was really impressed with the quality of Primetime Carnival Company. The ride selection was diverse and well maintained, the art design was fun and quirky, and the staff was welcoming. A great layover on my way to Sandusky, Ohio.

Cedar Point

It may come as a bit of a surprise that I’ve never been to Cedar Point seeing as I grew up 2 hours away in Pittsburgh. Well… I have a bit of a confession to make. I was something of a scaredy cat in my youth. My family affectionately and sarcastically referred to me as Rambo for years after “needing to go to the bathroom” halfway through Terminator 2:3D at Universal Orlando. So growing up in Pittsburgh, Cedar Point had a certain reputation. It was the place that had all of the big scary coasters. While I wasn’t as much of a chicken for coasters as I was for Terminator and Jaws, I regularly did almost everything at Kennywood, there was just something about the fear of what might be there that kept me away, or the idea of it. I didn’t want the opportunity to present itself where I would be with friends and had to chicken out because something looks too intense. I swear, I was picturing like Itchy and Scratchy Land attractions in my mind, and it was enough to keep me away.

All that to say, it just never happened when I was younger. So despite now visiting parks all across the world, Cedar Point remained untouched, and I could not wait to see it as a first timer. From Cleveland, I had about 40 minutes to go to get to the park. To fully experience everything it had to offer, I built in a day and a half of the trip to spend there. This first half day was more to feel things out and make a plan of attack for my second full day at the park.

I will say, the initial reveal driving up to Cedar Point when you hit the causeway is stunning. Seeing that expanse of twisted steel and wood stretching across the horizon of the lake is an amazing first image that gets you very hyped up for what’s to come.

My park passport that we added onto our King’s Dominion season passes meant free parking and admission, a huge plus, and suddenly I was face to face with Gatekeeper sprawling over the marquee to Cedar Point. What a smart design decision it was to incorporate this impressive coaster element into the front entrance, it sets such a tone from the moment you approach the gates. Once through the gates, however, I did find the main thoroughfare of the entrance plaza to be a bit underwhelming. I always knew that this was a ride focused park, but it’s hard to turn my theming brain off. I want to be led into a park and pulled forward by the call to adventure. This first impression was just open and maybe a bit sparse, which I know sounds crazy considering how densely packed with rides it is. I actually had a hard time figuring out where exactly to go. There wasn’t a flow to how you should tackle the park, it just kind of goes.

With that in mind, I figured let’s start with my first impression from the entrance and go find Gatekeeper. This turned out to be a fantastic decision, as the views of the water from this ride are breathtaking. I actually later told my wife that I think the main theme for this park is “look at the pretty lake”, which isn’t a bad strategy, and this was the first moment where that idea was planted in my mind. This was my third B&M wing coaster, having ridden Wild Eagle at Dollywood and Rapterra at King’s Dominion, and definitely was my favorite of the three. Those huge graceful maneuvers feel so powerful and smooth, and the multiple key hole moments are so well executed. It’s a coaster that anyone could ride over and over, so it’s probably not a coincidence that it’s the one I did the most throughout my day and a half there.

I then walked from Gatekeeper past a closed Iron Dragon, past a closed Magnum, past a closed Top Thrill 2, past a closed Gemini, all the way to the back of the park where I was thankfully met with an open Steel Vengeance. Both days that I visited were in the mid 90s, and I’m not sure if the numerous closures that I met over my day and a half were due to the exceedingly hot weather or if that’s par for the course, let me know below if 4-5 coasters being consistently down all day is normal for the park.

Steel Vengeance was the coaster that likely benefited the most from this hot weather, as it was absolutely tearing through its course both days. Like most RMCs, it takes a physical toll on you with the insane ejector hills and whipping transitions, in my case limiting the reridability. But that didn’t keep it from absolutely being my favorite coaster from Cedar Point and from this trip as a whole. It’s the one that randomly pops into my mind the most and I wish I was waiting to get on. The first time that I rode I couldn’t believe that it could just keep going and going for what felt like forever. You get lost down in that maze of support structures with no clue which way you’re going, feeling like a stray beam may claim a flailing limb at any moment. It’s smooth, intense, and unrelenting in a way that few coasters are, and I was positive it would land somewhere in my top 10 after only one ride, with other re-rides during my visit only further cementing its place.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride was next, which was exactly what I expected it to be from the other Arrow Runaway Trains I’ve done. It’s a little long in the tooth, but is a pleasant enough ride with some nice scenery and is great for families. I always appreciate a double lift hill, as it feels like you’re getting a little extra bang for your buck.

Rougarou was what I’ve come to expect from B&M Floorless models. I’m not sure if I’m alone, but I always seem to get faked out by B&M Floorless coasters in the first half, which almost always are powerful and smooth. I swear I have the “Oh this is great!” thought each time I ride one during the first half. But for whatever reason, the turnaround inversions in the second half always just rattle me around too much for it to be a fully pleasant experience. Especially on these older models.

At this point, it was about time for dinner, but before seeking some AC I checked out Top Thrill 2 and… nope still closed. No worries, I took the opportunity to hop on Wild Mouse, a Zamperla Twister. This thing was fantastic, designed with extra high banks on the turns so it runs butter smooth and absolutely tornadoes through the course. I found this ride to have a pretty substantial line every time I passed it, so it’s obviously popular among families visiting the park and for good reason.

I decided to grab dinner at the upstairs bar of Waterfront Restaurant and Bar, which offers stunning views out onto Lake Erie. This is absolutely a top five theme park bar I’ve ever visited, leaving me to wonder what could beat it? Giraffe Bar at Busch Gardens Tampa, Chocolatier at Hersheypark, Burning Blade Tavern or Three Broomsticks at Universal, and any number of places at Epcot immediately came to mind for me, but what are some others that belong on that top top tier? Curious to see if there are any that I need to add to my must do list.

I found Blue Streak to be a really fun old woodie with a very traditional out and back layout. Nothing to write home about, but something I would definitely ride again that’s kept in good condition.

At this point, the sun was beginning to set and I picked up my pace a bit. Valravn was the next stop, and unfortunately just didn’t do much for me. I will admit, and anyone who has been to Cedar Point at night can attest, the bugs were a bit of an issue. Once that sun goes down, you are ASSAULTED by bugs on any open facing coaster, and the front row on a B&M Dive is about the worst place you can be in those conditions. Bugs aside, I just didn’t find this to be as satisfying as other dives I’ve done like Griffon and SheiKra, which is surprising seeing as it’s taller than both of them. This might harken back to my initial impression when entering the park, because I do like a bit of set dressing to my rides. While Griffon and SheiKra aren’t heavily themed, they provide more of a journey through their terrain and storytelling, and I think that I like actually dropping into something. Oblivion at Alton Towers doesn’t have much of a layout, but the overwhelming feeling of staring into that black hole does so much leg work for the ride experience. All and all, this might be an unpopular opinion but I would put Valravn more around where I would rank Iron Menace among the lineup of dives. Fun, but not my preferred model.

While Valravn left me a bit underwhelmed, Iron Dragon far exceeded my expectations. Once Arrow figured out the logistics required to make these Suspended Coasters built to last, they really tapped into something special. The free swinging sensation as you twist through the layout is just something that can’t be simulated. The nostalgic part of me also allowed a moment to imagine I was swinging through a Bavarian Village on Big Bad Wolf.

At this point the soon to open Siren’s Curse was lit up and doing night tests, and it looks just spectacular. I would have loved to ride it, but I planned this trip a month or two in advance and unfortunately the dates just didn’t align.

My final stop of the night was Millennium Force, likely the cause of that anxiety that kept younger me from going all those years ago. Man, does this ride hold up. Intamin added this Giga Coaster to the park in May of 2000, and 25 years later it is running like a dream. Powerful and smooth, catapulting through its layout and whipping riders all around with every turn and transition. I absolutely love the airtime hill that rips past guests waiting in the queue. There is nothing that can build anticipation (or fear) for a ride like having a train speed just a few feet from the station with riders screaming their heads off.

As the sun set over Lake Erie, there was a beautiful glow that rested over the park, illuminating each individual track against the continually darkening sky. With that, the first part of my road trip had come to an end, and after two stops I had picked up 11 new coaster creds. It was time to get some rest so that I could be up for early park admission featuring widely advertised member access to Top Thrill 2 (Which never did open on this first day). Surely nothing would go wrong!

Day Two

Cedar Point: Part Two

After a very productive first visit, I had a few coaster credits left to tackle before a day of exploring. My first priority however was getting on some early entrance rides on Top Thrill 2, the recently revamped Strata Coaster from Zamperla (and kind of Intamin). The park had advertised extended hours for TT2 via social media starting the very morning of my visit, but after being literally the first person at the park and huffing it down to the entrance, I was met with closed gates. Not just that, but the staff let us know that the ride would be closed the whole day. I understand that maintenance issues can happen, but I checked their social pages and website before leaving the hotel in the morning and there was no mention at all that the early access would be cancelled that day. If management knew ahead of time that the ride wouldn’t be open, I would have appreciated some transparency. And to avoid touching back on this topic again, later in the day staff members were letting guests know that they were trying to get the ride open and began testing it. While I appreciate that they tried to get the ride working, and I do not blame the ride operators or queue staff for this at all, I do feel bad for the people who lined up for 3-4 hours while it tested, only for the ride to never open. While I hope to get on TT2 the next time I visit, it seems hard to believe that it will be around for the long haul with the persisting issues it’s faced since it’s reopening.

With Top Thrill 2 down, I grabbed a quick reride on Millenium Force, still great, and then decided to head over to Maverick to wait it out until the park opened. I had noticed that the previous day when the park wasn’t all that busy and lines ranged from 5-20 minutes, Maverick still commanded a consistent 60 minute wait. So I figured this was my best option for rope drop. While Maverick was a fantastic ride, definitely a top tier coaster, there was one major issue I had that I’m curious if other people struggle with. I have a very difficult time getting comfortable on the older Intamin Blitz coasters. I noticed this about Cheetah Hunt as well. There’s a little ridge on the seats that makes it almost impossible for me to find a sitting position that isn’t slightly painful. So unfortunately, no matter how incredible the coaster is there’s always that slight desire of needing to reposition myself that never quite goes away. In a perfect world, they would update the seats with the newer model found on rides like Velocicoaster and Pantheon, but that’s definitely nitpicking an incredible overall ride.

While lines were low, I hopped on Steel Vengeance for a reride and then made my way to Magnum XL-200, the 1989 Hyper Coaster from Arrow. And let me just say, nothing could have prepared me for Magnum. This ride messed me up. I’ve never been in a full coaster car that let out a collective groan like this train did. Every single person loudly protested the experience we just shared together. Absolutely brutal ride, if you’re not trying to get all of the credits I would recommend just sitting this one out.

While I was already in the process of destroying a few vertebrates, I decided to go Arrow to Arrow and hop on Corkscrew. Maybe it was just coming from Magnum, but I didn’t think Corkscrew was as rough. Not just that, but the viewpoint from the walkway of the double corkscrew is nothing short of iconic.

I caught a lift on the Sky Ride and then a reride on Gatekeeper, but it was at this point that I noticed once again a lot of coasters were down. Raptor was visibly stuck on the lift hill, and Gemini, Iron Dragon, and Millennium Force were also down. I think a few others. Seeing as it was mid afternoon, lines were long due to so much downtime, and the heat was peaking around 95 degrees, so I decided to take a few hours off at the hotel to rehydrate and recharge. And boy was I glad I did.

When I returned around 6:30, a couple was leaving the park for the day. They approached me and asked if I planned on “riding everything” to which I replied “Of course!” At which point this absolute hero slid his unlimited express pass off and handed it to me. On that day, they were going for $165 a piece, so this was a major gift from a stranger that I did not take for granted. Upon entering I was able to speed run the last few credits I had yet to hit.

Raptor is a great B&M Invert. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I did not find it quite at the level of the other heavy hitter B&Ms like Alpengeist and Montu. I’d say once again it loses a lot of luster for me just by being a “coaster in a lot” type of ride. I probably prefer the overall experience of even Great Bear and Nemesis, even though they are much smaller in scale. They all offer intensity and about the same comfort level, so my distinctions come down to what provides the more satisfying overall experience through terrain work and theming.

Only one side of Gemini, this odd Arrow wood/steel hybrid was running, but I did enjoy what it had to offer. Another good family coaster that’s reasonably smooth for its age and can eat people on a busy day when they have both sides running.

A short walk away, I got a quick ride on Woodstock Express, a Vekoma Junior Coaster, which is admittedly a pretty funny choice to leave as my last new credit for the park. But I had just been keeping my eye on it when walking by to wait for a walk on opportunity. That’s generally my rule with kid coasters, if there’s a wait I don’t need to do it and take a spot from a kid, but if I can walk on I’ll go for it.

From that point on, I just did my best to fulfill my promise to the benevolent giver of my Express Pass and hop on as many trains as I could before the end of the night. I caught rerides on Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Millennium Force, Valravn, and Gatekeeper.

Overall, my first visit to Cedar Point was really successful in the sense that I was able to ride a ton of new amazing attractions. However, and this is entirely subjective, it really emphasized for me why I love parks like Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Europa-Park. I don’t need every park to be Islands of Adventure or Animal Kingdom in its level of theming, but to really fall in love with a park I do need to feel that effort. The Frontier Town/Trail area has some of that, but there was just a certain charm that I felt was lacking from Cedar Point. I mean look at Finnegan’s Flyer and then look at Skyhawk, that’s a perfect microcosm. It’s a park that exists with a very specific purpose, to pack in as many rides as you can. If that’s your jam, then this is the perfect place for you. I’ll likely return to Cedar Point in the not so distant future. I had a really fun time, but it’s never a place that could feel like home for me. Much like I believed in my younger years, it’s all about the thrills.

Day Three

Waldameer

After two extremely hot, 20,000+ step days at Cedar Point, I allowed myself to sleep in and get a late start on my way to Erie, PA. I was a bit nervous, because getting to Waldameer mid-afternoon could potentially mean a full parking lot and long waits. However, my days spent at the gigantic Cedar Point had unfairly influenced my expectations. Any charm that I felt was lacking in my previous two days was more than made up for almost from the moment I pulled into the parking lot. Parking at Waldameer is free, which starts the day on a really positive note. Not just that, but an all day ride ticket is only $40.00. Once through the gates, I was met with a train station and wooded picnic pavilions filled with families setting up for a full day of fun at the park. It was so quaint, so welcoming, I had an irremovable smile on my face that did not leave until I was headed back to my car.

The first major ride that you pass is Comet, a PTC Wooden Coaster from 1951. After the first drop and turnaround, I immediately knew what kind of care Waldameer puts into their attractions, as it was smooth and just downright fun. A few little pops of airtime here and there, it’s not a speed machine but it does what it does well.

After that, it was time for the coaster that put Waldameer on the map, the 2008 Gravity Group wooden coaster Ravine Flyer II. This ride is unhinged. It is relentless, intense, and out of control in all of the best ways. After a 118 foot drop down into, well a ravine, you… well yeah you fly through the layout. I guess it’s a good name. The first time that I pulled back into the station, I genuinely had no idea what had just happened. This ride feels like it never slows down a single mile per hour, like the almost 60mph speed you hit the bottom of the first drop just absolutely carries through the entire coaster. It uses terrain in such an interesting way that maximizes every twist, turn, and drop along its nearly 3000 feet of track. I rerode this beast 4 times until I started to feel that slight wooden coaster headache creeping in and quit while I was ahead. What an incredible experience that I would recommend anyone heading through the Erie area take the time to visit.

To wind down, I had a train all to myself on Ravine Flyer III, the kiddie coaster next door. I really enjoyed the soundtrack at this ride, which cycled from “What’s This” from Nightmare Before Christmas and “Yo Ho” from Pirates of the Caribbean while I was in the area. Just some random Disney atmosphere to beef up your kids ride, why not?

From there, it was time for my favorite part of any regional park, some weird dark rides. Whacky Shack was an absolutely delightful Bill Tracy dark ride from 1970. It’s a little single cart that twists and turns through show scenes and optical illusions. A particularly charming feature is that rather than doors opening for you as you pass, your ride car just constantly bangs through swinging doors from room to room, like it left me wondering how often they have to change those hinges to keep them from getting smashed off the wall.

Pirate’s Cove is a walk through that might as well be a dark ride itself, featuring fun campy little set pieces that take you through a pirate’s hideout with some disorienting effects along the way.

With the Mauer Spinner Steel Dragon Down for maintenance, I finished my coaster creds for the day with Whirlwind, an SBF Spinner. With two little kids on the other side of my car, we were pretty evenly balanced and didn’t do a whole lot of spinning, but it was fine for what it was.

I decided to take the skyride back to the front of the park, only to realize when approaching the end that it actually does a round trip. That was no problem though, it gave me extra time to just sit back and enjoy the beautiful views of the park and out over Lake Erie.

In stopping at the gift shop on my way out, I noticed something that I wish more parks did. There was so much ride specific merch. And we’re not talking just the big ones like Ravine Flyer and Comet, they had entire store sections based on the smaller attractions like Whacky Shack, and I was so appreciative. More parks would be well served to pay homage to their smaller, much beloved attractions.

Waldameer deserves all of the love that I’ve seen it get, and honestly probably deserves a bit more. They seem to be doing absolutely everything right, you can tell that every inch of the park is cared for and loved. I can’t wait to make this a more regular stop when on my way to visit family in Buffalo, if for no other reason than to get my world rocked by Ravine Flyer.

Day Four

Niagara Amusement Park

Earlier, I mentioned needing to be a bit flexible, and here’s where it comes into play. When I made plans for this trip a month earlier, the Niagara Amusement Park website listed the day I would be visiting, a Wednesday, as a day they would be open. Unfortunately, at some point between then and my visit, the schedule was changed and Wednesday was taken off of the park calendar, something that I didn’t notice until the week of my visit. Someone I spoke to who visits often mentioned that the park always lists more days when the calendar is first released in an effort to support season pass sales, then trim it down to mostly weekends until peak season once the dates get closer. It’s an unfortunate practice, and definitely something to pay attention to if you are planning a visit. Thankfully, I have the aforementioned family in Buffalo that I planned to stay with anyway, so I was able to still make the 2 1/2 hour drive north toward the park and push my visit another day until they were open.

Niagara Amusement Park is a place that needs a lot of work, but also a place that has a lot to offer. IB Parks and Amusement acquired the property in 2021, which had been closed with rides put up for sale by its previous owners. Honestly, it’s a pretty rare and commendable story for a park to come back from the dead like this. The years of neglect do show as parts of the park, especially the far corners, seem slightly barren and worn down. However, other sections of the park have had some obvious care put into them to try and reestablish something special.

Once again, free parking is a huge plus to start your day. Once you pass through the actual gates, there’s a really understated and pleasant entry plaza there to greet you, with water features and a train station. Your natural inclination is to follow the pathway towards Western Town, and that would be the correct choice. Western Town is by far the most impressive and engaging portion of the park. In fact, I would go as far to say that it was the most immersive area of any park that I visited on the whole trip. We stopped into the main gift shop to take a look at their merch and were greeted by a shopkeeper who stayed 100% in character not just during our conversation but every time we saw her throughout our visit. She also tipped us off that “word around town is there might be a robbery in the next few minutes”. We asked for more information to clarify, but her commitment to character actually prevented her from telling us if there was a show or something, which I absolutely commend and loved. So we stuck around for a few minutes, and sure enough three bandits ran into her store and held her up, only to get into a shootout with the local sheriff. I mean… what a greeting! It was literally like 30 seconds long and just happened without any warning from the park. I could not have been more pleased with our first few minutes at Niagara Amusement Park.

The first major ride was Silver Comet, a CCI Wooden Coaster with a unique layout. It’s a long ride, nearly 3,000 feet of track, and runs very smoothly considering what the park has been through in the past decade. They definitely must have done some extensive upkeep on this ride in getting the park back on its feet. I hope that work is rewarded by visitors, because this was my second favorite woodie from the whole trip, and it’s very hard to compete with Ravine Flyer so that’s high praise. A standout moment is also the top of the lift hill, where your train is faced toward a view of Lake Erie and Niagara Falls, a really cool feature.

Next was The Serpent, and SDC Galaxy that actually reminded me a lot of the Cyclon from the Crushers Carnival. It looked a little janky from the outside, but had a super enthusiastic operator who really created a memorable experience for us, rode pretty smooth, and had a triple helix down that packed some serious G Forces.

The whole morning, we kept passing by this unbelievable facade for The Flying Witch, a Pinfari dark ride, which unfortunately was having some work done and wasn’t open. The absurdity of this facade has to be seen to be believed, just demons and dragons and once again.. I’m not accusing Universal creative of theft but… Burning Blade anyone? Finally though, the gates thankfully opened and we boarded this delightfully campy haunted house attraction, featuring tons of spooky scenes and a decent number of simple animatronics. This is my dream ride, charmingly chintzy but with enough effort to show it does require upkeep and care to keep it running. If I could just grab a beer and a pretzel and lap this for an hour I’d be a very happy man, and yes I did buy a souvenir cup for it later.

The final aspect of this park that I want to applaud is the live entertainment. I already mentioned the pop up robbery that we encountered earlier, but they also put on a full 15 minute stunt show right in the middle of Western Town multiple times a day. I’m talking robbers falling off the rooftops, blank gun shots that will blow your ears out type of stunt show that the public isn’t really blocked off from. You can still kind of move about the land while it happens. Not just that, but once a day they also do a train heist performance on the Iron Horse Train, the transport ride around the park. I wish we could have stuck around to check out the train heist, but the hours were ticking by and the tour must go on. So for now, our first visit to Niagara Amusement Park had to come to an end. They still have a long way to go if they want to become a destination for enthusiasts and not just a local park, but looking at what they’re doing with Western Town I’m left with optimism that they might be in good hands to get the job done.

Six Flags Darien Lake

Forty five minutes down the road we approached Six Flags Darien Lake, and were once again able to park and enter for free with our park passport. After visiting other Six Flags locations around the country, I enjoyed that the main street area at the entrance plaza took on a more nautical vibe than I was used to, it was a breath of fresh air. The park as a whole I found to be well maintained and pretty aesthetically pleasing. There are lots of nice look outs over water and little areas away from the crowded thorough fairs to tuck in and relax for a bit.

My first priority was Tantrum, a compact Gerslauer Euro-Fighter with a good reputation, and it did not disappoint. This ride is very short, very very short, running about a minute including the lift hill, but the experience that you do have on the ride is extremely satisfying. It packs in tons of inversions and smooth transitions, making the most of its small footprint. I really wish it was 2-3 times longer, but it was a fantastic way to start the day.

While riding that high, I hopped on Mind Eraser next door, the same Vekoma SLC that you find at most Six Flags parks, and it was a Vekoma SLC. I will say, it wasn’t any more uncomfortable than other SLCs I’ve been on, so at least it is as well maintained as it can be.

Following the circle around the park, I headed to Viper, an Arrow looper from 1981. As far as old Arrows go, this was pretty great. I found it way more enjoyable than either of the traditional Arrow coasters at Cedar Point.

As a bonus for Viper, I really enjoyed that you could see a haunt maze hiding in the trees below the ride. After getting off, I went around to the front and sure enough there was a permanent haunt facade for “Jack Pallet’s Scarecrow Row” set up and waiting for the fall to blow in. I love seeing little traces of spooky season sprinkled throughout parks. On that note, in the back of the park there was a GIGANTIC show building with a very impressive permanent spooky facade built onto the front of it. It looks like some warehouse that opens up for their haunt event. I felt like Eric Andre at the fence shaking it screaming LET ME IN. I was desperate to see what was in there. Maybe someone from the Darien Lake community can fill me in on what happens in this building come September.

Heading around the lake, I got on Moto Coaster. While not as impressive as Ride of Steel or Tantrum, this might be my favorite ride at the park. Why don’t more places have these? It takes up such a little footprint, but provides such a unique ride experience. Not just that, it’s really comfortable (especially considering the unique seating arrangement, think Flight of Passage, and it being almost 20 years old) and most importantly just plain fun. Whipping around tight turns on a motorcycle is a winning formula, just ask Hagrid.

From there I continued along the path next door to the Vekoma Boomerang… Oh wait.. No I didn’t. My biggest gripe of this whole park is directed towards whoever made the call to not connect the pathway around the lake. What were they thinking? I have never been to a park that has a large lake as it’s centerpiece that simply decided to make the path a C shape, going like 30 feet from a full circuit but not finishing it. An employee told me it was something to do with the layout of the KOA campground on that side of the park, meaning they couldn’t extend the path out any farther, but you gotta figure that out Darien Lake. I don’t mind walking but it makes no sense.

Anyway, Boomerang was good, it was just like the 50+ other Boomerangs around the world. No matter how many you do though, that backwards loop always provides excellent forces. This ride also brought something to my attention. Between this, the old Arrow, the SLC, I found very little headbanging going on throughout this park. Darien Lake seems to be doing a really nice job upkeeping these rides that have a tendency to get pretty rough as they get older.

The Predator is a very two faced Dinn wooden coaster. There were portions where the track has been maintained and updated that were smooth and really enjoyable, but there were also parts of the track that were legitimately the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been on a ride. You could see beams physically shifting and the train car would just violently rattle over turns. The middle section is excellent and really comfortable, but I will never do this again unless the entire track gets that treatment.

Finally, Ride of Steel was waiting to close out the day and the trip. As expected, it’s an excellent ride. Between this and the Ride of Steel at my local Six Flags America, they are both fantastic but I actually think DC has the slightly more comfortable ride. Maybe it’s the new trains that they just got, or maybe it’s that it’s a year younger, but the rattle felt just a little more pronounced at Darien Lake. I was paired with a young man who was doing his first EVER coaster, and sort of coached him through what to expect. I had him sit on the right so he had the training wheels of the emergency stairs next to him, and sort of pointed out the layout and gave him tips as we waited for the train and went up the lift hill to keep his mind off of things. I was happy to see he had a great time. Those hands finally went up about half way through the ride, and just like that, a thoosie was born. Being a pretty slow day, this and Tantrum were the only two rides commanding any kind of wait, and unfortunately this revealed a glaring issue at the park, that being ride operations. Every ride was running single trains, and on Ride of Steel they were only dispatching once every 5-6 minutes, maybe longer. So even though I got in line with only four cars of people ahead of me in my row, I waited over a half hour to board. In a day of mostly positives, this is definitely a need for improvement.

Reflection

With Superman checked off, it was time to grab a local beer at Busted Barrel Saloon and reflect on the past week. This was the first time I had ever attempted a multi-day multi-park road trip. Being the only theme park psycho in my family, my vacations are usually majority “normal vacations” with a theme park added on here or there. You know, let’s go to Paris for a week and spend a day at Disneyland Paris, hike in the Smokey’s for 3-4 days and then check out Dollywood, that sort of thing. So I commend anybody that takes on trips like this regularly. It feels like a bit of an endurance challenge, not from the walking and cardio, but from the rides themselves and the physical toll that it takes. My goal was to shoot for 30 coasters in 4 days, and thankfully I was able to hit that mark while exploring a diverse catalogue of parks along the way. Not just that, but due to my Six Flags park passport and some free parking, my total costs for the parks themselves was under $100! From carnivals, to local parks, to regional parks, to the coaster capital of the world, this trip had a little bit of everything. When you’re able to see such a vast sample size over such a short period of time, it really helps you appreciate the little things that make theme parks special. Among the unforgettable ride experiences like Ravine Flyer and Steel Vengeance, I’ll look back just as fondly on my interactions with the merch store worker in Western Town who didn’t need to be giving it her all with the character work, but really went above and beyond to make our day special. The employee who saw my Jurassic Park shirt and talked with my wife and I for 20 minutes about his love for Spielburg, showing each other pictures of our matching Jaws Quint-Hooper couple costumes from this past Halloween, and the woman at the carnival who was so proud of the company her sister had built. Amusement and theme parks mean different things to different people, and more than anything I’ll come away from this trip with a better understanding of that. Someone out there loves every park you’ve been to, no matter how big or small, and looking for those things can be what makes you fall in love with them too.

Check out the vlog version of this article here:

Lake Erie Theme Park Road Trip