Darien Lake theme park resort located between Buffalo and Rochester in Darien, New York. After being owned by Six Flags from 1999 to early 2007, the park is owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment.
Other Herschend Family Entertainment Parks include Elitch Gardens, Dollywood, Dollywood’s Splash Country, Silver Dollar City, White Water and Wild Adventures.
Key Events Timeline:
1960 - Paul Snyder opened a small campground and picnic area around a small lake, which would come to be named Darien Lake.
1970s - Paul Snyder added more attractions, creating an amusement park named Darien Lake Fun Country. HUSS sold the park rides such as the Pirate, Ranger, the Corn-Popper and Rodeo Round-Up.
1982 – Huss and Arrow Dynamics built and opened the park’s first roller coaster, The Viper.
1983 – Snyder sold 50% of the park to Funtime Parks, which also owned Geauga Lake and Wyandot Lake Park. The “Fun Country” was dropped from the name, and Funtime brought in some major improvements.
1987 – Addition of a themed kids area, Adventure Land for Kids
1989 – Grizzly Run Added, the parks white water ride thats still in operation today.
1990 - Barracuda Bay waterpark and the wooden roller coaster The Predator were added and Paul Snyder, who up to now still had a say in the park’s operation, sold his remaining share of the park to Funtime, turning over all control to them.
1992 - A new style of entertainment was demoed on the midway between Barracuda Bay and the Giant Wheel, a laser light show called Laser Light Fantasy ( now called LASER BLAST), which included laser graphics and fireworks. The show was permanently installed in the Lakeside Amphitheater in 1993.
1993 – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center opened, which could hold nearly 4 times as many guests.
1995 - Premier Parks bought Funtime and its three owned parks. Adventure Land was replaced by Popeye’s Seaport and all new kiddie rides in a different area of the park.A new waterpark attraction, Hook’s Lagoon, took over Adventure Land’s old location.
1996 – Nightmare at Phantom Cave
1997 - Crocodile Isle wave pool and Mind Eraser added
1998 – Boomerang: Coast to Coaster added, Nightmare was removed in and relocated to another Premier-owned park, The Great Escape.
1998 – Premier purchased Six Flags Theme Parks, and began to rebrand its own parks as Six Flags.
1999 – Superman Ride of Steel (the world’s first Intamin Hypercoaster), now called Ride Of Steel.
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 and DC Comics, into the parks, renaming Popeye’s Seaport to Looney Tunes Seaport, and added a new show in the vacant former Nightmare building, the Batman Thrill Spectacular.
2000 – Premier Parks, assuming their new name, Six Flags Inc. and a drop in the addition of new attractions.
2002 – Shipwreck Falls was added, replacing an old set of water slides on the east side of Barracuda Bay
Offical Six Flags Darien Lake Logo that was used on the Offical Site in 2002!
2005 – Tornado added
2006 – Big Kahuna, a family-sized waterslide, from Six Flags Astroworld to Darien Lake and also moved the Batman: The Escape roller coaster from Astroworld into storage at Darien Lake, with possible plans to build it in the future. They also added an opportunity to meet with the entire Justice League at the park.
October 2006, after shortened operating hours and seasons, Six Flags officially announced that the parks were in fact being offered for sale as a package. Paul Snyder stated in a radio interview that he would have considered purchasing only Darien Lake back from Six Flags if they had allowed the parks to be sold individually.
2007 – Six Flags Darien Lake sold to PARC Management and renamed Darien Lake Theme Park Resort along with new logo and prices. PARC was unable to make many 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/Warner Bros/DC Comics related signage and references. Also 2007 Season Passes where able to be used at any Six Flags Park or former SF Park.
2008 – OCC Motocoaster added and 2009 Season Passes (4) were given out durning Lazerblast as part of new ride promotion
2009 – Free In Park Concerts were added along with minor changes.
Offfical "Splashtown at Darien Lake Logo as of 2010.
2010 – The WaterPark is rebranded to “Splashtown at Darien Lake”. Three new attractions are added. Along with the Cuba Falls Slides Complex being repainted. New Cabanas, retail and lodging areas were added too.In 2010, seperate addmission is need to enter the waterpark. New Shows like Sea Lion Splash started May 28th! The Hotel and Campgrounds were upgraded adding New Cabins and New Suites in the hotel. PARC Rewards is launched by Darien Lake’s Parent Company, PARC Management. Viper is repainted all black as it was before Six Flags bought the park. Other rides were repainted as well like Boomerang and parts of the Ride Of Steel track.
November 2010 – CNL Lifestyle Properties announced that it was ending its relationship with PARC Management. And would look for a new management team to operate it parks.
2011 - On January 25th, Herschend Family Entertainment took over Day to Day Operations of Darien Lake.
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