The Top 10 Rides at Six Flags Darien Lake
Six Flags Darien Lake Rides
Six Flags Darien Lake in Corfu, New York, has 36 rides and attractions (not including the water rides at the connected Hurricane Harbor). These 36 rides include rollercoasters, water rides, thrill rides, family rides, and kid’s rides, but out of those 36, which are the best?
These are the top 10 rides at Six Flags Darien Lake that you NEED to try! These rides at Six Flags Darien Lake have been ranked based on overall ride experience, fun factor, and uniqueness, making them the best rides in the park.
Let’s get started!
#10 – Rolling Thunder
At number ten is Rolling Thunder, a Giant Loop ride. Giant Loops are an interesting type of ride because they look like they could be a rollercoaster, but they technically don’t qualify as one. Rolling Thunder, like all Giant Loop rides, consists of only one element, an inverted loop.
The train rocks back and forth on the ride, gradually gaining height and speed with each pass through the ride’s station. Eventually, the train gains enough momentum to go around the loop entirely and stop at the peak, creating a sense of weightlessness for the riders. Then, it falls back down in the opposite direction, completing the loop again.
Rolling Thunder makes the list of the top ten best rides in the park because there is no other ride at Six Flags Darien Lake that creates a sense of weightlessness for riders like Rolling Thunder. It’s slightly scary, thrilling, and, most importantly, a fun ride.
The only reason why Rolling Thunder doesn’t rank higher is that these types of attractions are common in many Six Flags theme parks and your local fair. But just because you can find them everywhere doesn’t stop it from being one of the best rides at Six Flags Darien Lake!
#9 – Predator
Number nine is the tallest wooden rollercoaster in New York (and the only wooden rollercoaster in the park), Predator!
| Max Speed | 50 mph |
| Max Height | 95 ft |
| Drop | 92 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
Predator is infamous around Six Flags Darien Lake because many consider it the most painful ride in the park for its back-breaking bumpiness. However, that bumpiness may be part of its classic wooden charm.
There are not many wooden rollercoasters remaining that haven’t been updated into hybrid metal/wooden rides, and Predator is one of the very few to maintain its classic wooden structure (save for a tiny section of the attraction that has a Great Coaster International (GCI) steel Titan Track installed).
Predator is a ride where you feel every turn and every drop and will give you an idea of what classic rollercoasters used to be like before the invention of the steel track. For that reason, Predator is one of the best rides at Six Flags Darien Lake!
#8 – Mind Eraser
Number eight is Mind Eraser, the only Suspended Looping Coaster in New York.
| Max Speed | 49 mph |
| Max Height | 120 ft |
| Drop | 114 ft |
| Inversions | 5 |
Though Mind Eraser may be one of the most headache-inducing rollercoasters in the park (literally), if you manage to keep your head back against the seat, this becomes one of the most fun rides in the park. With five inversions, including a heart loop, the ride’s intensity never stops from beginning to end.
#7 – Blast Off
Number seven is Blast Off, the only launch tower at Six Flags Darien Lake. Blast Off is a fun ride because of the anticipation you get as you slowly rise off the platform, not knowing exactly when you will be shot up into the air but giving in to the certainty that it will happen. Then before you know it, the sudden launch from 0-60 mph takes you up the 185 ft tower and then drops you back down.
Only two other attractions at the park beat the adrenaline you feel on this ride, so Blast Off deserves to be on this list covering the best rides at Six Flags Darien Lake.
#6 – Boomerang
Number six is a reoccurring ride at other Six Flags theme parks, Boomerang: Coast to Coaster. Boomerang is unlike any other rollercoaster at Six Flags Darien Lake.
| Max Speed | 47 mph |
| Height | 116.5 ft |
| Drop | 116 ft |
| Inversions | 3 |
| G-Force | 5.2 |
The ride starts by lifting riders backward up a hill and then dropping them full speed back through the ride station, where they go through a course with multiple inversions. Then, riders reach a dead-end hill which launches them backward through the track for a second time.
No other ride in the park takes you backward through multiple inversions like Boomerang. It’s one of the park’s most fun attractions and deservedly belongs in the top ten rides at Six Flags Darien Lake.
#5 – Motocoaster
Before Hagrid’s Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure in Universal Studios Orlando, there was MotoCoaster at Six Flags Darien Lake. MotoCoaster is a unique rollercoaster in the park, with special ride cars where you sit up and forward as if riding a motorcycle.
Riding a rollercoaster while sitting up is a sensation you can only get on MotoCoaster, making it one of the best experiences at Six Flags Darien Lake.
Without considering the motorcycle ride cars, MotoCoaster is a standard rollercoaster without any inversions. It’s the perfect rollercoaster for families with kids! The main element of the ride structure is the 0-40 mph launch. After the launch, the ride consists of turns and twists before it reaches the station, ending the ride.
You must try this ride when you go to Six Flags Darien Lake!
#4 – Tantrum
Number four is arguably the scariest rollercoaster at Six Flags Darien Lake.
| Max Speed | 52.8 mph |
| Max Height | 98.4 ft |
| Max Vertical Angle | 97-degrees |
| Inversions | 3 |
Tantrum is the only rollercoaster in the park with a beyond-vertical drop. Before the drop is the 90-degree chain lift hill that puts riders on their back as they go up it.
Then, when you finally take the plunge over the 97-degree beyond vertical drop, you’ll feel as if you lift out of your seats! Though those might be the scariest elements of the ride, they aren’t the only ones.
Tantrum also features three inversions: an Immelmann loop, a cutback, and an inclined loop. On top of that, from beginning to end, Tantrum has a ride duration of 1:00, making it an intense experience all the way through.
Though it’s a small ride, it’s one of the best Darien Lake offers!
#3 – Skyscreamer
Number three is SkyScreamer, the tallest ride at Six Flags Darien Lake and in New York. Standing 243 ft tall, SkyScreamer is the perfect family ride as it mixes the thrill of climbing up such a tall tower with the relaxing elements of a swing ride.
Once you get used to the dizzying heights, SkyScreamer offers the best aerial view of Six Flags Darien Lake, allowing you to see miles in the distance. As for the elements of SkyScreamer, besides the height, the ride swings riders around the tower at 43 mph and rotates them at a 98 ft circle in diameter. At those heights, the ride doesn’t feel like it goes as fast as it does, so it still maintains a relaxing atmosphere, which is important if you want to enjoy the scenery.
To get the amazing view, you must get on SkyScreamer, because no other ride offers what this one does!
#2 – Shipwreck Falls
Number two is the only water ride on this list that is one of the most refreshing experiences in the park to get on and watch from a distance. Shipwreck Falls is a flume boat ride, but unlike most flume boat rides, you don’t just get a bit wet; you get drenched!
When you drop into the catch pool at the bottom of the hill, the drop creates a massive wave that covers all the riders in the boat. No matter which row you sit in, you’ll get soaked from head to toe by the water blast.
Getting on Shipwreck Falls isn’t the only way to get wet. Right in the center of the catch pool is a bridge you have to walk across to get into the queue for the ride. In a certain spot of the bridge is the Splash Zone.
If you stand in the Splash Zone, the wave from the riders coming down will crash into you with even more pressure than if you were on the ride! Depending on your size, you might even get lifted off your feet!
Shipwreck Falls is not only the best water ride in the park but may also be the most fun ride at Six Flags Darien Lake!
#1 – Ride of Steel
And the number one ride that you NEED to try at Six Flags Darien Lake is Ride of Steel. Ride of Steel is the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the park, standing at 208 ft and reaching max speeds of 73 mph. Ride of Steel reaches those speeds through its 205 ft drop, which is also the largest drop in the park.
| Max Speed | 73 mph |
| Max Height | 208 ft |
| Drop | 205 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Ride Duration | 2:02 |
There are no inversions during the ride, but there are two helixes; a 540-degree downward helix and the final 500-degree upward one.
Overall, Ride of Steel is the definitive rollercoaster experience that is thrilling, fun, and unique. Ride of Steel is a must-try experience at Six Flags Darien Lake!
Six Flags Darien Lake Additional Rides
Though these are the ten best rides at Six Flags Darien Lake, there are 36 rides in the park. These include family rides, kid’s rides, go-karts, bumper cars, and more. Six Flags Darien Lake has a ton to offer you and your family, so you will have a great time no matter how you spend your day!
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