Negative-G 2012 Road Trip Day Two: Darien Lake Theme Park Page Three

Darien Lake Theme Park
Corfu, New York
Negative-G 2012 Road Trip
May 25, 2012
Page Three

The Viper Roller Coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park, Corfu, New York

Viper, when it opened up in 1982 held the record for the most loops on any coaster in the world with it's five inversions.

The Viper Roller Coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park, Corfu, New York

It is a completely custom layout but I'm not sure why they have such a long straightaway after the lift hill before taking the turn to the first drop. That part was kind of anticlimactic because you get to the top of the lift and are ready to go and then it's a slow straight stretch of track and a slow turn before a drop that wasn't that steep. Come on start with some thrills and speed instead of a slow boring turn.

The Viper Roller Coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park, Corfu, New York

After that weird interlude of a start Viper's action started once you hit the bottom of the first drop where you enter the first of five loops.

The Viper Roller Coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park, Corfu, New York

We would have enjoyed Viper considerably more but it seems that one of it's riders got ill and had a "protein spill" (or "vomit") all over the train. A delay due to spew is something that happens but the ride operators taking forty minutes to clean it up was less than desirable. The ride operators would clean for a minute, then stand up and talk for five minutes then clean for a minute and so on and so on. What was frustrating about this is that Hirschend is known for the best customer service in the industry at their other parks but this was below their standards and more like the crappy service that you used to get at the now closed Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Having the ride operators not giving a damn about doing a good job and not getting Hirschend level customer service their park was the first of many disappointments to our Darien Lake visit.