Predator Review, Six Flags Darien Lake Dinn Wood Coaster | America's Most Underrated Wood Coaster
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ย. 2022
- Predator is the lone wood coaster at Six Flags Darien Lake. This ride was designed by Curtis D. Summers and built by the Dinn Corporation. For years, the ride has had a negative reputation as one of the world's roughest coasters, but it parts of it received GCI's new titan track for the 2022 season. And I think this is actually a very underrated coaster...in the right seats.
Video Credits
Predator POV (Six Flags Darien Lake)- • Official Predator POV
Titan Track (Great Coasters International)- • GCI STEEL Track Promot...
Background Music
Trailer Adventure Cinematic by Infraction [No Copyright Music] / Distance- • Trailer Adventure Cine...
“I really liked it. The ride had good airtime and was extremely tolerable, but the people behind me were screaming in agony.”
Most enthusiast thing ever said
It's more to emphasize the importance of avoiding a wheel seat.
The titan track section on this train is a big improvement. I’d like to see them extend it.
Me too.
I’ve only ridden this once and it was after the Titan Track modification. That said, I really liked this ride and thought it was one of the better coasters at Darien Lake.
It's my 2nd favorite ride there.
MORE TITAN TRACK THIS YEAR! I love when my home parks (Darien Lake, Great Escape) get soem love!
Nice!
I now know a lot more about this ride. Thanks :) I hope to go on it some day
You're welcome!
As someone who just rode predator yesterday I can confirm that with my five rides I got on it 4 of them in the front of each car one of them in the back of each car, I can confirm that four of the rides were enjoyable while the one was pure agony
Glad you enjoyed most of your rides.
I need to ride this in the front then when I finally make it to Darien Lake!
Definitely.
I love this ride and I think that it’s one of the best ones at Darien Lake
I like it too.
GCI announced today that Predator will be getting more Titan Track during the off season! They didn't say how much track though.
Fantastic!
Predator used to be much worse when they had the red and black PTC Trailored trains all the ride would do is jackhammer and shuffle you throughout the course. I see a lot of potential in this ride as i had a couple of good rides on it in the front row with it's current trains, it also runs really good when it's hot out right after it rains then the wood swells up and it runs really smooth.
My most recent visit was a hot day with some rain.
I just really hope the Titan Track didn't ruin the forces. Some rides do that and it's sad. And as the only wooden coaster at the park, it's pretty iconic.
It shouldn't. If anything it should run better with less jittering.
Predator is a love/hate relationship with me. I used to hate it, then I was more neutral on it, now I’m starting enjoy it as I learn how to ride it. I heard it’s getting more Titan Track on the first turn, maybe we’ll get a new train as well from what I’ve heard!
Do you know if the 2nd train I saw is an older one?
@@CanobieCoaster I think they rotate trains each year to save money, but I could be wrong. So it was just in parts/off-season mode I guess.
Good review addressing the good and bad of this disliked woodie. I haven't ridden this Dinn yet but it honestly looks like a lot of fun. The generous 7/10 gives me hope that this coaster will be open long enough for me to give it a ride.
Just avoid a wheel seat.
@@CanobieCoaster Thanks dude, hope I remember to
Dinn has a reputation for undersupporting the track, resulting in heavy jackhammering anywhere with high-G forces.
The layout looks great and if the whole thing got the Titan treatment, I'd bet the pacing would be much better, especially towards the end.
GCI said more titan track is being added.
I like it. Looks fun. Woodies are my favorite coaster type.
I like this one.
Yeah it’s no worse then any other ( real) wood coaster the 2nd hill the airtime hill is great and yes that turn around was rough before the retrack just rode ravine flyer 2 last weekend and hopefully before I die I’ll ride the beast at kings island , rebel yell was also a great coaster but yes dinns were a little bit bumpier I guess although mean streak was pretty smooth for a dinn
If I ask you, what do you think about the rides you got on Predator over the years?
Canobie Coaster would say: I first experienced Predator in...
A) 2009.
B) 2010.
C) 2011.
D) 2012.
I got one ride and...
A) I loved it.
B) I liked it.
C) I did not like it.
I believe I was in a wheel seat and I got...
A) a boring ride.
B) a tame ride.
C) a ride devoid of airtime.
D) the rough ride everyone else has described.
When I returned to the park in...
A) 2017
B) 2018
C) 2019
I again rode Predator once. This time I took precautions and got the front row. And much to my amazement, I didn't come off in pain. In fact, I liked it. The ride had good airtime and was tolerable, but the people behind me was still screaming in agony. I knew I needed to try Predator multiple times in a variety of rows to get a full understanding for the coaster and that finally happened in 2022. The key is to avoid a wheel seat, or the back car. I say that with a lot of wood coasters but it's especially the case with...
A) that one.
B) this one.
My review talks about that.
This review made me super happy and validated my positive opinions that almost no one who lives in WNY or works at DL shares :). I worked at ROS in 2019 and would go straight to this 50% of the time after I finished my shifts. I also had a rain ride with the park lit up like a rainbow for fright nights once where the ejector was on par (at least in strength) with El Toro rain rides.
Those rain rides sound unbelievable.
As someone who has been riding this thing considered a coaster since 1990, it is by far still one the roughest coasters I have ever been on. I have not been on it in several years because I refuse to, so I don't know how it is with the titan track, but that "death turn" was true and utter death and you would just wish you chose a different path in your life. I was only 10 when it first opened, but it consistently had 2.5hr wait times the first year. I don't remember it being too bad from 1990-1996. I would ride it about 10x per visit and probably have over 200 rides on it in total. In the later 90s and early 2000s, it threw my dad's back out and my brother in law cusses this coaster and will never ride it again. Only current coaster I have been on close enough to predators roughness is Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee. I've heard the titan track has really helped, so maybe my thoughts on this abysmal creation will be different now. I will give it another try next time I visit family in Buffalo.
Mine Blower is far rougher than this thing now.
"Predaher"...it's driving me crazy.
Sorry!
Very back is by far my favorite row, I swear 5 ejector moments. That first turnaround has crazy airtime & laterals coming down
I like the front best.
Predator at Six Flags Darien Lake: The train is comprised of 6 cars. Each car has two rows of two, for a total of 24 riders. If you see the train, how many wheel seats are there? Canobie Coaster, what do you think?
6 rows of wheel seats.
This was my experience and thoughts as well. My rides were in 2019, and my first ride was front row, and I was very impressed with the smoothness and forces. My 2nd ride was toward the back on a non-wheel seat. It wasn't as good and a bit rougher, but still not bad. I couldn't understand why people didn't like it.
I think most of the hate has to be people riding in wheel seats.
Yeah it’s no worse then any other ( real) wood coaster the 2nd hill the airtime hill is great and yes that turn around was rough before the retrack just rode ravine flyer 2 last weekend and hopefully before I die I’ll ride the beast at kings island , rebel yell was also a great coaster but yes dinns were a little bit bumpier I guess although mean streak was pretty smooth for a dinn
This is a quality ride now.
I haven’t ridden a dinn but when I went to Michigan adventure in 2017 I watched wolverine wildcat for a while and I could se the train bouncing on the track due to the roughness
Dinns aren't revered for their smoothness.
I loved this ride, even in the back I had a great time. If it maintained its speed better and we’re a little smoother it’d be up there for me with some CCIs. The crests of some hills reminded me of those on Cornball minus the buzz bars. I have this ranked right between Blue Streak and InvadR
I'm excited to hear more Titan Track is added to improve the tracking further.
It’s a good coaster, it’s just too rough. I wish they’d RMC it. The titan track helps, but come on, RMC it!
GCI announced more Titan Track is coming at IAAPA.
I'd love to hear a review on DL's Viper!
I should have one in a few months.
itis a great ride
In some seats.
This just goes to show that one of the roughest wooden roller coasters in the world can actually be good
I actually like the layout.
I went to Darien lake for two days back in July and predator was closed both days so I didn't get a chance to ride 😪
Dang!
The train has wheels and I thought all seats and rows were above the wheels.
Wheel seats refer to when your butt is directly above the wheels. So it happens on the back of a car here.
I rode in 2009 & found it to be nearly as rough as SOB... and it was a rainy day too haha
Glad at least a portion of it is smooth now! Might make the ride worth it. ( just like how SOB had a mod-ride relief)
I hope more Titan Track is added.
Also, I'm confused. You mentioned avoiding sitting on the wheel seats. However for Predator, these PTC trains are only two-row cars. Doesn't that mean that no matter where you sit, you'll be sitting on the wheels?
I was going to ask the same thing.
The front row of the car doesn't sit directly on a wheel, it's slightly smoother in the front of the 2 bench cars.
Wheel seats are the back of a car. There's a difference when your butt is directly above the wheels.
@@CanobieCoaster learning something new every day. I always was under the impression that a non-wheel seat meant sitting in the mid row of a 3 bench.
What do you think about the first ride on Predator?
My first ride in 2010 was super rough.
She’s not an enthusiast, but my friend does hate it enough to move 3000 miles away (and her husband lives here).
Wow!
Was the Predator 2010 ride rougher than Mind Eraser also at Six Flags Darien Lake?
Both were bad. Mind Eraser was probably worse since the restraints led to headbanging.
I never wanted to ride this thing at all anymore--however the recent re-tracking performed for this past season in 2022 improved the experience tremendously.
Now it's still a little rough and bumpy but in a fun way. It's not downright painful anymore nor does it violently jackhammer you nearly as bad as it used to. It seems like a short-term fix that will tide it over for another 4-5 seasons but boy, this ride is begging for an RMC re-do in the future. The thing is, I don't know if Six Flags will want to invest that kind of money at Darien Lake to do so.
I wouldn't mind if they redo the entire thing in Titan Track while keeping the same layout.
I'd love for it to get a full retrack.
It’s a good looking ride along the water, great out and back but yeah, it’s tough and rough. I don’t ride it after lunch 😂 I haven’t ridden it since pre-pandemic.
I find it smooth enough.
@@CanobieCoaster I think the older I get the easier it is for me to find a coaster rough, I still live the thrills but I space them out now 😂
I have a huge tolerance for rough coasters, so I bet that I could marathon Predator
Nice!
Being at my home park, I've ridden it many times & it's my 2nd favorite in the park & even cracks my top 50
How is this better than tantrum lol dairen lake is also my home park predator is still no.3
Tantrum is boring to me
I think it's underrated.
was Viper the roughest coaster at Darien Lake?
No
Hardly. M*nd Er*ser is by far the worst in the park.
It has been a lot better the past few seasons. Previously it was absolutely abysmal
It rides quite well now.
I mean Predator is Good but it has some rough spots
Definitely does, which is why I avoid wheel seats.
This park is what Efteling would’ve been if they didn’t have millions of euros to spend.
Me: I want Efteling!
My mom: We have Efteling at home!
Efteling at home:
Im so confused by this statement
@@abelmusch8786 What are you confused about? It’s a joke about how this park is like Efteling on a smaller budget.
I don't think this park has too many similarities with Efteling.
I hate this ride. Super rough and absolutely forceless
I think it has good airtime.