Darien Lake Theme Park Resort Review

Darien Lake Theme Park Resort

Darien Lake is a well known theme park here in western New York. It's located outside of Buffalo kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's surrounded by a lake, trees, campgrounds and an amphlitheatre that holds concerts all season long. For us, with 3 small children, we need places we can take the kids to and enjoy ourselves at the same time. Luckily, Darien Lake has a bit of everything for all ages at it's theme park resort.

Parking is incredibly convienent. It's close to the park itself with plenty of space. We chose to park near the picnic table area because we pack our lunch and dinner for the day. This way we don't have to carry our coolers too far once we are ready to take a break and eat.

Darien Lake has two types of amusement in its park. There's the water park and the rides.

The water park has tons of attractions. If you're wanting to lounge in the cabanas, lay out and get some sun, ride the water rides or just swim... you're sure to find something to match your needs.

The water park has Hooks Lagoon and it is a crowd favorite for all ages. There's 2 pirate ships complete with water slides & water cannons. The water is shallow which allows for the kids to play. The lifeguards are in the water and keep a close eye on everyone to prevent any accidents.

There's also the Flotation Station which is much like a lazy river. Sit back on a tube and relax while you float along calm water... but watch out for those water falls that can get you drenched!

There are more water slides and rides such as Brain Drain (slide 300 feet in 10 seconds!), Swirl City Slide Complex, Tornado (This is not for the faint at heart!) and the newest water slide this year, Rip Curl Racer! This is a 6 lane water slide you can race your friends to the end on through twists and turns on 300 feet total of sliding to include a 40 foot plunge! WOW did I rocket out of the tunnels on this water ride. Sadly, I did not beat Papa Mayo on this ride ... nor my brother in laws. They all beat me... but it was fun! There are a lot of activities and areas for the water park. Lines can be a problem. That is really my only complaint. We stood in line for the Tornado for just over an hour. I believe that Darien Lake is trying to alleviate wait times by adding more water attractions.

This year Darien Lake put in pin-code lockers in 3 different sizes to keep all your belongings in for the day. These are located just outside of Hooks Lagoon.

On the thrill ride side of the park, Darien Lake features 7 roller coasters to include an older wooden built coaster. On these rides you can plunge, dip, dive, twist and flip upside down. I could probably ride the Viper over and over again, it's my absolute favorite.

There are rides for all ages at Darien Lake. The kids area provides rides that allow your child to ride independently or with an adult. Our daughter loves being able to go on these rides all by herself! The family friendly rides are great for an entire family to do together. There's swings, merry-go-rounds, wet rides and more.

There are tons of food spots to include full meal restraunts and stands for your common amusement park food. We tried out the fried dough that was sprinkled with powdered sugar and it was delicious!

Another option to eat is to do what we did ... picnic! Upon leaving Darien Lake you get a hand stamp for re-entrance. Just pack a cooler full of your favorite foods and eat at one of the many picnic tables that are located around the parking lot. Our cooler was packed with:

Make Your Own Subs

Condiments

Chips

Beverages

Pasta Salad

Potato Salad

Fresh Veggies

Pinwheels

For drinks, I highly suggest getting the Premium Sport Bottle at your first visit (Or get it on the online store). You pay for the refillable cup once and get FREE refills at any Food & Beverage location within the park during the 2016 season. (Buying online also gives you a discount).

Darien Lake amphlitheatre has concerts , In-Park concerts and a season full of events on their calender. So make sure you check out what else is going on the day of your visit! We were able to see Rachel Platten during our visit! What an absolutely amazing concert!

Season tickets are also a "must-have" for Darien Lake. You can go all year long for the price of less than 2 visits!

All in all, we love Darien Lake. It's so much fun for an all day event. Play in the water park and hop on over to dry off on some roller coasters. Grab a cabana to lounge in all day or to take a break from the rides. Eat some amazing food and play games for prizes. The fun really is endless here. Check out the camping and hotel options if you'd like to make a longer trip to Darien Lake!

Darien Lake gets our Western New York Hot Spot stamp of approval! We will be visiting Darien Lake again this season and we hope to see you there!

Be sure to check out my Instagram feed for awesome photos and videos of our trip to Darien Lake!

Purely Entertaining received free tickets to Darien Lake Theme Park & Resort in exchange for our honest and unbiased review of the attraction on our blog. No monetary exchange was performed. All words, opinion and review is our own. This is in compliance with the FTC regulations.