Darien Throws a Tantrum
By News Release | June 5, 2018
DARIEN CENTER, N.Y. — Orange and green balloons adorned a corner of Darien Lake Park as the facility celebrated the opening of Tantrum, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter.
General Manager Chris Thorpe told WSYR that the park is thrilled about the coaster. He said they were, “Very excited to be opening this ride. It’s our first ride in ten years that we’ve put in. What’s unique to this attraction is that it’s straight up, beyond vertical.”
“Tantrum was a great project and really fits the park,” said Andreas Simonis, one of the Managing Directors of Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. “The orange and green colors the park chose really pop, it stands out among the park’s great coaster collection.”
The park celebrated with a great press event and opening day celebrations. They even partnered with Perry’s Ice Cream to create Tantrum Twist, a flavor inspired by the coaster. The coaster and the ice cream flavor both proved to be a hit with Guests.
“The ride really is a powerhouse,” said Adam Sandy, Chief Business Development Officer for Ride Entertainment. “It takes a lot of people by surprise because of its size. Darien Lake Park has a lot of big coasters, so Tantrum isn’t the largest ride there. But, the vertical lift and beyond-vertical drop start the ride off with a scream-worthy rush and after that it is non-stop, back-to-back inversions that make for a fun, intense ride from the time you leave the chain until the magnetic brakes slow you.”
The 8-passenger vehicles feature lap bars and are extremely comfortable and offer the park the flexibility of running one, two or three trains each day.
Ride Entertainment also handled the ride installation. Bill Wright, Managing Director of the company’s Installation Division, oversaw the ride erection. “They really have a great team to work with. We worked hand-in-hand with the Darien team to get the ride up as quickly as possible and get the soft opening done in time for Memorial Day Weekend. A majority of the ride steel went up in only a few days.”