Scene & Heard: Stay & play at Darien Lake

So we’ve all heard about Darien Lake right? But how many of us have actually been? Well, I decided that I was going to change that and finally check out what this place was all about. So, my family and I packed up the car and spent a few lovely days at the cozy Lodge on the Lake at Darien Lake.

Stay and Play at Darien Lake. They have everything!

I wanted this experience to be a time that we could reconnect and have fun as a family with no fuss. I typed the address into the GPS which plotted the route and gave me a driving time of just over 2 hours from mid-town. Of course, the GPS doesn’t take into account the massive amount of rain that was falling, or the fact that it was just before a long weekend and the traffic that that brings. When we arrived it was still raining heavily so it was a night indoors for us.

Rain kept us indoors the first night, but the kids made the most of it.

Whether you like traditional camping, the newer, fancier ‘glamping’, kicking back in an RV or keeping it simple in a hotel, Darien Lake offers all of these options. Silly me, I should have taken the opportunity to try out an RV (which you can rent right there, on site), but I thought I’d play it safe and book a hotel room. Bonus though? There is an on site Tim Hortons which opens late on the first floor of the hotel. Even though we were soaked to the bone, we were all able to warm up with a familiar taste of home.

Darien Lake offers just about any accommodation you could ask for.

When the rain finally let up the following day, we headed outside in the sun and explored the amusement park. Think of it as little sister to Canada’s Wonderland. Darien Lake’s park boasts over 45 rides, including traditional roller coasters, family-friendly rides, a 10-acre water park with wave pool, and for music buffs, a large Performing Arts Center operated by Live Nation.

Blast Off quite literally, builds up the speed of a rocket and takes you into the clouds

After dinner we pulled out our lawn chairs and found some great spots on the grass to enjoy the newly upgraded Laser Blast Show dubbed “Ignite the Night. It’s fun and it’s loud, complete with full fledged fire works, lasers and water jets. Look out for the big salute to Canada too—and judging by the hoots and hollers for the shout out—there are in fact, many Canucks who know the joys of Darien Lake.

With plenty of shopping, outlets, museums and nearby attractions to visit, a mini-vacation at Darien Lake really is a wonderful way to “stay and play.” I got to kick back and relax, reading my novel at night and playing board games with the family after full days at the park and surrounding area.

Darien Lake offers a plethora of on-site, overnight accommodations including:

• Lodge on the Lake, a 160-room hotel, with theme rooms too
• 57 modern cabins each with a kitchen, full bath, fireplace, flat screen TV, air conditioning, gas grill, picnic table, and fire ring
• 283 furnished RV campsites
• 650 traditional campsites
• Glamping sites which provides a more luxurious take on camping, complete with Queen sized beds
• 2013 also welcomes the addition of 6 new four-bedroom, fully furnished, fully equipped Guest Houses

Bonus? When Darien Lake says that they are “fun for the whole family”, they mean it, so you can even have the pets tag along for the trip

Food & Drink:
Resting on 980 acres of Western New York landscape, Darien Lake offers a fair range of on-site food options. The park offers 32 quick or full-service carts and restaurants, with its newest addition of New York’s Anchor Bar, famed for the invention of the Buffalo Chicken Wing. There are two Tim Horton’s and a mini supermarket complete with a beer fridge, logs for a campfire, a variety of toys and more.

Fun is right over the bridge. Darien Lake is only a 50-minute drive from the Niagara Falls “Rainbow Bridge”, and Queenston’s “Lewiston-Queenston bridge” and a 40-minute drive from Fort Erie’s “Peace Bridge.”

For more information please visit: www.darienlake.com.

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