Six Flags Schuyler Lake

Six Flags Schuyler Lake (formerly known as Schuyler Lake) is a theme park located in Geneva, New York with a Rochester mailing address. It is touted as being the world's largest amusement park.

Pre-SAI (1913-1961)
The park opened in May the 14th of 1913 as "Schuyler Lake" by the Schuyler family as a zoo and picnic grove. The only attraction from opening day remaining is the antique carousel.

In 1920, the Bird Garden opened along with the park's first coaster. In 1923, Ye Old Mill opened. In 1924, Thunderbolt opened, which started a direction in the park to build the most intense coasters they could. In 1928, Jack Rabbit and The Whip opened to the public.

Entering the 1930s, in 1930, Pippin the Zippin opened. In 1936, Whip Jr. opened. In 1939, Noah's Ark opened.

In the 1940s, due to World War II, saw less growth than other decades, with the first attraction of the decade being 1943's Little Chariots. In 1946, Torpedo opened to the public and finally, in 1949, Steeplechase opened.

In 1950, Turtle Pond opened. In 1955, Little Lake Railroad opened. In 1957, the Carousel was repainted. In 1959, two new rides, Scrambler and Wild Mouse, opened to the public, marking the first time since 1928 that two additions were built in a single year. This would arguably start their Golden Age.

Starting off the 1960s was the addition of Rotor, which was installed in 1960, In 1961, marking the first time three years in a row with consecutive attractions, the Dolphin Discovery opened.

Schuyler Amusements, Inc. (1962-1983)
Schuyler Amusements, Inc. (SAI) was founded in 1962. In 1978, SAI had plans to build a sister amusement park to Schuyler Lake in Corfu, New York called "Darien Lake" which opened in 1981.

With the new brand, came a new foundation for the park, changing this rather small-town feeling park into a Disneyland-style park, with themed lands, along with a proper railroad, the first time two coasters were installed within a single year - Golden Comet and Comet Jr. and 9 new flat rides, with two of them, Metro Express and Schuyler Skyway, being direct inspirations from Disney. Another new ride, Space Point, was the world's tallest observation tower when it opened, at 400 feet high. It was a double-deck observation tower, with one of the decks later being converted into a revolving restaurant in 1991. In 1963, Lakeside Turnpike opened. In 1966, after a couple years of no new rides, Trabant was added. In 1969, after another traditional three-year-drought, three new rides were added - Calypso, The Loop and Professor Burpo's Soda Pop Factory, this would also unintentionally be the last season Jack Rabbit would operate, as the coaster would be struck by lightning and burnt down during the off-season.

In 1970, Haunted Manor and Jack Rabbit II opened to the public. Haunted Manor was another ride that was a direct inspiration from Disney (Interestingly, the ride started construction before the ride it was based on even opened to the public), and Jack Rabbit II was a rebuilding from Jack Rabbit from scratch. In 1971, Shogun Palace opened. In 1972, The Loop closed due to safety concerns. In 1973, Bumper Cars and the Super Wheel opened. In 1974, Bayern Kurve opened while Ye Old Mill closed. In 1975, Firecracker, Wildcat and Space Chute opened, while Comet Jr. closed. In 1976, Beastie and Kiddie Bumper Cars opened, along with the Bicentennial celebration. In 1977, the "Ride Roundup" happened, adding six new rides in a single year, including Corkscrew, an Arrow coaster. In 1978, Blackbeard's Ship opened. In 1979, to cap off the decade, Whirlwind opened.

In 1980, Typhoon Spinnaker opened, In 1981, Bear's Den opened, marking the end of the Golden Age that's been here since 1959 and the start of the Silver Age, mainly due to attention being focused on Darien Lake, In 1982, Lumberjack, Deer Forest, Fireball, Rainbow Worm, Robin Hood and Little Lumberjack opened, marking "Attraction Roundup", In 1983, Himalaya, Flying Dragons, Kiddie Pirate and Creature Cavern opened. The Loop was scrapped after being SBNO for years to make way for a new large scale roller coaster.

Kings Entertainment Company era (1984-1990)
In 1984, SAI became a wholly owned subsidiary of KECO. Also, Hanna-Barbera Land opened, along with Lake Monster and many new flat rides.

In 1985, Sonic Boomerang opened as the first Boomerang layout coaster in the US, however, due to Vekoma's US offices working on too much projects at the time, Arrow built it instead. In 1986, Arctic Run opened to the public, expanding the Mountain area and theme even more, It also saw the debut of Viper, a TOGO standup, and two new animal exhibits - Tiger Tales and Winter Garden. In 1987, Matrix opened as "New York's Most Advanced Roller Coaster". In 1988, Steel Beast opened as the World's First Hyper-Coaster, although unlike modern hyper coasters, would focus on inversions rather than airtime, the ride would be placed in the front of the park, requiring the removal of two other coasters.

First Six Flags era (1991-2010)
In 1991, SAI was acquired by Six Flags from KECO. Along with that, Big New Yorker, Revolution and Action Mountain opened to the public. Schuyler Lake became known as "Six Flags Schuyler Lake". Some of the park's areas were renamed.

In 1992, Starlight Mini Golf and WOKR-TV News Source 13 Live at Six Flags Schuyler Lake opened to the public.

In 1993, Batman: The Ride opened to the public. The park also celebrated its 80th anniversary that year.

In 1995, Six Flags phased out the Schuyler Amusements subsidiary, and Big Apple Turnover and the short-lived Ninja roller coaster opened to the public.

In 1999, several rides including Goliath, Chaos, and XTR: Xtreme Thrill Ride opened to the public. An incident also occurred at the Tiger Tales attraction that year, in which a trainer was attacked by Bengal tigers during a show. While the trainer survived, they required finger prosthetics as a result of the attack, while Tiger Tales was shut down for the rest of the season. Ranger also closed that same year. The park expanded its operations to weekends in the fall with the addition of Fright Fest.

In 2000, Superman: Ride of Steel and Vulcan's Hammer opened, the latter replacing Ranger.

In 2001, V2: Vertical Velocity (currently The Flash: Vertical Velocity) opened to the public.

In 2002, Medusa (currently Bizarro) opened to the public.

EPR/Kennywood Entertainment era (2011-2015)
In 2011, EPR Properties bought the park from Six Flags, and hired Kennywood Entertainment to operate it.

In 2013, the Schuyler Gardens main entrance area was remodeled into Centennial Plaza with an Islands of Adventure Port of Entry inspired look and a museum showcasing the park's history for its 100th anniversary.

Second Six Flags era (2016-present)
In 2016, Kennywood Entertainment sold their operating rights for the park to Six Flags.

In 2017, the Six Flags branding returned to Schuyler Lake including the Looney Tunes and DC Comics licenses.

Height categories
Since 1991 Schuyler Lake uses characters from the Sailor Schuyler and his Seaport Friends franchise for each height range to determine who can ride which rides.

All measurements are in inches:

Current

 * Centennial Plaza (opened in 1962; formerly known as "Schuyler Gardens" [1962-2012)])
 * North Country (opened in 1962)
 * Little New York (opened in 1962; formerly known as "Southern Tier" [1962-1990])
 * Old Britaina (opened in 1962)
 * Sailor Schuyler's Seaport (opened in 1984; formerly known as "Hanna-Barbera Land" [1984-1990])
 * Looney Tunes & DC Superfriends Kids Area (formerly known as "Bug Bunny World & Thomas Town" [2008-2010], "Bugs Bunny World" [1991-2007], and "Junior Junction" [2011-2016, 1962-1990])
 * Mount Schuyler Valley (opened in 1962)
 * Boardwalk Bay (opened in 1962; formerly known as "Midway Center" [1962-1990])
 * Harborside (inclusive water park) (opened in 1991; formerly known as "Sailor Schuyler's Hurricane Harbor" [1999-2010], and "Shores of Schuyler Lake" [1991-1998])

Former

 * Golden Nugget Town of Old South (1962-1990; Western town themed area that held a Civil War reenactment, replaced with Harborside in 1991)

Restaurants and eateries

 * Chop Six
 * Dippin’ Dots
 * Friendly's (at Towers Inn; open for breakfast and lunch only)
 * Howard Johnson's (no room booking required for dinning)
 * Johnny Rockets
 * Subway
 * Tomai Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar (at Towers Inn; open for dinner only)

Lodging

 * Beaver Dam Ridge Campground
 * Hilton Schuyler Lake (opened in 1997; at Schuyler Lake Mall)
 * Holiday Inn
 * Howard Johnson's
 * Marriott
 * The Towers Inn (opened in 1920; oldest hotel on park property)

Jack Rabbit

 * On October 17, 1969, a lightning bolt struck Jack Rabbit's lift hill causing a portion of it to catch fire and collapse. Nobody was injured as the park was closed for the season, but the support was so damaged that the ride had to be torn down.

Schuyler Skyway

 * On June 12, 1985, due to a power outage, the ride stopped in mid-operation. 27 riders were stranded for hours before being rescued by firefighters. The ride was fixed up and reopened 2 days later.
 * On August 29, 1991, two teenagers violently rocking a carriage caused the cable to snap and fall 18 feet. Both teens were seriously injured, but survived.

Goliath

 * On July 1, 2002, a 34-year-old woman fainted shortly after exiting the ride. She was successfully resuscitated by first aid.
 * On May 23, 2010, a 51-year-old man was found unconscious after riding the coaster. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The official cause of death was that he had suffered a heart attack during a ride, and later medical reports revealed he had a pre-existing heart condition.
 * On August 20, 2021, a wheel sheared off of one of the trains during the first half of the ride. The train was pulled into the mid-brake run where the ride was shut down, and riders were rescued by firefighters 40 minutes later. No one was injured. The ride was shut down until October 2nd, while the car that the wheel sheared off from was fixed.

Tiger Tales

 * On June 30, 1999, an animal trainer was attacked and somewhat mauled by two Bengal tigers during one of the shows - although the trainer survived, they were disfigured as a result of the attack, and even later needed prosthetics, due to one of the tigers biting off their fingers. Both tigers were tranquilized and killed and the show remained SBNO for the rest of the season. it reopened in 2000, but closed permanently later that year due to lack of guests.

Batman: The Ride

 * On July 8, 1994, the restraints went up for an unknown reason during a test run early in the morning. The employee doing the test run fell out of the train and died. The ride was closed for 1 week afterwards while an inspection was done on it.

Lumberjack

 * In August 1988, a 11-year-old boy jumped from the ride during the main drop. He was rushed to the hospital where he later recovered despite his injuries. It was later determined that the jump was meant to be a dare from the boy's friends, who were also on the ride with him.

London Tower

 * On August 14, 1996, a 29-year-old woman fell to her death from the ride due to her restraints not being properly locked. As a result of a request from the victim's family, the ride was later torn down.

Robin Hood

 * On June 26, 1983, two vehicles on the ride collided after one of them stalled on the track. 5 people suffered minor to medium injuries.

Superman: The Ride

 * On May 10, 2005, a 44-year-old-man fell to his death from the ride. It was determined that his restraints weren't properly locked and popped loose during the drop.

Der Katerpault
 * On July 28, 1986, the ride malfunctioned and started up early, while everyone was still getting into their seats. A 20-year-old man died when he was flung from the vehicle and broke his neck. His friend suffered a serious concussion but survived. The employees managed to shut down the ride before it caused anymore damage and it remained SBNO while it was checked for any technical problems. Eventually the ride reopened a week later.

Trivia

 * Schuyler Lake is one of two park with a shopping mall directly across the street from the park.
 * From 1991-1998, the park used a jingle similar KYW News Radio 1060's jingle in TV and radio ads. It went like this "Six Flags Schuyler Lake theme park, Rochester".
 * Six Flags Schuyler has been criticized for having the most family and kiddie rides in the entire chain.