I go there to Darien Lake and have rode this many times. I love how it makes me imagine I'm a fighter pilot!

The Viper is one the better looping Arrows out there. It has been in the park 25 years and it has been a staple to DL landscape. At the time it was built it held the record for number of inversions. Vipers trains are small, tight, and have OTSRs. Once the train leaves the station a ride on this Viper begins. The train climbs a lift hill of 120 feet high, and drops 75 feet. After the drop there is a forceful and smooth vertical loop, and boomerang. The train is going along pretty fast at this time when it hits the brakes. The double corkscrew part is bumpy and hurts youre head if you dont turn with the coaster. The coaster ends with a great helix and underground tunnel. This Arrow was the first to feature 5 inverions and is still very smooth and popular today. Overall a great coaster at DL. Appearence-8-Needs repainted Ride Capacity-9 Large train with alot of seats. Fun-9 Rerideable-9 Ride Quality-8-Great elements with a slow corcsrew area. Overall: 43- 8-9. Still one of my favorite rides at DL. It is a steel sit down roller coaster with inversions (5). It was built by Arrow-Huss. It is 120' tall, it is 3,100' long.

Viper is one of the better old Arrow looping coasters out there, along with being a park staple for 25 years since its introduction as the first roller coaster to grace Darien Lakes landscape. You can see why a coaster like this was a sound choice back in the early 80s to really make a splash and fully transition the park to an amusement park. It is still an impressive structure in the parks skyline, even though relegated now to the shadows of the newer superstar (Ride of Steel). At the time it was built, Viper boasted a world record for the most inversions on a roller coaster. I wager that alone spiked the attendance at this smaller western NY park back in the day and helped get them some necessary recognition. Lines arent really much of an issue on this anymore, as there are many other thrills spread out across the park now. Viper has those typical (and often loathesome) tight trains with the rather uncomfortable OTSRs, but thats to be expected, so I can deal with that. Once the train departs the station on the now-faded lime green track, the ride on this appropriately named serpent begins.

The train slowly climbs the lift hill, and drops slightly before turning to hit the actual first drop. And although the drop is good in the back with a little punch of air, overall I was kind of underwhelmed by the lone real drop on Viper. It wasnt very big, and seemed to waste the rather sizable lift. One of their swooping drops here would have been a lot better. After the drop, the inversion assault on the senses begins. Theres a great vertical loop that is smooth and forceful, followed by a pretty good batwing double inversion. The train is slithering along at a nice speed at this point, but then it hits the brakes. These mid-course brakes really slow the train down to a practical halt. A slow little drop leads into a double corkscrew, which is probably the coasters weakest point. The corkscrew inversions are just ok - they are taken at an awfully slow speed and are rather bumpy. I will give this snake some credit for ending strong though, as it is capped off with a pretty good helix that cuts through a tunnel while swooping mere feet above some mini-golfers heads! That was certainly a bright spot. Viper is a good steel looper overall, and it blends the typicals youd come to expect - both good and bad - with an intriguing layout and nice complement of speed and forces. Best of all, this Viper strikes riders without leaving much of the typical Arrow venom (roughness). In fact, if anything, its surprisingly smooth considering its age. Its a pretty big hit still today, and heres hoping that it continues to thrill future generations as well. Its funny that by todays precise standards of the Intamins and B&Ms of the coaster world, this can be termed by many as an "old school" looping steel coaster. Who would ever have thought that back when Viper first made its home here those decades earlier? Viper is plenty of fun, which is nice to see on these older steel coasters. They have a niche, one that I can certainly respect, and Viper is one of the better versions of these inversion-happy coasters that used to dominate the skylines. If you know what to expect, Im pretty sure you will be pleased with a ride on Viper......I know I was.

Viper was one of Arrows better loopers. As always, first drops on Arrows still provide some decent air and this one also has a smooth vertical loop. However, the transition into the batwing was rough, but the element itself was smooth. Afterwards was a brake run that killed any speed the ride could have had, and then two very slow and head-banging galore corkscrews. Finally, there was a slow, but smooth helix.

I am somewhat of a sucker for these classic old Arrow megaloopers. These were the latest and greatest scream machines back in the days when I was just getting tall enough to ride the "big" coasters, and in those days they certainly required courage. So Im always happy to find one nowadays. Darien Lakes Viper was very enjoyable, but it was definitely showing its age. The trains were not in the greatest condition, with the seats and restraints somewhat torn up. And the ride was quite rough. But rough in that nostalgic Arrow way. This one delivered a drop into a vertical loop, followed by a slightly awkward transition into a boomerang inversion. After the mid-course brakes, there was a double corkscrew and a large spiral, partly through a tunnel. I was not aware when I rode that this was once a record holder for number of inversions, so all the more reasons to pay it a visit when at the park.

this coaster is the smoothest arrow ive ever been on...i dont get what everyone means by "head banging" because i didnt hit my head once, i was in shock when i saw how smooth this ride actually is. intersting layout, and a very smooth ride so i have to give it a 10

Overall, a decent coaster, but a little rough in spots. The use of the mini golf course gives it some style points. It has seen better days, I am sure. With some rehab it could be a bit better.

APPEARANCE-7 Even though I am not a big fan by any means of a traditional looper, I still like how they look on a parks skyline. A point was taken off for the massive amount of trash just on the other side of the que fence. CAPACITY-8 Two trains on a ride with not much wait anyway. This park is not the fastest loaders I have seen though. RIDE QUALITY-5 Smoother then some Arrows but I still rode defensively. The speed through the corkscrews are unnaturally slow. FUN-5 I just dont really care for these but the tunnel and the view of mini golf gave it just a little boost. RERIDE-3 I am going next year since this trip was really spot and go, but after their other two loopers I may not have a spine so who knows. OVERALL-28 AVG-5.6 Ill say five and if I go next year I may move it up a point.

You couldnt have asked for a better "kick-off coaster" back in 1982. The Viper was Darien Lakes first coaster when the park opened that year and more importantly was the first coaster in the world to have 5 inversions. Twenty-some years later pentuple-loopers are all over the country (By the way, the current record holder is Dragon Khan a B&M multi-looper in Spain with 8), but the Viper is by no means a bad ride, just a tad dated and not as original and timeless as another older Arrow looper the Loch Ness Monster. Still the textbook steel coasters elements are marginally enjoyable and great for photo ops. The batwing, corkscrews by the queue line, and short-tunneled helix are the highlights. Final Rating - 6.0 (Slightly Above Average)

Better than average coaster, but nothing special. Used to be fairly smooth, but now suffers a lot of headbanging, which took the rating down considerably.