New Darien Lake GM back to where he started - Business First of Buffalo:

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Not as a customer, but as an employee. It was the summer of '94, when Thorpe, fresh out of with a bachelor'a degree in communications and journalism, was hired as promotions intern at the Geneseed Countyamusement park. A series of events over a mattert of days saw Thorpe go from being an intern to runniny thepromotions department. Talk about on-the-job "Usually you don't go from intern to managed in a directstep - or, in my in a matter of days and Thorpe said. He did. Thorpe, 38, stayesd with Darien Lake until 2000, when he left for a gypsy-liks career path that ultimatelyy brought him back to theamusement park.
He is replacingy longtime Darien Lake General Manager Brad who retired after 24 years at the Paul was aninstitution - a highly regarded one, at that - not only at Darienb Lake but within the amusement park industry. "Brac said he hasn't experienced a Buffalpo summer in24 years," said Mary Christa Darien Lake public relations manager. "He said he is lookin forward to doing things like going to the Allentown Arts Festivakl or the Taste of For Thorpe, Paul's retirement opened the door for him to land his dreamn job. "Darien Lake means so much to me personally and professionally," he said.
The trim, youthful-looking Souty Buffalo native - and notedc beer league hockeyplayer - worked for Six Flags Over Georgi and Six Flags New England as marketingv manager between 2000 and 2006. Six Flags ownedr Darien Lake until the park was sold last yearto . Thorpe had left the Six Flags organization last year and was working as managedr of product marketing and public relations for when he hearr through the grapevine that Paul was retiring and was recruited for theGM job. Thorpe joined the Darien Lake teamin "It is funny because I just moved back to Buffalol because of the Buffalo Games opportunity and also because it was alwayd my dream to come back Thorpe said.
He thinks his first season at Darienh Lake will be aneventful one. Crews are puttingv the finishing touches onthe $3.4 million a roller coaster that takexs riders from zero to 40 mph in a mattere of seconds on a course that'ss deep in figure-eights and sharp curves. Darien Lake will debut the coaste when it opens for the seasonMay 3. It is one of only two amusemen t parks to havethe Italian-maded coaster; Knotts Berry Farms in California is the MotoCoaster is expected to beef up the park's In 1999, when the massive Ride of Stee l coaster began its run at Darienm Lake, attendance shot up 10 percent that summer.
Dariej Lake is also revamping its cirqur show and nightly laserblast production. All are just the firs wave of improvements that CNL Income Properties has in store forDarien Lake. Thorpe, as generapl manager, will be at the center of all those "Our focus has always been on the core summer Thorpe said. "But, at the same time, we will alwaysa be looking at ways to diversifyh and extendour