Carowinds Discussion Thread

^Well, when it comes to straight drops not really but I haven't experience a pre-dropless swooping drop like banshee's so I can't talk about that.

It's interesting how most of the GP thinks that the pre drops are there to trick you but I guess they really do that for most people.

I don't think a structure like fury 325's lift would look good with a pre drop though.

Being a B&M fan, the thing that upsets me the most is (take a guess) how my favourite coasters they made are all fairly old given the age of the company, but I guess there are already enough discussions about that.

^Agreed. I always feel like the new B&M's are slacking in the intensity department. All their coasters are great, old and new but the older B&Ms just have this awesome kick to them. #Kumba

I don't think a structure like fury 325's lift would look good with a pre drop though.

You're right, Fury 325 would look ugly with a pre-drop. But note, B&M's don't always have to have a pre-drop to look cool. I think it feels like a little extra spice before the first drop.

Since this construction is going along a lot faster than I thought it would, I guess we probably don't have to worry about it not being ready for Opening Day unless something happens between now and then.

I don't think Fury 325 will be as good as the Intamin gigas (MF, i305), but it will still be awesome, and could quite possibly become a Top 10 ride.

Count me in as someone who misses the pre-drops...it really does add to the beginning of the ride (Great Bear is one that immediately comes to mind).

I like B&M's pre-drops for curving drops, but for straight drops, I prefer the look without it (basically all hypers except AC and RB).

^Like I said, I haven't tried a swooping without one but I like the ones which do have one are nice as you get to pick up some speed. The first one that pops into my mind is Talon's as (in the back) you do get whipped to the left as the track starts twisting (more than other inverts I've ridden).

7:30 am and there's already new supports and track.

photo: http://cs1.pixelcaster.com/carowinds/camera1.jpg

video: http://pixelcaster.com/live/carowinds/camera1.html

God! They're really wasting no time!

Now that we have a little closer of a view of the underside of the track, this look looks amazing, and really will add some nice color to the front of the park!

They are FLYING, but we knew that would happen with the low to the ground sections... the turn around should take a few days though I think...

Wasn't the pre-drop just in place because B&M thought a straight drop put stress on the chain?

^Yes, I think so.

Turn is now complete:

It's hard not to be impressed with that kind of progress. They're really moving along with this ride.

I have really enjoyed the no pre-drop rides especially Banshee. The back row for that first hill is pretty crazy, really took me off guard the first time I rode it.

Fury looks great! I really love these live camera feeds, these parks spoil us now-a-days.

I'm just getting more excited by the day! Just like the famous Ian Malcom said, ". . .then there's going to be running and screaming." That's because every one is going to be running towards this coaster and screaming their heads off! LOL!

I think what is most exciting is how lost in the shot the track looks right now. A new parking lot and entrance is really going to add a lot to this ride. I hope they plant some nice trees that will grown in over some of these turns!

Up into the hammerhead turn...

^It might be a little less than a week before the hammerhead is finished. Man, every time I watch a simulated POV of Fury 325, that hammerhead makes me want to shout "91 DEGREES!"

At the rate their moving, I wouldn't be surprised if this thing is entering the tunnel by end of day Saturday. They still have three working days left this week. They are zooming through construction on this baby and I love it.

^Yeah - I haven't checked the cams for two days, and when I just checked them, I was like wow!, they've done a lot.

The building crew had to spend a lot of time hauling track up to 325 feet high. Now they are like bruh this is easy... LETS GO!

Here's some photos from the other day that a reader sent in, along with some other recent construction photos from the webcam and the Carowinds Facebook page to get everyone up to speed on Fury 325!

Wow. Thanks Robb. It's looking fantastic. Maggiekat and I have begun making our coaster plans for next year. Definitely will be making a trip to Charlotte. Haven't been to Carowinds since we lived out near there in 2004. Maggiekats first upside down ride was the enterprise ride there at the park when she was 2 years old. It was one of the few rides (in 2004) that didn't have a min. Height requirement if you were with an adult (like their log ride).

That lift is scary tall!