Cavan

Dude, Id love to be a part of this. Are you able to come out to Charlotte, NC? I have been on roughly 100 coasters and have 4 years of theatre experience. Feel free to email me at cstanaway@outlook.com

As coaster enthusiasts, our opinions are astronomically bias. We know how to brace for a B&M rattle. Vortex is... GARBAGE. It is the only ride that everyone I know declares "Never again." They say "clear", you're beaten with baseball bats, then crucified on the brake run for 10 minutes.

Working at the park for 3 years, I've never seen a ride run so many empty seats. And we all know creating Rougarou did not make the ride any more popular.

Rapids is a goner. There's nothing mechanically wrong with it. It is a simple concrete slide with a simple pump system. The real problem is having a capacity worse than Nighthawk. I'm glad to see it go. Now, a Valravn and Steve one-two punch would mean a new coaster opening 2021, not next year. Math is hard. Vortex isn't worth converting to floorless anymore. It sucks and no one who has ridden it before, rides it again. Bye bye. Does it HAVE to be removed for a new RMC? No. But it would make another great front gate statement and provide great midway interaction. If vortex was removed for this, the gentle slope from where the ride sits down to Fury would make awesome terrain for a woodie. Another option is removing screamweaver and having midway interaction over there. Everyone knows that's the worst looking section of midway in the entire park. An RMC stall placed over top would make it the best looking section.

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So Rapids is closed... are we getting a one-two punch from this place? A la Valravn and Steve? Cedar fair knows wooden coasters belong with trees. I think we are seeing early stages of a ground-up RMC. Why not GCI? I think that's obvious.

Dollywood is looking pretty this year, just like always! Wildwood Grove looks far from being complete. When is the grand opening? And of course, Lightning Rod is running like a champ regardless of temperature.

Copperhead has a typical bug. I witnessed 3 automated emergency stops in less than an hour! The crew is pretty good about getting it restarted, took them roughly 20 minutes give or take. I was lucky enough to capture the 2nd launch reboot, pretty neat how it works!

Copperhead is my number one attraction at Carowinds. Better than Maverick? Not sure. But God is it good. A full train and a hot track make some of the airtime moments RMC-like. Best vertical loops I've ever experienced. Best corkscrew ever too, it has so much whip to it. The curves are more fun than I anticipated. They aren't super G-force heavy, but their shape makes them a bit disorienting. My favorite part is the 2nd vertical loop-airtime hill- transition. This is what competes with Maverick. Definitely a top 10 ride. Congratulations Carowinds!

2020 will be Kings Island's year. CP needs a bit more time to "top Steel Vengeance." I don't think anyone should take this literally. Cedar Point needs not to top their own coasters but to make them unique in their own perfect way, a way that makes it hard to pick your favorite ride. "Top Thrill has the best launch, Raptor has the best loops, or is it Gatekeeper's? Steve's inversions are SO good though. I like Maverick's low turns, but darn I love the sustained speed of Millennium!" The next major coaster will have to step to this level of indecisiveness. It may be easy for us enthusiasts to pick out our favorite, but not the GP. What would capture their attention? Something that visually looks like another major attraction? Or should it be something that most of them haven't experienced, or at least haven't experienced well ...?

Good chance I'll be there. If anyone wants to see who I actually am you can follow me here IG: cavanstanaway

You guys really are a lot of fun though and would like to meet some of you! Hit me up when you come to ride Copperhead.

Me.

LOL

I agree with you, but us coaster enthusiasts are pretty dam good at using the process of elimination. I'll lay out my thought process... 1. We need records to break for advertisement. Bullsh*t or not, it works and it's the Cedar Point style. 2. We need a completely different experience. Too many rides sitting upright with airtime and loops. 3. Now I'm at dark ride or flyer. I remember a Gatekeeper interview that mentioned how hideous a giant box against CP's backdrop was. 4. We can't get enough of B&M. 5. RIP Firehawk. 6. Flyer.