coasterbill

Please don't put those trains on the Rolling Thunder track... please don't. I'm begging you. No.

To say the park is slammed today would be an understatement. Webcams Fury's line is already full and spilling out the entrance, there's a huge line of people waiting to even be allowed into the entrance plaza and there are a massive amount of cars waiting to go through the parking tollbooths. Congrats to Carowinds, it looks like everyone in North and South Carolina got a case of Fury Fever today.

No, but all rides should be open except the flume and probably the rapids. Many shows will still be in "rehearsal" which for any show involving animals means they'll be far more entertaining than they will be later in the year because the animals won't listen to anything the trainers tell them to do and it'll be a complete train wreck... but in a fun way.

Some very credible sources at Great Adventure History are saying that the Holiday in the Park hours will generally be 1pm to 9pm, allowing them to get the coasters going at the warmest time of the day. If it's anything like Dollywood it needs to be 40 degrees to start the coasters and then they can run them until it gets down to 35... but that would be a new policy for Great Adventure as they are usually WAY more lenient than that. The coasters will probably close after the sun goes down in most cases due to temps but that's fine with me. Then it's all about the lights (and we still have Skull Mountain and Dark Knight).

You're right about Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro but El Toro operates in torrential downpours on a frequent basis.

That's awesome but your birthday would still be a perfect excuse to go to Dollywood for Smoky Mountain Christmas. A Smoky Mountain Christmas is the best kind of Christmas.

My bad, double post.

Fair point, but I would argue that Disney rarely makes it obvious though to the untrained eye. The hardcore fans notice these things but most people don't... unlike with 2 huge steel towers in the middle of the midway for absolutely no reason. Plus Disney attractions are often repurposed which this won't be and removing a massive Disney attraction is much more costly and time consuming than taking down 2 metal poles, or one drop on an old water ride at SFA, or one drop on a wood coaster at Great Adventure. This trend by Six Flags is really annoying. My opinion shouldn't "ruin anyone's opinion" of the park. It's my opinion. Everyone is free to their own. That being said, of course people will point out the negatives and the positives of parks on this board. That's what everyone has been doing since day one and with most parks I'm generally pretty positive. There are people that are far more negative than I am. I couldn't possibly disagree more, but even if it was true it would only be because their coasters cover up their massive shortcomings in every other department.

Oh boo hoo... strangely Six Flags is pretty much the only chain not willing to spend money to remove old, unused rides that are complete eyesores. You can find isolated examples of other park chains doing it but it's not a common thing. No thanks, I'm generally very positive when it comes to other parks and with the industry in general. I like to have fun with this hobby and I don't take things too seriously so a park has to be COMPLETE crap for me to bash it. That's why I bash Six Flags New England. It fits that criteria. And by the way I have always been very positive about Wicked Cyclone and many of the coasters at this park (I'm a huge fan of Batman, Thunderbolt, Goliath before they ruined it and Bizarro though I do think it's overrated in it's current form). I just have serious problems with everything else the park does. I still visit the park because they have a lot of very good coasters, I just wish they had something besides coasters and 3 good flat rides, I wish their customer service wasn't abysmal and I wish they cared even a little bit about aesthetics. I didn't mean to rant though, all I was worried about were the ridiculous looking Skyway towers and I was going for a laugh. Since you decided to make a big stink about it... there you go. I'm not going to "go bash other parks" who don't deserve it. For example... last weekend we went to Carowinds and rode Fury 325. The ride was great, they do a great job making sure everything in the park looks pristine and they spent a lot of time on a great new entry plaza and ride area / sign for Fury because they want it to look nice since they just got a brand new coaster and expected a big attendance bump (crazy concept isn't it). We had an awesome time... I'm not going to bash them, I don't have anything bad thing to say about Carowinds and I feel that way about a lot of parks. Six Flags New England on the other hand, I don't even know where to begin... lol

Empty trains will always run much slower than full trains on any non-launched coaster. We rode it first thing in the morning on Saturday and on Monday and despite low temperatures the ride was insane both times so you're 100% correct on all counts.

This isn't really a shock. The first law of the universe is that anything built at Knoebels will somehow be better than rides that appear to be the same basic thing at other parks. I don't know why this is always the case but it always is even when it's completely unexpected (just look at rides like StratosFear and Kozmos Kurves).

Thank god, that dead end was awful.

I love Fury325 and I love I305 and I expect this to be a major debate for years. The rides are very different and there's no clear winner between the 2, it all comes down to what you like in a coaster. I305 is more intense (it has the fastest transitions of any coaster I've ever ridden except for Maverick), Fury has more moments of airtime, lap bars and that unique turnaround. I think Fury is a much better ride but if you're all about intensity and super fast transitions then you're going to like I305 better. Fury isn't a cookie cutter B&M hyper / giga like Intimidator, Nitro, Apollo, Diamondback or any of those... it's unique and it is intense but if you're judging it purely on intensity I305 is going to win... I305 would win against basically everything though (except Maverick, which I actually prefer to I305 and Fury). I would suggest going out and riding both for yourself, they're both absolutely amazing coasters but don't judge this ride without riding it first because it completely broke the B&M mold. I'm guilty of judging it before riding it and it made me eat my words. I never thought this ride would belong in the same sentence as I305 before I rode it, now I have it ranked ahead of I305.

All American Thrills posted a video showing off the l̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶o̶f̶ progress on t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶a̶n̶d̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶S̶k̶y̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶w̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶'̶r̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶R̶E̶A̶L̶L̶Y̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶p̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶p̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶c̶l̶a̶i̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶w̶i̶s̶e̶.̶ Wicked Cyclone!

I can't speak for the California version but Vortex at Carowinds is actually a fun and relatively popular ride. I don't think it's going anywhere.

I don't really understand why Tidal Wave is up on a rock ledge like that making it impossible to see from the path. Besides that this is great work though.

Dorney can't even take care of the one wood coaster they already have. The last thing they need is another one. Not that it matters though because I don't see Dorney getting anything other than an occasional relocated coaster. Their bread and butter is the waterpark and honestly as long as we get some good relocated rides I don't have a problem with that.

I don't think it will be a flop at all. It works for Hershey and it works for Lake Compounce. I think the fact that Hershey pulls it off so well is what gave Great Adventure the courage to pull the trigger on it. It's been tested in a similar market and the fact that they keep doing it would make me think it has potential. Coasters won't be the draw, but by all accounts they did a great job with the lights and the event in general in Georgia and if they put some effort into it and advertise it well I see this being a success.

Thank god! If you would have told me yesterday that I could choose between this park not getting a coaster for 10 years and this park staying open with Nitro and Batman until January I'd pick the latter in a heartbeat. That's how much I love this. lol Now we d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶D̶o̶l̶l̶y̶w̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶D̶e̶c̶e̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶s̶ have somewhere to ride coasters in December / early January IN ADDITION to our annual Dollywood trip which we'll pretty much be taking every year forever because Dollywood Christmas is amazing.

I was thinking about this yesterday and I actually figured they'd end up with this list of coasters. I think whether they're open or not has more to do with the location than the manufacturers. It actually makes a lot of sense... you know they'll want to block off some sections of the park when it makes sense to do so and since you knew they'd run Skull Mountain and Dark Knight it would stand to reason that they'd open the kids areas over there. Nitro and Batman are right there and that's why they're probably open because that area already needs to be. On the other side of the park there's no way Golden Kingdom was going to be open... Kingda Ka is too temperamental and it's just so easy to block that area off with the gate that's already there and is already used frequently. Plaza De Carnival will probably be closed too as closing it is really, really easy as there's only one way in. This means they could either block off the path right at the Boardwalk (by Ted's) or a little further down by the Season Pass processing tent and the arcade. To me the only thing that's up in the air (pun intended) is the Skyway and Mine Train. Generally parks always want to have the Skyway open for Christmas events, and I think the decorating fort with the lake in front reflecting the lights would look pretty awesome. I could see them running Skyway and Mine train and then blocking the path down by the bathrooms. Skyway could always be a one way journey too...

Don't worry. Great Adventure has no interest whatsoever in temperature or weather in general. We rode Nitro last year in the sleet. I can't stress enough how much this park doesn't care. And on that note (with the good stuff bolded for emphasis) Holiday in the Park Page Woohoo!!!!!

I would tend to agree but at their winter adventure event a few months ago they were very open abut the fact that they were seriously exploring the concept of doing a Holiday event with a many rides and coasters as possible and that they had already had multiple meetings about it so we have reason for optimism.

If it's holiday in the park and they run even a few coasters (besides the obvious 2) I'll be beyond ecstatic. I wish nobody had suggested this because now I'm in for such a letdown if it's anything else.

The parks are 5 hours apart... there's no reason to make your life so difficult. Get a hotel at each park, or better yet go to your first park, then drive half way to the next park and stop knowing in the morning you'll easily be able to make it by opening. If it were me I'd drive to Kings Dominion, get a hotel (I recommend the Best Western as it's literally in the Kings Dominion parking lot), then when you leave get in the car and drive until you feel like stopping. Don't book a room... if you're tired from walking around all day and only want to drive an hour or 2 fine... if not drive as far as you want and then get a room. In the morning finish the drive and go to Carowinds. If you want to hit the parks in reverse order then feel free to reverse this. Both parks are doable in one day, especially with Fastlane plus. You don't NEED Fastlane Plus but I'd suggest it so you get more rides in. Without it the lines for Volcano and Flight of Fear at KD and Nighthawk at Carowinds will be brutal. I'd keep an eye on the crowds at both parks and buy it if you feel like you need it. At least at KD you'll never buy it and feel like you got ripped off though because Volcano, Flight of Fear and the Flyers always have lines even on slow days. Thanks!

Okay, I promised a full trip report so here goes. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible but that never works out the way I think it will. I didn't plan on going down for opening weekend but the more I watched them build this thing the more I knew we couldn't resist. My girlfriend is originally from the Charlotte area so we decided to make a weekend out of it and leave from work Friday (in NY), drive until about 2AM... get a good nights sleep and then finish driving the next morning which worked out great as we got there right at opening. I was going to go in order of what we rode but I decided to just go ride, by ride. When the park opened "select" rides were closed due to low temperatures (select is apparently Southern for "good") so this included Nighthawk, Afterburn, Intimidator, Fury325 and some others so we rode the other coasters and then when Fury started testing we got our Fastlane Plus passes and headed over. Ricochet: We rode this first as Fury wasn't open when the park opened and it wasn't on Fastlane. Fun little ride with minimal braking. Hurler: I actually liked this ride. It was actually running pretty smooth and it was a fun "hands up" sort of coaster. Nothing amazing but it was fun. Carolina Cyclone: Fun ride, we got stuck on the lift for about 20 minutes but besides that I have no complaints. Carolina Golrusher: Fun little mine train Thunder Road: This was a very enjoyable coaster, obviously it reminded me a lot of Racer and Rebel Yell. Vortex: I hate stand up-coasters... even the ones that get decent reviews (like Riddler) are terrible as far as I'm concerned. I've ridden Mantis, Shockwave at KD, Apocalypse, Green Lantern, Riddler and others that I've probably tried my best to forget and I've hated all of them... one more than the next. They're uncomfortable and the gimmick isn't enjoyable in any way shape for form, so imagine my surprise when I actually really enjoyed Vortex. The ride was relatively smooth, it didn't have any fast uncomfortable turns and I actually rode it more than once and caught myself laughing the whole way through. My girlfriend hates stand ups too and had exactly the same reaction. Vortex actually gets a big thumbs up from me. Nighthawk: I love Vekoma flyers. This one rides really well, looks great in the park and even has cool little things like a covered brake runs with fans to keep riders cool. The over-water sections really took this ride to the next level. We only rode it once because my GF hates these but I loved it. Another thumbs up from me. Intimidator: I was worried that Fury would make this ride seem redundant but it really does provide a totally different ride experience with it's large hills and swooping turns. The ride isn't going to many make any top 10 lists but it has some great floater air and is a nice, fun, smooth, put your hands up and have a great time kind of coaster. I love the first turn... I'm a sucker for those slow, swooping B&M hyper turns (like Nitro's turn into the helix). I wish you could pick your seat but if you ask for a certain seat they usually let you have it. Afterburn: Reading the reports from opening weekend I've noticed 2 things... 1) Everyone seems to like Fury but people do have differing opinions on it. Some people enjoy it but think it's very similar to the other B&M hypers and isn't anything amazing and others think it's a top tier ride. After riding it I'm surprised that people's opinions differ so much but to each their own. 2) I found something that enthusiasts actually agree on and that's amazing but deserved. Every trip report from opening weekend or preview night seems to go out of it's way to sing Afterburn's praises. Good, because this ride deserves it. Afterburn is a flat out amazing coaster, and anyone that finds Fury lacking in forces only needs to walk about 10 minutes to find a coaster that has everything they're looking for. The ride is great in every seat, the drop is forceful in the front but in the back it rips you down the hill with incredible ferocity. Then it goes into a unique series of inversions that get progressively more and more forceful as they go on. The pretzel, zero G roll and flat spin are some of the best inversions on any coaster anywhere and even though it violently rips through them it manages to be butter smooth while doing it. This ride is a gem... plain and simple. Wow! Fury 325 Going in I was expecting to love this ride. I figured it would be fast and fun but forceless and would probably be the second best coaster in the park after Afterburn. I knew B&M was slowly improving as I liked Banshee a lot and considered it a really good ride and while not an elite invert like Montu, Raptor or Afterburn it did have some forceful moments and a great layout. Fury isn't Banshee though... it doesn't really scream "B&M is slowly improving" it screams "B&M is back, and taking it to a level nobody ever thought they would". This ride is now my favorite B&M, amazingly coming in just ahead of Kumba. The ride is absolutely packed with airtime which falls somewhere between floater and ejector. You're out of your seat all the way down the drop, there's an almost I305 like twist (I said ALMOST... relax) that offers great air, awesome sideways airtime (I didn't know that was a thing) before the dive under the bridge and then a return run of great B&M style floater air. The bridge and the support beam in the helix offer great headchopper / armchopper experiences too which just makes it even more fun. Fury 325 has everything... it starts out with an awesome first drop full of airtime, then it goes into an insane, balls out series of low to the ground twists and turns that can only be described as relentless and reminded me a lot of I305 (though the transitions aren't quite THAT quick... but they're very reminiscent). The far turnaround is great and gives awesome sideways floater air and then the ride ends with a B&M style return run full of great, elongated floater air. It's like the ride borrowed some of the best elements from some of the best coasters out there and combined them into one awesome attraction. The speed is breathtaking, the ride is awesome and I can't for the life of my figure out what more anyone could ever want in a coaster. Fury 325 isn't just a home run, it's one of the best coasters in the world and it's made Carowinds a major destination. I can't think of a single bad thing to say about this ride and out of about 250 coasters it now sits at #5 (I don't rank coasters on the spot but I had a long, 12 hour drive yesterday to think about this, lol). The only coasters I prefer are #4 - Maverick, #3 - Phoenix, #2 - El Toro and #1 - Millennium Force but I actually feel like Fury is a more well rounded ride than all of those. I'm just a sucker for Maverick's relentless transitions, the great return run of Phoenix, El Toro's ejector air and Millennium's location and awesome speed. Fury is easily one of the best rides I've ever ridden and it's taken this park to the next level. Carowinds has an amazing 1-2 punch with Afterburn and Fury and with Intimidator, Nighthawk, a bunch of other solid coasters, a lot of fun flats like Windseeker and Southern Star and a quickly improving waterpark this park is really setting itself up to be one of the best in the country. ====================================== Oh, and I should note that while the original plan was to spend all day at the park Saturday and then spend time visiting the future in-laws all day Sunday and drive home yesterday that plan changed a little as yesterday morning we both woke up with a terrible case of Fury Fever and decided to visit the park again for a few hours before our 12 hour drive home so I'm absolutely exhausted as I type this but it was well worth it. It rained yesterday morning so the crowds were light and we managed to ride Intimidator, Afterburn (twice), Vortex and Fury all within the 2 hours we were there which was a great way to end a great weekend. We WILL be back. Congrats to Carowinds on this world class ride.