jten11
-
Posts
268 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by jten11
-
-
-
Cedar Point is going to have a busy year in 2018, and I'm making sure my arse is there as well! As far as other parks, it really depends on where I plan on going. They're really all up for grabs.
-
Miami here. Lots of down trees and lines, but we're good! Lots of areas got flooded, (including mine) but the water receded quickly. Luckily still have power. Glad you guys are ok too!
-
Sad they're closing such an iconic ride. Hey, at least I got my rides in it's heydey. You will be missed, Dueling Dragons (it will always be Dueling Dragons to me!)
-
Honestly, my only issue that's it's looks shorter than it's other RMC brethern (save Golitah from SFGAm), but everything else looks great! The trains, the track colors, that crazy arse turnaround element. Even though I enjoyed the original Cyclone, I know this new edition will kick all sorts of butt.
-
Well done Gravity Group. So glad I'm only hours away. Got to plan a trip in the near future!
-
The closest thing to an off-season in Florida if a hurricane shows up.
-
Thanks for that. Now I have another destination to make on my Texas trip next year!
-
Hey man, that was a great read! Thanks for sharing!
-
You should write all of your updates after surgery while on Percocet.
Ditto that. I wondered why the report sounded a bit....trippy. But I enjoyed reading it!
-
That layout looks freaking amazing!! Yup, returning to Dollywood next year.
-
My top 5:
1. Montu
2. Banshee
3. Afterburn
4. Batman: The Ride
5. Dueling Dragons (Fire)
-
Goliath at SFoG!
-
I am definitely a hybrid whooper/screamer/laugher! Any ride with a high straight drop, I do what I call a screamwhoop, followed by uncontrolled laughter at the end. On coasters that are not as intense, but just plain fun, I'm whooping and laughing the entire ride.
-
^Yea I realized that when I was planning, and trust me, I greatly considered that. But for a park like that, I need to make a separate trip for a couple of days alone! Not sure if I'm up for that drive again, though.
-
Nice little report there! It just goes to show that every enthusiast has their preferences. While I'm surprised you didn't like Fury or Afterburn, I 100% agree with Vortex. Burn it TO THE GROUND.
-
As much as I want to say Fury325, my last 'technical' credit (as in the last new coaster I rode), was Vortex at Carowinds. Yea, I know, not that great...
-
I liked Fury, but I actually liked Intimidator better, since it was smoother and had more airtime. B&M has mastered the art of the hypercoaster, but Intamin makes better gigacoasters (I like Intimidator 305 much more than Fury).
Outside of Cheetah Hunt, haven't been on any other Intamin coaster. All throughout the trip, people been 'hinting' to me about Cedar Point and Millennium Force and how awesome it is. I don't know when, but I WILL hit up Cedar Point someday,mainly because that's a huge bucket list park I need to cross off my list!
Other bucket list parks on my radar:
-Six Flags Great Adventure
-Six Flags Magic Mountain
-Six Flags Over Texas
-Holiday World
-Busch Gardens Williamsburg w/ Kings Dominion (Intimidator 305!)
-
Yessir, completely solo, and it was an amazing experience! It took a lot to prepare though.
-
^ surely did! Though the Bojangles I went to was somewhere in N. Carolina. Also wanted to note that driving through Kentucky was one of my favorite parts of the road trip!
-
Thank you! Fury325 IS amazing and a must ride! While Fury is more about speed, Intimidator is more about airtime and has a lot more hills than Fury. It's really personal preference, but both coasters are great in their own right! I equally like them both for what they do differently.
Fury is the only Giga I've ridden so it's my favorite by default. Intimidator, on the other hand isn't my first hyper, but it's now my favorite!
-
My final park for this trip is Carowinds. After an awesome ride down the mountainside, I made my way from Tennessee to Gastonia, NC. Tennessee has some of the best scenery I've ever drove through. Also, Bojangles!
The next day I traveled to my final destination, Carowinds. The cool part about this park is that it's between North and South Carolina, traversing through both states as you walk around the park. I went on a Saturday and this place was packed! I knew I was going to have a challenge if I wanted to get multiple rides. As I entered the North Side, I was awed at the sheer awesomeness of Intimidator. Looking at that bad boy zoom across the course had me giggling like it's my first theme park of the trip!
Passing through the gates I witnessed another B&M machine, Afterburn. I was ready to go!...until I saw the line. I did a couple blinks, and headed towards Imtimidator. "B&M hypers dispatch fast as hell", I thought. "Surely the line can't be that long". Can't blame me for wishful thinking, as the line was twice as long as Afterburn. From that point on I decided to bite the bullet (and my bank account) and purchase the fast lane plus. The best decision I've ever made! Significantly made my Carowinds experience better by miles!
Couple of things to say about the overall day. The ride-ops were not playing on Imtimidator and Fury325. They had those trains dispatched like clockwork! Also, on the majority of the rides, they were very strict on non-preferred seating. I don't know how I feel about this, but it did made dispatching a bit more efficient, so I can't blame their decision. It's just that I was used to riding where I wanted in the previous parks. I still got my way, most of the times; being a solo rider have its advantages. The ops overall did a great job in getting people in and out on most of the rides. Night Hawk still sucked as far as dispatch, though, more so on a crowded day. For the huge crowds, the park was overall clean and the employee were somewhat pleasant. On to the coasters!
Imtimidator - This ended up being my first coaster of the day. Diamondback at Kings Island broke me in, so I was ready for the first drop! I enjoyed this layout much more than Diamondback! More of the same really, but Imtimidator to me has more of an edge. My new favorite hyper.
Afterburn - I don't really hear much about this ride. I wonder why, though, because this is an awesome coaster! This has more of the old school intensity that I enjoy greatly on Montu. Interesting layout as well! My favorite inversions are the zero-g roll and the final corkscrew. I also like how it cruises over the park goers. And gotta love that B&M roar! A very solid coaster at Carowinds!
Thunder Road - I didn't know until after my trip that they were going to close this coaster down soon. Very glad I got my last rides. As far as the ride itself, similar to the Racer at Kings Island; short but good fun. Unlike my Kings Island trip, they had both sides running, though barely racing. My first ride was on the north side. My second ride was on the south side and also my final ride at the park. To my luck they were actually racing the trains! And with the sun down, my final ride was a fantastic night ride racing the other train under the Carolina stars. A very memorable moment.
Night Hawk - Not much to say here. Same as one in Kings Islands, but much rougher. Didn't enjoy this one at all. Though it has much prettier scenery.
Fury325 - Fortunately I went on Intimidator and Diamondback to prepare for this mammoth of a coaster. The climb is very long, but quicker than you expect. After you crest the top, it's nothing but drop city. I counted at least 4 seconds of pure drop action. After it hits the bottom, prepare for a wild ride across the park. And it really doesn't matter where you sit. The speed will hit you at all locations! When I got a lucky first seat ride, I was surprised how forceful it was up there! I dare say it's the best seat in the house. The course is somewhat low to the ground and those transitions are sharp. The second best part (after the drop) is the turn around. You're in this weird slant position at the top of the airtime hill and you're flying down the walkway! Also, while I love Imtimidator's airtime, the few hills Fury has have ridiculous airtime, none that I've ever felt on an B&M! Come to Carowinds and ride this now!
Hurler - I wasn't expecting much out of this ride, but it surprised me a bit. If this coaster had some better tracking, I can see this being very reride-able, given the sense of speed it has. The drop was ok, but I like the fast turnarounds. The roughest part was the final turn into the station. With more care this can be a better ride.
Carolina Cyclone - This ride reminded so much of Python at Busch Gardens (my first looping coaster, RIP), so I had to give this a ride. Not super smooth, but a quick fun ride. I love how it corkscrews down the walkway, similar to Python ( and I'm sure other similar coasters)
Vortex - Not much to say here as well. Very rough at parts, transitions are not fun standing up and overall unpleasant ride. I hope Georgia Scorcher is still holding up well, because that's still the best stand up I've ridden.
Carowinds coaster count:
Intimidator - 5
Fury 325 - 4
Afterburn - 2
Thunder road - 2
The Hurler - 2
Carolina Cyclone - 2
Night Hawk - 1
Vortex - 1
My favorite park of the trip! A park with a hyper and a giga? Yes, please! The park has a Six Flags over Georgia vibe with it's natural setting and the park overall was nice. I can see another trip here very soon!
On the road again...
...to Bojangles!
I see you Carowinds...
...and you see me!
Made my visit 100x better! If you ever go on a crowded day, get these!!
I'll deal with you later...
...but let's deal with you now!
A crowed day in Carowinds!
My number 2 inverted coaster
Love the layout of this ride!
Passengers returning from lift-off
Darn it! Timing was off!
A very non-steep lift
Zooming along the way!
Okay attempt number 2. Here it comes...
Doh! Close enough! Time to move on!
Obligatory glaring ride sign shot #1
Glad to have ridden you, Thunder Road
South side representin'!
Poor riders. They were stuck there for a while.
Not today, thanks
Rough ride, but you are pretty photogenic!
Tracks and trees...
The loop look much bigger close up
Fast Lane. The only way to ride!
Going up the lift...
Is that actually a good timed shot of Night Hawk? Say it ain't so!
Dammit, Fury! Stop taunting me!
They were real strict with this. Didn't bother me too much.
Okay okay, I'm here. Let's get this over with!
Going up the incredibly long lift
Obligatory glaring ride sign shot #2
Not bad, not great. Pretty in between.
Obligatory glaring ride sign shot #3
Fun to ride a couple times, but too many will give you a headache.
random postcard pic
A pretty loop to such an ugly ride
Will they make it back in one piece?
...at least it looks good!
Vortex at Carowinds gets a thumbs down. Aslo obligatory glaring ride sign shot #4
Yay! A Fury two train shot!
Some Intimidator 'themeing'
My favorite ride in the park!
I love the green lights on Fury's lift hill at night. And yes, the night runs on this beast is something to experience!
Final pic of the park. Walking toward the entrance...or was I walking towards Intimidator? I had an awesome time at Carowinds and one hell of a roadtrip!
Final pic is me checking my fluids and tires for the trip back to Miami. I put in 2.1k miles and traveled through six states! This was an amazing experience! Thank you very much for reading my trip report!
-
Nice update! Looks like you enjoyed your visits to both King's Island and Dollywood. BTW, did you try the cinnamon bread? It's to die for!
Man, that sounds like something I would've enjoyed!
One picture I forgot to add from the King Island review was with me and the other 'loner' I met. He made my already great experience even more enjoyable! Thanks for the awesome time!
-
It was a nice clear day driving from Ohio to Tennessee and the scenery was great. Upon touching down on Tennessee I took a break at their welcome center. Near the rear, I noticed a hiking trail. Curious I decided to go up the trail. It was steeper than it looked, but at the end, you were rewarded with a great view of Tennessee!
The next day, on to Dollywood! It was an overcast day, but the mountains in the background seemed majestic with the clouds. It was also awesome to know while heading to park I was already around 1,000 feet above sea level! Dollywood is hidden within the Smokey Mountains and getting there alone set the ambiance for the park. I arrived at the entrance via the a long trip on the tram (I was parked at Dolly's Earrings ) Going inside, the park has a very rustic, country feel, as if they made Frontier Land an entire park. I didn't know what to expect from here, but I encountered a lot of friendly people. Even though I did this trip solo, at Dollywood it didn't feel like I was alone! I spoke to someone at every line queue, even went on multiple rides with some! The food was much more affordable than Kings Island and had more or less the same things (expect for $1 cookies!). The ride ops were a little on the slow side, but considering the rides aren't B&M efficient (even wild eagle dispatch took a while), and the fact I went on a weekday, it wasn't too bad. They were nice, though!
Here are my thoughts on the coasters:
Thunderhead - My favorite coaster in the park and my new favorite woodie! This ride is relentless from the drop to the brake run. Especially after the fly-by, it seems like it gets more out of control! As a wooden coaster fan, I don't mind a bit of roughness, though I can't say Thunderhead is 'rough'. To me, Thunderhead is the epitome of how a classic wooden coaster should feel! It doesn't have much airtime, but it's mostly focused on speed, and boy, does this thing hauls ass! A top 10 coaster for sure!
Mystery Mine - I remember seeing videos of this ride when it first came out, but forgot most of what it did. So of course the drop at the very beginning threw me off! I liked the mix of indoor/outdoor elements. As far as roughness, I only had one headbanging moment, but the ride is fairly smooth. The twists were nice and tight and I enjoyed the overhanging inversion at the end. Not too much to the ride besides the nice themeing, but it was a one-timer for me.
Wild Eagle - Loved the high location of the ride, as if the natural setting was perfect theme for this type of ride. The first drop was great, but the rest of the ride is very family friendly. There was not much force from the inversions but they were all smooth and graceful. The ride length is a bit short for some, but it was just long enough for me. A great family thrill coaster at best.
Tennessee Tornado - Rode this on the front row. A short but fun ride. Going through the inversions were surprisingly smooth and I like the natural scenery. Nothing much to say about this but it's a very solid coaster.
Firechaser Express - Quite the surprise. Dollywood's latest coaster, it's themed to a Fire Department. It's labeled as a junior coaster, but what a hell of a junior coaster! First of all it launches you (30 mph) out of the station into the first lift hill. There's no big drops here, so it's great for those who don't like big drops. The highlight of the ride is when you make it to the fireworks building with its backwards launch. Very great themeing here, and I loved the backward launch! Overall this coaster does more than what big coasters do. Most importantly, it's just plain fun!
Dollywood Coaster Count:
Thunderhead - 6
Wild Eagle - 2
Mystery Mine - 1
Tennessee Tornado - 1
Firechaser Express - 1
Overall a great family park with unique, yet thrilling rides that the family can enjoy. As far as family-accessible roller-coasters, Dollywood does an excellent job of maintaining the thrill/family ratio.
Taking a break at the Welcome Center
The Center had some interesting tibits, including this memorial
And this plague referencing the Civil Wars in Tennessee
The view at the top of the hiking trail
Another view!
The day was overcast, but not a drop of rain!
Hi, Dollywood!
Some signage near the entrance of the park
My baby! This ride sets the standard for a classic wooden roller-coaster expereience!
Love this ride!
What's that I see?
My next ride, of course!
Some Mystery Mine themeing
Wild Eagle from up top the mountain!
Soaring to your hearts!
I have a bad habit of taking glary pics of ride signs!
Dollywood food! I had the chili cheese fries...
Wild Eagles!
...among other exotic birds
Well noted!
Some cool info
Bald eagle side stare
A short but fun ride. They look happy!
What's that I see? Is that another awesome coaster?
Wild Eagle from Firechaser queue
Wild Eagle from Firechaser queue...with train!
Something I took while queueing for Firechaser
The best part of the ride (the building, not the track
)Lots of wet fun to be had here!
A random pic of a grave, just because
In Dolly's case, it would be double bust... get it?? Eh, whatever.
Thanks a lot Dollywood for such a great day!
)
What's your Top Ten? [HARD MODE]
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
1. Mind Bender
2. Tennessee Tornado
3. Scorpion
4. Cobra's Curse
5. Firechaser Express
6. Bat
7. Firehawk
8. Flight of Fear
9. Backlot Stunt Car
10. Skull Mountain