TurboWagon

Heading South on I-77 right around the Arrowood exit makes the new coaster look amazing. Sunday the sky looked really purple/orange when the sun was setting and made it look "intimidating" From this view, the lift hill totally swallows Afterburn.

Oh yes, I have not been so far this year but it looks like Cedar Fair sure isn't keeping Carowinds in the dark. THUMBS UP!! Greetings from Dublin, Ireland everyone!! I cant wait to see what is in store next! Maybe we can get our hopes up and wish for an underground tunnel below the parking lot! Sorry, I've been drinking....

Is this the next wave in cruise ship roller coasters?

Yes, it is supposed to get significantly warmer within the next few days here so I would guess testing will begin soon. I know its early but I hope the front of the train gets a nice decal treatment. As of right now it looks somewhat bare.

Any updates on the 2010 coaster. I haven't searched really hard but the last thing i remember seeing about it was the construction bid in January. Really think it will be a hyper?

Its not really for the ride. Its for the cause.

I remember it and I always wanted to ride it. However I was too young and never got the opportunity.

Maybe it is Grimace' Mustard Madness Coaster. What the heck is Grimace anyways?

VERY nice find. Now just to determine the coaster type of the mysterious track, if that is indeed what will be the new coaster. Very interesting indeed. It appears though that they are planning a bid to actually build the project; actually within the next few days. Hopefully it gets an "all-go"

I agree and believe that this, along with aspirations to better utilize the space, added in the removal of the flume. The final drop was by far the best. When I first heard of the removal I made this picture showing the space the flume frees up. Quite a lot, not to mention they could use some of the parking lot if they open up the South Gate again. Green is the Log Flume Footprint, Red is guessed potential land for attractions.

Pre-assembly train pictures can be seen here! Carowinds Gallery

I can understand where you are coming from, and honestly, Carowinds is extremely saturated in the coaster department. (Not a bad thing) I do find it hard to believe that CF would ad ANOTHER coaster within 5 years of the relocated boomerang. Especially with how much they have probably spent on promoting the new ride, I can agree that it just doesn't seem financially smart to repeat the process without knowing the true success of the marketing plan. Maybe CF will use Diamondback and its method of success as a template for something new and large for Carowinds down the road. At least the removal of the Log Flume frees up a good amount of land. As a kid I loved the ride, especially the final drop but if the removal allows room for some new flat rides, I am all for that. However, it is disturbing to see that CF likes to remove water-type rides in favor of other rides, hopefully the Rapids wont be the next to go.

Just a little more news on Carowinds via Screamscape. Apparently, at the 08 ACE Coaster Christmas, the PR guy from WOF revealed: From http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/events/coasterchristmas08/index3.html "Next up was Brandon Stanley (WOF PR) who filled us in on the progress of Prowler. He also stated that he just got back from corporate and got to see the Prowler commercials which are about finished. He stated the park will open April 18th in 2009, and that there might be a season passholder exclusive "viewing" of Prowler before the season. He also stated that while at corporate he learned that several old "Paramount" parks are getting very big rides in the near future and that those announcements would be very early this coming season. Other things included Norsemann's will be redone and made into a "surf shop" and that the crate would reappear in the new Prowler Plaza. He also showed some concept art that has not been made public -- including a "previous considered layout" for Prowler." Who knows what "something big" is but at least we can look forward to something!!

I would be interested in knowing the actual popularity of the campground. I know that it might be used by small parties like youth groups and reunions but I think that CF will let it be because the land is in a awkward location in relation to the rest of the park. It is true about the woods near Hurler though and the only real direction I see the park expanding in would be via parking lot. Carowinds has two entrances, the main gate and the south gate near Afterburn. I think CF should use the land gained from the removal of the Flume along with some of the adjacent parking. There is parking on the other side of Thunder Road that is RARELY utilized so using some up for a coaster footprint wouldn't hinder parking too much. Also, around that area of the park (Flume), there are also a few covered picnic areas that CF could very well get rid of with whatever "Future Attractions" they have planned.

I am interested in seeing which way the queue will form. My guess is that it will be close to Goldrusher. I pray for SOME theming...like some tall grass, you know or something...please!

I agree. I think that Carowinds has grown along with the city of Charlotte and its surrounding areas. I think Charlotte just broke into the top 20 in population but we really don't have anything really significant or historical or special about our city that draws people in...not the best strategy for a large enough park for huge, extreme coasters. (Don't get me wrong, I love it here and will probably never move its a great place!!) If CF is smart, they will invest wisely in small but efficient changes to "catch-up" for what Paramount didn't quite understand about theme parks. When the time is ready, I think there will be significant changes. I think the addition of the Boomerang alone and bringing back the Southern Star means CF is in for the long haul....hopefully.

It fits so well in that space. I think the paint will look good. I want to see the trains!!

^Name wise. Which from a marketing standpoint, would make a lot of sense. Im pretty positive there wont be another boomerang added. Speculation is a B&M Hyper.

I believe it has a good amount to do with the rumor. The amount of land the removal opens up almost screams coaster entrance. There is even speculation of bringing back the White Lightnin' name.

The log flume was one of the oldest rides in the park. Oh well, it opens up a lot of land for the "future attractions" (note it is PLURAL) I wonder if that Rocket Power (formerly Gauntlet) ride will still be there? It also rocks that they won't be removing any coasters to hopefully add another. My hope is that they find a way to use the underpass of the bridge near the entrance for a first drop tunnel of some sort. This is great news. Green is the Log Flume Footprint, Red is guessed potential land for attractions. I could also see them utilizing much more if the assumed future coaster is of a large scale. I read further.......could it be? The return of White Lightnin' ? Hypercoaster? Total awesomeness.

Driving I77 South to South Carolina, I could see the lift hill as part of the skyline. You can see how close in height this and Nighthawk really are. I have yet to see a view of TG and CC but I would say that 144ft is generous! Although, the terrain is at a slight downhill grade at the park of the lift hill over the parking lot.

Here are 2 pictures I took of the park. I apologize that there isn't much to see here; a lot of what I was trying to do with the park since the last update was to just take a glance at the park from different angles and try to determine the exact direction I want it to go. Here is the beginning of the new "Tropic Expedition" section of the park. So far, there aren't any custom structures but those will come in due time. "The Escape" and "Landcrawler" are the 2 rides. "Landcrawler" is a semi-wet ride, allowing spectators to use the adjacent water cannons to "battle off the monster", Yyou might even get a splash while on the coaster. Here is an overall view of the park. A few small things that you might not be able to notice in this overview shot (closer shots to come soon!), The bridge to connect TGWJ and Boomtown!! has been increased to 3 tiles across rather than 2, also, I added another coaster near the lake!! "Kingfisher" is a short, out-and-back wooden reverser coaster. It is meant more for the younger crowd but I think everyone can enjoy it. For the future, I plan on including the TNT Vortex-themed ride in Boomtown!! as well as a floundering ferry near "Kingfisher". Also, Boomtown!! will eventually work its way into the spooky themed section. Tropic Expedition will also be adding more rides but I have yet to decide what exactly will be included. Thanks for looking, There will be another update after the weekend! *Note* If anyone is interested in downloading a version of the park to make some POV's I will gladly redistribute it to those who will do a good job. The park will be up for download in the future, I just dont have much time to show-off the park with POV's and such. Just PM me!

Off to a great start. I would like to see more images of the stand-up, looks nice!

If you want a lot to do, you can create logos for my park and all of my coasters. There are a lot though

I never owned RCT2 (but I played the heck out of the first one) I like your style of images though, I want to see more of this park.