Skycoastin Steve

^The two are so close it's almost impossible to separate them. While Diamondback has more hills, Intimidator has a little more action. Diamondback also cools off a little too much after the MCBR. Like I said, the two are basically neck and neck, but either way, they're both still VERY high quality coasters.

^^That sounds like just about the worst day ever. Bad traffic and crazy long waits for rides.

Here come the pictures, and if you want to see all of them (as well as the rest of the SFOG pics), check out this album on my facebook. What's that we see off in the distance? It's Carowinds! AND INTIMIDATOR!!!! WEEE!!!! Monstrous, hellacious, wonderful, spectacular airtime hills. Positive g-forces need not apply. Fllloooaaaatttttiiiinnnnggggg The place where it all began for me 4 years ago. Standing in two states! I don't have boobs, otherwise I may have re-enacted the famous Elissa picture. I knew we came here for a reason..... Purty ride. Not the greatest element, but at least it looks cool. A little first drop action. Some more first drop action with some nice foliage in the shot. Scooby's Fairly Odd Express! Afterburn: The Jet Coaster Oh how I LOVE this ride. And oh how I love my loops. Yay, we're having so much fun! At least they kept the jet around..... The Immelmann, an element named after a fighter pilot on a coaster themed to fighter jets. It works! Wonderfully intense helix. Must have more loop! Immelmann through the branches. Thunder Road! Was really impressed with the job they've done on the rehab of the turn-around, can't wait to see the finished product. Nighthawk was only running one train, and usually has a line that's too long when it's running two trains. Therefore, we decided to skip it and get it next weekend. Oh yay, a boomerang. At least they gave it a decent name instead of ANYTHING having to do with a boomerang. Yes, Mr. President, voters have spoken and said that they want MORE LOOP! Forwards or backwards? Hmmmm..... The new train eliminated head banging, which was nice, but the track still was about as smooth as extra chunky peanut butter. But the loop looks cool! Especially upskirt shots of the loop! I only have 3 Arrow mine train credits left in the U.S. Dear God, next time I want a picture of a ride sign, move the sun around the other side, mmkay? Still hate the new colors, but the Cyclone is 30 years old, and that's cause for celebration! Midway traversing corkscrews are just the cat's meow! Because they provide for shots like this! And this! Some orange track for ya. And another loop! Rumor has it the Britney Spears' song "Gimme More" was about her desire to see MORE LOOP! We now interrupt your normal broadcasting for a moment of silence at Skycoastin' Steve's first theme park job site.............. Thank you. The first coaster I ever operated. They had done a lot of track work, but this thing still beats you up pretty bad. At least it has some nice airtime. This is so much fun! Yayyy--BUMP BUMP SLAM BUMP RATTLE RATTLE JOLT JOLT SLAM BUMP The 2nd coaster I ever operated, for about half an hour! Vortex was about as I remembered it: intense with some rough spots. LOOP OVERLOAD!!!!!! Blood rushing to the feet! Corkscrew/mist fan action. Ok back to the main attraction for another couple rides. Heading into the finale. Even though we didn't ride it, I couldn't miss the opportunity of a cool shot of Nighthawk. On a related note, I REALLY like the new paint job. The green/black paint scheme never did it for me. Rugrats Flying Runaway Reptar Aerial Chase! Back to Afterburn for a front row ride. Negative. Gravity. Forces. Can you say exxxxtttteeeennnddddeeeeedddd aaaaiiiirrrrrttttiiiiimmmmeeeeee? How about ffffllllloooooaaaaattttttiiiiiinnnnnnggggg aaaaaiiiirrrrrttttiiiimmmmmeeeeee? I really like this picture, it's now my desktop background! Wasn't going for the whole blurry train passing over the 2nd hill effect, but it works! See you on Easter, Carowinds!

Alright since I'm very tired still from yesterday, this is going to be a bit of an abbreviated TR. My friend Daniel and I (he's coasterguy06 on TPR and a co-worker) left Birmingham around 6 in the morning to head for Charlotte and Intimidator! We ended up getting to the park around 1 and headed straight to that big red thing in the front of the park. We were shocked to see how short the line was (our first wait was only 10 minutes) on opening day, and it stayed that way through closing! Our first ride was in row 7, and we would end up getting 5 total rides throughout the day all the while grabbing every credit but Nighthawk for Daniel, who had never been to Carowinds. All in all, we rode in rows 7, 1, 6, 15, and 8. It was an especially memorable trip for me, as Carowinds was the first park I worked at in 2006, and it was my first visit back to the park since I left at the end of that summer. Afterburn is still a heinously intense ride, and Hurler still beats the crap out of you just like I remember it. Anyway, as far as Intimidator is concerned, it made my top 10 and came in at #9, just behind Apollo and just ahead of Diamondback. I really, really wish this ride had a better/more intense finale than a tame helix and dip into the brakes, because if it did, it would probably have cracked my top 5. The front row ride was especially fun, as it provided a great view of the park and plenty of wind in the face, as well as all that wonderful floating, extended airtime. I gotta say the back row was a religious experience, almost as good as back row on Apollo, but still well short of my favorite back row experiences, MF and El Toro. All 5 rides were very good, the middle seats were just as advertised, not as intense but with INSANE airtime. I really enjoyed the 2nd hill dive and S-curve into the 3rd hill, which had catapult airtime. The unique style of the hammerhead turn crossing over itself was fun, as well. As I said in the official Carowinds thread, MAJOR props to the crew of Intimidator, as they were fun, fast, and professional (just what I love to see in a crew, and what SF parks still severely lack in my opinion). They also didn't unnecessarily staple me to the point where the imprint of my jeans was embedded into the seat, which was huge bonus points! Anywho, total ride count for the trip was 5 on Intimidator, 2 on Afterburn, and 1 on everything else not named Nighthawk (or the kiddie, whatever it's called now).

So glad I got to see a game in this stadium before it was closed and torn down.

My TR will be coming later today, but this coaster was seriously wicked! Many, many, many props to the Intimidator crew, you guys did an absolutely fantastic job yesterday. I rode 5 times on opening day and the longest wait I ever had was 20 minutes. Nicely done!

Oh believe me, I get the demographics of both areas, I worked at Carowinds for a a year and grew up in Virginia. I just think for I305 they could have not gone the SF route with ride naming. If they were both B&M hypers, then sure, I would get it. But I think as the 2nd Giga coaster ever built in the states they should have tried to give it its own identity rather than have it share a name with another new coaster opening the same year. That's really just a small issue I have with the naming, not even a complaint really, just thinking out loud. Doesn't change my excitement for either coaster. The stereotype post was really just tongue in cheek.

There was supposedly a guy who used to smack that support on purpose coming around that turn, but nobody ever lost a hand on the ride. I'm not sure if that's what you're asking, but that's the answer.

^Agreed. While I don't have anything to compare it to from years ago, my rides on it this past weekend were spectacular. There were very few moments I ever felt discomfort to the point where I wasn't enjoying myself.

^ I believe a tire change on the MCBR would be in order, as well.

I kind of think that's what Elissa was getting at. In that case, ok! NASCAR is a silly theme regardless, even if it does make sense for the area. Next they should have an infield inside the layout where overweight, sunburned, drunken men can park their RVs and get even drunker.

I'm honestly failing to see how the stickers on this look any different from this Maybe it looks cheap, but that's exactly how they look in real life.

They could have themed it to BMW, there IS a factory about an hour away in Spartanburg.

I'll go ahead and bump this for the kid that started the thread today. I've ridden every American B&M invert excluding the BTR at SFGAm and Flight Deck at CGA, so my rankings are pretty set. 1. Montu 2. Alpengeist 3. Silver Bullet 4. Afterburn 5. Talon 6. Raptor 7. Dueling Dragons - Fire 8. Dueling Dragons - Ice 9. Patriot 10. Batman clones 11. Great Bear

^^I agree about severely disliking Harry Potter and NASCAR, but at least CF put the effort forth with making the trains look like actual racing cars. And it fits the demographic of the area, as well. While NASCAR is big in Virginia and there is a track in Richmond, I still don't get why they chose the same theme for I305. Takes away some of its identity if you ask me.

I think it adds nicely to the NASCAR theme, which is always a criticism of CF coasters. At least they're making an effort to theme this one better for the people who want it. *shrug*

^Back row on Apollo is a pretty high standard for me. Hopefully I get more than one ride tomorrow to try it out.

^^Beast's lift hill is that slow to allow the train ahead of it to clear the block before it crests the first drop. Several coasters do that, most notably Raven.

^Well if you want the ride to fall apart, become unbearably rough, and probably be torn down in the next 5 years, I'm sure Kings Island would be happy to turn the trims off for you.

^No worries, the video won't last long on here.

Nice trip report. I suspect I'll be making a day trip down there sometime later in April or early May.

Six Flags over Georgia Belmont Park Scandia Pacific Park Six Flags Magic Mountain Knott's Berry Farm Adventure City

^Sounds awesome! Can't wait to ride it tomorrow!

Yes, mine was busted the first day, worst bracket I've ever had. (And off topic, but I agree with you on the Domino's crust, it's 200% better than the old stuff). If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it still hit the ground and kill small animals?

^No, those two words should never be in the same sentence together, unless you are saying "that Vekoma I rode was not pleasant at all." Do you like Domino's new pizza crust?