cwgator

It's also been removed from the park map:

Considering it was after 7PM when they were able to run the coaster and park attendance #s, they probably didn't feel the need to put 3 trains on for less than 3 hours of operation. There were some slow days last year where they only ran 2 trains.

Spring break is over in the area. Weekends this time of year tend to be busier because the water park isn't open yet. If the weather is expected to be nice it will be busy on Saturday. Sundays tend to be lighter, especially in the morning.

Well it's still mostly standing (at least it was when I was there 2 weeks ago). There is plenty of wood to go around.

Interesting find from the Orlando Sentinel. Wood from Gwazi is being re-purposed around the FL parks. Parts of Busch Gardens' Wooden Coaster Are Recycled At Theme Parks

Since it's almost a year until it's opening, I expect them to milk/tease it as long as possible. I wouldn't expect it until late summer...but you never know.

^I personally would wait and go Sunday if this will be your only chance this year to go. The temps will be a little warmer and less windy according to the forecast on weather.com.

I wonder if I'll need a locker just to ride Full Throttle.

The process shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes. That is unless a few thousand people happen to show up at the exact moment you arrive to also have their passes processed. Most of the people there on that day might be school groups anyway as that is likely an education day. I went the first week of June last year to process mine ant it was about 5 minutes from entering to exiting with pass in hand. They had several people working in there. As far as Fast Lane, I would wait until you get to the park and get a feel of the crowds. I doubt you will need one. When I went in June (while school was still in session), the lines were no more than 10-15 minutes, except for Nighthawk.

^The previous poster said that yesterday (Wednesday) was slammed. If the weather is nice I would expect it to be super-dooper slammed on Saturday...pretty much any Saturday is.

Montu @ BGT this past Friday. I was on the next to last train. It would have been Cheetah Hunt, but the ride went down while in line after waiting 30 minutes and we were just about to go past the grouper...oh the luck. So we hurried up and got out of line and headed over to Montu and got 2 rides. While I love Cheetah Hunt we got the better deal with 2 on Montu...lol This was my (14yo) nephew's first time and loved it. When we passed it earlier in the day on the train he was like oh no I don't think so. He had ridden Kumba earlier in the day and let him know if he could handle that one, this one is no prob.

I'm not sure about using your phone at the gate, but you should be able to go to the ticket window and have them pull up your info. You should have a confirmation number in your email that you can give them and they can print your tickets.

The final piece was installed last night:

Here is May's Schedule: Carowinds May Schedule Notice that they are only open Fri-Sun, with a couple Thursdays in the middle and of course Memorial Day (when daily operation starts). Memorial Day would obviously be the busiest day the whole month so I wouldn't suggest that. The Thursday & Fridays there will likely be education days which will have many school groups, but won't be as busy as when school is out for summer. You should be fine without a fast pass these days. Fridays generally will get busier in the afternoon as schools lets out however. Of course if it ends up busier than you're comfortable with as far as wait times, you can always get a past pass at the park. I wouldn't prepay for it. Just wait and see so you don't end up wasting $. I went in June last year while school was still in session and saw many people with fast pass and no lines were longer than 10-15 minutes (except Nighthawk was 30). I would have felt cheated, but to each their own if they want to waste it...lol

It's about time they got a wooden coaster....and something Viking themed!