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!

Yes, I believe the two Hurlers are the same. But Thunder Run is not a clone, but it is a very similar layout. Except Thunder Run seems to be pretty well-liked in a lot of reviews. Probably because it was recently restored when Kentucky Kingdom opened, and it's not trimmed to death, so it really keeps its speed throughout the whole ride. I think I would actually want to ride it, unlike the slow, rough Hurlers. Thunder Run was built by a different company so that speaks volumes. It's also 4 years older.

Here are the Google Maps directions. You can even see the house using street view. Those directions provided by the link in the post above mine are outdated as the Locust Ridge Rd has been extended and paved since way back when. Using these directions, the house will be on the right. Directions To Dolly's Real Childhood Home on Locust Ridge Rd

That would appear to be for netting since that section goes over the main path.

Source Do you have a screenshot of this? I looked and it says no such thing (as of 1:51pm 02/23/2016).

Head home on 20th May. Will be gutted if I just miss it opening. The only thing regarding an open date released so far is "Summer 2016", which starts June 20th and ends September 21st. Some people consider Memorial Day the beginning of Summer. They left this wide open most likely to avoid bad press in case of delays as has happened with previous attractions the company built (particularly at Busch Gardens Tampa) . We know B&M coasters tend to get put up quick and rarely have delays. There are other things thematically around the whole area to be done that takes time as well. My best estimate is that they intend on opening it Memorial Day weekend should delays not force a later date. The earliest they would do soft openings (if at all) would be early May. Could it open earlier? Absolutely, but don't get your hopes to high on that and get let down later. Just keep track of it here or other outlets for when they plan on opening.

Bojangle's Seasoned Fries >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Popeye's Canjun Fries.

Charlotte & York County's Spring Break is the last week of March & Rock Hill is the 1st week of April. Carowinds was open daily last season during those 2 weeks. It may be the same this year, but until the calendar is released we won't know.

If you read carefully, where you saw hyper coaster is where the model type is. This is correct. (I edited that to make it more clear.) Nowhere did I see it classified as a hyper coaster. I was just wondering why they don't market it as a giga coaster? Probably because the term was coined by Intamin.

I was there this past Saturday and the new metal detectors were out front but were not being used. Not sure if they were in use when you went on NYE but I'm wondering if they will only use them selectively on crowded days or during peak park entry hours. We got to the park around like 11ish so maybe they were used in the morning that day not sure. They were in use NYE that's why the line was so long to get into the park. I have a feeling they will move the metal detectors closer to the turnstiles where the bag check station is if they keep them. I don't see them leaving them where they are currently with the "slow season" upon us. I think they just put them where they are to facilitate the crowd.

Kraken last night around 10pm.