hoppedup

I know it's the point with this coaster. I am just curious how those inversions would be with some speed. I don't really care for the hang time. They have Southern Star for that.

I'd love to know how much they pushed it during testing and how much faster they could make it go without undue strain on the ride. Would be great if they could run it a bit faster at certain times. I know it sounds like I am complaining, but it is still a really fun ride. And it is open for Winterfest this year! That said, it is #4 for me at Carowinds, behind Fury, Afterburn, and Intimidator.

Carowinds October 26-27, 2019 Trying to squeeze a little more out of our platinum passes, the offspring and I elected to go to Carowinds for the last weekend of Scarowinds. Our complimentary FL+ was only good until the 27th, so why not? Saturday was great. We were able to ride as much as we wanted (Fury over and over, Copperhead Strike x1, Intimidator x1) Funpix was down at Fury 325 all weekend. We walked around and people-watched a bit. Then we checked in to the Comfort Inn across the street. There was a photo of Nighthawk on the wall, but we had a peaceful night sleep anyway. We walked back over for Scarowinds. Crossing the street was the scariest thing we did all weekend. We kinda figured we would just be walking around due to the crowds. And that's all we did. Some of the scare actors were really into their jobs, but most were just kinda meh. The explosion noises were way too loud, IMO. Enough so that if I had a small child, I'd have them wearing hearing protection. There was a light, steady rain the entire time we were there. I think all the coasters were running (except maybe Goldrusher, which didn't run during the day either) We ate at Blue Ridge Country Kitchen and they hooked me up on the portions. We left about 8:30, kinda over it. We were going to use our bring-a-friend passes on my daughter's friends on Sunday, but they bailed due to the forecast. I awoke to pouring rain around 6 a.m. and almost bailed myself. But I let my daughter sleep and decided to see if things cleared up. And they did! We made our way back to Fury and it was a walk-on. In fact for the first 45 minutes, it was a stay-on many times, as there was no one in most of the lanes, or sometimes just two. We had some great rides. It seemed to be hauling extra ass yesterday, and the trim brake seemed a bit stronger. I don't know how many times we rode it. It sucks that FunPix wasn't open at Fury. We also got a ride in on Intimidator before bailing. It turned out to be a beautiful day. The photographer said, "Make a goofy face!" So we did. We couldn't resist taking a pic with this Winterfest ornament. There was a lot of Winterfest stuff being prepped. I'm excited to go back for Winterfest, especially since there will be two major coasters running. Also, there was a small covered stage outside Harmony Hall to the left that had some outdoor furniture with cushions. A comfy spot to take a break. It may not be new, but I hadn't noticed it before. Notes: There is a new parking lot near the entry gate in a former grassy area. It was paved and striped, but closed off. The SpringHill Suites looks really close to opening. Is the South Gate ever open? If you are leaving to the north, get gas in SC before you leave. It's about 10-15 cents cheaper per gallon than NC. Also, follow the advice of coasterbill and join Choice Privileges. The points rack up during promotions and there are four Choice properties at this exit.

But I kinda need that non-full circuit coaster with the pinkish track, the coaster with the aqua track that consists of 3 1/2 corkscrews, and that RMC Raptor in the bottom right of that first rendering.

Nice report! SFFT is definitely the nicest SF park I've been to. We went in December and the weather was perfect. Superman never opened while we were there, so we kinda have to go back. I think Iron Rattler is probably my favorite RMC, and I've ridden Lightning Rod and Steel Vengeance.

^

This. I just told a coworker about this news and they asked, "Don't you have passes to both? Won't this be a good thing?" Yes. And a big fat no. I mean, MIA and Valleyfair might get 4-D Free Spins, but at what cost to the larger parks? Hopefully the source is the Dippin' Dots guy.

This is terrible. From what I am reading about Mindbender, the trains were redesigned after the accident. Does anyone know if this coaster got the same train redesign/modifications?

Great report and pictures! Is it odd that this stood out for me?:

Damn. I would trade Carowinds' Vortex for KI's any day. I love Arrow loopers and Corkscrew at CP is probably the only one I've ridden that I'd never ride again. Glad I got to ride Vortex a few times. I wish there was an easier process for rehabbing old steel coasters. Can't all be Schwarzkopf, I guess. :shrugs:

I finally got around to doing this yesterday. I saved 45¢ per gallon from Fuel Rewards from two Choice hotel stays and 27¢ per gallon with GetUpside App for a total of $14.40 on a 20 gallon fill-up. I try to add a friend once a month (how often I fill up on average) to get the extra 15¢ per gallon on GetUpside. After that I get a penny per gallon for all direct referrals who use it and a 1/2 penny for each gallon for theirs.

1. As I remember it, yes. 2. Don't know. Never did one. 3. Early Entry has ended for the year. 4. I don't think so. I generally don't drink at parks. And if I do, it's beer. 5. I pretty much only eat at Harmony Hall (food court with several options, I go for brisket, wings, or turkey legs) or the new country kitchen near Copperhead Strike. There is a bar at the country kitchen. Not sure if it will be staffed. 6. Water park is done for the season. 7. Not sure. I pretty much just do coasters. I have seen a few shows in Harmony Hall while eating. It's a big open room with a stage. Meh.

^I haven't been this early in the season before, but my experience is that daytime crowds are pretty light during Scarowinds season and the night time crowds are awful. As always, get there and then judge if FL+ is necessary. Also the park closes at 5 and reopens for Scarowinds. It is a separately ticketed event.

I'm not quite following you here. I think you're asking me if I think it's weird that Austin doesn't have a theme park? The answer is no. Hellboy thinks it's weird that every city doesn't have a theme park.

1. Iron Rattler 2. Lightning Rod 3. Steel Vengeance 4. Twisted Cyclone 5. Wonder Woman 6. Twisted Timbers 7. Wicked Cyclone 8. Storm Chaser 9. New Texas Giant I am excited for Jersey Devil. I really wish they'd make more Raptor coasters, even if they were WW/Railblazer clones.

We went to Texas the week before Christmas and the weather was perfect, upper 60s with maybe 15 minutes of rain in 6 days. We ended up getting a hotel on the River Walk for less than $100 a night. One way rentals can double or triple the amount you spend on a car depending on who you book through and how long you keep it. YMMV. Rent bikes and do the Mission Trail in San Antonio if you have time. The missions are one of the coolest things we did in Texas, other than the parks. The River Walk is cool but as has already been stated the restaurants on the water are mostly chains. We enjoyed The Original Blanco Restaurant, Pete's Tako House, and Augie's while we were downtown. We didn't explore the Pearl District much,but it looked to be home to some cool shops, restaurants and breweries. Tower of the Americas was cool but definitely not worth the price of admission. We stayed at the HoJo in Arlington with views of Titan across the street from our room. We did the AT&T Stadium tour. If there is on-field access the day you are there, it is pretty cool. We really wanted to swim in Barton Springs in Zilker Park in Austin, but my daughter nixed that idea when the only people there swimming were old dudes in speedos. It was a cool park anyway, with disc golf and hiking trails. I also recommend SWSA in the a.m. and SFFT in the p.m. for one day. They are fairly close together and unless you care about the animal exhibits, SWSA is a half-day park (I would marathon Steel Eel for most of that time). Then a full day at SFFT. My daughter was so impressed, she wants to go back to Texas this Christmas.

I'll write a trip report at some point. But here's a pic of the Superman:ROS queue at around 1:15 Sunday. Park had a decent crowd and the best coaster in the park was like this all day. SMDH. We rode 9 times in a row at one point without re-queuing.

The 20% discount was available for food and merch at BGW. The verbiage about being a resident of Texas to buy a platinum pass does not appear anywhere until after you have paid and received your ticket in email. I contacted Sea World last year when I saw that and they said not to worry about being a NC resident. I processed my pass with no issue at SWSA. And used it Sunday and yesterday for entry and preferred parking at BGW.

The pass is that ridiculously cheap at SWSA. We used ours for admission last night at BGW and got preferred parking included, even though an email from SWSA said preferred parking was only included at SWSA. We are going to test food and merch discounts today.

This weekend: BGW>SFA>KD

I have added Fuel Rewards as my extra on my Choice Privileges membership. For each qualifying stay, I get 20¢ per gallon off gas at Shell stations. The rewards are good for up to 20 gallons per fill up, so I can get at least $5 off per fill-up (you get 5¢ per gallon as a Fuel Rewards member) since I have a 31 gallon tank. I am going to try it tonight and see if it also stacks with the GetUpside app I'm using for gas purchases. Also, I'm probably going to get the CP Visa card before the 50,000 point offer runs out Saturday. I haven't applied for any new cards in a few years and my credit score is excellent.

From local news website: Carowinds released the following statement: “On Sunday evening, a guest had a thumb injury on the Copperhead Strike roller coaster. Park officials immediately responded and the guest was transported for medical care. Out of precaution, the ride is currently closed while we conduct an assessment. The safety of our guests is our top priority.”

This gorgeous, crazy animal.

Kings Dominion August 10, 2019 I took a 4 day weekend and decided to go to BGW, KD, or SFA or a combination of the the three on my way (not really) to Kennywood. KD won a coin toss so I was off early on Saturday to the Old Dominion. I will preface this report by saying that almost two years ago to the day, I rediscovered roller coasters after a 22 year hiatus. On that first day back, I305 was my third coaster. Volcano was a big surprise, as I really didn't know about launch coasters. But I305 was something else. My daughter and I only rode it once as it seemed too forceful and intense. Fast forward two years (and 135 coasters) and I returned eager to look at I305 with a new perspective. I loved my first ride so much, I stayed on and rode again. Then I took a turn in the front row and then last row. The lines were light all day. This coaster has jumped from near the bottom of my list to a definite top 20 for me. Raise hell, praise Dale! I popped back in for re-rides throughout the day. After lapping I305 a few times, I boogied back to Twisted Timbers. I don't know if it had been down and reopened as I walked up, but it was a five minute wait! On a Saturday in August. A second ride required a 25 minute wait. What a great RMC. Cedar Fair, please give Carowinds' Hurler this treatment. The red card/metal detector didn't seem to slow the ops too much, if at all. They were painfully slow last year when we dropped in just for night rides on TT. I also got rides on Avalanche, Windseeker, Anaconda, Grizzly, Racer 75, and Flight of Fear. Backlot was down the entire time I was there. And a 16 oz. Trapezium DIPA for $9.99 at The Parched Pig. Score! It was a nice day at a great park. I almost bought FL+ when I saw the crowd at the entrance, but glad I didn't as I got plenty of rides with reasonable waits. Oh yeah, RIP this beautiful beast: I then did a little sightseeing around Richmond and started getting psyched for the next day at Kennywood.

I purchased my Platinum Pass from SWSA last year. You have to go to the home park to get your pass. Which was fine with me, as we turned it into a 6 day trip that included SFOT, SFFT, SWSA, and sightseeing. Admission and parking is enough for me at the other parks. The tickets that were emailed to me said you had to be a resident of Texas to get a platinum pass from SWSA. This was never mentioned during the purchase process so I checked with Sea World and they said being a resident was not necessary.