Carowinds Discussion Thread

[aCoasterStory]

Not gonna lie...I'm excited.

[MagnumFreak25]

I'm extremely excited!(Opens up NL2 and selects B&M Hyper-4 across)

[tooooobbe]

Ok so now waiting for their 2016 announcment. Much wants MORE!

[EricGarbo]

Guys, I am very upset about this announcement. I am not happy with the outcome.

 

They wanted to build an actual game changer that would draw people to the park? Why on earth did they not do the obvious and take SkyRider from Canada's and build it in place of this new fangled piece of junk? That is a real roller coaster that people can get excited about. Carowinds park review: 0/10; next time try a little harder, hmm?

[robbalvey]

Virtual Ride Flyover Video:

[YoshiCraft2011]

This looks like a pretty fun ride. A nice paint scheme, lots of twists, and hey, it's the tallest "traditional" coaster. Now if only I could visit amusement parks more often...

[Erik Johnson]

I like how the name/logo unofficially ties in with the local NBA team.

[Ccron10]

Guys, I am very upset about this announcement. I am not happy with the outcome.

 

They wanted to build an actual game changer that would draw people to the park? Why on earth did they not do the obvious and take SkyRider from Canada's and build it in place of this new fangled piece of junk? That is a real roller coaster that people can get excited about. Carowinds park review: 0/10; next time try a little harder, hmm?

While parks do somewhat keep the coaster enthusiasts in mind, much of their attendance is family and teenagers going on vacation or spending the day off at a park. I am sure not many people even know that there is a 300-foot tall one of these up in Canada and people will come running to this place to ride something with a taller drop than how Windseeker is tall. I think this is a great, solid addition to the park and I really like the idea of them doing an entrance very similar in concept to Cedar Point's (seen on the Bird's Eye View video). Kudos to them!

[fury325fury]

 

I'm happy for the park and I'm sure the GP will be all over it which is what the park is hoping for but doesn't change the fact that the return on investment will be bleak.

 

Ah yes, I'm glad you're so privy to their financial expectations relating to building the tallest, fastest, longest traditional steel coaster in the Americas. I'm sure their ROI will be "bleak" since people will avoid the park in droves because this ride isn't an Intamin masochist machine. What this boils down to is that this ride will be a massive hit. The GP will eat it up, I'll enjoy it and I'm sure the majority of enthusiasts will too. If you think that building a B&M gigacoaster will somehow result in less return on investment vs an Intamin one, you're just delusional. You know what keeps people away from a new ride?

 

Off putting due to discomfort: Stand at the exit of Intimidator 305 for a few cycles, and you'll see plenty of people getting off of the ride saying "HOLY SH%T THAT'S A CRAZY RIDE, I'm getting right back in line". You'll also hear just as many people saying "HOLY SH%T THAT'S JUST TOO MUCH, I DONT THINK I'LL EVER RIDE THAT CRAZY THING AGAIN, IT'S JUST TOO MUCH". And then they'll walk over to Dominator or Volcano and stand in a 60-90 minute queue to enjoy those rides more.

Reliability Issues: People will avoid going if the big new attraction is closed, and those who still go will be upset/disappointed. I305 was closed for an entire month last season, and during it's 1st season had significant reliability problems.

As for actual "return on investment"... replacing thrashed wheels that cost over $1000 on a daily basis isn't good business sense, neither is having to rebuild a part of your brand new coaster because it placed too much stress on the train and it's riders.

Ridership: I305 is obviously the king of the park- the big new flashy ride, yet it garners less of a wait running 1 train than Flight of Fear, Volcano and Dominator do running multiple trains every single day. Want to talk about bad return on investment? No brand new record breaking ride should ever be a constant walk on while the "old hat" rides around it garner lengthy queues- but that's exactly what happens on I305.

 

Those are the issues that any park actually cares about with their new attraction, which is why parks will continue wait on a several years long wait list just to have the pleasure of building a crowd pleasing, massive capacity, 99% uptime ride that costs a fortune. At this point I think parks know whether or not B&M's have a good "return on investment".

 

For everyone else... yes I know it's juts such a "disappointment" that you're going to be punished with a top 20 coaster that doesn't thrash you around and have huge reliability/safety problems. Honestly this sour attitude over any park that chooses not to build the craziest most unique Intamin ride on earth is really getting old. Complain all you want about B&M and their lack of innovation/solid rides but over the last few years they've brought Giga coasters, new style inverted coasters, wing coasters and launched coasters to the market yet they're still "stale".

 

At this point lets just have establish a standard response to all rides every built in the future:

Every single park should be ashamed of themselves for even considering things like guest feedback, return on investment, reliability, maintenance cost or safety- they should have just built a mega lite, an aquatrax or an I305. Anything else is just boring/disappointing/not worth your time. Which is fine, because luckily not a single park on earth needs to cater to the 1% of visitors that comprise bitchy enthusiasts- it's such a negligible demographic. "Events" for enthusiasts amount to nothing more than a company picnic for the parks bottom line, and that's about the only thing the park ever bothers to care about with regards to enthusiasts beyond Holiday World.

Edited August 21, 2014 by fury325fury

[cfc]

I like how the name/logo unofficially ties in with the local NBA team.

 

Any guesses on whether the team will be the first riders during media day?

[televisedconfession]

Guys, I am very upset about this announcement. I am not happy with the outcome.

 

They wanted to build an actual game changer that would draw people to the park? Why on earth did they not do the obvious and take SkyRider from Canada's and build it in place of this new fangled piece of junk? That is a real roller coaster that people can get excited about. Carowinds park review: 0/10; next time try a little harder, hmm?

 

While I'm not jumping up and down for this ride either, it sounded like you had your expectations just a tad bit too high, to be honest. I don't know what you were expecting from Carowinds, but I think the majority of us saw this coming a mile away.

[coasterlover420]

Did any one else pick up on the transfer track after the station, right before the lift?

That's not so odd. It actually gives the ability to transfer all three trains onto the track without having to send one up the lift first.

[MagnumFreak25]

People are way to critical. Your actually complaining about a new Giga coaster. When leviathan was built people complained about it not having enough airtime. What do they do with the one, they add more airtime. And people still complain!

[televisedconfession]

I like how the name/logo unofficially ties in with the local NBA team.

 

Any guesses on whether the team will be the first riders during media day?

 

If LeBron had come to Carowinds, think this would have been the coaster they named?

[shivtim]

Leviathan is #13 on Mitch's poll, so I have high hopes for this one. Some people will love it. Some people just don't like big fast floaty B&M's, and that's fine! Carowinds has a somewhat old-school intense B&M already. I'm sure there are more than a few people that will prefer Afterburn to Fury 325! Personally I think this is a fantastic investment that will be incredibly popular with the general public and will bring record attendance. Enthusiasts will be split - plenty of people will put it in their top 5, and plenty will say it's just another OK B&M.

[Jon Sabo]

So, I guess for the theme they will not add a tunnel. But, instead will add a massive area of bee keepers with the cages open and the swarm are free to fly around the riders to enhance the experience.

 

I do like the layout and how the coaster will interact with the entrance area. Nice job Carowinds!

See ya in 2015.

[DJeXeL]

Ah yes, I'm glad you're so privy to their financial expectations relating to building the tallest, fastest, longest traditional steel coaster in the Americas. I'm sure their ROI will be "bleak" since people will avoid the park in droves because this ride isn't an Intamin masochist machine. What this boils down to is that this ride will be a massive hit. The GP will eat it up, I'll enjoy it and I'm sure the majority of enthusiasts will too. If you think that building a B&M gigacoaster will somehow result in less return on investment vs an Intamin one, you're just delusional. You know what keeps people away from a new ride?

 

Off putting due to discomfort: Stand at the exit of Intimidator 305 for a few cycles, and you'll see plenty of people getting off of the ride saying "HOLY SH%T THAT'S A CRAZY RIDE, I'm getting right back in line". You'll also hear just as many people saying "HOLY SH%T THAT'S JUST TOO MUCH, I DONT THINK I'LL EVER RIDE THAT CRAZY THING AGAIN, IT'S JUST TOO MUCH". And then they'll walk over to Dominator or Volcano and stand in a 60-90 minute queue to enjoy those rides more.

Reliability Issues: People will avoid going if the big new attraction is closed, and those who still go will be upset/disappointed. I305 was closed for an entire month last season, and during it's 1st season had significant reliability problems.

As for actual "return on investment"... replacing thrashed wheels that cost over $1000 on a daily basis isn't good business sense, neither is having to rebuild a part of your brand new coaster because it placed too much stress on the train and it's riders.

Ridership: I305 is obviously the king of the park- the big new flashy ride, yet it garners less of a wait running 1 train than Flight of Fear, Volcano and Dominator do running multiple trains every single day. Want to talk about bad return on investment? No brand new record breaking ride should ever be a constant walk on while the "old hat" rides around it garner lengthy queues- but that's exactly what happens on I305.

 

Those are the issues that any park actually cares about with their new attraction, which is why parks will continue wait on a several years long wait list just to have the pleasure of building a crowd pleasing, massive capacity, 99% uptime ride that costs a fortune. At this point I think parks know whether or not B&M's have a good "return on investment".

 

For everyone else... yes I know it's juts such a "disappointment" that you're going to be punished with a top 20 coaster that doesn't thrash you around and have huge reliability/safety problems. Honestly this sour attitude over any park that chooses not to build the craziest most unique Intamin ride on earth is really getting old. Complain all you want about B&M and their lack of innovation/solid rides but over the last few years they've brought Giga coasters, new style inverted coasters, wing coasters and launched coasters to the market yet they're still "stale".

 

At this point lets just have establish a standard response to all rides every built in the future:

Every single park should be ashamed of themselves for even considering things like guest feedback, return on investment, reliability, maintenance cost or safety- they should have just built a mega lite, an aquatrax or an I305. Anything else is just boring/disappointing/not worth your time. Which is fine, because luckily not a single park on earth needs to cater to the 1% of visitors that comprise bitchy enthusiasts- it's such a negligible demographic. "Events" for enthusiasts amount to nothing more than a company picnic for the parks bottom line, and that's about the only thing the park ever bothers to care about with regards to enthusiasts beyond Holiday World.

 

Thank you for taking the time to create an account and write that longer than necessary post. I said multiple times in my posts that I'm happy for the park and I truly do hope it is as good as everyone is expecting it to be. I never once said that "NO one will ever want to ride this!!"

CF is investing in expansion which is great and I also think the next entrance looks spectacular! The GP will eat it up, you're right and I even stated that in my post.......

You can be a fanboy of the ride, that's fine. If it's in your top 5, then great! I'm truly ecstatic for you.

Edited August 21, 2014 by DJeXeL

[OrlandoGuy]

This looks awesome to me, and Carowinds just landed a spot on my park wishlist.

 

Honestly, I dont understand the complaints for Intimidator/Fury similarities, especially with this layout. Besides being from the same manufacturer, there are actually pretty few similarities and I think the fact that its a B&M is blinding a ton of you to the actual merits of the design.

 

We've got Intimidator, a 232-foot traditional out and back full of camelbacks. Then we have Fury, a 300-foot twister layout...on paper, these two are completely different! But just because the maker of the ride is B&M, theres got to be a ton of complaining. What if Fury had the exact same layout but was made by Mack or Intamin? Or what if Intimidator was made by Morgan? Is a mere difference in track style the primary point of differentiation for you guys? Yes, they are made by the same manufacturer. But the two rides are completely different in layout and style. Not to mention the thing hasnt even opened yet. Im just shocked that this has been the butt of so many complaints...would a wingrider or standup have been better?

[OrlandoGuy]

^^Thank you for taking the time to write that longer than necessary post. I said multiple times in my posts that I'm happy for the park and I truly do hope it is as good as everyone is expecting it to be. I never once said that "NO one will ever want to ride this!!"

CF is investing in expansion which is great and I also think the next entrance looks spectacular! The GP will eat it up, you're right and I even stated that in my post.......

You can be a fanboy of the ride, that's fine. If it's in your top 5, then great! I'm truly ecstatic for you.

 

To be fair, your negativity regarding the investment was uneducated and unwarranted. Even if you are an accountant for the park, you wouldnt even be able to determine "bleakness" or not until the ride opened.

[rcjp]

This looks awesome to me, and Carowinds just landed a spot on my park wishlist.

 

Honestly, I dont understand the complaints for Intimidator/Fury similarities, especially with this layout. Besides being from the same manufacturer, there are actually pretty few similarities and I think the fact that its a B&M is blinding a ton of you to the actual merits of the design.

 

We've got Intimidator, a 232-foot traditional out and back full of camelbacks. Then we have Fury, a 300-foot twister layout...on paper, these two are completely different! But just because the maker of the ride is B&M, theres got to be a ton of complaining. What if Fury had the exact same layout but was made by Mack or Intamin? Or what if Intimidator was made by Morgan? Is a mere difference in track style the primary point of differentiation for you guys? Yes, they are made by the same manufacturer. But the two rides are completely different in layout and style. Not to mention the thing hasnt even opened yet. Im just shocked that this has been the butt of so many complaints...would a wingrider or standup have been better?

I agree. The rides are actually more different than I thought they would, which is good. It may not be an airtime machine, but then if it were I WOULD be a lot like intimidator. I'm glad they went for something different.

[RCF]

To be honest, why are people SURPRISED about this and are only now complaining? You knew EXACTLY what you were getting when B&M came around and this being a giga if you followed this. It's exactly what will be eaten up by GP with the record and layout. What we should realize is B&M hasn't created any bad coasters ever besides a few stand-ups and (in my opinion) Gatekeeper. It's not like they just handed you a Volare and asked you to use your imagination.

 

 

 

That being said, their are two pretty promising points in the layout. The low to the ground overbanked s-curves and the drop below the walkway. The rest seems like a definite cookie-cutter ride, but this is a giga custom cookie-cutter and not an actual cookie-cutter spinning coaster stuffed into a building with special paint. *cough* Hersheypark *cough* I personally am excited for the ride as it won't really disappoint as a giga coaster and will provide an amazing ROI for Carowinds.

 

 

 

And the new entrance looks BEAUTIFUL in my opinion. Including the landscaped drop under the walkway. That looks like it will be pretty to walk over and really give a nice atmosphere before you enter. Again, this entire project gives exactly what the park needs.

 

 

 

For the ones who say a wing coaster would be better, how many wing coasters have you heard get as many rave reviews as Leviathan? I don't understand how coaster enthusiasts think wing coasters would be a better ride than a giga? Remember guys, even though Thunderbird is a wing coaster, the only reason people are excited is because B&M is actually making a launched coaster. If it had a lift and a drop, I bet people would not find the coaster as glamorous. Not bashing Thunderbird, but lets look at what B&M has made and realize Banshee is just one coaster and not necessarily a "comeback."

 

 

 

:soapbox:

Edited August 21, 2014 by RCF

[DJeXeL]

^^^You know what? You're right. But "To be fair," so is berating other members of the forum for expressing their opinions of the ride.

Edited August 21, 2014 by DJeXeL

[Big Sexy]

 

I'm happy for the park and I'm sure the GP will be all over it which is what the park is hoping for but doesn't change the fact that the return on investment will be bleak.

 

Ah yes, I'm glad you're so privy to their financial expectations relating to building the tallest, fastest, longest traditional steel coaster in the Americas. I'm sure their ROI will be "bleak" since people will avoid the park in droves because this ride isn't an Intamin masochist machine. What this boils down to is that this ride will be a massive hit. The GP will eat it up, I'll enjoy it and I'm sure the majority of enthusiasts will too. If you think that building a B&M gigacoaster will somehow result in less return on investment vs an Intamin one, you're just delusional. You know what keeps people away from a new ride?

 

Off putting due to discomfort: Stand at the exit of Intimidator 305 for a few cycles, and you'll see plenty of people getting off of the ride saying "HOLY SH%T THAT'S A CRAZY RIDE, I'm getting right back in line". You'll also hear just as many people saying "HOLY SH%T THAT'S JUST TOO MUCH, I DONT THINK I'LL EVER RIDE THAT CRAZY THING AGAIN, IT'S JUST TOO MUCH". And then they'll walk over to Dominator or Volcano and stand in a 60-90 minute queue to enjoy those rides more.

Reliability Issues: People will avoid going if the big new attraction is closed, and those who still go will be upset/disappointed. I305 was closed for an entire month last season, and during it's 1st season had significant reliability problems.

As for actual "return on investment"... replacing thrashed wheels that cost over $1000 on a daily basis isn't good business sense, neither is having to rebuild a part of your brand new coaster because it placed too much stress on the train and it's riders.

Ridership: I305 is obviously the king of the park- the big new flashy ride, yet it garners less of a wait running 1 train than Flight of Fear, Volcano and Dominator do running multiple trains every single day. Want to talk about bad return on investment? No brand new record breaking ride should ever be a constant walk on while the "old hat" rides around it garner lengthy queues- but that's exactly what happens on I305.

 

Those are the issues that any park actually cares about with their new attraction, which is why parks will continue wait on a several years long wait list just to have the pleasure of building a crowd pleasing, massive capacity, 99% uptime ride that costs a fortune. At this point I think parks know whether or not B&M's have a good "return on investment".

 

For everyone else... yes I know it's juts such a "disappointment" that you're going to be punished with a top 20 coaster that doesn't thrash you around and have huge reliability/safety problems. Honestly this sour attitude over any park that chooses not to build the craziest most unique Intamin ride on earth is really getting old. Complain all you want about B&M and their lack of innovation/solid rides but over the last few years they've brought Giga coasters, new style inverted coasters, wing coasters and launched coasters to the market yet they're still "stale".

 

At this point lets just have establish a standard response to all rides every built in the future:

Every single park should be ashamed of themselves for even considering things like guest feedback, return on investment, reliability, maintenance cost or safety- they should have just built a mega lite, an aquatrax or an I305. Anything else is just boring/disappointing/not worth your time. Which is fine, because luckily not a single park on earth needs to cater to the 1% of visitors that comprise bitchy enthusiasts- it's such a negligible demographic. "Events" for enthusiasts amount to nothing more than a company picnic for the parks bottom line, and that's about the only thing the park ever bothers to care about with regards to enthusiasts beyond Holiday World.

 

 

Banshee at kings island is always a walk on....

[rcjp]

People are way to critical. Your actually complaining about a new Giga coaster. When leviathan was built people complained about it not having enough airtime. What do they do with the one, they add more airtime. And people still complain!

 

Where do you see more airtime? There is the same exact number of hills. And It will most likely be 0g floater at best.

 

I do like the colors.

This has 3 hills and leviathan 2. While those may be bigger, it does look like some of those twists and turns could have some air.

[MagnumFreak25]

Leviathan has like two or three airtime moments while this has at least 5 or 6. I agree that this isn't similar at all to Intimidator. It's no more similar than MF is to Maverick or Gemini is to Magnum or Behemoth is to leviathan. It's an amazing looking ride. It may not have as much airtime as other coasters but that'sOK. It doesn't have to be. Look at Maverick. It has 2 moments of Airtime and many consider it the best in the world.