Carowinds Discussion Thread

[tndank]

RIP Nighthawk, Drop Tower, and Scream Weaver.

https://x.com/Carowinds/status/1869390136921776133

[Hilltopper39]

I'm not going to miss Nighthawk, I love a good Drop Tower but those types of rides kind of seem to not be as popular as they once were.

Scream Weaver kind of stinks to lose, those are legitimately one of my favorite types of flat rides ever and seems like more and more of them are being removed lately. I doubt it gets relocated to another CF/SF park but maybe someone buys it and keeps it in service a few more years? Probably not but ya never know.

[abovethesink]

I only have two rides on Nighthawk from two or three years ago. First one was right as it opened and I liked it a lot. Second one was later in the 99 degree day and it was running crazy fast in the heat. Too fast, based on how I felt. It was pretty violent and I was quickly just bracing for it to be over. I rode Batwing last summer on a 104 degree day and had the same exact experience as my second ride on Nighthawk in the heat. So, at least on crazy hot days, I don't really like the model. Always sad to see any kind of coaster die out and you gotta figure Batwing is on its last legs too, but I won't shed too many tears for this one in particular. 

[PKI Jizzman]

Hey US parks…. Vekoma has an elite launched flying coaster product that’s elite cough cough. I wonder if there’s a chain lift version available? 

I did like the BORG/Nighthawk model with corkscrews over the flat line twists, though. but the operations and trains are brutal. 

[prozach626]

Six Flags 2.0 feels a lot like Six Flags 2.0.

[ricklap77]

Is Nighthawk being scrapped or dismantled to be sold to a park outside the SF chain?  It seems they don't bother trying to find a buyer and scrap the rides.  I guess with the high price of steel these days it's more profitable for them to do so.

[CaptainUnknown]

Why would anyone want old, rough, low-capacity, maintenance headaches when you could get something new, smooth, high capacity, reliable for 30% more? It's all about ROI.

Right now, my biggest concern is how long some of these plots will be vacant for.

[prozach626]

5 hours ago, CaptainUnknown said:

Right now, my biggest concern is how long some of these plots will be vacant for.

Probably longer than a "Six Flags Day."

[ricklap77]

I think the plan within the chain is not only to get rid of some problematic rides/coasters but also to have less of them to save on costs.  Having a few less but with high capacity it will balance out.  And with the merging of SF and Cedar Fair into one company, they have eliminated a lot of competition and now they can focus primarily on profitability.  For sure they will add big rides/coasters in the near future but we will end up having less attractions in total IMO.

[coasterbill]

20 hours ago, CaptainUnknown said:

Why would anyone want old, rough, low-capacity, maintenance headaches when you could get something new, smooth, high capacity, reliable for 30% more? It's all about ROI.

Right now, my biggest concern is how long some of these plots will be vacant for.

Yeah, I feel like the Nighthawk plot and Drop Tower plot could both just be left without a ride and look fine. Nighthawk is front and center but it's also well landscaped and has some trees ponds and fountains. I don't think they'll be in any rush to put anything there.

The Enterprise plot might look weird but they could put literally anything there.

[prozach626]

On 12/21/2024 at 6:31 AM, ricklap77 said:

now they can focus primarily on profitability

That's not always a good thing for the consumer, especially when the competition is limited.

[ricklap77]

I agree in might not be as interesting for the consumer but that's the way it is.  Companies need to make money.  That is why I never thought the merging was a good thing, especially for the consumer.

[prozach626]

Same page, bro.

[michaellynn4]

The more reason to stop giving them your money. It’s a lot more freeing than you think. 

[prozach626]

Yeah. I still like a lot of their parks for now. I still have my fingers crossed for a long term plan that helps the parks run more efficiently. Some of what SF is doing makes a lot of sense. I'm not optimistic that being profit driven without competition won't drastically effect the chain in a negative way.