Carowinds Discussion Thread

[xVicesAndVirtues]

Has anyone one here ever actually experienced Bees or Wasps at the top of the Drop Tower? Just curious to see how prevalent they really are...

 

The drop tower was closed on my last (actually, only) visit there back in 2011, but one thing that was a huge problem was bees in the queue for Afterburn! There must have been a nest somewhere near the corner of the station building because I remember the line keep having to pause and wait for a bee-clear moment to walk from the path to the side of the building.

 

Carowinds was a cool park but after my visit I was kind of like "ehh, maybe I'll come back someday if they add something new". I'll definitely be back now and I'm glad to see them making these new investments. I just really hope that the giga coaster is either something new/cool or Intamin. Charlotte is a really good "halfway-ish" point for me when taking the mountain route back to Orlando from seeing family in New York.

[carolinacaniac]

I'm against pay rides at POP parks. Honestly Go Karts, Sling Shots, Skyscrapers and Sky Coasters make a park look tacky IMO. Your already paying at least $40 to go to the park and drop another $15 for a 3 minute ride?

Upcharges like sky coasters, games, and go karts are a noticable portion of a park's income. Would you rather pay more to get into the park?

 

 

Yeah. I would rather pay $60.00 to have about 40 free rides than $50.00 for 35 free rides. Parks were fine for years without upcharge rides and then around 1995, Sky Coasters, Go Karts, Slingshots, And pay rides starting showing up.

 

The thing about it though is that if you go to places where you pay for rides individually, the attractions that are mentioned here are still typically priced higher than most of the other rides that would be in the same park. Take the Fun Spot parks here in Central Florida for example. The Sky Coaster is priced at $40 per ride if you go solo, where as the big coasters (White Lightning, Rockstar Spinning Coaster) are priced at $9 per ride.

 

I don't see anything wrong with them having rides that you pay extra for as it is an experience people will pay for, which gives the parks more revenue, which means more things are added and improved to the park. If you really don't like having to pay for such things, then don't do it (Just like how if you don't like how much the food costs in the park, then eat outside the park). Plus could you imagine how horribly long a line would be for a sky coaster if it was included in the price of admission?

 

-Gary T.

[11slataus]

They'd have to put it in the clearing next to Intimidator. It's literally the only empty space in that area. I wish they would leave that area clear. It looks nice the way it is.

 

I believe they are putting the SkyCoaster between Nighthawk and WindSeeker. Looks to be a very tight fit, partially over water.

[The Yeti]

I'm against pay rides at POP parks. Honestly Go Karts, Sling Shots, Skyscrapers and Sky Coasters make a park look tacky IMO. Your already paying at least $40 to go to the park and drop another $15 for a 3 minute ride?

Upcharges like sky coasters, games, and go karts are a noticable portion of a park's income. Would you rather pay more to get into the park?

 

 

Yeah. I would rather pay $60.00 to have about 40 free rides than $50.00 for 35 free rides. Parks were fine for years without upcharge rides and then around 1995, Sky Coasters, Go Karts, Slingshots, And pay rides starting showing up.

 

Yeah, but think about the line for a Slingshot or a Skycoaster if there was no upcharge. Would you wait 1-2 hours for it? The capacity would be terrible, and a pre-existing one's inclusion with admission being the justification for a price increase may not go over well with the GP. I wouldn't pay extra to ride one at an amusement park, but both are among the most thrilling rides I've ridden and with more than one included it could be worth the extra cost of admission in my opinion.

[bottom_feeder_13]

^ 1-2 hours is quite generous, more like 4-5 for a sky coaster even tripling up on every ride on a double one.

[kidcoaster 2]

^ You get maybe 50 people per hour on a double skycoaster... and that's if you have fast team.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

I'm against pay rides at POP parks. Honestly Go Karts, Sling Shots, Skyscrapers and Sky Coasters make a park look tacky IMO. Your already paying at least $40 to go to the park and drop another $15 for a 3 minute ride?

Upcharges like sky coasters, games, and go karts are a noticable portion of a park's income. Would you rather pay more to get into the park?

 

 

Yeah. I would rather pay $60.00 to have about 40 free rides than $50.00 for 35 free rides. Parks were fine for years without upcharge rides and then around 1995, Sky Coasters, Go Karts, Slingshots, And pay rides starting showing up.

 

Yeah, but think about the line for a Slingshot or a Skycoaster if there was no upcharge. Would you wait 1-2 hours for it? The capacity would be terrible, and a pre-existing one's inclusion with admission being the justification for a price increase may not go over well with the GP. I wouldn't pay extra to ride one at an amusement park, but both are among the most thrilling rides I've ridden and with more than one included it could be worth the extra cost of admission in my opinion.

 

 

So as opposed to building a high capacity attraction, they decide to build low capacity attraction and charge $20+ for it to lessen lines. Seems wrong to me.

 

And I've ridden Go Karts. I wouldn't wait 2 minutes for those.

[Double0Kevin]

^ Parks don't have a choice with Skycoasters. They are a profit share attraction that is regulated by the company that manufactures them. The whole point of them is to make money consistently, not like a coaster where you buy it and the manufacturer get a big payment and is done. Skycoasters are typically sold cheap and then the park continually pays Skycoaster their share of the profits.

[tarheel1231]

Offseason work photos!

 

Afterburn has been completely repainted

Ricochet will receive shiny blue supports, teal arms, and lime green track in 2014

Thunder Road is getting some track work done

 

- In other news, if you look on google maps, you'll see that the GR8 SK8 is dismantled and no one knows what will happen from there (whether if it gets moved or removed).

 

- The Xtreme Skyflyer skycoaster is completely dismantled in the parking lot. Work for the new coaster should start during the 2014 season.

 

- The pond next to Nighthawk has been drained and ground has been cleared so the Xtreme Skyflyer should go in soon.

 

- It is not clear if work for the new food complex has started (apparently it is a 500 seat Festhaus).

 

- Work for the front gate has not started yet.

 

- Work for the new water slides (Surfer's Swell and Dorsal Fin Drop) has not started yet.

 

That's all for now

[thrillseeker4552]

So Afterburn kept its color scheme? No Patriot colors?

[coasterbill]

I like this color scheme much better. Good choice.

[tarheel1231]

So Afterburn kept its color scheme? No Patriot colors?

Correct. This was confirmed on the park's facebook page a while ago.

[BotanicalStig]

Afterburn is looking good! Glad to see they didn't use the rumored red white and blue color scheme. I'm happy they're sprucing up the place. Thanks for the update.

[crazywolf88]

Has anyone ever considered that this new attraction could be a Polar Coaster? It's the only thing I could think of that could be over 300ft tall and only go 65mph.

[tarheel1231]

^I would take that article with a grain of sand when they can't even spell giga coaster right.

[IronWolfman]

Nice to hear about all the improvements! Ricochet should look nice in a Deja Vu-style color scheme.

[Aceattack52]

^ Parks don't have a choice with Skycoasters. They are a profit share attraction that is regulated by the company that manufactures them. The whole point of them is to make money consistently, not like a coaster where you buy it and the manufacturer get a big payment and is done. Skycoasters are typically sold cheap and then the park continually pays Skycoaster their share of the profits.

Is that really true? I had no idea. That's why it's so expensive. But I can't imagine a sky coaster costs that much... $150,000?

[tarheel1231]

JamminJ from http://www.carowindsconnection.com has more pictures of Thunder Road!

 

Any of the photos above are NOT mine.

Edited January 7, 2014 by tarheel1231

[Her0ofLime]

^ tarheel is now TPR's official Thunder Road insider

All joking aside, I've wanted to go to Carowinds for a while now and this new coaster is the perfect excuse for a visit!

[cal1br3tto]

Thunder Road really needs an overhaul, so I hope that helps a lot. In 2012 it was shuffly and uninspiring, with no airtime to speak of. Much worse than KI Racer or Rebel Yell.

[tarheel1231]

I thought it was great in 2013, so I guess it depends who you're talking to.

[chknwing]

tarheel, if your gonna cop stuff from carowinds connection, atleast give proper credit.

[thrillseeker4552]

Too bad this crew on Thunder Road can't head over to Knott's and do this to Ghost Rider. Good for Carowinds though!

[tarheel1231]

New info on the coaster!

 

Screamscape wrote:

2015/2016 - New Coaster - (1/7/14) According to a report posted at CoastersAndMore.de in German, the new B&M coaster on the way to Carowinds should stand over 90 meters (over 295 feet) in height and be at least 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) in length, as it crosses over from North to South Carolina and and back again during the run. And if I had to guess, I think there is a good chance it may fly over the park’s entrance plaza.

I’m hoping they got the stats a little wrong, as not only is the public expecting that it be at least 300 feet in height minimum, it should be LONGER than Intimidator, which is listed as 5,316 feet, and not shorter. Stay tuned!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Finally, some news about the coaster!

 

But it would probably be a B&M