Carowinds Discussion Thread

[Vonni]

The news about the shooting at Carowinds just makes me sick. What a World we live in.

[9Armgeddon4]

I just read about the shooting on Screamscape. From it sounds like there must of been a conflict between the two earlier in the day. Hopefully the he will be ok. I just don't understand why anyone would shoot a 14 year old.

[mordecai-75]

Way to much garbage like this going on in the U.S. these day's.

[prozach626]

These things are usually ongoing conflicts as opposed to one incident stemming from something that happened in the park.

 

A lot of people haven't been exposed to some of the 14 year old types we have in this world. Many of which who sling dope and guns in their 'squads' without regard for anyone else. If you're not aware of this, I envy you. Seriously.

[anonymouscactus]

Any tips on how to spend the time between day admission and Scarowinds? It looks like they completely close and don't have anything open? Or do they have a special waiting area / can I stay parked and eat somewhere?

[LiftThrill]

These things are usually ongoing conflicts as opposed to one incident stemming from something that happened in the park.

 

A lot of people haven't been exposed to some of the 14 year old types we have in this world. Many of which who sling dope and guns in their 'squads' without regard for anyone else. If you're not aware of this, I envy you. Seriously.

 

Much of this is true, but not all 14 year olds are like that. Many of them are complete punks though.

 

It still sucks to hear about this, violence is the exact opposite of what we want at amusement parks (except maybe during Halloween)

[coasterbill]

Any tips on how to spend the time between day admission and Scarowinds?

 

Yes. Don't hang out in the parking lot.

 

... oh shut up

[ZambeziZinger]

Any tips on how to spend the time between day admission and Scarowinds? It looks like they completely close and don't have anything open? Or do they have a special waiting area / can I stay parked and eat somewhere?

 

Go to CULVERS across the street from the park. Yum!

[DirkFunk]

These things are usually ongoing conflicts as opposed to one incident stemming from something that happened in the park.

 

Yup. Plus it isn't like it was some heat of the moment thing. The shooter left the park, was seen apparently mulling it over, and then went back to basically commit something akin to a drive-by before abandoning his car some distance away.

 

A lot of people haven't been exposed to some of the 14 year old types we have in this world. Many of which who sling dope and guns in their 'squads' without regard for anyone else. If you're not aware of this, I envy you. Seriously.

 

Imagining the world a kid lives in which that option becomes the best one is pretty horrifying. But it happens a lot. Way too often.

[larrygator]

These things are usually ongoing conflicts as opposed to one incident stemming from something that happened in the park.

 

A lot of people haven't been exposed to some of the 14 year old types we have in this world. Many of which who sling dope and guns in their 'squads' without regard for anyone else. If you're not aware of this, I envy you. Seriously.

 

Most people on this site will NEVER be exposed to this whole underside on a regular basis. Hoping that none of my students or their family members get murdered this year.

[coasterbill]

Obviously the Golden Ticket Awards are sh*t, but Fury 325 was just voted best steel coaster (which is a pretty big upset). That's got to be really cool for this park.

[jarmor]

Well . . . it is a pretty solid ride. What coaster should have gotten it?

[coasterbill]

I think Fury is a very solid pick for #1. It wouldn't be my choice but it's an elite ride. After the top few coasters though the list becomes hilarious which makes you take the entire thing with a grain of salt. Then again this is nothing new and entirely expected.

[jarmor]

Who votes in these things? I should pay more attention.

[coasterbill]

Who votes in these things?

 

By the looks of it, Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard's immediate family and a close group of family friends.

[JordyC]

Who votes in these things?

 

By the looks of it, Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard's immediate family and a close group of family friends.

 

[DougMJr]

Obviously the Golden Ticket Awards are sh*t, but Fury 325 was just voted best steel coaster (which is a pretty big upset). That's got to be really cool for this park.

It's great that Fury was able to earn back-to-back golden tickets (best new ride in '15, best steel coaster in '16).

 

Also promising to see how awesome some of the newer B&Ms are. Fury and Banshee are two amazing rides, and Valravn even exceeded my expectations!

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[beenagins87]

I haven't been on Fury yet, and it seems like a legit ride so I'm going to hold off my judgment on it. I'm more perplexed by Intimidator being Top 10. The fact that I305 is barley in the Top 20 is a joke and Golith at SFOG spent 8 years in the top 10, is 10x better than Intrimitador and its barley clinging on to the top 20.

[coasterbill]

Yeah I don't have as much of an issue with new B&M's as most people but Fury was really the only one that blew me away. Valravn and Banshee were both a ton of fun but I still consider Banshee to be the weakest invert I've ever ridden (I've ridden all of them in the U.S. minus a few Batman clones, Patriot and Flight Deck) and the dive coasters are all great but not amazing. I'd love to see more rides with the same type of transitions and airtime as Fury pop up.

[prozach626]

^ I think I'm in somewhat of a minority, but I found Valravn to be utterly unexciting. I'm actually surprised at the praise and lack of criticism Valravn receives among coaster nerds. The vest restraints combined with the lack of forces make this ride one of the most disappointing I've ever ridden. The way it crawls through the last inversion and almost valleys on the 'airtime hill' is laughable. After riding Griffin last year and Sheikra this year, I couldn't care less if I ever ride Valravn again. Gatekeeper was equally forceless, but at least the layout, including the start near the beach and the keyhole over the entrance, makes it much more memorable and unique. Banshee, on the other hand, really does it for me. I love the sense of speed throughout the entire ride. I can't figure out which invert is my favorite out of Banshee or Afterburn. I try to ride them both as much as possible and in the back of my head I hope I never decide a clear winner. Both Banshee and Afterburn offer vastly different ride experiences.

 

As far as Fury goes, it has been the coaster I haven't been able to get out of my head since my first ride in May. So much so that I worked a couple OT shifts to hop a plane out to Scarowinds in October. Even taking the GTO for what they are, it was still neat to finally see MF bested.

[grsupercity]

That fact that Intimidator is in the top 20 is funny. That fact that it is in the top 10 is a joke!

[The Geek Mojo]

Glad to see Fury 325 get best steel coaster. It's my personal #2 but I'm okay seeing it #1. Out of the 50 listed, I've rode 30 of the steel coasters...And I really don't agree much with the Golden Ticket Awards. They got Intimidator 305 #17 and that's just plain ole horseshit. But whatever. Congrats Fury 325!

[coasterbill]

^ I think I'm in somewhat of a minority, but I found Valravn to be utterly unexciting. I'm actually surprised at the praise and lack of criticism Valravn receives among coaster nerds.

 

If I were being more objective then I would probably be more critical of it but the view at the top is amazing and the holding brake (combined with the view) is too. I'm a sucker for speed (which it has a ton of) and while the layout is sort of uneventful after the first drop and the airtime hill has no airtime to speak of I fall for the dive coaster gimmick hook line and sinker. I actually do enjoy the barrel roll though.

 

Personally if I had to rank the American dive coasters I'd say Sheikra is easily my favorite and Valravn is right in the middle but I like all of them. I also like the midway around the ride and the new Marina gate.

[TBpony414]

We LOVED Fury! I was actually really surprised by how freaking fast and hands up in the air cheering the whole way fun it was. I really got a sense of speed however after the mid-course I felt like it crawled. We rode it on a day when it was well over 100 deg out with "feels like" temp of 114 so mid-course was surely kicking on a lot more than normal. Go ahead and crucify me, but the second half felt uninspired track-wise and the speed dwindled significantly. And the last right hand turn going back towards the station where you awkwardly monorail-it onto the brake run... what's up with that? Bank it a little more, maybe? Or something. Perhaps the first part is so stellar that the second half just can't live up to it, I don't know.

 

Everything up until the mid-course was absolutely fantastic and I personally was blown away with the creative ride style, transitions, unique elements, the cool lighting everywhere, fantastic name and the ride feels like you're an angry hornet, and the million dollar tunnel is super. I want to take that first 1/2 - 3/4 and send it to coaster designers everywhere saying "THIS, folks, is how you make a great coaster!" Make no mistake - while I remain grumbly about the second half, SO's more forgiving and his top 2 coasters are Fury and Maverick. Fury is one of my favorites as well but the lame second half is what shoves it down several rankings. In fact we loved Fury so much we're heading way back down to Charlotte on a whirlwind overnight just to ride it the end of this month. Part of what I love about Millennium Force is its long ride time and no mid-course. It keeps its speed until it hits the brake run! If Fury continued that way it'd be #1 for me.

 

TL;DR: Fury is excellent and the GTA's are otherwise inaccurate.

[beenagins87]

That fact that Intimidator is in the top 20 is funny. That fact that it is in the top 10 is a joke!

I think we all know it got a lot of Furys goodwill, but with all of Furys goodwill I'm surprised Afterburn didn't place higher, it seems to be very revered by most enthusiasts.