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Carowinds Discussion Thread

P. 417 - Fury back open now with 100% less crack!

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I just did a survey from Carowinds. It looks like they are thinking about doing away with the season long drink bottles and replacing them with it being on your pass and when you want something to drink, you just go in and scan your pass and get a disposable cup each time. I guess this has it's pros and cons. Don't have to keep up with a cup all day but on the other hand it will create a lot more trash. I'm kinda on the fence about this one. I do kinda like the bottles, they make good souvenirs from year to year.

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I just did a survey from Carowinds. It looks like they are thinking about doing away with the season long drink bottles and replacing them with it being on your pass and when you want something to drink, you just go in and scan your pass and get a disposable cup each time. I guess this has it's pros and cons. Don't have to keep up with a cup all day but on the other hand it will create a lot more trash. I'm kinda on the fence about this one. I do kinda like the bottles, they make good souvenirs from year to year.

 

I feel the same way. I have a cabinet full of souvenir cups from various parks. Do I need another cup? Probably not. Will I buy one if it's available at the next Park I visit? Probably so. I think they should give you a choice when you buy your pass.

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I just did a survey from Carowinds. It looks like they are thinking about doing away with the season long drink bottles and replacing them with it being on your pass and when you want something to drink, you just go in and scan your pass and get a disposable cup each time. I guess this has it's pros and cons. Don't have to keep up with a cup all day but on the other hand it will create a lot more trash. I'm kinda on the fence about this one. I do kinda like the bottles, they make good souvenirs from year to year.

 

From a park employee standpoint, this is a good idea because it's less that they have to deal with when guests approach a ride that has a no loose article policy. From an economical standpoint, it might not be the best option since it will indeed create more trash with the disposable cups. From a guest standpoint, it can go either way - it creates less of a hassle to have to carry around the souvenir cup all day but then again, it's called a souvenir cup for a reason (I used to collect these cups year after year to have as a souvenir). So really, going away with the cups can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. I guess we'll have to wait and see, as others parks are also considering this.

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If parks are insistent on not allowing loose articles in line then selling sports bottles in the first place is a dumb idea. What do people spend most of their time doing at a Cedar Fair park anyway?

 

All the more reason that they have to buy lockers--which makes more money for Cedar Fair/the park. Give a guest a plastic bottle, they're gonna need a locker.

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Being a ride host, it is nice to work a ride (like Magnum now) that doesn't have bins. Since there are no guests wasting time going to the bin, they just sit right down once the gates open. It's a glorious thing! Working a ride like Raptor is a hassle when it comes to the bins because people seem to take their sweet ol' time. People complain about how lines are so long. Honestly, a big reason why is because of the bins.

 

My solution would be to get rid of all the bins in the park and do what Universal does - have free compartments to put your belongings. It would help it a few ways:

1. Lines would move faster because of no bins

2. Guests would be happy since the compartments are free

3. Happier operators because of the higher capacity

 

If only Cedar Fair would understand this.

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The rumor about Vortex being converted into a floorless coaster has came up on Screamscape again stating that 2017 will be the last season for Vortex being a stand up coaster. It will reopen in 2018 as a floorless with a new paint scheme and a new name.

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I'm assuming this will probably happen eventually but honestly I have no issues with the ride. The layout is also so boring that without the standup gimmick it seems kind of pointless.

 

Working a ride like Raptor is a hassle when it comes to the bins because people seem to take their sweet ol' time. People complain about how lines are so long. Honestly, a big reason why is because of the bins.

 

Raptor's bins are awful. Bins slow things down a little on every coaster but the log jam at the Raptor bins is ridiculous. If you sit in the front few rows it's almost impossible to put things in the bin and get back to your seat without chewing up at least 30 seconds, sometimes more.

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The layout is also so boring that without the standup gimmick it seems kind of pointless.

 

Totally true. To remove the stand-up aspect is to remove the best, most interesting part of the ride. Plus Vortex is pretty fine as it is. Compared to Iron Wolf, Vortex might as well have Georgia Scorcher. Barely any roughness at all.

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Raptor's bins are awful. Bins slow things down a little on every coaster but the log jam at the Raptor bins is ridiculous. If you sit in the front few rows it's almost impossible to put things in the bin and get back to your seat without chewing up at least 30 seconds, sometimes more.

 

Precisely. If CP did it right by allowing for a place to put your belongings for free before you get in line, I'd be all in for rides (especially Raptor) to go to a no loose article policy. That way, the line moves quicker and guests are happy that they didn't have to pay to place their loose articles somewhere.

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Vortex is a stupid coaster, no matter what they do it won't be good. However, it attracts a big line, more so than after burn or intimidator. The stand up gimmick still works. The flooreless gimmick may work too, but I doubt it would work better. I would be very surprised to see Carowinds convert it, the general crowd likes the ride as is just fine.

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Raptor's bins are awful. Bins slow things down a little on every coaster but the log jam at the Raptor bins is ridiculous. If you sit in the front few rows it's almost impossible to put things in the bin and get back to your seat without chewing up at least 30 seconds, sometimes more.

 

Precisely. If CP did it right by allowing for a place to put your belongings for free before you get in line, I'd be all in for rides (especially Raptor) to go to a no loose article policy. That way, the line moves quicker and guests are happy that they didn't have to pay to place their loose articles somewhere.

 

The only problem with that is when a ride has a line that's more than 10 minutes and it's a hot day, I'll want something to drink while I'm standing in line.

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Vortex is a stupid coaster, no matter what they do it won't be good. However, it attracts a big line, more so than after burn or intimidator. The stand up gimmick still works. The flooreless gimmick may work too, but I doubt it would work better. I would be very surprised to see Carowinds convert it, the general crowd likes the ride as is just fine.

Wouldn't that be because of the amount of time it takes to load a train? I'm not a Carowinds local and I've only been a handful of times.

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Wouldn't that be because of the amount of time it takes to load a train? I'm not a Carowinds local and I've only been a handful of times.

 

Capacity absolutely plays a major role in that. Location does also.

 

Assuming they do this, I'm surprised that they feel like it would be worth the investment but they have access to numbers from Cedar Point and will have access to numbers from CGA that we won't have, so clearly they know what they're doing. I'm still really surprised by it though. It makes perfect sense for the other coasters but this layout is just so boring without some kind of gimmick.

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Raptor's bins are awful. Bins slow things down a little on every coaster but the log jam at the Raptor bins is ridiculous. If you sit in the front few rows it's almost impossible to put things in the bin and get back to your seat without chewing up at least 30 seconds, sometimes more.

 

Precisely. If CP did it right by allowing for a place to put your belongings for free before you get in line, I'd be all in for rides (especially Raptor) to go to a no loose article policy. That way, the line moves quicker and guests are happy that they didn't have to pay to place their loose articles somewhere.

 

The only problem with that is when a ride has a line that's more than 10 minutes and it's a hot day, I'll want something to drink while I'm standing in line.

 

I guess some people will never be satisfied.

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I would be all for having a pass system for lockers. Pay one price. Have a bank at all major rides and then just be able to use any before you get in line. Maybe scan a wristband or something.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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You can always do the Six Flags method too. Even on rides where you have to use a locker they still allow you to take your souvenir bottle into the station where they have numbered racks for them. Sure you still have a couple of people that need to put them up, but that is better than having half a train needing to use a bin. Or you can even go the Dollywood/Holiday World route and have the guests had their bottles to a op and have the op place them on the bottle rack.

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I think a way to convert Vortex into a floorless and make it quite a phenomenal ride would be to fully enclose it and add some crazy effects to some sort of theme. I think it's small enough that it could easily be done. imho

 

I think that would make it the worlds first indoor B&M?

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The money spent to enclose Vortex would be better spent on a brand new coaster while Vortex gets shipped to MiA and is greeted with brand new floorless trains and a can or two of paint.

 

But should Vortex get the floorless treatment while it's still at Carowinds (groan), presumably for the 2018 season, and with KD's Hurler getting RMC'd in 2018, I'm just wondering if the Carowinds Hurler will get a similar treatment for 2019 and would the two be near-identical?

 

And I'm still holding out for that GCI wooden coaster to take the place of Dinos Alive.

 

What's the latest on the fate of Yo-Yo?

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The best part about Vortex is the sinister noise it makes. Although I'm not a fan, I agree with others that its appeal is the gimmick of being a stand-up. Vortex isn't really bad, but it's really not good either. It's interesting how some coasters just don't stay contemporary, stand-up or not. I feel like the Carolina Cyclone, although extremely painful, will still have more character and maybe even more general public appeal than Vortex with or without new trains. It just doesn't seem like Carowinds would get a lot of return on their investment from such a mediocre and uninspiring transition. If Vortex goes floorless, you'll have the choice between two standard loopers within a hundred yards of each other. One with quirks and head bangs, but personality. One smooth and quick, but almost completely boring while sitting down. I agree with others that I think the line Vortex currently has is completely attributed to the typical floorless coaster loading issues.

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Just a quick update for those who don't have the time to stare at the camera all day. The Music Express, on the far right hand side, is going vertical currently and the foundations are being setup for the Top Scan and Wave Swinger. Cobra is looking nice as well.

733343529_2016-12-1614_03_59-Webcam_CarowindsCharlotteNC.thumb.png.63f0bd5bd428d8950cf0979ab243d30c.png

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