Carowinds Discussion Thread

[KBrylczyk]

Stand Up spinning coaster conversion?

 

There's something wrong with your brain.

[MrSum1_55]

^^I would think Carowinds could find at least some value in a Vortex conversion. Considering that we have seen this conversion happen at both Cedar Point and Great America (a large park and a small park), I am sure that a medium park could also find enough marketing value in a ride to justify a conversion. You could say that Vortex may have the disadvantage of not being one of the main attractions as Mantis was to Cedar Point or Vortex was to Great America, but also Magic Mountain was able to market Revolution as new with new trains, and Revolution is not really the type of ride their target demographic goes for anymore.

 

I think it is more likely than not that Vortex East will get the floorless conversion at some time. For any size park, it is a cheap way to market a new-ish attraction. That would also make it the only standup left in the Cedar Fair chain. That conversion might also make Vortex the fourth best ride in the park (After the big three of Fury, Intimidator, and Afterburn).

 

^Or maybe put the Mack spinning cars on this thing? That would be amazing! It is just, I do not know if Mack would do that for B&M track, and I know Cedar Fair kind of likes to play it safe with intensity of coasters.

[prozach626]

Can we stop the spinning coaster car comments before this turns into the next KI drop track baseless rumor?

[Vonni]

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.

 

 

[Geauga Dog]

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.

 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out at CGA since their "new" Patriot is just a few yards away from their Arrow looper Demon and if it will in fact make CF decide for or against the conversion at Carowinds. Rougarou was still an ear basher after becoming a floorless so I don't see much of a change in that aspect.

 

For being one of B&M's earliest stand up designs I think Vortex has a decent layout but now that the park is seeing bigger and better things coming maybe it's time to totally rethink the conversion and just remove it from the park.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Right, yeah, let's totally judge how customers will respond to Patriot before it even opens....

[coasterbill]

No but if I were a betting man then I'd assume that they'd open on March 25th.

 

Thanks, that would be perfect, that's what I'm hoping for.

 

Opening day has been announced.. It's March 25th. I would have been more confident if I had realized that it was "325". They're all about playing up the "325" thing.

[Satans Hockey]

No but if I were a betting man then I'd assume that they'd open on March 25th.

 

Thanks, that would be perfect, that's what I'm hoping for.

 

Opening day has been announced.. It's March 25th. I would have been more confident if I had realized that it was "325". They're all about playing up the "325" thing.

 

Awesome, thank you! It's looking like I'll be able to get down there during opening week

[deguy123]

Rougarou was still an ear basher after becoming a floorless so I don't see much of a change in that aspect.

 

AMEN! Near the top of my worst coasters list!

[coasterbill]

I'm the opposite with Rougarou. I can't believe they made such a terrible train wreck of a coaster so good just by changing the trains.

 

It's not ever going to be a top tier coaster (I mean, it's a B&M floorless), but I find it to be very smooth and a lot of fun. When you compare it to Mantis that's a minor miracle. Vortex isn't Rougarou though. Vortex has a really lame layout, I really hope they just use their new found a**load of spare parts for stand up trains to their advantage and just let it be.

[TBpony414]

Add me to the list of people who like Rougarou and enjoy it significantly more than Mantis. And by that I mean on a typical 12 hour day in the park we ride Rougarou twice, sometimes three times. It never has a line and is decently smooth. I like that the layout isn't anything to write home about as I don't get dizzy or feel sick after. I'm prone to getting my ears smashed into those big restraints but have only gotten knocked once on it. I do hold my head a bit forward though - but I do that on a lot of rides just as a precaution. It in no way takes away from my enjoyment of the ride.

 

ETA: SO and I are both looking forward to Carowinds converting their stand-up to a floorless!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I never rode Mantis, but I thought the first half of Rougarou was great. After the brakes, it just kind of meandered, and that hurts it a bit in my rankings. It was good overall, but I've got Wildfire at home. Rougarou is bigger, but as a result it doesn't have the same intensity.

[Gerstlauerguy]

I have not ridden roug, but i have mantis, and thought it was honestly fun. With vortex however, i hate that thing. its never worth riding and i always regret it if i do. And yes the lines are always because loading times. My absolute dream is to have it tossed over to MaAdv and we get a launched infinity. One could easily fit, but seeing cedar fair has only done a few things with Gerstlauer, i doubt it.

[coasterbill]

Hours have been posted

 

A few things of note...

 

- Opening day is 3/25. They love that 325 thing... lol

 

- Scarowinds starts on September 15th.

 

- Winterfest Starts November 24th and will run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with the exceptions of New Years Eve and Christmas Eve and will be open daily from December 15th through December 30th with the exceptions of Christmas and Christmas Eve. Hours have not yet been posted for Wintefest.

[Hilltopper39]

Nice, I'm tryin to make a run up to Carowinds to finall check out Fury, I'd imagine those Fridays early in the season are pretty light.

[coasterbill]

Carowinds on a weekday is the Dorney of the South. Carowinds on a Saturday though... god help you.

[DorneyKid14]

Carowinds on a weekday is the Dorney of the South. Carowinds on a Saturday though... god help you.

 

Went to carowinds the weekend after Fourth of July, and there was little crowds. Water park was decent since it was brutally hot. Longest wait was maybe 10 minutes for intimidator.

[carolinaman]

Nice, I'm tryin to make a run up to Carowinds to finall check out Fury, I'd imagine those Fridays early in the season are pretty light.

 

 

Those Fridays usually have a lot of kids from area schools doing band competitions and such. It is slightly busy until about 5 pm then everything usually becomes a walk-on. Until the kids leave I have seen the lines for Intimidator and Fury up to 30 mins.

[prozach626]

^ And you have to wait in line with obnoxious high schoolers, which makes the wait feel twice as long.

[thrillrider]

For those interested, the 2017 schedule has been posted. No Christmas hours yet though.

 

Edit...

Figured I'd post the hours here instead of making people do the grueling task of clicking a link.

[carolinaman]

They still haven't announced when Season Pass preview will be. I'm guessing Fri. the 24th

[livai]

winterfest hours

winterfest hours

[coasterbill]

They still haven't announced when Season Pass preview will be. I'm guessing Fri. the 24th

 

That's a safe assumption.

[jonskinny12]

What are Saturdays in June like at Carowinds as far as crowds? I'm planning to visit on June 10 (probably also go for at least the morning the next day) and I'm wondering how busy it will be. I've never been to the park and can't wait for (hopefully) a bunch of rides on Fury. I'm also very interested in Afterburn. Some other rides look interesting but not really a priority for me compared to Fury and Afterburn.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

What are Saturdays in June like at Carowinds as far as crowds? I'm planning to visit on June 10 (probably also go for at least the morning the next day) and I'm wondering how busy it will be. I've never been to the park and can't wait for (hopefully) a bunch of rides on Fury. I'm also very interested in Afterburn. Some other rides look interesting but not really a priority for me compared to Fury and Afterburn.

Intrimidator, C. Cyclone, C. Cobra, Woodstock Express, C. Goldrusher, and possibly Nighthawk (haven't been on it) are also good coasters, but Intrimidator is the only other important original coaster other than Fury and Afterburn.

 

Make sure you ride the Flyers and their Enterprise! The Flyers snap well, and they have a Schwarzkopf Enterprise, which is way more intense, less common, and even better than the Huss ones. Both their Flyers and Enterprise run short cycles though, so get re-rides.