Carowinds Discussion Thread

[prozach626]

The reset feature on Copperhead is really cool. Seems pretty innovative vs. the days of removing the entire train with the ride being down all day.

[Canobie Coaster]

And honestly the reset makes the second launch way more intense since you have to go from like 5mph to 45-50mph as opposed to 30mph to 45-50mph. I had that happen on my first eide.

[Intamin_coyote]

Hmmm. Thats interesting. If I may ask, what exactly is this reset feature?

[Canobie Coaster]

From what I saw, the train can stop at the second launch. After a delay, the train will roll forwards slowly, roll backwards slowly, and then accelerate forwards to the programmed speed.

 

I think El Toro Ryan had a video of it on YouTube.

[thrillseeker4552]

I think the reset feature on the second launch is pretty fascinating too.

 

When the animation of the ride was first released, and knowing the weakness of Mack LSMs, I was very curious how the reset was going to work on the second launch. I figured there wouldn't be enough power in the LSMs to simply launch the train from 0 to 50 mph over that small airtime hill. It seems it needs some initial velocity in order to hit that speed at the end. Cool to watch.

[i305isdaddy]

Taron at Phantasialand has the same reset procedure on Launch #2.... pushes the train backwards a bit to get it rolling then pushes it forward.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Considering the strength of Taron's second launch in its usual form, that launch must be extra wild in that scenario.

[McJoshvitt]

I'm planning on heading to Carowinds tomorrow (4/5/19) with my family to celebrate my son's 10th birthday. The weather looks to be terrible (rainy with a high of 59 degrees) but we're hoping to make the most of it.

We've never been to Carowinds, so could anyone share any helpful tips to make the first experience a great one? Any tips on parking, or the park in general? We spent quite a bit of time last year at Dollywood and loved that experience, but I'm expecting our trips to Carowinds to be a lot busier and different than the Dollywood atmosphere.

[Canobie Coaster]

It seems like Carowinds isn't opening their parking lot until 10 minutes prior to opening from my experience and that of others. This makes one heck of a traffic jam getting off the highway.

 

With rainy and cooler weather, I don't think the park would be super crowded.

 

If you do plan to ride Copperhead Strike, go there first. As the new ride, it has had some technical hiccups that has caused it to go down or operate at reduced capacity.

[McJoshvitt]

Thanks Canobie Coaster! I appreciate the info, especially about the opening time of the parking lot. I tend to get places early if I've never been previously. We'll definitely have to head to Copperhead Strike first! Can't wait to get a ride on that coaster as it looks incredibly fun!

[Canobie Coaster]

Also FastLane Plus is a major time saver on the big coasters. Since the merge point is at the station and the coasters assign seats, you can walk right onto rides. I got almost a dozen rides on Fury in an hour.

[tndank]

I will second the parking lot comments. We rolled up about 8:45 last week and they didn't open gates til 9:45. We were about 10 cars from the front. It was a LONG line behind us when they opened gates. I was surprised it wasn't causing a problem on the main road.

 

Fastlane Plus can be huge if it's crowded. Fury was an hour wait and I did 4 rides in about 20 minutes as the park was closing. My last ride on CS was a 15 minute wait and the kids sitting around me had waited 3 hours. I had 3 walkons in a row on Intimidator with a 60 mine line.

 

Copperhead will be prob be down much of the day. Go there first. Then use the app/queue websites to see when it's back up during the day and proceed quickly when you see Operational or a wait time.

[yawetag]

Don't know if you're the same person that posted on reddit, but I'll add a caveat for today: Keep an eye on their social medial channels. If the rain is going to last most of the day (and it looks like it's ending around 4pm), they may decide to not open the park at all. Being that the park is closing at 8pm tonight, it's a possibility they don't open.

[McJoshvitt]

Thanks for the information everyone! Because of the weather, we did end up waiting to get to the park until almost 12pm. It was perfect. It was slightly cool and barely raining at all. Just a slight drizzle off and on. I was concerned about crowds too since they were having a program with schools that day as well, but it wasn't really a factor either. I know it had something to do with STEM, but I know they also had students from Chorus and Band playing at the auditorium. But that never was any problem until we went to eat lunch at Chic-Fil-A. It was packed out. Who knew I'd ever spend $7 on a Chic-Fil-A sandwich??

 

We headed up to Copperhead Strike after a quick ride on Goldrusher (which is so terrible). Got 2 back to back rides in on Copperhead strike with practically no wait. I have to say that the employees worked fast on Copperhead strike at trying to keep load times very minimal! Kudos to them! Other rides that we went on were not quite as quick and efficient. Goldrusher was the worst I think, however that was slowed down by a rather large man trying to fit into the ride which he was not able to do.

 

Coming from Season Passes at Dollywood last year, and this being our first trip of the season to Carowinds, I was a little surprised by some things. I was definitely not used to the metal detectors and emptying of my pockets when entering the pack. So I'll be a little more prepared next time for that. However I thought all the employees at the park were pretty friendly and helpful. Dollywood seems to brag about their customer service but I never was impressed with it and Carowinds seemed to be right on par with Dollywood's CS.

 

To yawetag: Wasn't me on Reddit, but I really appreciate the tip! I would've pretty much expected them to open regardless, but I will keep an eye on their twitter and such if weather is a question! Thanks!

 

I hate to keep comparing it to Dollywood, but Dollywood does seem like a much nicer park. Carowinds doesn't have much theming to it and the over-all look of Dollywood is much nicer with trees and such. Plus the rides just didn't seem to be in as good of shape... at least the ones we rode. Me and my son LOVE Tennesee Tornado, so we were somewhat excited to try Carolina Cyclone since it's another Arrow and looks very similar. But it's not near in the same league as Tennessee Tornado. Hurler is another that shocked me. SOOOO many people down Thunderhead as "rough", however I thought the Hurler was way more rough, but everyone getting off of our train LOVED it. To each his own I suppose? I love Thunderhead. But I loved the layout of Hurler. In the end, we rode Goldrusher, Copperhead Strike, Flying Cobras, Carolina Cyclone, Hurler, Boo Blasters, & Woodstock Express (which is surprisingly a fun little ride). Next time we will make sure to give Vortex a try and possibly The Intimidator. We're not much on suspended coasters as we're a little nervous with heights so being suspended is quite scary to us! LOL. And we're not quite brave enough to try Fury 325 yet. The fastest coaster we've been on is Lightning Rod, so we're work our way to that! Still pretty new to coasters.

[SharkTums]

^I think it's almost unfair to compare the two parks. Dollywood is a THEME park and Carowinds is an AMUSEMENT park. Glad your visit worked out for you! Enjoy both parks for different reasons!

[tndank]

Do you guys like Wild Eagle? Not a ton of difference with that and a suspended coaster. Feet are dangling on both with nothing under you. Give it a go. Afterburn is a good one.

 

Woodstock Express is a great little kids coaster. I rode it last visit for sure.

 

I love Thunderhead like you. Hurler is ok. Seems most of the hate is the trim break that was installed later on.

 

Try Intimidator next time. After you conquer that, Fury is just the big boy version. Same seats, same type of coaster, just a little more speed and height.

[Canobie Coaster]

^^^ Lightning Rod is far more intense than Fury and honestly it does feel faster. Fury does have the added height though. My girlfriend was apprehensive trying Fury, but she loved it once she overcame the height.

[McJoshvitt]

^^^ Lightning Rod is far more intense than Fury and honestly it does feel faster. Fury does have the added height though. My girlfriend was apprehensive trying Fury, but she loved it once she overcame the height.

 

Good to know! LR is pretty intense and the thought of another 20 mph sounded pretty scary! But there are no quick turns on Fury like on LR... that has to account for something. But that's a seriously HUGE drop!

 

^I think it's almost unfair to compare the two parks. Dollywood is a THEME park and Carowinds is an AMUSEMENT park. Glad your visit worked out for you! Enjoy both parks for different reasons!

 

I think I've come to that conclusion too. We enjoyed Carowinds a lot and had a great time! It's just different. And we enjoyed that it's an hour closer to us than Dollywood.

 

Do you guys like Wild Eagle? Not a ton of difference with that and a suspended coaster. Feet are dangling on both with nothing under you. Give it a go. Afterburn is a good one.

Woodstock Express is a great little kids coaster. I rode it last visit for sure.

I love Thunderhead like you. Hurler is ok. Seems most of the hate is the trim break that was installed later on.

Try Intimidator next time. After you conquer that, Fury is just the big boy version. Same seats, same type of coaster, just a little more speed and height.

 

I've been pretty apprehensive about Wild Eagle due to dangling over the sides like that! But I've told myself that I'll ride that thing one day. That's the only coaster I haven't ridden in Dollywood. Maybe I'll get in the Kiddy Hawk ride at Carowinds or the new Vekoma Dragonflier at DW to see if I can overcome that!

But dang I love Thunderhead. It's just intense from start to finish! You really feel like you rode something when you get off that ride. Definitely gonna have to brave up for Intimidator next trip! Can't wait!

 

Been lurking of this forum all of last year, reading up on Dollywood, Disney World, and both Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa. Now this year that we decided to take a chance on Carowinds been following this thread in the forums. And it's just a great community of Theme Park / Amusement Park fans! Thanks to all of you!

[defrocker]

The wife and I took a trip to Carowinds on Sunday and we had a really good day. Here's a brief report of what we did:

 

It was a rather overcast morning and the forecast was not promising, though not really threatening either. It's honestly a good type of day to visit a park so it really worked out for us. We arrived around 10:15, got in with no problems, and headed toward Copperhead Strike.

 

They still have all of the temporary ques set up, though the real queue itself is pretty lengthy. I found it odd that in all of the switchbacks, they do not have a way to cut them off to allow for a straight shot to the station. The wait was already at the "1 hour" sign; however we were to the station in about 40 minutes. We requested the front row, and the grouper was happy to oblige. Of course between the time we entered the station and dispatched from the station, it had started to rain a little bit, but not enough to ruin the ride. I was really looking forward to this ride, but I had my expectations set to a reasonable level. This ride really has a good pace, it goes from one element to the next quicker than almost any ride I've ridden and it's hard to take it all in.

 

At this point, since it was raining, we went over to the new and improved Blue Ridge Kitchen. Food was very good and the much-needed facelift that this place received looks great. We especially enjoyed all of the Easter Eggs in the signs all over the eatery. It’s nice enough to pull me out of Harmony Hall for a meal here and there. I don’t know who’s idea it was to fry a biscuit, but they need to be slapped, nun style.

 

We immediately rode Copperhead Strike again in the back row since the rain had died off. The latter half of the ride I actually found to be somewhat disorienting in the back. I was kinda surprised by that. Overall, I really like the ride and I think this is a great fit for the park. It's deceptively intense in some of its maneuvers, though it is a ride that anyone can enjoy. Also, fantastic theming! Definitely a thumbs up!

 

We went over towards Afterburn where I received the biggest headache of the day. Hang on! Don’t rage yet! Sheesh… The ride was kicking all sorts of tail and running phenomenally as always. The Queue line TV’s however… OMG… have they lost the volume control on these things? I could not hear myself think while even in the vicinity of the ride station. Someone please!

 

We headed back through Blue Ridge Junction to hid Copperhead Strike. No, not that big orange steel thing this time… the frothy liquid one this time. It was quite a tasty brew and we stood and chatted with the bartender for a little bit. He explained to us why there’s Beer Jail in this park, interesting but irritating red tape. Also, there was some effort by upper level park management to “hide” the alcohol in the park. Hopefully they get some of this smoothed out in the future and can expand these options.

 

Over to Fury to get a couple rides on it and man, she’s running especially well this year. I don’t know if it’s off-season maintenance that does this thing so much good or what, but it was glass smooth and hauling the mail.

 

I rode Hurler with the first turn re-track and trim removal. I’m in the minority here, but I’ve never hated on Hurler that much. We used to marathon the one at KD (along with Grizzly) at park close back in the day and the airtime was insane. The ride I had Sunday reminded me of those days a little bit. Some shuffling in the later turns, but not horrible though the airtime was really good. I recommend not just skipping over Hurler this year. It may surprise you!

 

On our way to get in line for another Copperhead Strike beer, we noticed that the line for the Copperhead Strike coaster was barely at the bottom of the stairs. We abandoned the beer mission to get a ride really quick. We soon found out why the line was so short. The ride greeter was announcing to everyone that the current wait time was 60-90 minutes. Lol. So he was chasing everyone off and we rode it 2 more times in 20 minutes total. Not to worry, we returned for our beer after these two rides.

 

We then got BBQ at Harmony Hall and two great rides on Intimidator on the way out. This park has really developed a lot of charm over the past few seasons. Each year I feel like it is a little less of an asphalt jungle and a little more personality. If Cedar Fair continues this trend (and they seem to be) I have no beef with that.

 

Rides:

Copperhead Strike – 4

Fury – 2

Afterburn – 2

Intimidator - 2

Drop tower – 1

Hurler – 1

Beer - 2

[prozach626]

^Sounds like a great trip. I enjoyed your addition of the beer count. I find that the old inverts like Afterburn 'can' sometimes be rough. But, I've found what works for me is to grab the handle bars and stick my neck out pretty far forward. You have to be a little mindful of the snaps in order to prepare yourself for them. I hear you, though.

 

We're not much on suspended coasters as we're a little nervous with heights so being suspended is quite scary to us! LOL. And we're not quite brave enough to try Fury 325 yet. The fastest coaster we've been on is Lightning Rod, so we're work our way to that! Still pretty new to coasters.

I mean no offense, but you did yourself a pretty big injustice at Carowinds by not braving Fury or Afterburn. They're commonly thought of as the best rides in the park. Both are incredibly well respected in the industry, especially Fury. I can understand why leaving those rides out and choosing to ride your other selections might leave you scratching your head compared to Dollywood.

 

Just remember, these rides are all safe. My biggest fear is how bad the crappier rides are going to beat the sh*t out of me. Fury, Afterburn (mostly), Intimidator, and I'm assuming Copperhead Strike, will not do this. Hopefully, next time you'll be ready for the bog boy rides.

[hoppedup]

^^FWIW, I can lap Fury a dozen times in a row and be fine. For some reason 2-3 in a row is all I can handle on Intimidator before getting the uneasy stomach.

 

Having ridden a lot of B&M inverts in the last year and a half, Afterburn is one of the best, if not the best out there. There is one snap that gets me near the end if I forget to ride defensively for it. But even that one isn't bad. Fury and Afterburn are the stars of the park for me.

[bill_s]

I hate to keep comparing it to Dollywood, but Dollywood does seem like a much nicer park. Carowinds doesn't have much theming to it and the over-all look of Dollywood is much nicer with trees and such. Plus the rides just didn't seem to be in as good of shape... at least the ones we rode. Me and my son LOVE Tennesee Tornado, so we were somewhat excited to try Carolina Cyclone since it's another Arrow and looks very similar. But it's not near in the same league as Tennessee Tornado. Hurler is another that shocked me. SOOOO many people down Thunderhead as "rough", however I thought the Hurler was way more rough, but everyone getting off of our train LOVED it.

 

Haha! No amount of maintenance is going to turn one of Arrow's first into one of Arrow's last and best! Tennessee Tornado was designed by the same man that designed Lightning Rod.

 

Hurler is also an earlier generation, glad to see it's getting some TLC and love. I think one issue with the one at KD was a sort of resentment, when it came along it seemed the park could use another one of those fancy new steel coasters a lot more. But that one's THE wood coaster at that park now.

 

One thing about parks with big B&Ms, usually they're the most comfortable rides in the park while also the most intimidating. The non-intimidating rides are usually old and rattly.

[yawetag]

Try Intimidator next time. After you conquer that, Fury is just the big boy version. Same seats, same type of coaster, just a little more speed and height.

Tried telling my son that after we rode Intimidator this past weekend. He's still not braving Fury yet.

[defrocker]

I find that the old inverts like Afterburn 'can' sometimes be rough. But, I've found what works for me is to grab the handle bars and stick my neck out pretty far forward. You have to be a little mindful of the snaps in order to prepare yourself for them. I hear you, though.

 

I see my joke fell a little flat. The headache was because of the extremely loud volume of the TV's in the queue line, like seriously... ridiculously loud. Afterburn was running great and I don't have issues with the inverts. Before any of the snappy transitions I actually push my head back against the headrest. I haven't gotten an earslap on an invert in years. B&M stand-ups on the other hand... those restraints were made to box some ears.

[prozach626]

I find that the old inverts like Afterburn 'can' sometimes be rough. But, I've found what works for me is to grab the handle bars and stick my neck out pretty far forward. You have to be a little mindful of the snaps in order to prepare yourself for them. I hear you, though.

 

I see my joke fell a little flat. The headache was because of the extremely loud volume of the TV's in the queue line, like seriously... ridiculously loud. Afterburn was running great and I don't have issues with the inverts. Before any of the snappy transitions I actually push my head back against the headrest. I haven't gotten an earslap on an invert in years. B&M stand-ups on the other hand... those restraints were made to box some ears.

Ah. Yeah sorry bro. I read it after less than five hours of sleep while prepping for testifying in a homicide trial at 9am. Needless to say, my focus was a little off. Even more so than usual...

 

Glad you had a good time.