Carowinds Discussion Thread

[carowindsman]

Carowinds has extended there open schedule

 

August 19th-23rd 10am-8pm

carolina harbor 12pm-5pm

 

November 2,9,16 10AM-8pm

3,10,17 10AM-6pm

8,15 9AM-5pm

[carolinaman]

I just read where Carowinds is testing online ordering for food through the Carowinds app.

 

Link to article

https://cpfoodblog.com/carowinds-testing-mobile-food-ordering/?fbclid=IwAR0xu9KEZpLRVFnZ3kxX4vyjSzFkYHtyPmghpHi_95ug1AgBUymd5_GKsZA

[RollerManic]

Visited the park for the first time on Wednesday, July 2nd with my two brothers. I'm not usually the one to do this, and I shouldn't because I still haven't gotten that Cedar Point TR up yet, but I had a lot I really wanted to share. This was my first time in Charlotte.

 

Jumping right in, my expectations about the park itself were exactly met. I didn't expect to leave thinking it was the best Cedar Fair park I have been to. It's a nice park but it lacks a lot charm; if any Cedar Fair park I've been to has felt "generic" to me, it's this one. In contrast, I went into Kings Island with the exact same expectations last year but was blown away. There's also a great lack of shade, which would have been really nice on a hot, 100* and humid day like the day we went. In the least, it's a better park than 90% of Six Flags and the same can be said about even the worst of Cedar Fair's properties.

 

On employees - I just visited Cedar Point two weeks ago and unfortunately Carowinds lets down in comparison. One of my biggest surprises from Cedar Point and that I didn't recall from my first visit many years ago was just how friendly the employees are there. The employees you see there are extremely energetic and talk to you sincerely like they really do care about your adventures. Carowinds' service was pedestrian: the employees seemed to be your average, "counting the clock", "it's too hot for this shit", kind of people. And perhaps nothing that would be a real concern at all if I had not just been exposed to the exceptional customer service at Cedar Point as honestly if I worked a day like the one I visited I would be the same.

 

However, not all of Charlotte is a lost (we can't judge an entire city on an amusement park, right?*). I did find the exact same kind of excellent service as Cedar Point at the US National Whitewater Center, which was probably my favorite thing of the whole week. We had an EXCEPTIONAL day there Friday, and I was really blown away by the people and attractions.

 

*Except Sandusky: Sandusky f**king rocks bc Cedar Point

 

Anyway, onto the rides, in the order we rode them:

 

Nighthawk - I'm a real sucker for these things and I don't care if this was the first - it still rocks the socks off every B&M flyer in the US. I will never understand why people call these things rough because they're not. This was the last of the Vekoma Dutchmans in the United States I hadn't ridden and there were only two things I didn't like about this one: the restraints, and the corkscrew ending. I could've sworn up and down that Firehawk's and Batwing's restraints were different, but looking at pictures I turned out to be incorrect. I must not have noticed how sketchy the restraints appear, but now that it's caught my attention, I do not like the way almost all of your weight lies on the buckle connecting the vest together. Also, because of my long legs, the lap bar wouldn't go down properly and left a gap at my waist and ankles (this wasn't remediable because these lap bars lock into a fixed position). Without what I thought was much security, the ride truly felt as If I was flying. It was extremely unnerving, but also incredibly exhilarating.

 

The corkscrew ending was the only part of the ride where I experienced any discomfort, but it was to do the heartlining and resulting laterals, not roughness. I much prefer the inline rolls on the other models as I found corkscrews in the lying position pretty uncomfortable.

 

This was of course our first coaster of the day, heeding advice I have gotten from here. My brothers all agreed on the same token about the restraints and the experience. That drop and vertical loop are just killer. I ended up riding once again later in the day after I had gotten all my credits.

 

Copperhead Strike - I hated Copperhead Strike after my first ride on it early in the morning. My brothers wanted to sit in the front (they're pretty adamant about that on any coaster we ride, which is frustrating) and so I sat in row two. The whole ride was sluggish - not like how it's supposed to be "sugglish", but extra sluggish, making the ride pretty lackluster. What made it terrible, however, was the awful rattle through the whole course that gave me motion sickness for the next couple hours. My brothers also suffered the same problem, forcing us to ride the smaller coasters and postpone Fury to the afternoon.

 

By now, I can see the pitchforks rising in response to all this hearsay I've babled - "who is this person who loves Nighthawk and hates Copperhead Strike?" - but read on ...

 

However, I knew that it was supposed to be an excellent coaster, so I gave it a benefit of the doubt and returned to it later in the day. I hopped on the second row to the back (non wheel seat) and fell in love with it! Something had drastically changed from the morning. The ride had warmed up a lot and the second half was excellent. There was a minor vibration (still more than what there should be for a brand new coaster IMO), but no headache-inducing rattle. Beautiful transitions and a few airtime moments that absolutely ragdoll (that last hill is some serious WTF stuff). There was still the slightest rattle, but nothing that gave kept me from riding three more times in a row without problem, including another lap in the front. I seriously could not get enough of this ride - it's probably a top 20 steel coaster for me if I counted that sort of stuff. I always wished SDC would have gone with a ride like this instead of Time Traveler so that I could have one of these in my backyard.

 

Believe everything you hear about this ride - it definitely has some the best hangtime ever. In fact, I'll just say it now - it has the best hangtime on any coaster I've ridden.

 

Cons: this was my first experience on Mack trains, which was actually a bucket-list item for me (I don't count Time Traveler's as they are unconventional) and I'm not a fan of the restraints. I see why everyone likes them, as they're extremely free, but they don't feel secure and that's a con for me on a ride with as much hangtime as this. Me being a lean guy, they sit way up on thighs instead of close to my waist, but what's really concerning is that they have some give during the ride, so in the hangtime moments you can actually feel them decompress and recompress through the element. I'm sure this is mostly me, however, though my brothers thought the same thing and were equally unamused. Also, the launches are weak: really, really weak. I think an electric scooter could accelerate faster than this ride. For me, this and the fact the transitions still aren't in that Maverick category are what make this ride "fun" and not "world class" ride. The second launch has no hit at all; I didn't feel a thing going through that second launch.

 

The biggest con of this coaster: how long you have to walk to re-ride it. Despite its flaws, it's a really fun ride, and it's only a shame that you have to walk so far around to get another lap on it. None of the countless switchbacks have shortcuts and it's a very long queue.

 

Flying Cobras - after our motionsick first ride on Copperhead Strike, we took a 15 minute break to use the restrooms and sit down, then proceeded on with the park's boomerang. This one was alight - it's saving grace was the new trains - but it had an odd back and forthness to it where you would rest your head on the headrest, it would be repeatedly slammed into it. It reminded me of a lot of the issue with T3. Not the best, not the worst, but if you keep your head forward it's one of the more tolerable boomerangs.

 

Carolina Goldrusher - still a little motionsick, we took a longer break to ride the park's mine train and rehydrate at the nearby Chickie and Pete's. This is one of the smoothest mine trains I have ridden. I know a lot of enthusiasts would probably rather see these kind of rides leave parks but they serve a purpose and even for the more mature crowd, they are useful break from the extreme rides. I rode this three times in total during our break.

 

Intimidator - what an excellent B&M hyper! Until Hershey opens theirs in 2020, I will have now ridden every single B&M hyper in the US, and I think this is one of the best despite it's "Intrimidator" nickname. It has the absolute best floater of all of them - in the backseat you're out of your seat from halfway up the hill all the way to the very bottom - and in the front seat you'll be out of your seat through the crest of every hill and all the way down as well. But my favorite part of the ride where not the airtime hills but the transitions in the first hill and the turnaround - they were quite surprising! Overall, I prefer Nitro and Mako more for the stronger airtime, but this falls just behind as the next best in the country. The ride experience is a lot like Diamondback, but with the extra transitions that give it the edge. I got around five rides on this, mostly in the back.

 

Fury 325 - after heading out to the car for lunch and rehydrating, we returned to the main attraction of the park. This thing is SOO fast. Want to experience Fury 325 at home? Hold a leaf blower to your face - that's pretty much the equivalent. The first hill does nothing for me, but I appreciate what it is for not killing speed. After the first hill, if you're riding in the front, the ride will seem to just get faster and faster even though you know that's impossible because it should've already hit it's top speed at the bottom of the first drop. From there, you'll head up through the incredible treble clef hill for some fantastic positive gs and sideways airtime. After the drop through the tunnel, the next hill is the one that disappoints a little - it doesn't really do anything, and if I had to nitpick, this would be the one part of the ride that I would change - not the helix. Next, you'll hit the trim a little bit, but not enough to prevent some great ejector airtime through the hill before heading into the helix for an insane head-chopper moment. The final hills end the ride with fantastic, uninterrupted ejector airtime back into the break run. While the transitions were gentle and not i305-like as I hope (makes sense though since the clamshells and seats offer no upper body support), I could not have fathomed just how fast the ride would feel. I still, today, cannot get over how the ride seems to deny physics in the first half and get faster and faster up until the turnaround hill. We all agreed that in one ride, we had just gotten our $40 worth in admission.

 

We took two laps on it in the afternoon: our first in the front (all things proper in this world), and the second in the back. Later, I spent the last hour and a half marathoning it for 9 more rides all across the board, from the very front to the back and nearly every row in between.

 

Golden seating guide for Fury 325: front seat for speed and transitions, back seat for ejector airtime.

 

Hurler: Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but I'm told it recently had a trim installed mid-season and it's apparently a lot smoother and more mediocre. I confirm. I didn't experience any discomfort during my ride, and neither did my brothers, but we all agreed it's a boring ride experience. Overall, a lot better than the King's Dominion version ever was. I wouldn't be disappointed if this version stays a wooden coaster, at least until this park gets a new one.

 

Also, who the F**K designed the stations for these things? What the hell were they going for?

 

Afterwards, we tried to get one the drop tower but it broke down in line and parked it's cars at the top the rest of the day. No loss here: it looked like a very short one, and one of my favorites ones is Superman: Tower of Power at my home park SFStL anyway for it's position at the highest elevation in the park atop a hill.

 

Ricochet: a fun wild mouse, pretty much your standard. I really enjoy these rides so I made sure to get in a lap.

 

Carolina Cyclone: the small scale of this ride is so small it's disorienting. It It feels like you are upside down the whole ride with all the tiny inversions being so packed together, a difference to today's coasters with lengthy pullouts between elements and everything being so massive. Old trains, too: probably the oldest Arrow looper trains I can recall riding. This ride is ugly and misplaced as sin and needs to go, but I know it is a good stepping stone for younger riders.

 

Vortex: finally got to this abomination, only to find it's also not as bad as everyone says. This was my last stand up in the United States to ride, but only because I missed out on CGA's Vortex (I did ride Shockwave). Sure, it's lame, and the loading is very slow, but it's pretty smooth. It's not amongst the ranks of Green Lantern and Mantis as the worst, though, as those are real , but it's also not interesting like Georgia Scorcher and Riddler's Revenge. Being pretty experienced riding stand ups, I knew to get my shoulders stiffly pressing up against the restraint by bending at the knee before locking my seat into height, and it worked successfully for a headbanging-free ride. Not one single time did my head smash the side of the restraint.

 

Afterburn: a good invert, but not my favorite. The mist on my feet in the tunnel was a nice surprise. I often forget this ride exists. Raptor and Montu are still my favorites. One and done for me.

 

Plants vs. Zombies - pretty fun ride. It's a really odd IP for an amusement park ride, but it works well. We sat on plants side in a full theater. I managed to finagle the second highest score in the whole lobby of 33000 (a 2x margin from the next highest) by only shooting Golden Gnomes the entire ride.

 

Yeah, our side won.

 

We attempted at this point to ride Boo-Blasters on Boo Hill since it's a knockoff of our beloved Scooby Doo ride at SFStL (RIP) and I missed the one at KI, but it broke down while we were in queue. The one at KD was pretty good, and I imagine this one is the same.

 

At this point, my brothers left the park to return later for some night rides on Fury. I went to the water park since it was blazing hot outside and I had been planning on going all afternoon, but it was already 4:00. Overall, the water park was pretty good. The tornado/wave complex was closed, so I started in the back. Later, at closing, I headed for the box drop slides. I'm not a drop-box slide person, both for the part that it freaks me out and that I feel like I'm suffocating inside those hot tubes with water spraying up from my feet, so I skipped on them, but I did REALLY enjoy the tube slides on that same tower complex. Both had drops at the end with some nice airtime and lots of speed. I managed four rides on them before the line closed off.

 

Immediately after the water park closed, I headed to the Top Scan ride. I'm really glad this park has one of these because I've always wanted to try one, but never was willing to wait in the massive line for one that came to the local fair every year. What I was worried might be a disorienting ride became one of my favorite flat rides. I rode this two times - the first cycle felt like our seats just would not flip all the way; instead, it toyed with us, nearly inverting us, and then quickly reversing rotation. On the second cycle, we inverted endlessly in both directions.

 

Woodstock Express - rode this in the back. Every bit as good as the other two US ones. The drop off the first turnaround has some extreme air for a family wooden coaster.

 

Flying Ace Aerial Chase - just as painful as the Kings Island one. Why are these so seemingly harmless yet so bad?

 

... AND finally: Windseeker. Offered some good views of the park, preferable to KI's and KD's, but not on the level of Cedar Point's on the beach. The lighting package is awesome, just like the rest of them.

 

The time after the waterpark closed is where I got my Copperhead Strike and the extra Nighthawk laps, plus an extra Intimidator lap before beginning my Fury 325 marathon.The temperature cooled off significantly in the last hours and made life a whole lot easier. It was a great way to end the day at the park.

[thrillseeker4552]

Interesting to hear that you found a "rattle" on Copperhead Strike, especially one prominent enough to make you sick. I thought the ride was smooth as butter (not just that, but one of the smoothest roller coasters I've ridden) and I rode it 10 times over the course of two days, all over the train. Maybe out of all of those 10 rides, I managed to avoid a single rough train? The odds seem unlikely, but who knows.

 

I also agree about Nighthawk. The ride experience is overall pretty similar to Firehawk and Batwing, but those ending corkscrews are just so awkward and uncomfortable.

[Intamin_coyote]

Rattle on a brand new Mack!?

 

That's... not good

 

On the flip side, its great to that at least someone really likes Nighthawk. I rode Firehawk a lot and liked more than most people as well (however Nighthawk I've read/heard is quite rough).

[Canobie Coaster]

Great report! I've felt rattles on a few Macks like Capitol Bullet Train, Velociraptor, and Alpina Blitz, but the super comfortable trains make it a non-factor for me. I don't remember one on Copperhead, but I rode it the second weekend.

[hoppedup]

Nighthawk - I'm a real sucker for these things and I don't care if this was the first - it still rocks the socks off every B&M flyer in the US. I will never understand why people call these things rough because they're not.

 

 

Hurler: Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be,

 

Vortex: finally got to this abomination, only to find it's also not as bad as everyone says.

 

Afterburn: a good invert, but not my favorite. The mist on my feet in the tunnel was a nice surprise. I often forget this ride exists. Raptor and Montu are still my favorites. One and done for me.

 

 

Wow.

 

At least you are right about Fury. And the Whitewater Center. It is awesome.

[bill_s]

I felt some sickness from CS also, but didn't consider that the rattle had anything to do with with it.

Nighthawk's first drop and swoop over the lake is great, the loop is killer all right, yikes. As all B&M flyers also have loops, I see no reason to say they're good coasters either. That makes sense about the corkscrews, maybe I will try Batwing again, but those were terrible.

 

As to Hurler, you said "Overall, a lot better than the King's Dominion version ever was. " ... while that is technically true 2010 and later, neither when trimmed should be considered in any way representative of those rides and unless you're actually comparing it on the basis of back then, you have no evidence of any use. Hurlers before 2010 and maybe Caro's for a total of 12 weekends since (yours not one of them) were real coasters, popular or not. Again I say turn off the trims and run it to death and then close it or do the maintenance. It serves no real purpose at the moment. There is no reason to invest into it for these results.

[HellboyBegins7492]

I’m curious as to what they’ll do with rip roaring rapids since the ride is indeed closed parts of the ride still remain at the park. So I’m wondering will they do an update like they did to the raft water ride at Knotts Berry Farm or tear it down completely and replace it with a roller coaster or thrill ride or a flat ride. Carowinds doesn’t have anymore water rides if the rip roaring rapids go not talking about the water park either. So will the park just go without dry water rides in the park. Not even a flume ride for the future?

[kylexy2298]

Was at the park this past Tuesday and noticed that Copperhead Strike does have a pretty bad rattle to it, especially on the wheel seats. Rode it again on a non-wheel seat and was better but the rattle was still definitely there. Hopefully it's just a problem with the wheels and not the coaster itself.

[Invertalon]

Are the trains the same as Blue Fire? That ride was one of the most eerily smooth coasters I've ever been on. That was just last month and that ride has some age on it.

[tndank]

Ricochet is good stuff. Skipped it first trip. Rode it today and we had a blast on it. Can't wait to find more like it in the future.

 

Ended the night with 6 or 7 rides on Fury. Last one was front row with a girl just tall enough to ride for the first time. She wasn't talking as we loaded and went up the hill. Bottom of the first hill I peeked over and she raised her hands. Kept them up the rest of the way. Her parents and I loved it.

[yawetag]

Hurler: Also, who the F**K designed the stations for these things? What the hell were they going for?

 

Hurler was originally based off Wayne's World. The station was designed to look like the outside of a movie studio. IIRC, the garage area below the station (the door is closed now) used to be a replica of the Wayne's World studio.

[HellboyBegins7492]

I heard the new rumored ride going into Carowinds next year could be a zamperla ride according to coaster net I am

Not sure if these rumors are strong or not. If this is the case to me it would kinda suck since the park still doesn’t have a single water ride in their dry section of the park. Rip roaring rapids I guess will continue to sit their unused since the parts of the raft ride still remain. People can go to the waterpark sure but not having one single water ride in the park sounds weird. Carowinds might be the only theme park in the country without a dry water ride at all. Yes water rides are fading away at dry parks but I don’t think they need to totally disappear for good. I’m hoping that the Mack power splash will be a success since it seems like it will be coming to Six Flags Over Texas. If it does well I hope this new type of water ride will start to go to other theme parks around the country. Mack power splashes and super splashes have yet to make their debut in the states for some strange reason.

[Samuel]

Hurler: Also, who the F**K designed the stations for these things? What the hell were they going for?

 

Hurler was originally based off Wayne's World. The station was designed to look like the outside of a movie studio. IIRC, the garage area below the station (the door is closed now) used to be a replica of the Wayne's World studio.

 

 

This was shot for King's Dominion, but it's the same concept.

[yawetag]

I heard the new rumored ride going into Carowinds next year could be a zamperla ride according to coaster net I am

Not sure if these rumors are strong or not.

 

Is this based on the shipping container headed to Charlotte? It's only 2 tons - not nearly heavy enough for a new ride. The prevailing thought is that it's going to Frankie's, not Carowinds.

[carowindsman]

Looks like Dino’s alive is finally closing down

[HellboyBegins7492]

I hope carowinds gets a water coaster like this one day I think theme parks should start looking at a water ride/roller coaster combo like this......

[TurnOfTheCentury]

I am considering visiting Carowinds for the first time next week on either Thursday (August 8?) or possibly Wednesday. I notice that they have a promotion with tickets and parking for $29.99. I am *assuming* it's because that's a typically slow day? Has anyone been to these promo Thursdays yet and have a sense of crowds?

 

I have read from earlier trip reports in this thread that fast lanes are probably not necessary on Wednesday or Thursdays?

[coasterbill]

I have read from earlier trip reports in this thread that fast lanes are probably not necessary on Wednesday or Thursdays?

 

That would be correct. You never know for sure, but I wouldn't expect crowds. Don't buy Fastlane in advance unless you really, really, really like Vekoma flying coasters.

[djcoastermark]

Just wanted to add, we went on a Sunday in late June and had our longest wait of 20 minutes at dark for Fury. That included down time for a breakdown too. We skipped the Vekoma flyer and Ricochet due to those 2 rides having long waits, but we really didn't mind skipping those 2. Yeah, a mouse and a Vekoma device, been on those at other parks before, would rather ride Fury and Intimidater multiple times over just 1 on either of those 2. Our last 3 rides at closing were for Intimidater, which was basically walk on. I would wait to buy a Fastlane.

[RollerManic]

Hit Nighthawk and Vortex first in that order and you'll be good.

[yawetag]

Mirroring the others here. Thursdays are slow. You should have no problem without FastPass.

 

Unless Ricochet's line extends to the metal queue railings, the wait isn't more than 15 minutes. Nighthawk is only slow because there's approximately 65 minutes between each dispatch.

[hoppedup]

Hit Nighthawk and Vortex first in that order and you'll be good.

 

If you have to get the credits, by all means do so and follow the advice above. But IMO, skip Nighthawk and Vortex and you'll be better. I skipped Firehawk at KI last year knowing that I would never get a chance to ride it again. That was based on my experiences with Nighthawk and Batwing.

 

Vortex is the worst of the three stand-up coasters I have done.

 

That said, some people like them both. Those people are masochists.

 

You will probably not have big crowds on a midweek day. FL+ should be a decision made in the park. If it does get busy, buy your FL+ at a store or ride gift shop. Lines at the front gate Fast Lane counter can get ridiculous. Again, unlikely on a Wednesday or Thursday.

[pǝʇɹǝʌuı]

Just visited the park yesterday for the first time and had a great time! Crowds were super light and my friend and I didn't wait more than 20 minutes for any of the rides. Overall I got 26 rides in: 3x CS, 2x Afterburn, 2x Cobras, 1x Goldrusher, 5x Fury (great ride!), 1x Hurler, 1x Nighthawk, 2x Intimidator, 1x each per kiddie credit, 3x Cyclone, 1x Ricochet, 1x Vortex, and 1x Windseeker.

 

I see now why Fury is in most people's top 5; that thing is relentless! The drop is HUGE, right after the drop the thing hauls through it's twisty section, and after the trim you have a few nice pops of awesome ejector air before hitting the station again. It's a real masterpiece and has become my new #1.

 

Copperhead was awesome, too! It fits the park really nicely and has a few really cool moments. I take back what I said (a few dozen pages ago) about it looking like "Manta with inversions." They're completely different rides; Copperhead has less airtime but some AWESOME hangtime moments. I enjoyed Intimidator as well. The three B&M Hypers I've ridden (DB, Intimidator, Nitro) all have something special to offer, and in this case it's the turnaround. The twisty section on those long trains is a neat experience.

 

Vortex, Nighthawk, Cyclone, and Flying Cobras neither exceeded nor fell short of my expectations. Nighthawk gets a + for having better scenery than Firehawk in the first half, but a - for having a (comparatively) terrible ending, so I'd rank it about the same as the late KI version. I like flyers, so it's a fun ride, but I'd take a B&M any day over a Vekoma. Vortex is a solid stand-up, it's essentially a smaller version of Green Lantern. Definitely an enjoyable ride that I'd probably marathon if I lived nearby. I got to do three consecutive rides on Cyclone since nobody was riding; there's nothing quite like a classic Arrow. I like 'em for what they are: quirky, but with some fun forces on the inversions. Flying Cobras was only my second traditional boomerang. I actually really enjoyed the version at Knott's years ago, but the trains on the Carowinds version are significantly better, making for an overall excellent ride (Yes, I like boomerangs. Sue me).

 

And now the beef. The two rides that fell short of my expectations were Afterburn and Hurler. I'll start with Hurler. I was surprised by how smooth the ride was, especially the first turn was after the drop. The reason I didn't like it too much is simply that it doesn't do much. The hills don't have airtime, and there's nothing particularly forceful about any of the other turns or anything.

 

But Afterburn. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but it's my least favorite B&M invert of the ones I've ridden (Banshee, Raptor, Silver Bullet, and two Batmans). I generally enjoy these rides quite a bit, so I don't know why but it just didn't do much for me. It's a weird middle ground where it's not as smooth as Banshee or Silver Bullet but also not as forceful as Raptor or the Batmans. I did have fun on the ride, but as an enthusiast who's been to several parks and ridden 119 different coasters, I'd say that there's nothing to really look forward to about this ride. It's fun, but it's not the best of its type and certainly not a standout coaster at Carowinds.