Carowinds Discussion Thread

[PKI Jizzman]

I'm staying at the park's hotel which guarantees park entry when staying with them, so very interested to see how this all pans out. More on this story at 11!

[bert425]

1 hour ago, PKI Jizzman said:

I'm staying at the park's hotel which guarantees park entry when staying with them, so very interested to see how this all pans out. More on this story at 11!

can't wait to hear.

we were booked there in May 2020. . .needless to say, that trip never happened.

but loved the location of the hotel.

[PKI Jizzman]

It's amazing how bad the traffic is. The crowds stay alllll night long. Lines close 30 minutes + early. We were pretty much forced to eat in the park since it would take a lyft/uber driver 35 minutes to get in to us at the hotel, and then get out. 

The one walking distance restaurant, Famous Dave's, closes at 8pm daily!!!  

If you have FL you're going to have a great day, but just don't go on a Saturday. We figured we'd just do one or two rides if the crowd thinned out but that never happened. I bet people were stuck in traffic till 130 or 2am. I bet the reached capacity or got very close to it. 

 

[bert425]

^^ WOW!


i mean, I'm glad they are busy, as everyone could use the business. . but sounds very "horror show" - which I guess is appropriate for SCarowinds

[PKI Jizzman]

Quick rant: Sunday was much more manageable, but still troubling as far as staff/ops. No groupers/separators at the station entry so anyone could just hop in the FL line once you're past the queue entry. Also for some reason there's an excessive amount of kids (definitely not teens) with FL just standing at the station entry not sure what to do until you tell them just go in and find a row. No wonder so many fights happen, what do you think is going to happen when you have people trying to merge without supervision? 

Copperhead Strike is fantastic! So unique! And they actually put a lot of effort into theming! Get to Carowinds to check out that amazing coaster! More photos/trip report later.

[jarmor]

On 10/8/2021 at 9:13 AM, hoppedup said:

Got an email from Carowinds this morning about new passholder T&C.

A Platinum Pass is valid for one park visit per day, and is also valid for free parking at all parks, the registered Passholder must be present in the vehicle. This pass is valid for only one visit per day, and a readmission hand stamp is required for same-day re-entry.  Fees for food, merchandise, games, pay-per-experience attractions, concerts, and special events are not included.

 

Sounds like no more double dipping on Scarowinds days (not that I ever plan to return to the shit show that is Scarowinds). Not a big deal for me, YMMV.

I am under the impression that means one park in the chain visit per day.  LIke, you cant go to carowinds until noon and drive to Kings dominion for the rest of the day.  Not you having to pick from SCarowinds at night or carowinds in the day.

[prozach626]

 

On 10/8/2021 at 7:13 AM, hoppedup said:

A Platinum Pass is valid for one park visit per day

  

1 hour ago, jarmor said:

I am under the impression that means one park in the chain visit per day.

I mean... right?

[PKI Jizzman]

We didn't have any issues visiting both Carowinds and Scarowinds so yeah not sure what is up with what they're emailing vs what they're doing at the park. Which is kinda funny since Carowinds/Charlotte is the CF headquarters now.

[coasternut]

^ i don't think that's true about corporate CF being in Charlotte. The have a location in an office complex in Charlotte. The main headquarters is still in the brick building near the sky ride at Cedar Point. Charlotte would be a better location though.

[RideThroughTime]

Accidental post, please delete

[PKI Jizzman]

Here's my report from my weekend trip to Carowinds with friends!

Flew in Saturday at 530, quickly got a ride over to Carowinds new Spring Hill Suites hotel. It's right across from the parking lot so it's an easy 5 minute walk over to the park. The hotel does have a full bar, but does not have food or a restaurant. Amazingly the lyft driver had no sweat weaving in and out of the batshit insane traffic. 

Carowinds is right off the high way, but there's 2 huge intersections that really slow down traffic, so it just backs up for miles when busy. Carowinds needs their own exit if they can somehow make that work. So once we got to the hotel, we were pretty much stuck. No lyft/uber would ever want to come in and get us, and it would have taken an hour to get in; spoiler, the traffic stayed until probably 2am. 

Famous Dave's is within walking distance, but it closes at 8pm daily. Sooo we were forced to eat at Harmony Hall and I've still yet to have a good meal there. It's.....edible. Really disappointed that they can't serve better quality food. 

Saturday night was seemingly like all other American parks - so packed you could barely navigate some areas. We just had drinks, checked out the atmosphere, and were lucky to get 1 ride on Fury at night with a one use fast lane. 

Sunday much more manageable, although fast lane was needed to get in multiple rides and re-ride some coasters I hadn't done in years (Nighthawk). 

Let me first applaud Carowinds for their Haunt event. Their scare zones were packed with actors as were the mazes. The park really felt different at night and had me second guessing how to navigate with all of the different lights, fog, and decorations shining. 

 Depths of Darkness: This maze should be your #1 priority if you're going to Scarowinds. An awesome blend of new technology, big physical sets, great scares, some find mind tricks, and you get some different angles of Intimidator as you walk under it! The best CF maze I've done in some time.

Tooth Fairy: This is new for 2021 and you know you're in for some disappointment when it's called Tooth Fairy but the exterior of the build is.... it's themed to ...windows? There wasn't enough happening in this maze, nor were the decorations or effects much of anything to make it stand out. It was over too soon, and the finale was ok. But hey at least there was a finale. 

Slaughterhouse: Can we get rid of these mazes already? This one looked like a lengthy maze, but it was actually only one small section of the area being used and it ended before the scares started to come. Bummer. 

Silver Screen Studios: This seemed like a fun idea on paper, checking out this old movie set from a director that figured the best horror movie should be made by actually killing the actors! It was fun, but seemed like they just threw a lot of random things together. 

Missed our on the Reaping, I like those scarecrow mazes and it looked like they use part of rapids ride like CP does, I'm sure it was good.

Rides! Or...coasters! We didn't do any flat rides because the drop tower is so small, sorry..., electro spin was down, and I've done enough Boo Hill shooters. What else is there? Windseeker was down uhhh... there's no pendulum/frisbee ride. Alright Carowinds let's get some flats in there.

Coasters:

Carolina Cyclone - Hey guess what! Vortex lives on, the trains were re-painted and are in use. It's takes the course pretty fast, so hold on right, it's a wild arrow looper.

Goldrusher - This is an olddddd mine train where each the 3 rows in 1 car have to move the lap bar together, like at CP. So if you have 2 adults and 4 kids in 1 car, you're gonna have to be very stapled. Even still, we saw 2 young girls unbuckle there seatbelt and fold themselves out of the train right as it pulled into the station. They just...wiggled up and out. Our jaws were on the floor. 

So it's uncomfortable, but it's got a really fun layout. This thing spends half the time in trenches/in tunnels! 

Nighthawk - What the hell, might as well ride the OG Vekoma flyer. I have always like how the corkscrews ride vs the rolling trash can barrel rolls. Shocking... this thing is smooth. I don't think it's going anywhere for a while as Firehawk's trains are there on site for parts.

Intimidator - It's just a fun re-rideable hyper, it's right next to the bar, it's a walk on with FL. 

Afterburn - Okay okay okay I've been on Montu now. No it doesn't have Montu's intensity but it's still a great B&M invert and I still think that final wing over between the trees is one of the best inversions on an invert in the states. It just rips your legs off!

Fury 325 - It's loved by all for good reason. The drop seems endless, the speed keeps up the whole ride, the airtime is great, and sometimes that trim didn't hit. What was weird was we heard it making noises off ride walking in/out of the park, I didn't remember that. 

andddddd now..... new for me....

Copperhead Strike! I will be honest I passed up going to Carowinds a few times since it was added since I just didn't think it'd be worth going out of my way for and damn I am mad at myself. 

Copperhead will treat you to every G Force that's possible - the launches are barely worth a mention but you do feel them get you going. Laterals on tight turns, amazing hangtime in 4 different types, airtime ranging from floater to ejector, and this coaster has Cedar Fair's best attempt at theming. 

Copperhead is so unique, I really really enjoyed it and I really wanted to claim it as my favorite coaster in the park, but you can't compare this to anything else, especially Fury. What a gem Carowinds has and I can finally say Carowinds is a pretty well rounded park. They still need some more flat rides and they have a glaring need for a new wooden coaster. Hopefully they get one soon to really elevate the line up! 

I couldn't bring myself to ride the old Vortex stand up, haha.

 

Do you prefer daytime or nighttime Fury? I think I choose night specifically for no wasps. There was tons on Sunday.

Let's get the day going with a 1999 B&M invert! It still kicks ass!

The biggest issue with the park right now. Not enough staff. There were no separators/groupers at the station so if you're a shitty kid/adult, you could just hop over into the FL line after the queue entry and walk right in. On top of that, guests had to merge themselves and this was a sticky situation since you'd get supervise-less kids not sure what to do/how to assert themselves; and then later in the day you'd have liquored up adults/teens getting into it when one tried to get in front of the other. Hoooooboy I hope they fix this ASAP. I made a number of team members aware of the issues I saw. 

Love the views of Afterburn from back here! Time for some Copperhead love!

First time on one of these newer Mack launchers/loopers. The trains are gorgeous, lap bars are comfy, seats are fine but they do I guess give you a necessary hug around the sides, I wish they were a bit more open but I can understand the design. Very cool looking.

 

Copperhead is so packed full of amazing elements that after the launch I forgot about the jojo roll start!

You don't need to hang on, that's the lap bar's job!

Some surprises await in here. Great job, Mack + CF team!

A beautiful tangled mess of track! Copperhead is long, has great airtime, unique hangtime in 4 different ways, and it seems to go on forever. Definitely an elite coaster my book!

I've always enjoyed this old mine train since it spend a lot of time below ground. Don't miss it!

Carowinds has adopted the whole "don't touch your lap bar!!!!! never touch it!!!!!!!" ride op spiels.... whatever as long as the trains are moving quickly...

Sycamore's puts out some amazing beer (Mountain Candy), but this one was just okay. Still, love the coaster brews!

The ops had a funny "don't text and drive" spiel, yet they didn't want to actually address half the train that had their phones out on many of my rides.

 

It's a solid B&M hyper, you can't not have fun on this thing. 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (of course it was some stupid teen who did this, and no, his friend didn't fall for it) 

I could lay under the grass and watch Fury fly around me all day. I love how interactive it is. 

Uh-mazing. 

Take a 10 minute ride around the corner to Mac's Speed Shop for amazing friendly service, fantastic smoked meats, and the best onion rings in the world. This whole plate cost $11, by the way. Don't eat in the parks if you don't have to.

Time for some night rides!

Depths of Darkness takes you under Intimidator, cool!

Hello Vortex trains!

This wing over, man.....whew!

 

Here's some funny photos the round it out.

While it can be stressful to visit Scarowinds, just do yourself a favor and stay on site at the hotel. You get guaranteed entry, you can walk to and from, and it had plenty of available rooms so I guess it's mainly locals packing the park. 

Get back there for Copperhead if you haven't been on it yet!!!

-Zach

[SharkTums]

Great TR!  I really need all of these parks to fix their staffing levels!  That traffic situation is crazy, but at least you guys were smart and stayed at the hotel right there. 

[Rai Fox]

2 hours ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Do you prefer daytime or nighttime Fury? I think I choose night specifically for no wasps. There was tons on Sunday.
 

What is it with wasps this year?  All the other problems with parks...yeah, I get it, I know why staffing and parts shortages and all these things are a problem, and I don't want to hold them against any parks.  Wasps though...2/3s of the parks I've been to this year have been absolutely invested with them.  Twice this year, (Raven@Holiday World and Thunderhawk@Dorney) I've been stuck on a brake run with wasps crawling over me while I was stuck in the restraints.  I do not do well with wasps.  Never had that happen before this year...

The rest of it looks great, definitely want to try to get there next year for Fury and Copperhead at least!

[PKI Jizzman]

29 minutes ago, Rai Fox said:

What is it with wasps this year?  All the other problems with parks...yeah, I get it, I know why staffing and parts shortages and all these things are a problem, and I don't want to hold them against any parks.  Wasps though...2/3s of the parks I've been to this year have been absolutely invested with them.  Twice this year, (Raven@Holiday World and Thunderhawk@Dorney) I've been stuck on a brake run with wasps crawling over me while I was stuck in the restraints.  I do not do well with wasps.  Never had that happen before this year...

The rest of it looks great, definitely want to try to get there next year for Fury and Copperhead at least!

We had yellow jacket and friggin' bald. faced. hornets. issues around our house this year, never had that in the past! I'm not sure my dumb theory is they thrived in 2020 with people being in quarantine, and now we're seeing more of them >.<

[SharkTums]

^Not dumb at all! When we started doing walks again at the parks when they first reopened there were so many more insects, birds, and animals.  Humans are a plague on the earth, get rid of us even for a short while and nature takes back over!

[CP_RULES]

Great report! Carowinds is definitely a park I'd love to get to some day. Hopefully before Nighthawk is retired...

Wasps? No thank you, though!

[coasterbill]

Great update! Thanks for sharing.

[Zand]

14 hours ago, Rai Fox said:

What is it with wasps this year?  All the other problems with parks...yeah, I get it, I know why staffing and parts shortages and all these things are a problem, and I don't want to hold them against any parks.  Wasps though...2/3s of the parks I've been to this year have been absolutely invested with them.  Twice this year, (Raven@Holiday World and Thunderhawk@Dorney) I've been stuck on a brake run with wasps crawling over me while I was stuck in the restraints.  I do not do well with wasps.  Never had that happen before this year...

I noticed this at KI this weekend as well. Couldn't sit down at a table or bench or anything outside without 20 yellow jackets sitting down with you. All over the outside soda fountains as well, although not quite as bad as Lake Compounce used to get during the free soda days. Thankfully no issues with bees on brake runs.

That reminds me of one time probably 15 years ago at the Big E in MA, they had a drop tower called (I believe) Drop of Fear which had a big top section on top of the tower. One year apparently a bunch of bees set up shop right where the car stopped when it got to the top, underneath the big top section. The ride op had the ability to estop the ride right at the top for dramatic effect and we were screaming for him to let us drop because we were getting SWARMED while we were sitting there. Definitely the worst bee/wasp experience I've ever had on a ride lol.

[abovethesink]

It is just a good year for wasps and particularly yellow jackets, I think. I've never previously found any on my property and I found four different nests this year. I destroyed three of them and let one be that I thought was far enough out of the way. 

[CoasterGuy06]

One of the issues with yellow jackets could be due to staffing shortages and things (tables, trash cans, etc.) not being cleaned as often as in the past. When I worked at a park we had one year we had a MASSIVE yellow jacket problem, and it was because the manager in charge of park services that year was lazy AF and didn't have them spray the insides of the trash cans with bleach water every few days like the previous manager had. I had to deal with guest complaints about them multiple times a day.

[PKI Jizzman]

Happy Halloween! I have 4 single use skip the line passes for any ride or Haunt. I could send them in the mail tomorrow. Who wants to use them next weekend?

[coasterbill]

I think Carowinds pushed the 2022 opening date up by a week or two.

Rare good news on the operating-calendar-front from them...

[Hilltopper39]

45 minutes ago, coasterbill said:

I think Carowinds pushed the 2022 opening date up by a week or two.

Rare good news on the operating-calendar-front from them...

That is good news, we've looked at going in the past for Spring Break but the park wasn't open til the following week. Nice to have that option in play now.

[coasterbill]

This park should really just be year-round. I know they won't do it since they're Cedar Fair but I really wish they'd just grow a pair one year and try something weird like Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Just do 11 - 5 operating days or something in January and February with some special events and run every coaster except for whatever you're refurbing. The average high is 12 degrees above their minimum operating temps even in the dead of winter. I get that occasionally they'll be below that, but rarely.

... that's my pipe dream.

[thrillseeker4552]

I'd love to see Carowinds and CGA both go year-round in the next few years. It really makes no sense why these two are still seasonal, and within the Cedar Fair chain these are the two that seem the most viable. But yeah... Cedar Fair. Hopefully someday. Especially with BGW now year-round and Dollywood rumored to be within the next few seasons as well.