Carowinds Discussion Thread

[ngs]

With the NASCAR Hall of Fame opening downtown in Charlotte this year, and now Intimidator premiering in the Spring, I forsee some booming business for the area. This will be a haven for NASCAR and coaster fans alike.

 

The marketing was great, especially wtih the fake White Lightning campaign for us nerds expecting a bit of nostalgia. The layout looks like a step up from Diamondback and Behemoth in terms of originality, so I appreciate the extra effort in the element tweaks. The Stengel dive, hammerhead, and helix look pretty darn forceful, and without trims the hills should pack quite a punch!

 

All the more reason for me to get a season pass next season!

[coasterfan21]

^ I just have one question. Wasn't the Whyte Lightning campagne for Cedar Point. I only noticed a link to it on Cedar Points Blog. How did Carowinds and KD get thrown in the discussion with the Whyte Lightning campagne?

 

I agree the theme is a great marketing idea for the area the park is located in. It looks like an amazing ride, great addition Carowinds.

[Homeboy23]

^

 

There was a cell phone pic of a graphic with the name White Lightning on it taken from a "Carowinds employee". That is how it got started there.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ That box out front of Carowinds also said White Lightning on it.

[coasterfan21]

^ Thanks, I have been wondering that for a while. lol

[palavos3]

Contrary to what others may think I don't believe this ride will be THAT good. Oh sure there will be plenty of airtime but the airtime on this ride will be mild. On the 305 version, I think what little airtime there is will be more intense because you will be going much faster.

[JFrombaugh]

Huh, so this ride isn't good enough for "Intimidator 232", eh? Just "Intimidator"?

 

Wow, there goes CF again with the name reusing...almost.

 

Also, remember everyone's hyper bets in the really old thread about CF getting Paramount Parks?

 

Why does everyone keep saying "Oh, good now might get a hyper."

 

This makes no sense to me. Where is Knott's hyper? Where is Michigan's Adventure's hyper? Where is Geauga Lake's hyper?

 

In fact, has Cedar Fair built a hyper at *ANY* of their properties since Millennium Force in 2000?!?!?

 

I'm not sure where this misconception of "Cedar Fair buying a park equals intant hypercoaster" comes from, but take a step back and if you're expecting a hyper in your local Paramount Park to appear in the next couple of years I think you're setting yourself up for a major dissapointment.

 

--Robb

 

Well, they didn't disappoint! In fact, all of the former Paramount Parks except Great America have gotten/will have a hyper by the summer of 2010! So looks like all the speculations three years ago have finally come true!

[coaster1000]

I would usually prefer Intamin over B&M, but this looks a lot better than the "Intaminidator."

 

It's gonna have more airtime, and I like the restraints much more.

 

[CanadianCoasterGuy]

Looks amazing! I'll definitely go ride this and see if it lives up or is better than Behemoth @ CW, or Diamondback @ KI. I'm not impressed with Intimidator 305 though!

[Hercules]

^ Intimidator 305 makes you constipated?

[Lenaapple1974]

This one word expletive is all I have - WOW!

 

This truly takes the cake for me, much more than the boring looking i305!

[steel]

Huh, so this ride isn't good enough for "Intimidator 232", eh? Just "Intimidator"?

 

Wow, there goes CF again with the name reusing...almost.

What do you mean "again?" Sure, there has been some double-naming among CF parks. Thunderhawk is obviously the most notable (it is the name of exactly two coasters and a number of flat rides) and the -hawk suffix in general, which I actually think is brilliant and I do not see the reasoning behind the constant complaining. Dominator and Steel Venom have also both been used more than once. Apart from those and the Paramount renames (but these hardly count since they were the same name to begin with), there isn't really much to speak of.

Compare that to Six Flags. There are currently eight different coasters themed to Batman at Six Flags parks, seven of which are Batman The Ride clones (such a ubiquitous name that the model itself is even called Batman). Plus the Dark Night mice. There are also eight Supermen, not including RoS at Darian Lake. And that's not to mention all of the flat rides themed to Batman and Superman. I could see these particular themes dodging this bullet because of the areas that are themed entirely to these specific characters. But it doesn't stop there. We've also got Medusa, Bizarro, Goliath, Viper, and Tony Hawk's Big Spin. And then some.

I'm not saying it's really cool that CF uses names more than once. I think they could stand to be a little more creative. But it's not as though it's a new thing, and CF is certainly not the ideal chain to harp on for overusing names.

[redfoot12]

 

Also, remember everyone's hyper bets in the really old thread about CF getting Paramount Parks?

 

Why does everyone keep saying "Oh, good now might get a hyper."

 

This makes no sense to me. Where is Knott's hyper? Where is Michigan's Adventure's hyper? Where is Geauga Lake's hyper?

 

In fact, has Cedar Fair built a hyper at *ANY* of their properties since Millennium Force in 2000?!?!?

 

I'm not sure where this misconception of "Cedar Fair buying a park equals intant hypercoaster" comes from, but take a step back and if you're expecting a hyper in your local Paramount Park to appear in the next couple of years I think you're setting yourself up for a major dissapointment.

 

--Robb

 

Well, they didn't disappoint! In fact, all of the former Paramount Parks except Great America have gotten/will have a hyper by the summer of 2010! So looks like all the speculations three years ago have finally come true!

 

Sounds like a good old-fashioned internet board call out post.

Robb--care to respond?

[jarmor]

 

Also, remember everyone's hyper bets in the really old thread about CF getting Paramount Parks?

 

Why does everyone keep saying "Oh, good now might get a hyper."

 

This makes no sense to me. Where is Knott's hyper? Where is Michigan's Adventure's hyper? Where is Geauga Lake's hyper?

 

In fact, has Cedar Fair built a hyper at *ANY* of their properties since Millennium Force in 2000?!?!?

 

I'm not sure where this misconception of "Cedar Fair buying a park equals intant hypercoaster" comes from, but take a step back and if you're expecting a hyper in your local Paramount Park to appear in the next couple of years I think you're setting yourself up for a major dissapointment.

 

--Robb

 

Well, they didn't disappoint! In fact, all of the former Paramount Parks except Great America have gotten/will have a hyper by the summer of 2010! So looks like all the speculations three years ago have finally come true!

 

Sounds like a good old-fashioned internet board call out post.

Robb--care to respond?

[sixflagsguy5]

It's nice that Carowinds is finally getting a hyper. It's the one thing that was really missing when I went there. I don't think that Intimidator will be a mind blowing coaster for enthusiasts, but I'm sure it will really help the park and it will be fun to ride. I'm not a huge fan of the parking lot scenery, but I guess they have to work with what they've got.

 

The turn around looks really cool. I hope that it's as forceful as Diamondback's.

[Afterburn117]

Does anybody know when vertical construction will start?

[Homeboy23]

^ Rumor is next week

[fisher1095]

^ Rumor is next week

 

No rumor here. The PR at Carowinds confirmed it.

[Satchboogie3]

Looks good, but I don't know how you can say it looks better than i305. Sure, it looks like it has lots of airtime hills, but it's still just a B&M hyper. An Intamin Giga with a mega light like layout looks ridiculous. If it is anything like a mega light, I don't know how you could say this B&M looks better.

[netdvn]

This truly takes the cake for me, much more than the boring looking i305!

 

How would a 300 foot roller coaster look "boring"? A 300 foot coaster would look completely terrifying IMO.

[Homeboy23]

^ Everything is based off of photos. That is why its boring.

[fallen xxi]

Looks good, but I don't know how you can say it looks better than i305. Sure, it looks like it has lots of airtime hills, but it's still just a B&M hyper. An Intamin Giga with a mega light like layout looks ridiculous. If it is anything like a mega light, I don't know how you could say this B&M looks better.

 

There is only one or two things on i305 that resemble a mega-lite. Overall the coaster does indeed look boring. Along with the OTSR's taking those sharp turns won't be fun. From what most of the entusiast community has seen, it does indeed look like a boring disappointment.

[DBru]

Yeah, because there is nothing on this Earth that is more boring than dropping 300ft at an 85* angle into a 92mph, highly-banked turn, followed by a 150ft camelback and then a fast, twisted, airtime-filled, 4000ft journey back to the station.

 

What a snoozefest.

[Vffreak07]

Yeah, because there is nothing on this Earth that is more boring than dropping 300ft at an 85* angle into a 92mph, highly-banked turn, followed by a 150ft camelback and then a fast, twisted, airtime-filled, 4000ft journey back to the station.

 

What a snoozefest.

 

Finally someone agrees with me!

[coasterfan21]

Yeah, because there is nothing on this Earth that is more boring than dropping 300ft at an 85* angle into a 92mph, highly-banked turn, followed by a 150ft camelback and then a fast, twisted, airtime-filled, 4000ft journey back to the station.

 

What a snoozefest.

 

I agree I mean its a 300ft coaster, it has been so long since MF was built I was starting to loose hope that another giga would be built in the US. I personally would love to have it in any park up here in MA.