Carowinds Discussion Thread

[dougstanton]

I won't deny that it has airtime...it is just extremely weak. It takes "B&M floater" to another level. The trains travel over the hills very slowly and I can't believe the trims still grab you. Knowing that most B&M hypers are very similar, while I didn't expect it to be unique, I expected to have a great time on it. I was rather bored on it and I rode it first thing in the morning, in the middle of the day, and just before closing. Diamondback is significantly better so the length of the train certainly isn't the problem. While I will agree the first drop is the best part of the ride, even Diamondback's first drop dominates Intimidator's....but I probably will never get anywhere with Carolinians who are defensive of their new ride.

[SharkTums]

It sounds like the ride has a serious case of 'Silver Star'. You can get great rides on it, or ones that feel slower than a kiddie coaster based on the darn trims. It's all down to the luck of the draw until they figure out exactly how hard to put those trims on based on weight, weather, etc.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^From what I've gathered, I think the B&M super NASA computer controls the trims, but I have no idea what it uses to determine how hard to engage the trims from cycle to cycle. The ride I had this morning was absolutely trimless, but it was a little windy so that may have had something to do with it. It definitely has really really good cycles and some lackluster cycles, but I still think it's a quality coaster for sure. I know I had rides on Goliath at SFOG last year that truly sucked, but my rides on it this year were awesome, so I think it's just a B&M hyper thing, not just an Intimidator or Silver Star thing. :shrug:

[coasterbear30]

Goliath is about 8 miles from me and I have ridden it close to 200 times and I can say that I have NEVER had a ride on it that sucked. It is unfortunate that they trimmed Intimidator to death and I am afraid that unless they turn off the trims then it will always be a lackluster ride.

[robbalvey]

^From what I've gathered, I think the B&M super NASA computer controls the trims, but I have no idea what it uses to determine how hard to engage the trims from cycle to cycle. The ride I had this morning was absolutely trimless, but it was a little windy so that may have had something to do with it. It definitely has really really good cycles and some lackluster cycles, but I still think it's a quality coaster for sure. I know I had rides on Goliath at SFOG last year that truly sucked, but my rides on it this year were awesome, so I think it's just a B&M hyper thing, not just an Intimidator or Silver Star thing. :shrug:

I can't speak for Intimidator because obviously I haven't ridden it yet, but I think I've actually been on almost every other B&M Mega Coaster in the world and I can honestly say that Silver Star is the only one that seems to give such inconsistent rides, at least based on my travels.

 

Sure, any ride can vary from day to day based on weather conditions, weight of the train, etc, but Silver Star seemed to be an anomaly where the only consistent thing about the ride was it's inconsistency!

 

I think that's what Elissa meant by it having a case of "Silver Star."

 

--Robb

[dougstanton]

Yeah. SFoG is my home park. I have ridden Goliath many times. It doesn't give such inconsistent rides. The factors that affect every ride can change it slightly...but nothing as drastic as you are making it sound with Intimidator. The day I went it was hot and busy...so temperature and weight of the train couldn't have been better.

[Josh Linn]

As far as B&M hypers and inconsistency goes, I will say that my two rides on Nitro were really different. My first in 2002 was really good...loaded with air and the helix into the MCBR was really intense, but on my ride in 2008, it was really boring, which really caught me off guard. The helix was the only part of the ride that was as good as it was in '02, but the rest fell really flat.

[angryemobeaver]

It may have just been when I was at Carowinds, but Intimidator was running great. It has very nice airtime for a B&M, actually had a little bit of laterals, and was running very fast! On Diamondback, the MCBR kills the rest of the ride completely. On Intimidator the MCBR slows the ride to a near stop, but you still get airtime coming out of the drop if your in the back, and the helix has laterals. I actually thought Intimidator was the best B&M Hyper I've ridden! I've only ridden Goliath, Raging Bull, Diamondback, and Intimidator though.

[redfoot12]

As far as B&M hypers and inconsistency goes, I will say that my two rides on Nitro were really different. My first in 2002 was really good...loaded with air and the helix into the MCBR was really intense, but on my ride in 2008, it was really boring, which really caught me off guard. The helix was the only part of the ride that was as good as it was in '02, but the rest fell really flat.

 

The only thing I noticed about Nitro the day I tode it was that it definitely got better in the afternoon and evening than when I rode it late AM/early afternoon.

 

I hope Intimidator figures itself out by the time I ride it in September.

[jarmor]

My first ride on Intimidator was average for me. But after I got on it again, and wasnt stapled in it I really enjoyed it very much. It was like I was literary standing up going over those hills, trims and all. I have never had a non trimed ride and I still got some really great rides on it. I would love to have a ride session with the folks who say it was just bleh to see if we feel the same thing because I find it wierd that it can give one group really good rides and another group less than average.

[gatorchomp83]

^That's how my rides on it opening weekend were. Its why I fell in love with the ride.

 

Unfortunately, did not have the same experience the following weekend.

[dougstanton]

If you want to know the exact date, I rode on it on April 9th...Ahh, that must be it. I rode it on the bad day, along with the others. Like I said, more negative reviews will come out when people farther from the park get their chance to ride it.

[jarmor]

what does being farther from the park has to do with it? I have travel great distances and rode some really great parks...

[dougstanton]

It is common to have some bias towards your home park. Many people get very excited over a new ride coming to their park and over react early on. I have ridden rides on good days and bad days...but it would have to be much better than when I rode it for the airtime to be strong. I won't deny that there were times that I was floating out of my seat. It happened on most of the hills...but it was very, very weak. There was no force to it at all. The first drop was decent but still nowhere near as good as Diamondback. If I had to rate hypers, it would probably be like this.

1) Behemoth

2) Goliath (SFoG)

3) Diamondback

4) Nitro

5) Apollo's Chariot

6) Intimidator

7) Raging Bull

[Beemer]

It is common to have some bias towards your home park. Many people get very excited over a new ride coming to their park and over react early on. I have ridden rides on good days and bad days...but it would have to be much better than when I rode it for the airtime to be strong. I won't deny that there were times that I was floating out of my seat. It happened on most of the hills...but it was very, very weak. There was no force to it at all. The first drop was decent but still nowhere near as good as Diamondback. If I had to rate hypers, it would probably be like this.

1) Behemoth

2) Goliath (SFoG)

3) Diamondback

4) Nitro

5) Apollo's Chariot

6) Intimidator

7) Raging Bull

 

Yet at the same time, those closest to the park will have probably ridden the coaster enough to find a balance in the early inconsistencies. Those closest have ridden it when it was cold outside, hot outside, and raining outside.. with light trims, with heavy trims, with no trims... with full trains and with empty trains.... etc.

 

Many coasters deal with inconsistency early on, with many dramatically different ride experiences. I have seen little bias with the majority of the Carowinds fanbase. The Carowinds enthusiasts have ridden Intimidator more than any other coaster enthusiasts, and, although some amount of individual bias may come in to play, they also have a far more balanced and concrete perspective of the ride, rather than an enthusiast that lives many hours away and has only ridden I232 5-6 times on one day... You can't judge a whole group of people by the bias of a few. I wouldn't completely write off a new coaster because someone rode it a few times on a bad day. I also wouldn't judge a coaster based on one opinion from a few rides on a great day. As everything entangled in a brand new coaster works itself out, the reviews should grow more consistent and honest (the bias will work itself out, if there was any to begin with.) I fully expect the coaster to improve and become more consistent over the summer.

[jsz1002]

It is common to have some bias towards your home park. Many people get very excited over a new ride coming to their park and over react early on. I have ridden rides on good days and bad days...but it would have to be much better than when I rode it for the airtime to be strong. I won't deny that there were times that I was floating out of my seat. It happened on most of the hills...but it was very, very weak. There was no force to it at all. The first drop was decent but still nowhere near as good as Diamondback. If I had to rate hypers, it would probably be like this.

1) Behemoth

2) Goliath (SFoG)

3) Diamondback

4) Nitro

5) Apollo's Chariot

6) Intimidator

7) Raging Bull

So according to your logic, since SFOG is your home park, Goliath should be much lower on a hyper coaster rating list.

[King of Ka]

I do think there's a local bias, although I think it's only partially fanboyism. People near the park who have a lot of rides on a new coaster will probably have had great and bad rides on the coaster, especially with a ride with such inconsistent reviews as Intimidator. For me personally, one great ride outweighs a few "meh" ones when I'm ranking a ride, and I think this is why local reviews are generally more positive. It'll be interesting to see how people react on a big group visit like the IntimidaTOUR, especially if the ride is running particularly well or badly that day.

[dougstanton]

It is common to have some bias towards your home park. Many people get very excited over a new ride coming to their park and over react early on. I have ridden rides on good days and bad days...but it would have to be much better than when I rode it for the airtime to be strong. I won't deny that there were times that I was floating out of my seat. It happened on most of the hills...but it was very, very weak. There was no force to it at all. The first drop was decent but still nowhere near as good as Diamondback. If I had to rate hypers, it would probably be like this.

1) Behemoth

2) Goliath (SFoG)

3) Diamondback

4) Nitro

5) Apollo's Chariot

6) Intimidator

7) Raging Bull

So according to your logic, since SFOG is your home park, Goliath should be much lower on a hyper coaster rating list.

 

Nope. That isn't my logic. I'm saying that when a new ride comes out, people who have followed it for so long and live close by, tend to over react in the beginning. The same exact thing happened with Diamondback last year. People went crazy early on with numerous saying #1 steel, it then slowed down as the season went on. It happens all of the time. That's why I'm saying if you wait a little while, a better picture will be given as to what the enthusiast group thinks of a coaster.

[larrygator]

I had a great day today, my 1st visit to the park in 5 years. While Intimidator is not my favorite Beemer, it's a very solid ride that I wouldn't kick out of bed.

 

Pufferish and the rest of his crew were pumping riders through the queue very efficiently.

 

My favorite part of the day was on Woodstock Gliders. I didn't realize how much the ride ops promoted snapping. I had an awesome tub bouncing experience where I could hear a bunch of teenagers screaming that I was their hero after my run.

[robbalvey]

I could hear a bunch of teenagers screaming that I was their hero

...and thus Larry documents the most proudest moment of his life!

Edited May 2, 2010 by robbalvey

[Erik Johnson]

Larry, you forgot to mention that you were beaten by a 7-year-old on your first run. For the record I thought the new coaster was very solid. It only had one slight trim on the 2nd hill after the first drop. The MCBR was on very soft. While I found any of the middle rows kinda blah, our front row and back row rides were great....well especially our back row rides. I still prefer Behemoth for these new B&M coasters, but I did like it slightly better than Diamondback.

Edited May 2, 2010 by Erik Johnson

[Pufferfish]

^It was great meeting you guys today. I was worried that by me coming in for closing shift I might have missed you. I'm really glad you guys were able to come today, today was one of its better days. While it still wasn't running the same it was when I got my best ride on it, it was pretty close.

 

Now to add into everyone's conversation on the inconsistencies, yes we have them. At the start of the year it was running pretty consistent, but recently there have been a couple bad days, but at the same time there have been a few good days, and at least one perfect day for the ride. On the bad days, yes I'd rank it pretty low, but I've had enough good experiences that it has been able to keep it's number 1 steel spot with me. Also to the people talking about local bias, if positive opinions were only coming from people within an hour's drive of the park, I would agree with you. Sadly the bulk of the positive comments I myself have been hearing are from people completely out of state. I think we've had more visitors in the park so far this year than locals.

[jarmor]

Like I said, more negative reviews will come out when people farther from the park get their chance to ride it.

How much farther does one have to be?

 

From ny

While Intimidator is not my favorite Beemer, it's a very solid ride that I wouldn't kick out of bed.

 

From fla

For the record I thought the new coaster was very solid. It only had one slight trim on the 2nd hill after the first drop. The MCBR was on very soft. While I found any of the middle rows kinda blah, our front row and back row rides were great....well especially our back row rides. I still prefer Behemoth for these new B&M coasters, but I did like it slightly better than Diamondback.

 

From IN

It may have just been when I was at Carowinds, but Intimidator was running great. It has very nice airtime for a B&M, actually had a little bit of laterals, and was running very fast! On Diamondback, the MCBR kills the rest of the ride completely. On Intimidator the MCBR slows the ride to a near stop, but you still get airtime coming out of the drop if your in the back, and the helix has laterals. I actually thought Intimidator was the best B&M Hyper I've ridden! I've only ridden Goliath, Raging Bull, Diamondback, and Intimidator though.

 

 

Too bad you and your group had a bad experience but as you see people are on a whole liking the coaster. I feel if the general public gets off and runs back in line to ride again, which is what I observed when I was at carowinds this season, the ride is a success (and it wasnt just because if short lines ). I dont see that happening to borg hawk though lol. I mean hey, I love ga cyclone. Yeah its a tad bit rough but to me, it gives a great ride overall.

 

Jarvis "Not a coaster expert or a fanboy (what a silly immature label ) but I know an overall good ride when I ride one..." Morant

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Every time I've ridden, I've heard nothing but very positive reactions from the GP all around me. Now, you can sorta take that with a grain of salt since the GP also LOVES boomerangs, but if you want a broad opinion about the coaster, there it is.

[Homeboy23]

^ Speaking of Carowinds boomerang. While in line for Nighthawk last week I heard a group behind me looking at Cobra testing and heard them saying how cool it was. They were saying how it had two different trains, one going forwards and one going backwards. It took 5 test runs for them to finally realize it was one