Carowinds Discussion Thread

[PhantomNick]

This is great news for the park! We visited Carowinds for the first time in July, and thought the park was loads of fun. We just thought it was a bit odd that they closed at 8 in the middle of the summer. Well, won't be a problem anymore!

 

And, for the record, Intimidator was all sorts of AWESOME!!

[angryemobeaver]

Small, but great news! Like I always, I always find something to complain about. I wish these Snoopy Light things would just be generic and not feature Snoopy. Why can't it just be a pretty display of lights without a beagle and a thousand kids? Oh well, glad to hear Carowinds will be open later, maybe next time I'll have enough time to get all my credits and be able to ride something more than once. I kinda wish they would of put something (weather it be part of the light show thing or a restaurant) in the huge spot by Intimidator.

[bgwfreak777]

^ I totally agree about the space in front of Intimidator. Hopefully somone will throw us a frisbee in 2012.

 

Burnout has a nice NASCAR sound to it.

 

Or how bout Backflip (Top Spin) for Carl Edwards fans. lol

[KingB24]

I'm going to Carowinds tomorrow and Sunday! I cannot wait. We're staying across the street, I can see I-232 from here!

[Hilltopper39]

I just returned from a trip to Carowinds on Saturday and just wanted to share a few thoughts.

First off Intimidator was great, better than Diamondback for me but not as good as Goliath (@SFOG) or Apollos Chariot. I will say though these B&M hyper coasters are getting less and less interesting every time I ride one. Yes they are all great rides but it seems like the last 3 Ive been on are so similar that I cant really get excited about any future installations. They're not clones but they all might as well be. But all in all still a great ride and a great addition to the park.

Afterburn: Another good but not great kinda coaster for me. I don't really see where everyone gets off ranking this thing so high amongst inverts. It a good ride, but not nearly as good as some inverted coasters to me. Not as good as Montu, not as good as Raptor, not as good as the Batman Clones, not as good as Dueling Dragons Dragons. Better than all SLC's and better than 80% of all other coasters in the world probably but not quite a top 10 or 20 ride for me. So screw you Bert the Conqueror and Cedar Point lady from that episode.

Thunder Road: Probably the surprise of the trip to me, that thing was running great, just an all around fun coaster. Smooth, great airtime, great pacing, and running great.

Hurler: The exact opposite, in terrible shape, rough as hell, and no airtime. I mean I don't mind a rough coaster as long as it still does something, has a little air or is fast. Son of Beast was rough as hell but still had a fast out of control feeling to it, hurler just rough and slow.

We spent a few hours at the water park as well. Just an average water park nothing special, could really use a few more slides and some shade.

Overall the park was clean, staff was friendly, good mix of rides. I feel like this place could really use another major coaster like a GCI twister or some type of launched ride, and a couple more slides at the water park. i mean they have a good collection of smaller rides and coasters but only 2 major coasters in my opinion (Intimidator and Afterburn). I can imagine this place on a hot and crowded summer day just not being that much fun. With minimal crowds we were pretty much done with the place after 4.5 hours.

But enough of my bitching, had a great time, very nice park with some nice rides, could use another major attraction, but all in all a good day.

[bgwfreak777]

Well coasters are like music and movies, everyone has their own opinion.

 

I place Afterburn ahead of every invert but Montu in my book.

[Hilltopper39]

Thats very true, and I know my opinion of Afterburn is in the minority. I think Afterburn is just Montu without the ending. Afterburn to me just feels too short. I always rank Raptor and Batmans high because I like the Zero-G roll as the second inversion instead of the 3rd, also I like Raptors's first drop better than any other inverted first drop. Afterburn is probably still better than about 80% of coasters in the world but on my steel list its not quite in the top 10 or 20.

[bgwfreak777]

I'm looking forward to checking out Talon next month for the first time. I've heard some comparrisons between Afterburn and Talon.

[jynx242]

^ I found Talon and Afterburn to be quite comparable. I REALLY enjoyed both of them. I place them over Raptor, even though Raptor is bigger and longer. I just really like the layout.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Just about my exact thoughts on inverts. Afterburn and Talon are right near each other in my rankings with Silver Bullet sandwiched between them in a lovely inverted manage a trois. Raptor is somewhere in the bad part of town on a street corner in the red light district smelling like cigarettes and cheap perfume, with Patriot and Great Bear rolling down the windows asking for a ride.

[jynx242]

^Just about my exact thoughts on inverts. Afterburn and Talon are right near each other in my rankings with Silver Bullet sandwiched between them in a lovely inverted manage a trois. Raptor is somewhere in the bad part of town on a street corner in the red light district smelling like cigarettes and cheap perfume, with Patriot and Great Bear rolling down the windows and smelling of fear and desparation asking for a ride.

 

Fixed that for you buddy!

 

David

[bgwfreak777]

T-minus 1 week and counting till I pick up the rental car, and then I'll be out the door for PA 9/17!

 

Haven't done a real coaster trip this year, well I did a quick weekend trip to KD & SFA in May but that was so quick it didn't seem like a real trip.

 

I'm finally being hired on permanent after being laid off by Bank of America in March 2009, so I guess I'm celebrating employment (and getting to almost 200 credits).

 

If anyone is in the area and wants to meet up at Dorney (9/18 a.m. only), Hershey (9/18 till close), or Gr. Adv. (9/19) then send me a PM. I'm meeting up with chillerc at Gr. Adv, but nobody at Dorney or Hershey at this point.

[JEdMc91]

Hi, I will be going to SCarowinds next Saturday on the 9th, are there any photos or trip reports someone could put up? How has it changed this year?

[bgwfreak777]

I just went Friday and there really hasn't been many changes.

 

Defex replaced Final Summons and Dead Inn is done in reverse now, but most everything else is the same.

 

They did add some new stuff at the entrance, but otherwise not a whole lot.

[willh51]

Had a chance to visit Scarowinds last night with some friends. We were only there from 8 p.m. until closing and didn't actually do any haunted events, but it was fun nonetheless. The park was ungodly crowded, but, from what I saw, all the decorations looked nice. The fog machines were on full blast, and the entire park was awash in it. It was really cool walking through the section near Thunder Road with all the fog; it reminded me of some evil movie carnival.

 

In the time we were there we only managed five rides:

 

1. Afterburn (x2)

2. Intimidator

3. Thunder Road

4. Nighthawk

 

A few notes:

 

- Intimidator was an awesome "marquee attraction" for the park. Everybody comes back to the station grinning ear to ear. Back on opening weekend it was basically a walk on. This time the line spilled into the midway. The trims were on more on the camelbacks but less on the midcourse than in April. If you're bigger, the seats are tighter than other B&M hypers, or maybe Carowinds just makes the bar go down an extra click? I saw them turning a lot of people away, but they were catching them at the test seat and not onboard, which is at least helpful.

 

- HUGE PROPS to Carowinds for their amazing ride crews last night. Lines were out of control but they were pushing people through like crazy because they had many people loading and dispatching. The crew at Afterburn would say, "this train is leaving in fifteen seconds," etc. Hardly any staking, and, when there was, it was not the crew's fault. This is what I like to see and a certain nearby-ish park could learn from these guys. The Intimidator crew was also great again, pumping the three trains through like crazy.

 

- Thunder Road was dueling but one side had one train and the other had two (I felt bad for the unwitting people waiting in that line). The work they've done on the ride shows. I thought so in April, but last night's dark ride was fast, incredibly smooth and airtime packed. Excellent job and much appreciated Carowinds.

 

- Nighthawk's line sucks so much and I finally figured out why (and it wasn't a bad crew, they actually were loading quite well last night). Unlike Afterburn or even Intimidator, the line is so wide that people can pack in side to side, so it seems like it never moves.

 

- Everything seems faster at night. Nighthawk and Afterburn especially seemed ready to jump the rails.

 

- I had to change "Top Gun" to "Afterburn" throughout this text when I proofread it. But, more importantly, what an damn fine coaster. Talk about great engineering, the thing is a work horse and runs like-new 10 years into its life.

 

- With the two Intimidators, I'd say I had a pretty nice season for my two home parks. Carowinds is finally a true destination, and Kings Dominion is getting even better. Say what you will about Cedar Fair, but Paramount didn't build the coasters they got this year.

 

- The former season passholder only (I think) gate was open! Awesome!

[bgwfreak777]

Of course the night you're there, I wasn't working. lol

 

Anyway, during SCarowinds the South Gate is open because of the massive crowds.

 

It's funny how Fridays aren't that bad, but Saturdays are insane.

[DarkStitch626]

Last nights crowds were not bad. I think it barely hit 5,000 cause nothing had lines at all. I also managed last ride of the night FRONT row on Intimidator.

[bgwfreak777]

I was kind of surprised they did Sunday's again, since it was pretty dead last year.

[deathbydinn]

Vortex is getting a new paint job for the 2011 season!

 

For all of you who wanted updates on the new Vortex paint job; well, here you go! According to Jamie Gaffney, our Director of Maintenance and Construction, you’ll be seeing a similar paint scheme to Intimidator in 2011-look for red and grey. Here’s a picture to hold you over!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thunder Road is also getting some retracking done.

 

And for you fans of Thunder Road, here’s a sneak peek of what crews are doing in preparation of the upcoming season! Crews are replacing the track stacks on the lift and the down drop as part the rides five year restoration project!

 

 

Carowinds Blog

Carowinds Facebook

[CCI]

I know this is just primer but I kinda wish it wasn't. That white track is sexy.

[jarmor]

Help TPR help Carowinds! Vote for Intimidator as #1!

 

http://themeparks.about.com/od/themeparksresourcecenter/ss/Readers-Choice-Awards-Roller-Coaster-2010.htm

[CCI]

^It had been winning till Robb posted a link for I305 on the front page.

[Intimidator305]

Help TPR help Kings Dominion! Vote for Intimidator 305as #1!

 

Much better!

[jarmor]

^I figured i'd vote for 305 in 2012 when it finally finishes its construction stage for good...lol

[CCI]

Haha.. I'm going to have to go back an ride it again aren't I.