Carowinds Discussion Thread

[The Geek Mojo]

I think Winterfest works perfectly for me. I'm a huge Carolina Panthers fan. So, Carowinds on Saturday and Panthers on Sunday...Football season just got better!

[SFOG1991]

Yeah, I'm kind of curious myself what will happen to the Yo-Yo ride now. It looks pretty lame compared to the Zephyr...They definitely should just take it down and put something there in its place. And as far as the Winterfest announcement, how do we know that they won't run the rides? Sometimes the weather in the Carolinas can be pretty warm in November and December. Surely they'll run some of the coasters. I don't expect they'll run them all but basically do what SFOG does and just run a limited amount of rides during the event. SFOG basically shuts down the whole back side of the park during HITP.

So far SFOG has included every major coaster except for Ninja and Great American Scream Machine (although I think they stopped offering Superman last year). The park president said the entire park would be included but those few attractions still aren't. I hope they end up utilizing the entire park in the future because it is usually busy and Lickskillet would look awesome in lights.

 

I have a feeling Carowinds will make their offering very limited but hopefully it'll include most of the major rides. They better turn off the trims on Intrimidator or else we might see that thing valley.

 

Fury in extremely cold temperatures would be awesome!

[coasterbill]

I think it's a safe bet that they'll end up including Ninja with the re-theme too. With Dollywood and SFOG running virtually every coaster I hope Carowinds runs some of them too.

[jarmor]

It seems all the original county fair rides are staying put . . .

[Geauga Dog]

Love this whole new County Fair area as, IIRC, this was one of the deadest areas of the park as far as attractions go. My thinking is the current County Fair back by Afterburn will eventually be integrated into Carolina Harbor.

[Apollo von Sol]

God... What I would give to have a Top Scan at my homepark. Hell I'll trade Carowinds a new coaster for one. They are my favorite flats and I could ride it all day long. I would get a season pass just to ride the Top Scan. You guys have no idea what a fun you are in for!

[BotanicalStig]

This is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. And it's awesome. This area desperately needed some beautifying. The new flats will add so much to do. I'll probably attend winter fest at least once next year. I hope they can keep the rides open, but it's not really worth crying over.

[pproteinc]

Im pretty confident that most rides and coaster will be going. These days its like 70 degrees until January. lol I love this new area its looks to be very vibrant and energetic with all the decor and lights. I dont care for the Cobra's new name, they could have just left it the same IMO.

[carolinaman]

I was told today at the park that they will be working on improvements to the landscaping. They said that they know there is a big need for more shade.

[canobiefanatic]

Visited the park today! Thanks to everyone who responded about my assigned seating question. They actually assigned me to the front row multiple times because there were no crowds but it's still good in every row. Here is my trip report.

 

Where to begin holy heck this park is amazing. Probably my favorite park I've ever visited mainly for one thing. The staff. The workers here were the friendliest, most efficient, most lenient of any park I have ever been to. But I'll dedicate a paragraph later to that.

 

Crowds: What crowds lol everything including fury was a walk on all day. There was an hour of delay for rain when all the rides were closed but that's ok because I still got so many rides.

 

Food: Dippin dots and Pulled pork sandwich at harmony hall. The food here was some of the best I've had at any park and the nice people serving at the bbq station at harmony hall were fantastic! (praising the staff again lol) Prices were high, but what can you expect, a better price than Six Flags. Overall probably tied with canobie and bgw for food.

 

Staff: Easily the best staff at any park I've ever encountered, even Disney and Universal. The first thing that struck me was the friendliness of everyone. When I walked in I was greeted by a bunch of very enthusiastic people dancing around to the Carolina themed music and saying hello. They were very efficient too, dispatches were so fast. And Fury had no line all day, still running 3 trains. Shits all over Six "One train" Flags. Like I was just walking down the midway and a team member asked me if I needed help with anything. At canobie we are supposed to answer but we never really go out of our way to ask so that was great. Also a few people just waved at me walking down, never happened at Six Flags. One op at intimidator was saying the spiels so well you'd assume they were prerecorded. Also, lots of European staff on the rides and they were all great. Furys team was also fantastic. But really words alone can't explain how great the staff is here. The main reason why this is my new favorite park.

 

I was in the park 10-7:30

Ride Count (no fast lane believe it or not)

Fury: 15x

Intimidator: 5x

Afterburn: 3x

Drop Tower, Nighthawk, Whitewater Falls, Carolina Cobra, Carolina Cyclone, Carolina Goldrusher, Hurler, Ricochet, Scream weaver, Southern Star, Vortex, Wind seeker, Yoyo, Sky tower, Boo blasters, Plants v zombies, dodgem: 1x all

 

Coaster Reviews:

Ricochet: your better than average wild mouse, nothing special nonetheless 3/10

 

Hurler: A fun woodie with some nice airtime, a little rough but nothing bad 5/10

 

Carolina Cobra: The best (second) boomerang I've been on, vest restraints eliminate headbanging but for a broad shouldered person like me they hurt a bit 5/10

 

Carolina Cyclone: Unexpectedly very fun, awkward tight trains but no headbanging, very forceful loops. 6/10

 

Carolina Goldrusher: Small fun ride 5/10

 

Vortex: I'm in the minority but I love a good stand up. This one was very smooth until the corkscrew but still pretty fun. 6/10

 

Nighthawk: Closed at the beginning of the day but later opened. Really strange ride experience but I liked it. It was all right but a bit rough. Not as good as B&M flyers, but more forceful. 6/10

 

Afterburn: Probably my favorite invert. Forceful all around, the dive loop probably the most forceful element I've ever encountered on a ride. 7/10

 

Intimidator: This is a really fun ride depending on where you sit. Front row provides some good air and speed, but if you want those traditional B&M airtime camelbacks, ride middle. Even with trims, you are out of your seat for all of those hills. Pretty forceful first drop and 1st turn. 8/10

 

Fury 325: Holy heck this is everything I loved about leviathan and more. I usually grey out on first drops but this is the first time I have actually blacked out. I could not see for a second at all. This has actual ejector hills, sustained. These airtime hills are what Superman should be. The first drop is amazing. If you're in the front you just feel like floating for a good 5 seconds and if you're in the back you're floating and for a split second it whips you out of your seat. But both are great. The fronts speed absolutely hits you and it is magical. The bottom of the drop is probably the most force I've ever experienced. The banked turn is also very forceful. The S curves actually whip you, giving slight airtime, and the treble turnaround gives you sideways airtime which is kind of unique and indescribable. The airtime hills are short but they each give about 3 seconds of sustained ejector. In each seat. Every seat in this ride is the best. I slightly prefer front but they're all great. One more I do have is that if you're not in the first 2-3 rows the train rattles but who gives a poop it's the best ride in the world. The crew was also fantastic. So fast and for the most part they accommodated seat requests. At the most dead points they just didn't assign at all and let people ride twice in a row if the row in the line was empty. Two crew members stood out though, Both had European accents. Ones name I never saw but he was balding and had either a Spanish or french accent. He let people go to the front row when a grouper and as an attendant he had the mic and was so enthusiastic it was great. Another one was Merlin (or something similar to that). As the line attendant he was great and I saw him a bunch of times and I was even waiting for the rain to end in the gift shop and he walked past and said "How's it going" and that just shows how great Carowinds staff is. Fury 325 is my new #1 10/10

[defrocker]

That's the thing with Fury. It keeps getting hyped up for new riders, but it keeps exceeding those expectations. It's that good. Really glad you had a good time and got in all the rides you wanted. I agree that it's a great park that kinda combines that big "corporate park" with a smaller park atmosphere.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

Yeah, I was actually pretty impressed and surprised by the landscaping and atmosphere! And the operations are really good, too. Afterburn alone is enough of a reason to travel a long way to the park, and Fury is even better, so people definitely have to go here.

[SFOG1991]

God... What I would give to have a Top Scan at my homepark. Hell I'll trade Carowinds a new coaster for one. They are my favorite flats and I could ride it all day long. I would get a season pass just to ride the Top Scan. You guys have no idea what a fun you are in for!

This is SO true! I have had no interest in going back to Carowinds this year but I will be all over it next year just because of the top scan.

 

I rode the same model at a large fair here in Georgia and it was mind blowing. We marathoned it for two hours and got so disoriented we had to stop. It's such an intense ride!

[SFOG1991]

I was told today at the park that they will be working on improvements to the landscaping. They said that they know there is a big need for more shade.

Cedar Fair parks drive me crazy with this... they removed so many trees from Carowinds and now they are like "oh.. we have no shade.. we need trees"

 

Any trees planted will be a welcome addition though.

[CaptainUnknown]

I was told today at the park that they will be working on improvements to the landscaping. They said that they know there is a big need for more shade.

Cedar Fair parks drive me crazy with this... they removed so many trees from Carowinds and now they are like "oh.. we have no shade.. we need trees"

 

Any trees planted will be a welcome addition though.

 

Cedar Fair is more likely to plant a garbage can than a tree.

[jarmor]

You all have to realize it's a new cedar fair. The old cedar fair cut down virtually any tree hiding a ride. The new cedar fair is against that. I mean look at mystic timbers.

[Gary Latin]

When does Carowinds open next year?

[coasterbill]

Most likely the last or second to last weekend in March.

[defrocker]

This is a painful question, but my in-laws expressed interest in going to the park this Saturday (yes, Labor Day weekend.) Anyone have any experience with the crowds on the holiday weekend? I'm not looking forward to the crowd we may be facing.

[CedarFanboy]

Park closed today due to the storm, and will open back up tomorrow. Tickets for today can be used for any single operating day through Sunday, September 11th.

[theintimidator]

This is a painful question, but my in-laws expressed interest in going to the park this Saturday (yes, Labor Day weekend.) Anyone have any experience with the crowds on the holiday weekend? I'm not looking forward to the crowd we may be facing.

 

 

Crowds were light today! Hopefully the remainder of the weekend has light crowds too.

[tripleup05]

This is a painful question, but my in-laws expressed interest in going to the park this Saturday (yes, Labor Day weekend.) Anyone have any experience with the crowds on the holiday weekend? I'm not looking forward to the crowd we may be facing.

 

 

Crowds were light today! Hopefully the remainder of the weekend has light crowds too.

 

I couldn't believe how light the crowds were yesterday! Everything was a practically walk-on all day, aside from Nighthawk and the water slides. As someone who hasn't been to any park other than Six Flags over Ga and Disney World in 15 years, the light crowds were shocking.

 

So I consider myself a thrill seeker. If they build it, I'll ride it. However, the Storm Surge body slides were almost too intense for me. I'm embarrassed to admit that...but dang those things felt fast!

[marth555]

If I buy Fast Lane on a Saturday during the day could I use it the whole time the park is open or just until Scarowinds starts?

[coasterbill]

If I buy Fast Lane on a Saturday during the day could I use it the whole time the park is open or just until Scarowinds starts?

 

I don't know but you probably won't need it during the day anyway. Everything will probably be a walk-on.

[prozach626]

If I buy Fast Lane on a Saturday during the day could I use it the whole time the park is open or just until Scarowinds starts?

I'm just echoing what other people have told me, but I think if you buy a fast lane during the day you can NOT use it at night. You have to buy a separate band at night. I plan on visiting without it during the day and having prepurchased a fast lane plus for Scarowinds at night. Again, from what others have told me, the fast lane won't be necessary during the day.