Carowinds Discussion Thread

[Satans Hockey]

I got to ride intimidator and fury in the rain yesterday, holy hell did that hurt lol it was so much fun though. I'm pretty sure I felt the trim brakes at one point yesterday on intimdatior, maybe due to the rain?

 

Carowinds has some of the best staff I've ever seen. The crew on fury gets trains out at an incredible speed. In the entire park everyone is so pleasant and happy to be there.

[theintimidator]

I got to ride intimidator and fury in the rain yesterday, holy hell did that hurt lol it was so much fun though. I'm pretty sure I felt the trim brakes at one point yesterday on intimdatior, maybe due to the rain?

 

Carowinds has some of the best staff I've ever seen. The crew on fury gets trains out at an incredible speed. In the entire park everyone is so pleasant and happy to be there.

 

Thank you so much. It means a lot!

[SFOG1991]

I rode Intimidator Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The trims were off all three days.

 

I understand the function of trim breaks and that they engage based on the speed of the train and it varies. I have been on Goliath at SFOG when it is 37 degrees in the dead of winter and the trims didn't engage because the train was likely running slower.

 

As for Intimidator, the weather wouldn't be a factor considering it was very warm. I have been on Intimidator every year since it opened multiple times and the trims have always bitten fairly hard. This past weekend they were off and the train was moving very fast. The airtime was consistent on the hills and even kind of whipped you over the last bit of each hill in the back rows. Of course the train was entering the mid course block pretty hot and after that point the ride was a drag, but everything prior to that point was awesome.

[knaiwear]

^the park could have experienced some rollback or near-rollback conditions during testing and opted to keep the trims off for a short period to ensure the ride breaks in for the season. Or they decided to make the ride better. who knows!

[PKI Jizzman]

Looking into a visit on Friday, May 26th (the Friday of Memorial Day weekend).

 

Can anyone comment on the crowds last year? I'd do Thursday, the 25th but for some reason that's one of the two Thursdays that month it's not open.

 

Honestly, I'm only trying to ride Fury and Afterburn a bunch so I don't need to worry about the other rides.

 

 

Slightly off topic and probably a 'call the park' question....has anyone had luggage held at a park? I could avoid getting in the night before and go straight from the airport to the park, if that's possible. I doubt my duffle bag could fit in a locker..

[coneyislandchris]

Was at the park this past Saturday for my first ever visit. I have to say, I really enjoyed my entire day there! A very well kept park that's easy to get around.

 

First, Fury. Jesus. What can I say here that hasn't been said already? Absolutely amazing in every sense of the word. I did six laps on it as soon as it opened, then spent the next several hours getting everything else in before coming back around 6 PM and just doing lap after lap. Ended up with 20 rides, and although there isn't a bad seat on the train, I have to say the front row experience is like nothing else for me. Towards the end of the evening the grouper was having a hard time keeping up with the pace they were sending trains out, and I noticed many trains going out literally half-full. Then a rotation happened and they got right back up to speed. This became my new #1 favorite coaster in very short order. As much as I still love 305, after several laps that one begins to hurt -- this is just eminently rerideable. I felt like I could have spent the entire day on it.

 

With regards to Intimidator, I was worried about it being a lesser experience since I'm used to 305, but you know what? Since I apparently got lucky with the lack of trims, this ride became an unbelievable airtime monster. I frequently found myself counting "one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, five one thousand" every time I ended up out of my seat. This was a ridiculously fun B&M hyper for me. I hope it manages to stay like this for the rest of the season for all of you, because in it's current state, I'd gladly trade Nitro for this one back home.

 

Other quick thoughts and first impressions...

• Carolina Cyclone was fun, I love the old Arrows, but man, those restraints need some love given to them. Filthy and falling apart.
  
• Carolina Goldrusher had a really unique layout for a mine train -- there ended up being way more mine portion than I expected. Pretty fun!
  
• I went in with the expectation of hating Hurler due to the one at KD being one of my least favorites, but for some reason, this one didn't beat me up like KD's has in the past. It actually ended up being quite enjoyable. (Not enough to ride more than once, though.)
  
• Riding Nighthawk has cemented my opinion that Vekoma flyers are literal torture machines.
  
• Afterburn was pretty great for an invert, very forceful, but it ended up being my second favorite on the trip since I followed up with a visit to Busch Gardens the day after, and Alpengeist is unbeatable IMO.
  
• Flying Cobras went down as soon as I boarded due to a passenger getting stuck in the restraints. They managed to get it taken care of within 10 minutes and by this point most of the people that were on the train had already left, and the line had thinned out considerably. Glad to see the vest style restraints making their way to more boomerangs, definitely prefer these over the usual headbashing variety.
  
• Their drop tower was pretty forgettable. *shrug*
  
• Windseeker operations were mega slow. But hey, at least it was running.
  
• Scream Weaver was interesting -- I hadn't been on this variety of Enterprise before. Some definite dizziness out of this, probably due to the smaller overall radius and shorter cars.
  
• Vortex... ouch. It was down for a good portion of the day, and I was waiting for it to open up to get the credit. Once it opened, and I got it, I immediately regretted it. There's got to be a better way for standup coasters. After riding this one, Green Lantern at SFGAdv, and Riddler's Revenge at SFMM, I think the design of them is just inherently flawed. I can't enjoy them in the slightest, and this one was probably the worst of the batch.
  
• Food options; Chickie's & Pete's was awesome. Papa Luigi's was disgusting. I made liberal use of the Coke Freestyle machines near Fury with the disposable cup plan since they were pretty much the only place in the park to stock lemon-lime seltzer.
  
• Met a lot of people throughout the day as I frequently got grouped with others as a single rider, and the Carowinds crowds were some of the friendliest folks I've ever met in my park travels. I wish some of that southern politeness would make its way up north more frequently.

 

I don't know when I'll get a chance to come back here, it ended up being a hell of a drive to and from NYC spread across three days, but I definitely hope to be back someday, probably when the big kid gets up to 54" so he can experience Fury for himself. But I definitely hope to be back!

[thrillseeker4552]

Nice little report. I really hope I'm able to make it out to Carowinds this summer and get some use out of my Knott's Platinum Pass. I've been dying to get on Fury and Afterburn, and if Intimidator is half as good as Nitro, I'd be happy.

[Steely Dan]

[*]Vortex... ouch. It was down for a good portion of the day, and I was waiting for it to open up to get the credit. Once it opened, and I got it, I immediately regretted it. There's got to be a better way for standup coasters.

 

There is. It's more or less a foregone conclusion at this point that CF will eventually give Vortex the same floorless conversion therapy that Mantis/Rougarou at CP & Vortex/Patriot at CGA have undergone. CF is clearly on a mission to make the chain stand-up free.

 

The only question now is the when.

Edited March 29, 2017 by Steely Dan

[coasterbill]

Vortex is such an anomaly for me. I hate every other standup coaster in existence and somehow really enjoy Vortex but it's pretty much universally hated by everyone else.

[boldikus]

Nice recap Chris. Was hoping you'd post something after following your travels online. My main beef is that you take really nice pics, where are they? lol

[jynx242]

Vortex is such an anomaly for me. I hate every other standup coaster in existence and somehow really enjoy Vortex but it's pretty much universally hated by everyone else.

 

I'm kind of the same way. I don't hate Vortex and actually kind of like Scorcher.

 

The big ones are cool to watch, but I don't particularly enjoy them.

[SFOG1991]

I enjoy the first half of Vortex, but find the corkscrew to be pretty rough and the remaining layout after that to be bland. I still enjoy it though.

 

Scorcher is an awesome coaster, and I actually think it is in it's best state as a stand up. Floorless wouldn't be as exciting during the airtime moments.

 

Let's not even talk about how awful Green Lantern is.

[CaptainUnknown]

Vortex is such an anomaly for me. I hate every other standup coaster in existence and somehow really enjoy Vortex but it's pretty much universally hated by everyone else.

 

You also held the patent for the best way to ride Mean Streak. So I don't know whether or not to trust your opinion here. What's your secret? Does it work on other stand ups?

[coasterbill]

I don't have a trick, with standups I think it's just all about body type / height.

 

But for the record, everyone who tried that Mean Streak trick admitted that it worked to make the ride smoother.

[bigcwd2000]

-- this is just eminently rerideable. I felt like I could have spent the entire day on it.

 

First, I enjoyed your report. Second, I feel the exact same way you do about Fury 325. What a freaking fun ride. I can't wait until my next visit to Carowinds sometime this season.

[jonskinny12]

I've ridden four B&M standups and Riddler's is the only one I've ever actually enjoyed (others were Green Lantern, Mantis, and Vortex at CGA). Debating whether or not I even want to try Vortex at Carowinds when I visit in June. I've never been there before and I'm only there for one day so with Fury and Afterburn in the same park, I struggle to find a reason to even step on Vortex...

[Card]

I've ridden four B&M standups and Riddler's is the only one I've ever actually enjoyed (others were Green Lantern, Mantis, and Vortex at CGA). Debating whether or not I even want to try Vortex at Carowinds when I visit in June. I've never been there before and I'm only there for one day so with Fury and Afterburn in the same park, I struggle to find a reason to even step on Vortex...

My advice? Hard pass. Vortex is short, uncomfortable, makes you wait an eternity on the final brakes, and the only reason people scream on it is because their nether regions are being destroyed.

 

Getting on Vortex takes away valuable time you could spend reriding Fury, Afterburn, Intimidator, or something good. I rode it once, loathed it, then never even set foot near it again. Thanks to my future Vortex shunning, I was able to set a new personal best of 14 rides on Fury in one day. I regret nothing*.

 

*Well... okay, I suppose I regret riding that stupid, horrible thing in the first place.

[Ape]

*shrugs shoulders* I liked Vortex....

[CoasterDirected]

The only standup I've been on was Georgia Scorcher and I really liked it for what it was. It had a short line, some cool and snappy transitions, and wasn't too forceful on the legs. There was a breakdown while we were on the brake run and I didn't have the restraint in the best position so I either had to awkwardly squat or crush my man region for about 10-15 minutes.

 

I thought that Acrophobia was worse on the region than Scorcher. (it was still awesome)

I'd be perfectly fine at least trying Vortex if I have the time between the big three and Nighthawk

[XSupremacy]

If you want a "trick" for stand up coasters, slightly bend your knees until they lock the seats in place, and then fully lengthen your legs. It gives you a gap between the base and your privates

[thrillseeker4552]

If you want a "trick" for stand up coasters, slightly bend your knees until they lock the seats in place, and then fully lengthen your legs. It gives you a gap between the base and your privates

 

Listen to this guy! I do this on Riddler all the time and it makes the ride way more tolerable. Gotta make sure you're completely standing up to avoid any issues...

[coneyislandchris]

Nice recap Chris. Was hoping you'd post something after following your travels online. My main beef is that you take really nice pics, where are they? lol

So, yeah. When I wrote this report, I was doing it on my work computer during my lunch break, and I hadn't synced up all my photos yet. I finally bit the bullet and installed Google Photos so I can have them synced to the cloud and free up some space on my phone, and now they're ready to go. I haven't been taking as many lately, mainly because I want to spend as much time riding as I possibly can (especially at parks like this where I don't know the next time I'll be back).

 

That being said, here's some of what I got during that day.

 

Greeted with this skyline waiting for the main gate to the parking lot to open. Seeing these massive coasters tower over the highway on the drive down is completely awe-inspiring.

OMG, that lift hill. OMG OMG, that DROP!

Whose bright idea was it to put the smoking section directly next to this highly flammable pile of matchsticks and kindling?

Disposable cup plan + freestyle machine with lemon-lime seltzer + 2 minute walk from Fury's exit = one happy and hydrated Chris.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for Arrow corkscrews, especially when they interact with the midway like this.

Obligatory vintage car shot. <3

Obligatory vintage rusty tractor shot.

Flying Cobras may be the only coaster I've ever seen where you get to gaze lovingly at a picture of a doggo throughout your ride.

The fact that the state border runs directly through the middle of the park is pretty awesome IMO, though it raises some questions. Are they licensed in both states or do they only pay taxes in one? Seems like a logistics nightmare.

Oh yeah I forgot to talk about the family invert. I tried this one at Kings Island and quite enjoyed it. The line moved slow as molasses, though, especially when they were sending out many trains with empty seats or even rows.

This used to be Top Gun, right? Between this jet fighter and the "TG" letters still on the outside of the building, they haven't really made much of an attempt to disguise it.

Looks are about the only thing this coaster has going for it.

b ( ͡ಸ ‿ ಸ )

More coasters need awesome lighting packages like this!

Even looks great from far away, with the lift hill, ride sign, and station house. Really impressive!

My phone is not fast enough to capture the train mid-motion at the end of the night; all I got was this blur. Poor Intimidator in the background looking dwarfed by the turnaround.

[PKI Jizzman]

It. Is. HAPPENING.

 

I'll be visiting the park for the first time since we called the coasters "BORG" and "Top Gun".

 

Any recommendations on hotels close to the park?

 

Excited to finally ride Fury after flying over it 48 effing times.

[Card]

So, yeah. When I wrote this report, I was doing it on my work computer during my lunch break, and I hadn't synced up all my photos yet. I finally bit the bullet and installed Google Photos so I can have them synced to the cloud and free up some space on my phone, and now they're ready to go. I haven't been taking as many lately, mainly because I want to spend as much time riding as I possibly can (especially at parks like this where I don't know the next time I'll be back).

 

That being said, here's some of what I got during that day.

Dang, there's some pretty spiffy stuff here. Your composition, in particular, is really good. Also, I really like your last picture. In fact, when I take night shots, I often go for the long-exposure blurred train thing.

 

It. Is. HAPPENING.

 

I'll be visiting the park for the first time since we called the coasters "BORG" and "Top Gun".

 

Any recommendations on hotels close to the park?

 

Excited to finally ride Fury after flying over it 48 effing times.

Well, if you're on a budget, I might not be the best person for this, seeing as I've worked in the hotel industry before and usually willing to pay a little more for a place that's nice, but I stayed at two places down there last year and really liked both of them.

 

The first was the Best Western Plus Sterling Hotel & Suites, and the second was the Hampton Inn just off of Arrowood Road. Not sure what the rates are, but if I had to go one way or the other, the Hampton Inn is closer and getting to and from the park is a bit easier, it was also a bit better furnished, and also had a better breakfast buffet. They both have waffle makers, though, which is the important thing. Nothing like trying to kill yourself with a cup or two of freshly ironed waffle batter smothered in syrup to kick off a day of walking in a miasma of oppressive heat and tourist BO.

 

Seriously though, both are nice, quiet, well put-together places that you can't go wrong with.

[PKI Jizzman]

So, yeah. When I wrote this report, I was doing it on my work computer during my lunch break, and I hadn't synced up all my photos yet. I finally bit the bullet and installed Google Photos so I can have them synced to the cloud and free up some space on my phone, and now they're ready to go. I haven't been taking as many lately, mainly because I want to spend as much time riding as I possibly can (especially at parks like this where I don't know the next time I'll be back).

 

That being said, here's some of what I got during that day.

Dang, there's some pretty spiffy stuff here. Your composition, in particular, is really good. Also, I really like your last picture. In fact, when I take night shots, I often go for the long-exposure blurred train thing.

 

It. Is. HAPPENING.

 

I'll be visiting the park for the first time since we called the coasters "BORG" and "Top Gun".

 

Any recommendations on hotels close to the park?

 

Excited to finally ride Fury after flying over it 48 effing times.

Well, if you're on a budget, I might not be the best person for this, seeing as I've worked in the hotel industry before and usually willing to pay a little more for a place that's nice, but I stayed at two places down there last year and really liked both of them.

 

The first was the Best Western Plus Sterling Hotel & Suites, and the second was the Hampton Inn just off of Arrowood Road. Not sure what the rates are, but if I had to go one way or the other, the Hampton Inn is closer and getting to and from the park is a bit easier, it was also a bit better furnished, and also had a better breakfast buffet. They both have waffle makers, though, which is the important thing. Nothing like trying to kill yourself with a cup or two of freshly ironed waffle batter smothered in syrup to kick off a day of walking in a miasma of oppressive heat and tourist BO.

 

Seriously though, both are nice, quiet, well put-together places that you can't go wrong with.

 

Thank you! Budget is not an issue. I'll check 'em out.