Carowinds Discussion Thread

[VF15]

After seeing that POV, I’m a lot more excited to ride it in about two months. I doubt it’s going to top Fury but it’s looking to be a fantastic ride in its own right.

[thrillrider]

Freak accident at the park yesterday, as a maintenance worker lost his hand while inspecting wind seeker.

Worker's hand severed during ride inspection. I pray for this man, and hope he can recover from this.

 

[March 6, 2019] A contractor at the Carowinds theme park in Charlotte, N.C. was rushed to the hospital after severing his hand while inspecting a thrill ride ahead of the park’s reopening on March 23. At around 9:15am, the maintenance contractor, was checking a cable pulley inside the 'Windseeker' ride tower. Caleb Bryan was working at the base of the ride when he heard screaming and looked up to hear "my hand's cut off - it's bleeding everywhere, I'm scared, I need help real bad!’" A Carowinds official says the man was inspecting the Windseeker, a 301-foot-tall chair swing - the second tallest attraction at the park. “He had his hand on the pulley or something and the ride somehow got tripped and started pulling up and it caught his hand and it pulled it off or cut it off,” Bryan said. “He just kept saying ‘someone please hurry. I’m bleeding out.’”

 

Bryan says the worker was alone at the top of the ride. He was trapped for more than five minutes with his wound wrapped in a rag. “He was so high up, I think he started freaking out. I'm just glad he didn't pass out and bleed out.” Officials added that the contractor was rushed to the Carolinas Medical Center after being lowered to the ground.

 

Carowinds straddles the border of North and South Carolina. This ride is on the South Carolina side. The state agency that will inspect it before the park re-opens in a little over two weeks, saying: "This is a worker safety issue not a rider safety issue. The riding public would not be exposed to whatever hazard caused the worker to sustain a hand injury today. The ride passed inspection a year ago and the OSHA is on site investigating any violations that may have caused this incident. A report could take up to two months.

 

Story is from Amusement ride Accidents.

 

Link to the story on Facebook...

[RCjunkie]

Lots of good 'twistyness' in that track. Yummy!

[FSUFanChris]

Carowinds worker (actually, a 3rd party contractor) severed his hand this morning working on WindSeeker.

 

https://www.wral.com/reports-worker-hurt-at-carowinds-in-charlotte/18238748/

 

 

 

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/worker-seriously-hurt-working-above-ground-at-carowinds-officials-say/927969317

 

https://www.wyff4.com/article/rescue-crews-respond-to-a-musement-park-after-construction-worker-injured-fire-official-says/26719008

 

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article227173114.html

 

https://patch.com/north-carolina/charlotte/carowinds-worker-seriously-injured-amusement-park-report

It's now being reported that his hand got stuck in a pulley.

[prozach626]

Am I being insensitive by wondering why there is so much media coverage on this? A firefighter died in our neighboring town during a structure fire, two days ago. There was far less coverage in the St. Louis area. I get that it happened at a theme park, but it must be a slow time for news.

[RCTycoonClassic]

Never been to Carowinds and going on opening day from Chicago. Cant wait. CopperHead Strike looks amazing. Thank goodness the post was deleted that posted the official release of the POV and a moderator could post it. So much better, and so much more excited because of it.

[JG-77]

Am I being insensitive by wondering why there is so much media coverage on this? A firefighter died in our neighboring town during a structure fire, two days ago. There was far less coverage in the St. Louis area. I get that it happened at a theme park, but it must be a slow time for news.

This is probably because this sort of a accident is quite a bit more rare than things like firefighter deaths, or at least most people are less used to hearing about this type of accident. While this is nowhere near as tragic as a firefighter death (not that this incident isn't awful in its own right), the media likes to report on what they believe the public sees as more uncommon, shocking, theatrical, and/or interesting.

 

This I believe is the same reason that every tiny aviation incident gets over sensationalized while car accidents (which pose far more of an actual threat to safety) often get little more attention than what is needed for the traffic report.

[prozach626]

Yes. I understand how the media works. I was just trying to express that this seems even more ridiculously covered than normal. It's an injured hand.

 

Also just FYI... Firefighter deaths aren't really common.

[hoppedup]

Copperhead Strike IPA: https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/03/08/carowinds-popular-charlotte-brewery-collaborate-on.html

 

I personally think Sycamore's IPAs are all too malty for my taste, but this is a pretty cool tie-in. It will be on-tap at Carowinds.

[PKI Jizzman]

Copperhead Strike IPA: https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/03/08/carowinds-popular-charlotte-brewery-collaborate-on.html

 

I personally think Sycamore's IPAs are all too malty for my taste, but this is a pretty cool tie-in. It will be on-tap at Carowinds.

 

Cedar Fair does a great job on picking the breweries they work with. I'm a fan of all the collabs they have put out.

[grsupercity]

So I live 40 minutes outside the beer capital of the world Grand Rapids. I have tasted lots and lots of craft beers. Cabarrus Brewing company in Concord outside of Charlotte holds its own with them. They would of had my vote

[coasterbill]

the beer capital of the world Grand Rapids.

 

Okay... you're going to have to walk me through this.

[grsupercity]

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-att-us&source=android-browser&q=grand+rapids+beer+city

 

The city is self proclaimed beer city. I know Milwaukee is really the real brew town

[prozach626]

Six Flags St. Louis is the self proclaimed Coaster Capital of Missouri.

 

Titles are everything.

[jlp94]

The Alpine Coaster at Glenwood Caverns is proclaimed as a Top 10 Coaster. So yes, titles are everything.

[operative_me]

I admittedly laughed too much at this. My girlfriend is a bartender and sent me this text earlier today.

[CarolinaJay]

I admittedly laughed too much at this. My girlfriend is a bartender and sent me this text earlier today.

 

I have so many questions

[jarmor]

Technically it did but it re-opens in a week or so

[Kw6sTheatee]

I am ready for Passholder Preview night to ride Copperhead Strike! The next day, I will be over at Busch Gardens Williamsburg for Coasting for Kids.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

I admittedly laughed too much at this. My girlfriend is a bartender and sent me this text earlier today.

Sorry to tell you, she's not the one.

 

Bummer about the worker who lost his hand. It didn't really say if they retrieved the hand and I have no medical expertise so I have no idea if they'd be able to reattach it after that or not,

 

Also, that Copperhead Strike POV is amazing! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait until I can get a chance to ride it. Looks like fun and I have no idea who would think it doesn't.

[jarmor]

Season Passholder night has been officially ANNOUNCED and one thing that stands out to me is . . .

To make the night even sweeter, we'll be offering each attendee one $9.99 Bring-A-Friend coupon- valid any single day from March 23 - May 19, 2019*(while supplies last). Trust us; you’ll be a favorite among your friends!

 

So, if any of you are Season pass holders and were on the fence about heading to Season Passholder Preview, I think that's incentive enough.

[dadofgage]

Has anyone visited the park on Easter weekend in the past? If so, how were the crowds?

 

Also, has anyone had experience staying at Comfort Inn At the Park? Good/bad?

[VF15]

Also, has anyone had experience staying at Comfort Inn At the Park? Good/bad?

I stayed at the Comfort Inn three years ago and it was good overall. Nothing fancy but room was comfortable, it has free breakfast, and it's within walking distance of the park if necessary.

[Canobie Coaster]

I stayed at the Best Western across the street and thought the hotel was nice, but it wasn't safe to walk to the park. The park is basically across a highway and there isn't a crosswalk.

 

The Comfort Inn is the one hotel I remember being on the same side as the park so if you plan to walk to the park, that is the best option by far.

[coasterbill]

You should all know by now that if you mention a Choice Hotel I magically appear. I'm like the point-whoring fairy.

 

Here's the thing, there's no such thing as a bad Comfort Inn. It's at the point where I barely even bother to read reviews of Comfort Inn or Comfort Suites because they're all good. Don't expect the Ritz Carlton but expect a clean, nice hotel with a decent free breakfast and a good price.

 

PS: If you're staying two nights and you have a car then sign up for this promotion and hop to this hotel on the second night. Doing this will net you 8000 points which is enough for a free stay at many Choice Hotels that you can use in the future (assuming you book through Choice which you should).