Carowinds Discussion Thread

[The username]

A point of contention, gold rusher has station gates right? I don't remember them not having them when I was there in 2019.

[tndank]

Yes. Youtube vids will confirm.

 

[Skysthelimit]

We are currently staying at the Carowinds campground and noticed Nighthawk testing earlier today. Not sure if anyone cares too much or if it means anything, but thought I’d share. I only saw one cycle as it was dropping off the lift. 

[tndank]

They have been testing it off and on the last couple weeks.  It's bound to open sometime soon.

 

[Skysthelimit]

14 hours ago, tndank said:

They have been testing it off and on the last couple weeks.  It's bound to open sometime soon.

 

Ah, gotcha - sorry I didn’t realize that. 
 

On an unrelated note, tomorrow looks cold (at least compared to FL standards) and I’m trying to figure out the loose article situation. Does anyone know if Fury allows Fanny packs? The website seems to imply it does, but part of me feels that IROC took away that privilege from park guests and I’m going to be directed to a locker after a 30 second visual scan. 

thanks!

[Skysthelimit]

We had a great time at both Carowinds during the day and Scarowinds in the evening on Saturday 10/1! It was our first time at their campground with our RV and we were both wildly impressed. The transportation was quick and easy. The shuttle bus allowed us to come and go as we pleased to the park (well, during the day at least.) Here are a few pictures and thoughts to share:

- We rode Copperhead Strike opening year and I thought it was a solid B+. Not sure if it’s running any different or if it took a few extra rides to process, but we just loved it! It was a walk on during the day and probably a 30-40 minute wait with 2 trains running (3rd in the transfer bay). The launch felt like it had a bit more kick than usual for Mack and any animated theming elements seems to have held up. 
- Iron Gwazi and Steel Vengeance still trump Fury for me, as they have a bit more bite to them, but the blistering speed, length, and all the things people love about Fury still hold up years later. I was impressed they were running 3 trains on both this and intimidator even though during daytime hours there had to have been less than 1500 people in the park. I will say that after experiencing Orion, that coaster has significantly more kinetic energy and atmosphere with the Imascore soundtrack (I’m a sucker for those) and the general area theming. Still a testament to how perfect of a ride Fury is. 
- Intimidator has always been a middle of the road hyper for me. It was running really smooth and I never quite appreciated the first turnaround the way I did this trip. Super cool sensation that’s different than Mako down the road from us. The layout is a little bland and the theming a tad difficult for me to get excited about, but a great coaster that also dominates the skyline.  
- I rode Top Gun in 1999 and it was fantastic and the ride really hasn’t changed much since then. The station and queue seems abit haggard, but the ride itself looks and feels perfectly maintained. For a compact layout, I really prefer this to the Batman clones. The trench dive gives a respectable nod to Montu which is appreciated. 
- We quit drinking 9 months ago which has freed up extra money during our park visits so decided to splurge on a VIP bungalow after having a great experience at KI. This was even better, as it was private and even had a TV. In my advanced years it’s been good to take a breather between rides and we really enjoyed it. Definitely worth the $79. 
- I always enjoy riding our old favorites like Goldrush , Carolina Cyclone, and even Hurler. We had a zen ride (is it called that if it’s just two of you? Might be a stretch…) where I took someone’s recent advice to ride front middle. It was AWESOME - I worked Mantis briefly during college and this really didn’t feel any more uncomfortable. I’ve had some brutal rides in the past. We came back and did it again and had another great ride. 
- For Scarowinds, we enjoyed ourself because we budgeted in Fast and Frightlane (worth every penny, as always), but frankly the event felt very low budget and light on decor. Thankfully it was included in our platinum pass. The park was packed but not as busy as I expected for a Saturday. Paranormal Inc. was the standout house with a really cool pre show. My second favorite was Depths of Darkness, with the premise that you are in the mind of a serial killer. I’m a sucker for well done fogging, lighting and sound and I thought this was great - just skimping on the actors. Very likely because we walked in shortly before close.

Overall, Carowinds was a wonderful time as always and the park is just so comfortable and easy to navigate. There were some IROC certified trainers at the coasters that seemed to be smothering and terrifying their trainees and slowed dispatches to a crawl, but who am I to judge. 
 

As much as I love to visit parks that are inherently more charming than Carowinds, such as Kennywood, Waldameer, Hershey Canobie and Lake Compounce, I love knowing that I can go to most CF parks and the rides are running at or near capacity. I know CP can be a crapshoot these days, but my visits to Carowinds and KI rarely is there ride downtime and I don’t think I’ve ever seen single train ops. Taking a weekend to fly to Pittsburgh to get a credit only to show up knowing there is a 50/50 shot of Steel Curtain running one train, with that similar foolishness going on over at Phantom/Thunderbolt too, I’ve found myself avoiding those parks because we just don’t have the patience. Just a personal preference and not trying to be b*tchy. 
 

As a huge Afterburn fans, we’re really looking forward to Aeronautica Landing livening up that section of the park. The area is already fenced on off so hopefully they can get a good head start. 

On Monday, we did make a stop at Lake Shawnee Amusement Park for a tour, which was fantastic. I think most on this forum have heard of it, but the site has been featured on Travel Channel/Ghost Hunter shows. I have never had a paranormal experience in my life, but we actually experienced some activity on the swing ride where a small bag was spinning/swaying fairly violently as our three dogs approached. It was not windy and the other items hanging from the swings weren’t moving - spooky. The guide said the little girl who passed away when the ride was hit by a delivery truck during operations was likely excited by the dogs. The guide seemed relatively unphases and continued his spiel. I can’t say we felt the same level of ease/calm, but super cool. I don’t have a video but my mom is my witness as she saw it on FaceTime. 

Anyways, here’s a few pictures to share! Next stop, Dollywood today and tomorrow. 
 

 

 

Quick photo op before opening!

Empty station at Vortex. I’ve always had a soft spot for this one. 

It’s still got that whip, especially row 8 right side.

Fury as it’s about to start it’s morning tests

Money well spent! Enjoyed hanging out here and the ambiance of a Boomerang really made the experience

Obligatory PSL post. 

I don’t have a great picture of the swings, but here is the Ferris Wheel at Lake Shawnee located in close proximity. 

After our tour, we were allowed to walk through their haunted attraction which was pretty cool. Highly recommend if you are off the beaten path! 

Quick last shot on the outskirts of the campground. 

 

[VF15]

Carowinds officially going year-round in 2023.

https://www.qcnews.com/news/local-news/carowinds-to-be-open-year-round-starting-in-2023/

[coasterbill]

Six Flags and Cedar Fair just entirely switched places over the course of one year.

It's so weird.

[prozach626]

My concern is that Cedar Fair will become the lower quality budget park and Six Flags will try to be the more premium park, while doing it the Six Flags way.

[Hilltopper39]

There have been several years in the past when we've looked at a trip to Carowinds over Spring Break but our spring break was always a few weeks before they opened for the season. Will be nice to have that option available now. 

[jarmor]

Technically the park has been toying with this for several years now.  going from being closed between scarowinds and winterfest to having the peanuts celebration covering that time period.  Now they will probably have some festival that will cover weekends from jan to feb.

[teacherkim]

On 10/18/2022 at 9:51 AM, jarmor said:

Technically the park has been toying with this for several years now.  going from being closed between scarowinds and winterfest to having the peanuts celebration covering that time period.  Now they will probably have some festival that will cover weekends from jan to feb.

Maybe Mardi Gras/Carnival? This year Fat Tuesday is Feb 21 (but I could see the parks stretch it until Easter in early April) or do MG Jan and Feb and some sort of Spring break thing in March. 

[VF15]

Fury 325, Carolina Cyclone, Flying Cobras, and Nighthawk have been added to the Winterfest ride lineup for 2022.

https://www.carowinds.com/events/winterfest/attractions

[hoppedup]

37 minutes ago, VF15 said:

Fury 325, Carolina Cyclone, Flying Cobras, and Nighthawk have been added to the Winterfest ride lineup for 2022.

https://www.carowinds.com/events/winterfest/attractions

That is great news. I've been waiting for Fury to be added. I might just have to return to Winterfest this year.

[coasterbill]

Incredible news! Hey Carowinds if you need help hauling the world's-most-hated Christmas decoration to the dump, let me know.

[BitterOldHag]

That's a pretty decent lineup of rides for WinterFest.  Really the only one I am sad about not being on the list is Intimidator, but considering Copperhead Strike, Peanuts Pirates, Fury and Nighthawk (I know. but I need the credit!) are on the list, I may have to give it a look this year. 

[grsupercity]

On 10/24/2022 at 12:46 PM, BitterOldHag said:

That's a pretty decent lineup of rides for WinterFest.  Really the only one I am sad about not being on the list is Intimidator, but considering Copperhead Strike, Peanuts Pirates, Fury and Nighthawk (I know. but I need the credit!) are on the list, I may have to give it a look this year. 

Don't let the haters get you. Nighthawk is a great ride. Better then the superman flyers. That loop while on your back is one of the most unique feelings on a ride 

[liamre4]

I went to Carowinds for the first time yesterday. I had a good time, despite slow ops. The Winterfest theming was beautiful, although it was jarring jumping straight into Christmas mode one day after thanksgiving, lol.

Here's what I rode:

Fury 325 x2
Copperhead Strike x1
Afterburn x1
Wilderness Run x1
Nighthawk x1

Fury, Afterburn, and Nighthawk were all running one train. Nighthawk in particular had very sluggish dispatches, so we waited about an hour in line for that. Copperhead Strike was running two trains and operations there were quite fast. Carolina Cyclone was down the whole time, and Copperhead Strike went down at about 7, so I only got to ride it once.

Fury was amazing, tons of airtime. All in all, a super fun ride. Hot take: Goliath at SFOG is still a better B&M hyper

A pretty good first visit with two rides on one of the best rollercoasters in the world. Can't wait to go back soon!

 

[coasterbill]

We nicknamed the dude working at Afterburn Bubba because he looks more like a Bubba than anyone who has ever looked like a Bubba.

Operations were awful last weekend too because he was busy cleaning the floor by sweeping tons of water on to the previously-dry exit stairs to make them super slippery for no reason. Then they would eventually get his attention and he would come over and check the train... slowly. I'm also pretty sure that he picked the station playlist.

Anyway, I'm glad you had fun. We went last weekend which was technically before Winterfest, but the only extras we got were a longer operating day and Goldrusher and Drop Tower were open.

The park wasn't packed, but Fastlane was a must because of one train on Fury. Thankfully it was only about 50 bucks. I'm just happy that Fury was open, beggars can't be choosers. Year-round ops is going to go great for them and I love to see them busy.

This ride is perfect...

[coasterbill]

So Carowinds has apparently just been crushing it since they decided to actually open things for Winterfest. Here are some photos from the weekend courtesy of a park Facebook group.

Sky Tower line

Rock N Roller line

I'm glad to see them doing so well. Hopefully they keep adding rides to Winterfest and tweaking refurb schedules so that Fury can always have at-least 2 trains on. I'm also curious to see if they expand their hours on Saturdays.

[thrillseeker4552]

Glad to see them doing well. It's amazing what happens when you actually open your rides! lol

Agreed about Fury needing 2 trains, at least through Winterfest. After the new year, for weekends until March I'm sure one train ops is less of a problem. But better open than closed!

EDIT: Also, now that the park is year-round, I wonder if they would consider a 4th train for Fury to cycle through maintenance. Knott's bought a third for Silver Bullet so it could have 2 trains 99% of the year. Maybe not likely but something to think about if they're serious about expanding and continuing year round.

[coasterbill]

There has been an update to the ride refurb schedule, but it doesn't impact the three rides that anyone cares about.

    Boo Blasters on Boo Hill (January 2, 2023 - February 17, 2023)
    Camp Bus (January 30, 2023 - February 17, 2023)
    Carolina Goldrusher (November 21, 2022 - March 10, 2023)
    Drop Tower (November 21, 2022 - March 10, 2023)
    Hurler (November 14, 2022 - March 10, 2023)
    Intimidator (November 7, 2022 - March 10, 2023)
    Kiddy Hawk (January 2, 2023 - February 17, 2023)
    Mountain Gliders (January 2, 2023 - February 17, 2023)
    PEANUTS Pirates (January 30, 2023 - March 10, 2023)
    The Flying Cobras (February 18, 2023 - March 5, 2023)
    Vortex (October 31, 2022 - March 10, 2023)
    Wilderness Run (January 9, 2023 - January 27, 2023)
    WindSeeker (October 17, 2022 - March 10, 2023)
    Woodstock Express (October 31, 2022 - March 10, 2023

Carolina Cyclone is actually broken so it's listed with no dates and will probably open whenever they manage to fix it.

I want to criticize the Boo Blasters decision since it's their only indoor heated ride, but after riding it in November honestly... just set it on fire, I don't care,

[tndank]

Good news Carowinds pass holders (gold and above):  now through Feb you can enter the park a half hour early to ride Nighthawk and the Carolina Skytower.  

[coasterbill]

Carowinds is opening Intimidator today, a full month earlier than originally posted. Year-round ops must be working out for them.

[Skysthelimit]

We just arrived at the Carowinds campground and will be at the park this weekend. 
 

With limited ride availability and cool temps (Florida boys here), we are debating getting Fast Lane. Sounds counter intuitive but if there are less rides to go around and chilly weather, we’re spending time inside between rides lol and keeping waiting to a minimum.
 

 It looked from the webcam that Fury still has one train. Is it possible there was only one because it’s a Friday or are they still in Winterfest-mode?
 

Carowinds isn’t one to let their coaster trains sit idly on a transfer track if the wait times exceed 10 mins (looking at you Dollywood with Tennessee Tornado), so my assumption is that it’s still one train but if someone could give me a sanity check, I’d love that!