griffon Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 It’s been about 5 years since my last visit to Carowinds so I decided to wrangle up a few friends and pay a visit to the recently Cedar Fair-ized park to kick off the season. When we arrived around 1PM on Saturday there were only 12 other cars in the parking lot, and with heavy rain coming down all day, we were sort of surprised that the park was even open. Not only was the park open, but almost everything was running. I give Cedar Fair a lot of credit for this because I know that some other parks would have closed for the day and sent everyone packing given the forecast for cold rain and storms. Kudos to CF for keeping the park open for most of the afternoon – that really made our trip worthwhile. Sure, it would have been nicer without the rain, but we drove 5 hours to get there and we weren’t going to let a little dihydrogen monoxide stop us from racking up our first credits of the year. The park closed a couple hours early at 4PM when they discovered that we were the only idiots left in the place and we weren’t spending any money on games or food. Still, we had plenty of time to get some rides on the main coasters except for Ricochet and Vortex, which were not operating. On Saturday night we decided to brave the elements by staying in one of the wilderness cabins at the campground. Situated in the remote backcountry (i.e. behind the park’s scrap metal and wood salvage area), the rustic cabins had only the bare necessities: a roof, running water, electricity, heat, full-size fridge, microwave, stove, internet access, and a flat panel television with satellite HD. I mean, we were really roughing it out in the wilderness. I thought we would have to sharpen some spears and go hunting for food until we discovered that we were still close enough to civilization for Domino’s pizza delivery, which was quite convenient. Other highlights from the “Wilderness Experience” included an epic battle with 2 large hornets who found their way inside one of the bedrooms. Armed with only wet shoes and empty pizza boxes, we geared up to valiantly defend our rented territory and initiated combat. The battle proceeded from room to room for several hours, where, in the final moments, the bumbling insects cornered themselves near the ceiling and were beheaded for trespassing. Later at night the rain stopped and we ventured outside to explore the campground area where we stumbled upon a giant concrete block with a humongous cable coming out of it. It was about the size of a small car and had a steel shell around it. I’m guessing this is the counter-weight that was used to launch the Schwarzkopf shuttle loop coaster the park had in the 80s – I believe it was called White Lightning. Has anyone else seen this giant block? It’s right behind one of the pull-up camp sites that backs up to a fenced maintenance area. We tried to carry it back to our cabin, but it wouldn’t fit through the door. On Sunday we woke to sunshine and a bright dusting of Carolina pollen. The cabin was returned to its original state, and we headed back to the park for some more coasters. Carowinds has a pretty decent collection of rides, and several things worth noting for 2009: Carolina Cobra – I have nothing but good things to say about this ride, and I never thought I would say that about a Vekoma OR a boomerang. It fits nicely in that area of the park, looks great, rides smooth as glass, and the trains give you a much more open feel and better sight lines. The shoulder “vest” put a good deal of pressure on the top of my shoulders, but other than that it was very comfortable. I’ll be interested to see if the ride quality holds up over time with the new trains, but at the moment I’d say this is easily the most enjoyable and re-rideable boomerang I’ve ever been on. Hurler – I guess I was expecting very little of this one considering its twin at KD has gone to crap. Out of instinct, I strapped in and braced myself for 2 minutes of solid jack-hammering, but was pleasantly surprised at the smoothness and overall condition of this ride. I actually rode more than once to see if it was some sort of fluke, but no- it’s a pretty darn enjoyable coaster – especially towards the front of the train. Top Flight Afterburner – or whatever it’s called now – was running one mostly empty train on Saturday in the rain. It was closed on Sunday because the red train valleyed after the batwing (I guess during testing in the AM). Again, thank you Cedar Fair for staying open during Saturday’s monsoon, otherwise we would have missed out completely on the best coaster there. Vortex – Was closed the whole weekend with both trains parked. Not sure what’s going on here, but it wasn’t a big loss in my book. I loved this ride as a kid, and the layout is great, but my days of tolerating B&M standups are numbered. StealthHawk Assimilator – or whatever it’s called now – has one of the most impressive paint jobs I have seen in a while. I love the orange and dark blue. I guess it’s running the same as usual, but for some reason I had no desire to ride it more than once. Something about being chucked around in a prone position just isn’t fun any more. Maybe I’m getting old. Sunday afternoon we hit the road and drove back in much better conditions. Not a bad way to start out the season, and I’m looking forward to more trips with hopefully more pictures in the next few months. Poor Afterburn must have had a hangover and couldn't make it on Sunday. They had the area blocked off pretty good, but the train was sitting there all day Landscape shot It did have some issues throughout the day and we saw empty trains a lot Nighthawk is just a very photogenic ride, and looks great People all over the park were talking about the "new" coaster. It really seemed to be a hit and should do well for the park Trains were comfortable I'm telling you. Smooth as glass. No lie The placement and setup were great The new attraction. I can't tell if that "o" is supposed to be white in the middle or if they just didn't finish painting Mine train was also fun in the rain, but maybe a little more comfortable in the sun Vortex again was closed and lifeless all weekend. Both trains were on the track, so I'm not sure what was going on Towers are always fun The unexpectedly awesome Hurler with two train operation which is always nice. Sunday was better for pictures in the park. Cyclone seemed faster and smoother than what I remember. A decent little ride The entire area was foggy which added to the orange glow. It was pretty unreal Yea, the lighting was pretty sweet. About the only good shot I could get outside of the park was of Afterburn After the storm passed we were treated to some spectacular lighting conditions. Time to break out the camera Our rustic accommodations complete with a driveway, 3 trees, and our very own Cedar Fair signature trash can After hours of listening to "Holiday Road" on repeat the entire way, we arrive at Carowinds. Wait, what state are we in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atem122 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Woah! out of all the coasters to stall, it was the B&M? Great PTR, those afterburn shots were unreal! Oddly enough Cobra is the only boomerang that I actually want to ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electerik Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Wow, you've got some really great shots there. (I especially like the one of the Carowinds sign, the Carolina Cobra wideshot wth the sign in it, and the wideshot of Nighthawk framing the observation tower.) Shame about Afterburn, though. I'm a huge fan of it, and I would have liked to see what you could have done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angryemobeaver Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I love the photo of Cobra with the palm trees! Afterburn was closed cause it was windy along with Vortex, and a few other rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGA29 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I really like how your pics show the vibrant color schemes of Nighthawk and Carolina Cobra. Sounds like a fun day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Wow! Those are some of the best photos I've seen around this site in a while...thanks for sharing! Cobra's paint scheme is growing on me, and I love how Nighthawk looks. Sad to hear that Afterburn was down while the sun was out...but at least you got to ride it in the rain! Did it drip 'oily-water' down on you, like other inverts (especially Great Bear) do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Sad to hear that Afterburn was down while the sun was out...but at least you got to ride it in the rain! Did it drip 'oily-water' down on you, like other inverts (especially Great Bear) do? Haha, yea, my first ride on Afterburn I made the mistake of sitting on an end seat and had a constant stream of not-so-clear liquid right to the forehead. Alpengeist does that too, but it's been a while since I've ridden an invert in the rain and I guess I forgot. The middle seats were much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelegendarymatthew Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Nice PTR, that "unreal" picture may be my new desktop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Making me jealous lol. Nighthawk and Carolina Cobra are on my "to do list". Carolina Cobra is smooth? Like smoother than Flashback at SFOT? I love the lighting conditions shots too, very artistic! ~ Jess "smooth as butter, oh shoot I've used that one before" Chan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrakenKing Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Great shots! I've always wanted to visit Carowinds, but I've heard so many negative things about it, but it seems like Cedar Fair may be stepping up their game. On a side not: May I ask what camera you're using? Also, is there a way to see the pics in a higher resolution? A website or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calicoasters Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Great TR! Maybe it's just your camera, but Carolina Cobra's paint job didn't look that bad. And Wow! Nighthawk is bright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike541x Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Those are some awesome photos. It sucks to hear about Afterburn though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeboy23 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I am with everyone saying your pictures made the new paint jobs for the coasters look awesome! What camera do you have? I am currently trying to find a new one before I go on my trips in June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkd freak Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Nice TR.... I just love the colors of Night Hawk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Cool shots of a park I don't know too much about, the write up was very interesting as well! Poor Afterburn, first it's name.. now it's hangover... the poor guy can't catch a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Cool shots of a park I don't know too much about, the write up was very interesting as well! Poor Afterburn, first it's name.. now it's hangover... the poor guy can't catch a break. Well hopefully the coaster doctor is in the house! Get well soon afterburn, my beloved B&M! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenithrill Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Griffon, you left out the part where "Ms. Garmin" tried to get us lost in Charlotte... and how she took us to the distribution center instead of the wal mart... Again, great photos, great trip, and looking forward to another one sometime in the future. Thanks again for letting me join you guys on the trip. It was a true blast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffon Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Great TR! Maybe it's just your camera, but Carolina Cobra's paint job didn't look that bad. And Wow! Nighthawk is bright. I did my best to get the ride colors as close to what they looked like in person. Maybe the color saturation is a little overkill? but I've noticed that prints come out slightly darker, so I usually veer towards keeping them on the bright side. Thanks for the feedback! Carolina Cobra is smooth? Like smoother than Flashback at SFOT? Trust me, it was very smooth. I have never been to the state of Texas, so I don't know how it compares to Flashback. I'm hoping these new trains will show up on other boomerangs and hold onto their quality. On a side not: May I ask what camera you're using? Also, is there a way to see the pics in a higher resolution? A website or something? I use all Canon gear. Rebel XTi and a couple different lenses. I love it, but would strongly recommend something smaller at Theme Parks. I will only take my camera with me if I have somewhere to put the bag, and plenty of time for photos. Feel free to send a PM and with an Email and I'd be happy to send out some higher res versions if anyone is interested. you left out the part where "Ms. Garmin" tried to get us lost in Charlotte... and how she took us to the distribution center instead of the wal mart Haha, I actually left quite a few things out of the story but figured my rambling about insects and concrete blocks was long enough already. I'm not sure if I trust those GPS things any more. Glad you could come along. Thanks everyone for the comments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willh51 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Those are beautiful pictures. I had a similar experience on my last visit. There was a huge storm and most of the park left but they stayed open. Except for the employee bitching in the bathroom about how Cedar Fair sucked for making him stay, it was awesome. Got to marathon Top Gun, Hurler (which has good and bad seasons), etc. Gotta get back to try the boomerang (did I really say that?). Is Thunder Road up and running for the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillenniumChild Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 WOW!!! Such amazing pictures! Awesome photo TR and thanks. TR was running opening weekend but only one side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 HOLY SH** Nighthawks color scheme blinded my eyes in those photos. It looks great though. And could this be the beginning of a new age for Vekoma,with new, smoother rides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilolee Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Great TR and photos. Can't wait to visit Carowinds sometime this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 awesome sunset pic dude. sucks about the crappy weather on Saturday but at least you had a beautiful day on Sunday. I really want to ride cobra with the new trains. I can really see Hersheypark looking at these for the future. (if they update Wildcat why not Sidewinder?) Man I need to ride a coaster. JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Any word if Afterburn is running again after the valley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen xxi Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Any word if Afterburn is running again after the valley? Sure is, rode it last Sunday and it's running fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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