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Photo TR: An Intimidating Weekend in Three States


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Last weekend, Larry and I did our own mini-IntimidaTour with a little roadtrip from Williamsburg, Va., to Charlotte, N.C. (well, Larry actually started in Staten Island). Larry needed both Intimidator credits, I needed the one at Carowinds, and we both had some others to pick up, as well. The last time I was at Carowinds was a brief stop on my way home from the Smokies a few years ago, and I skipped all the "clone" Kings Dominion credits that day (Ricochet, Hurler, and Woodstock Express, formerly known as Fairly Odd Coaster). We both needed Carolina Cobra and at least one side of Thunder Road.

 

So, after a heaping helping of various Chick-Fil-A products courtesy of Larry, six hours or so on the road, and a hearty Embassy Suites' breakfast, we hit Carowinds before opening on Saturday. We headed directly for Intimidator, of course. I liked this ride a lot. It has the floaty air you'd expect out of any B&M hyper, and they weren't braking it too hard that day at all. I think it compares favorably to Kings Island's Diamondback, and although its cousin in Virginia is the better of the two, they offer very different ride experiences (floaty air v. intensity). Still, no disapointment at all with Carowinds' Intimidator--it's just what this park needed. And my compliments to the Intimidator crew. They were really humming, and even with a full queue, the wait was no more that 40 minutes (three-train operation). You and your coworkers really have it down, Pufferfish--good job!

 

As for Carolina Cobra, it wasn't bad as Vekoma Boomerangs go. The new trains and restraints were OK. Call it better than Knotts' wretched Boomerang (may it burn in Hell some day), but not as good as Cobra at Power Park (the best of the Boomerangs, I think). We passed on Nighthawk and Vortex--credits we need never experience again --and the mine train. The park really got crowded later in the day, and we had quite a wait to ride the park's superior flyers (Woodstock's Gliders) that afternoon. They actually encourage snapping here, and those present were in awe of Larry's superior snapping technique. (The ride op even asked him if he was trying to break the ride--and praised him for it too.)

 

We enjoyed the "new" Boo Blasters as well--a nice improvement over the old Scooby-Doo shooting dark ride. I think Carowinds' Planet Snoopy turned out nicer than Kings Dominion's, too. So, it's a trade off. KD got the better Intimidator, CW got the better Planet Snoopy.

 

We headed back to Williamsburg late that afternoon, then hit Kings Dominion before opening on Sunday. One train on Intimidator 305 was having some wheel problems, but the crew did a pretty good job even with one-train operation. We got in three rides between 11:00 am and noon before wandering off to ride Flight of Fear, Volcano, Boo Blasters (Carowinds' version is slightly better), the flyers (looking rather plain without their eagle appliques), and Dominator. It was a hot, humid day, but the park never got crowded (a spring Sunday is a good day to visit KD), so waits weren't bad at all (longest lines were for Volcano and Intimidator).

 

Here's a look at an Intimidating weekend on Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

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In the words of Scorpio from the movie "Dirty Harry": "My, that's a big one." Intimidator does dominate the Carowinds' skyline. You can see it from anywhere in the park.

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Yep--I'm definitely in a southern park.

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Hmm--I wonder where this lady got this t-shirt?

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Maybe she bought it here. And all this time I thought the "House of God" was on Longhill Road in Williamsburg. Shows you how wrong you can be.

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Will someone pleae fix me a mint julep? And maybe fix that bunting on the balconies while you're at it?

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"Submitted for your approval: a man whose hat is in one state, while his body is in another. He doesn't realize it just yet, but he has entered the State of Confusion, the capitol of which is The Twilight Zone."

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OK, why are we here, again?

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Oh, that's right--Intimidator! And what about this Intimidator, you may ask? Well . . .

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We interrupt this TR for some Index pictures requested by Larry.

 

Sign.

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Ride.

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Sign.

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Another sign.

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Ride.

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"Grrr! Back to Intimidator or Domo hurt you bad!"

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OK, OK--freakin' gouchy plush doll.

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Aw, Domo's just frustrated because he's too short to ride Intimidator.

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"Gentlemen, start your engines!"

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Varoom-varoom-vroom! (OK, it doesn't actually sound like that. I don't want to give the wrong impression.)

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For Matt: "I'm travelin' down the road, and I'm flirtin' with disaster!"

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I just loved those curvy B&M drops, don't you?

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From the ride specs: "Insert airtime here."

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"And it's No. 3 taking the lead--which isn't too difficult since its the only car on the track at the moment."

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"Clinging to the lead on the far turn!"

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"And he's in the homestretch now!"

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"Yes, there's no way No. 3 can lose!"

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"But wait a minutel folks! No. 3 is already in the station! He's lost to himself! My God, we are in The Twilight Zone!"

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Intimidator was great, but we did experience a few more of Carowinds' attractions that day. Here's their version of Deja Vu (if it were a wild mouse).

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Y'all can enter ratchere.

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Yes, its deja vu all over again. Boy, Paramount must've got quite a deal on these things back in the day.

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KD's seems a bit more "out of control," though.

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Lord, for what we are about to receive, please make it not hurt so much.

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Amen!

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I didn't experience the customary Boomerang shaking and headbanging, but it is a fairly intense ride. Once was enough.

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This ride doesn't so much "hurl" as "lumber around."

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Yes, this is like taking 20 miles of bumpy road on an old Massey-Ferguson tractor.

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I took a courtesy ride on the Carolina Cyclone, an old Arrow loopscrew that seemed OK a few years ago. Hasn't aged well, though.

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Aghh! The new paint does nothing! (What is this mania for painting a coaster in so many different colors? Some paint saleman really scored with Cedar Fair starting with Dominator at KD.) More to come.

Edited by cfc
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Here's the rest of our excellent, Intimidating weekend! Read it--unless you're too intimidated.

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Looks like Old Man Grimsdyke finally took out Scooby and the gang. ("I told you I'd whack those dadburn kids!")

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Excuse me, but where, exactly, does one obtain the 3D glasses? (You don't need them, anyway.)

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Yoiks! Looks like they got "real" ghosts now! And they're mean!

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"We're ridin' out tonight to case the Promised Land."

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Like Hurler, this is 20 miles of bumpy road--but this time you're riding on a faster John Deere, instead of an old Fergie.

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This ride, no matter what you call it, never disappoints. Still one of the best inverts anywhere.

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Hell, they could've named it "Ishtar" or "Howard the Duck," and it would still be a great ride.

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I do think I prefer this name to "Fairly Odd Coaster."

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Come to think of it, it's a better name than "Ghoster Coaster," too.

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But a rose by any other name . . . exactly the same as KD's version (right down to the peeling paint).

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And now, Larry's favorite ride at Carowinds.

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Larry showin' us how it's done!

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These pictures really don't do him justice, but Larry was snapping the hell outta these things.

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Lar-ry! Lar-ry! Lar-ry!

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Presenting the world's slowest, oddest Chick-Fil-A. The service took forever, but Larry paid for 24 chicken nuggets while getting 36! I paid for a small Sprite and got about about two gallons of the stuff.

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Yep--we're definitely at Kings Dominion now.

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Happy Platinum Passholders wait to be walked back to Intimidator 10 minutes before the rest of humanity.

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Oh, boy! First riders of the day!

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Unfortunately, we had to wait an extra half-hour while they took a train out of service. Such is life.

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There she goes.

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Here's the train with the sick wheel.

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I don't know if they got it going later that day or not.

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But one train is better than none. Our three rides were great.

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Here's another sick train. Unfortunately, they got it going for unsuspecting riders later.

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These sure came in handy--it was hot and humid that day.

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They still call it "Fort Cooper" in the announcements they play in the queue.

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Hmm--I wonder if there's still a Haunt maze in here?

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Yep. Haunt maze.

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This is a lousy picture, but I want to show you something a bit odd in Volcano's queue. See the drinks for sale on top of the trash can? The little sign on the upper left reads "No food or drink beyond this point." I guess you're expected to drink your lemonade in a single gulp, then toss the cup immediately.

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If I look a little blurry here, don't be shocked. The disorientation of the Treasure Cave's awesome tilted room tends to do that to me.

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Larry had to tackle yet another set of flyers.

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OK, Intimidator is great, but let's not forget Dominator.

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Miss, the ride's over. You can let go of your head now.

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"Yay! I rode this at Geauga Lake! I get to count it again!" Thanks for reading.

Edited by cfc
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Chuck - you did get a good photo of the slack in the cable on Woodstock's Gliders when I was riding.

 

For the record, I only ate 27 of the chicken nuggets, some loser that was not me ate the remaining 9 nuggets. So over the course of a 28 hour period I ate:

8 Chick N Minis

8 Chicken Strips

27 Chicken Nuggets

Edited by Erik Johnson
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Chuck, the flyers at Carowinds were my flyers I worked at when they were located at Kings Island! Did you get the cables going, too, or just Larry? Our flyer ride in the rain at KD is still a great memory that me and Julia talk about... (btw, we're actually finally getting married in 45 days, I'll post photos for you, or email them...)

 

Great photos of the Intimatwins. Gonna have to make a southern directioned trip pretty soon.

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Great photos of the Intimatwins. Gonna have to make a southern directioned trip pretty soon.

 

The "Intwinidators"! (Hardly identical, yet kindred.) My flyer-fu is quite weak, James, although I did get the thing to fly fairly high during my second ride. Larry was really snappin' em, though.

 

And congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

Edited by cfc
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Thanks for posting this PTR. We're doing the exact same thing in a few weeks!!

 

For the King Dominion platinum pass 10 minute walkback can you bring a friend with that or is it just for platinium pass holders? Also, if I buy a platinum pass at a different Cedar Fair park can I still get the walkback?

 

Can't wait to ride I305

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For the King Dominion platinum pass 10 minute walkback can you bring a friend with that or is it just for platinium pass holders? Also, if I buy a platinum pass at a different Cedar Fair park can I still get the walkback?

 

Can't wait to ride I305

 

Yes, you can get the walkback if you bought your Cedar Fair platinum pass at another park. I'm not sure about bringing a friend, though (KD's Web site doesn't address this).

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For the King Dominion platinum pass 10 minute walkback can you bring a friend with that or is it just for platinium pass holders? Also, if I buy a platinum pass at a different Cedar Fair park can I still get the walkback?

 

Can't wait to ride I305

 

Yes, you can get the walkback if you bought your Cedar Fair platinum pass at another park. I'm not sure about bringing a friend, though (KD's Web site doesn't address this).

 

I don't think you can bring a friend. I'm pretty sure there was a group right behind us that tried to do that and was denied.

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Ok thanks guys. Right now getting a platinum pass would have me paying a little more than I would just going to the four CF parks I'm already planning on. I figured it would be worth it if my girlfriend and I could get the walkback and that way I could also buy her a discounted ticket.

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Great pics, Chuck! I'm really looking forward to the Intimidators - hoping to make it down to ride them both later this summer, sometime between TPR UK / Europe and Oktoberfest.

 

(I'm missing other credits down there as well - it's been a while since I've visited either park. Last time I was down there, the parks were still Paramount, Thunder Road and Rebel Yell still rode one train backward, and KD still had HyperSonic.)

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GREAT TR. How far up is Intimidator on you steel list. What is your top 5?

 

Haven't decided yet, but I'm quite sure that I-305 will crack my top five. Carowinds' Intimidator has a fair shot at the top ten because I ranked Diamondback at number 8 last year. Afterburn is probably going to move up quite a few slots, too.

 

very nice Photo TR, I'm loving all of these reports of these trips because I'm going in July, we have heard all about the Intimidators, but I'm curious how Thunder Road is running since the renovation from GCI??

 

Recommendation: Stay off the wheel seat. KD's Rebel Yell is actually a bit smoother.

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very nice Photo TR, I'm loving all of these reports of these trips because I'm going in July, we have heard all about the Intimidators, but I'm curious how Thunder Road is running since the renovation from GCI??

They haven't completely finished the rehab yet. So far, the transfer tracks, final stretch in the "tunnel" into the brakes, the last hill heading into the turn around, and the entire turn around have been finished. It's VERY obvious while you're riding where GCI has done their work and where they still haven't gotten to yet. However, the track that has been worked on is very smooth, so expect Thunder Road to be a much, much better experience once the process is done in a few years.

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