Phote TR: HCL's Southern Triple Header

[HCLcoasters]

Hey everyone, this is my first PTR on TPR so I hope you all have a good time reading it. I went to 3 different parks, Carowinds, SFoG, and Dollywood and I have some pictures from all three so the PTR might be broken up a bit.

 

Before we start I just want you all to know that one of the main goals of this trip was to eat at a waffle house.

 

I went on this trip with my Aunt over the course of the past week. We started in DC and traveled down to Charlotte NC, the first day of the trip to get ready for Carowinds the next day. It was a 7 hour drive and we made some very necessary stops on the way.

 

Every real American should start their PTR with a picture of the American Flag.

 

Yes, we went to the Stonewall Jackson Shrine just off of I-95 in Virginia. We thought Stonewall's arm was buried here but sadly we were wrong, it was only where he died.

 

He died in this house, sadly it wasn't a Waffle House.

 

Ralph's Barbecue was amazing. The food was spectacular and I had my first taste of Pickled Watermelon!

 

This one goes out to all those people in the land down under!

 

One of the greatest puns of all time.

 

JR outlets uses funny advertisements... It's super effective!

 

Finally, Roller Coasters and Free Direct TV.

 

Intimidator was looking amazing. I couldn't wait to compare it to I305 at KD.

 

Obligatory Photo time! Not much needs to be said about this spot in TPR's history.

 

The letters C-A-R-O-W-I-N-D-S with Borghawk and Vortex looming in the background.

 

More Borghawk

 

I232 looks quite a bit taller then 232 feet.

 

That is one tiny maintenance shed.

 

I don't get the fuss about this ride, there really isn't much head banging.

 

Flying Ace Aerial Chase (or whatever it's called) has a shiny new paint job this year.

 

No, I wasn't riding the helicopter ride....

 

I didn't have the heart to steal a kid.

 

My ROFLcopter goes soi soi soi!

 

Intimidator, taking the plunge.

 

Afterburn is, by far, my favorite ride in the park.

 

More pictures coming very soon!

Edited June 21, 2010 by HCLcoasters

[Colby]

Cool! Intimidator does looke pretty tall, I want to ride!

[HCLcoasters]

Afterburn is not a name that rolls off the tongue very easily

 

But, it is a very intense ride.

 

I'm not usually a fan of wingovers but Afterburn's is pretty awesome.

 

One Fence + One Ride + A couple riders = this picture

 

I like Thunder Road a lot. It's much better then it's counter part at KD, Rebel Yell. The retracked areas were very nice.

 

Carolina Cobra is an oddity among boomerangs. The cars are much better then the standard vekoma cars.

 

More Cobra

 

A fancy Cobra picture

 

The signage for Carolina Cobra sports one of the better logos Cedar Fair has produced.

 

Which way is the car going? Forwards or Backwards?

 

Through the trees!

 

Vortex!

 

Writing captions... It's serious business.

 

Carolina Goldrusher was a pretty solid mine ride.

 

Borghawk is so dang easy to take pictures of.

 

Ricochet is Carowind's take on the wild mouse concept.

 

Don't let the colors on this ride deceive you, it can kill.

 

Your colors can't trick me!

 

Hurler is, by no means, a good ride. Carowind's version is not as good as Kings Domininon's which says a lot.

 

TAER IT DOWN!

 

Artsy shot of Hurler's drop.

 

I hijacked my dad's camera for the trip, along with his telephoto lens.

 

Cresting the lift

 

The control panel of Boo Blasters. I loved KD's version of the ride so I couldn't wait to try it out at Carowinds. It was actually a very fun ride.

 

This would be a Boomerang...

 

The day was hot so this was a welcome sight.

 

Another picture of the boomerang, but this time with Chicken Tenders!

 

More coming soon.

[Mr. Starr]

My ROFLcopter goes soi soi soi!

 

HAHA, winner.

 

Nice P:TR, Intimidator is lookin' pretty sexy

[HCLcoasters]

Disney's world of color, Opening at Carowinds in 2010.

 

While I dislike this ride, I do think the colors are very smexy.

 

Random people on Vortex FTW!

 

Mr Starr's caption for this photo: Ryan Saylor is hot! [As Hellll]

 

This hill has some of the strangest airtime I have ever experience. It makes you go "ZOMG RELLY!!!1!!!1"

 

Borg Borg Borg Borg Borg BORGHAWK!

 

Timmy needs to gain weight.

 

This ride supplies an unacceptable amount of wetness.

 

This is a very un-B&Mish corkscrew, it doesn't feel right.

 

Borghawk from my super awesome hover craft.

 

Afterburn is a mighty fine ride.

 

They were testing Borghawk...

 

Airtime!

 

Who are you going to trust with Borghawk's name, me, or Carowinds?

 

One of my favorite pics from the trip.

 

Caption from the Ghost: "So no crab either...there was steak also... i forgot to mention that"

 

I don't think parks should put paths under lifts, that should be a rides private space... Shame on you Carowinds...

 

Timmy through the borg!

 

From Kumba830: "Darf ich bitte zur toilette gern?" I'm not sure what this means but it sounded pro.

 

I love my fruit loops!

 

I cannot stress how massive this ride is.

 

A peanut butter sandwich is better then eternal happiness and by the way I have run out of ideas for captions.

 

These bananas are happy that a Frenchman didn't win the U.S. Open.

 

Who doesn't like candy?

 

Say hi to snoopy! Please!

 

Yes, Afterburn was blurring that much during ERT.

 

And you did not read incorrectly, I did have ERT. No line whatsoever, so I rode back row 3 times in without getting up. I don't think I could handle more then 3 times in a row.

 

This ride is all pro.

 

Much more intense then I305 without trims.

 

This is one of the weirdest immelmans I have ever been through.

 

Did I mention how awesome this ride is?

 

Let me say this again, Afterburn is a top 5 ride for me.

 

Going up.

 

Borghawk with a pretty neat sunset in the sky.

 

A special thanks to the ride ops at Intimidator. You did your job spectacularly.

 

Obligatory signage shot.

 

A final shot of Timmy, Adios Carowinds, the next day would be the Nascar Hall of Fame.

 

But, I leave you with this.

 

Waffle house is amazing by the way.

 

Pictures from the Nascar Hall of Fame and Six Flags Over Georgia are up next.

[JR Villain]

Awesome pictures. Cannot wait to see the ones from the NASCAR Hall Of Fame.

[no_brain_er]

I went to Carowinds last Sunday (June 13th), and I gotta say, Intimidator kicks the balls off of Goliath. My friends and I booked it once the gates opened, and within ten minutes of the park being open we already had our Intimidator credit for the day. Strange thing is, there were a LOT of people there that day, but we didn't wait for more than ten minutes on ANYTHING. I love days like that.

A few thoughts, based on your captions.

*Carolina Cobra was AWESOME. Rode it 3 times.

*I actually enjoyed my rides on Hurler. The front seat must be Hurler's "Vekoma seat".

*I also really liked Carolina Cyclone. If you ride in the back, you get pulled over the back half of the loops; it's an interesting feeling, in a good way. On the other hand, I'm probably just braindead and stupid.

*This is just personal opinion, but the back seat of Afterburn might just be one of the most forceful rides I've been on. It was friggen crazy!

*I have to agree that Vortex just doesn't really feel like a B&M, but it was only the third coaster they built. I guess practice makes perfect, right?

*Nighthawk is a good ride, but it jacked my phone. I got it back, but still. Not cool.

One more thing, and then I'll shut up... I will NEVER ride Southern Star again. EVER.

 

Nice pics, by the way - looks like you had fun!

[Midgetman82]

Very nice pics, you do better captions than I do because mine are boring. I knew Vekoma had some painful rides, but do their flying coasters hurt too? Dang, my brothers went on one in Six Flags America and they said it was awesome, hmm. Intimidator looks much more thrilling than Goliath in SFOG, but you can't beat the duration of the helix of death . Anyways, great TR and while you're in Atlanta, don't miss IHOP reasturaunt. Like Waffle House, but it doesn't look like a truck stop with no gas pumps, and they make pancakes that are really good!

[HCLcoasters]

Thanks for the compliments you guys. I really appreciate it.

 

^The Flying Dutchmen coasters are probably the best Vekoma rides out there. They don't really hurt at all and they have some interesting forces. They have some pretty funky lats.

 

I232 is a lot better then Goliath at SFoG. I actually like Goliath's layout a bit more but Intimidator has a much better feeling going over those hills and I'm not a fan of Goliath's helix of death.

 

BTW, I went to IHOP at 11pm in Charlotte, oddly it was packed.