jynx242 Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) I have to start by saying that ever since the Deep South Tour last year, Carowinds has impressed the heck out of me. I truly love this park, and the addition of Intimidator has gone a long way to making it one of my favorites. Coaster Stock is the annual enthusiast event put on by Carowinds. We drove up to Charlotte on Friday night, and went to the event on Saturday. First off – for those of you from other parts of the country and world, here in the South East United States we are having a heat wave. The heat index on Saturday was somewhere near 115 degrees. It was FREAKING HOT. Did that stop us from having a great time – heck no! We did, however, lose some weight due to the skin slowly melting off of our bodies. There is a water park at Carowinds, but crowded water parks make me rather homicidal, so we skipped that and stood in the splash zone of the Splash Boat ride to cool off and avoid dying. I have to say that the Marketing and PR Departments of Carowinds went above and beyond for a fantastic event and I will definitely be going back again. Day started with an hour and a half of ERT on Afterburn, The elusive (have to have a kid) kiddie coaster, the Jr. Vekoma Invert and the Flyers. Afterburn was amazing, as always. Since we are sad and pathetic, we got the kiddie credits and then went to the flyers. LOVED the flyers. FINALLY learned how to snap a flyer and the ride operator was giving instructions on how to do so and encouraging it. AWESOME. They had a dark ride challenge. Scooby Doo is gone, but they have improved the ride and I really didn’t miss him. They had a luncheon for us. Funny thing, the menu was different than on the event flyer, so they decided to also do a dinner for us with the correct menu. They really didn’t have to do that, but did and I love ‘em for it. We had different events scheduled all day – then dinner – then Park Jeopardy (which was really fun,) the results of their video competition (also hilarious), then an hour-and-a-half (10:30 PM – Midnight) on Intimidator. Night Hawk was supposed to be included as well, but threw a motor gear or something. I personally asked Skycoastin Steve what he did, but he denies all responsibility. Intimidator was simply amazing. It has replaced Goliath as my favorite B&M Hyper. I just love the airtime, plus the twists and turns. Pufferfish and Skycoastin Steve were actually running the ride for ERT and managed to get some rides in with us, which was AWESOME as well. Well – on to the pictures: ADMIN EDIT: I figured you wouldn't want the thread to be confused for the ever-popular Coaster Sock also at Carowinds, so I updated the thread's title! Eli and I at the gate Club TPR - REPRESENT!! Jay (eltoroextreme) and I were stoked! First up on ERT - Afterburn. Truly a great ride. Thank all that's holy they changed the name from Flight Deck or whatever nonsense that was... Afterdeck - Flight Burn - Awesomeness The star of today's show! We decided to get a morning ride when they first opened before the crowds got bad TWISTIES!!! This was just yummy. I really want this for my office It was REALLY HOT. I melted into a puddle of goo about two minutes later and only an infusion of Dippin' Dots saved me Behind the scenes tour of Intimidator had my coaster dorky heart pounding. NERD SHOT! We spent WAYYYY too much time looking at this. Yes - we are dorks. Wheels! Maintenance guru took us through the computer room... Eli was in heaven. I'm having trouble spotting the dummy - can someone help me?? Hi Jay! Twisty, Spinny, Pukey Jay stars in his own Coaster Porn! Details to be announced I leave you with a picture of my German Shepherd taking a nap with her kitten. Edited July 27, 2010 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I went ahead and update your thread's title to reflect Coaster Stock (as opposed to Coaster Sock). This is really a great TR! Way to represent Club TPR David! Sooner or later, I get back up to Savannah to visit you all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Thanks Adam. I posted this from work and those pesky clients were calling . You should definitely come and visit soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generaleclectic Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Just wanted to add to this a little. I was SUPER impressed with the attention that was given to our "little" group of 120 people. I particularly enjoyed the tour of the maintenance bay under the station. Much to my surprise, my Blackberry captured some pretty good video. One of the best views of the day so far as I'm concerned. This was taken from in front of the picnic pavilion area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 I will have to meet you guys for this event next year. I enjoyed the day at Carrowinds during the Deep South trip, and want to check out Intimidator. And you should totally get that sign for your office! I might need one too... dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Carowinds is a nice park, and I think Intimidator is just what it needed (and Afterburn is still an excellent invert). I agree about Boo Blasters, too--nice to see that Cedar Fair gave these rides a little upgrade, rather than just ripping Scooby and the gang out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 The night time ERT was awesome for you guys, I've NEVER experienced airtime like that on Intimidator (except for maybe an early morning ride at some point). Once again, it was great meeting all the fellow Club TPR members in attendance and I hope to see some of you guys around again in the near future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Steve - we'll definitely be back. SFoG is what we call our Home Park, but Carowinds is closer, cleaner, nicer and I don't feel like I'm going to be mugged by the staff and/or patrons I think Eli is coming up there next month and we'll definitely bring friends again once it cools off a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hang And Bang Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Intimidator was simply amazing. It has replaced Goliath as my favorite B&M Hyper. David, my excitement for IntimidaTour just increased tenfold because of that statement! And I was already geeking out with excitement for the trip to begin with lol. Glad you guys had such a good time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo_tad Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Cosmo_tad Pufferfish and Skycoastin Steve were actually running the ride for ERT and managed to get some rides in with us, which was AWESOME as well. Well – on to the pictures: ADMIN EDIT: I figured you wouldn't want the thread to be confused for the ever-popular Coaster Sock also at Carowinds, so I updated the thread's title! I figured I would help fix it too! Everything steve just said about the airtime was the truth. I have well over 150 laps on Intimidator and that was the most air I have ever had on it. I have had trains to myself in the morning, mid day and at night many times, none of them even came close to how awesome it was saturday night. Edit: I even represented with my TPR shirt on under my uniform! Steve is my witness, as I am to the TPR pen he had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Excellent TR. Of all of the Cedar Fair parks, with the exception of Cedar Point, this is the one I'd want to visit most. All of the photos I've seen of Carowinds have shown that it is a really gorgeous park and now with Intimidator I think that they have one of the best coaster collections anywhere just based on observation. Behemoth and Apollo's Chariot are my two favorite coasters so I'm sure that I would love Intimidator. Just curious, how does Intimidator rank with the other B&M hypers out there? Better yet, how does it rank with any of the steel coasters out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 ^Me personally, I still have Intimidator behind Apollo's Chariot, because Apollo gives a more consistently good ride. The only American B&M hyper I haven't ridden is Raging Bull, and I have yet to ride either Canadian one. Overall, I have Intimidator at #10 out of nearly 200 steel coasters. Several others have it as their #1, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 ^Me personally, I still have Intimidator behind Apollo's Chariot, because Apollo gives a more consistently good ride. The only American B&M hyper I haven't ridden is Raging Bull, and I have yet to ride either Canadian one. Overall, I have Intimidator at #10 out of nearly 200 steel coasters. Several others have it as their #1, though. Thanks. I personally enjoyed Behemoth more than Apollo's Chariot since the drops overall just seemed much more thrilling on Behemoth. Apollo's Chariot was amazing when I rode it in 2006. The front seat was very good, but the back was what really made the ride. The ejector and floater air during all of the drops was simply outerworldly. Hopefully someday I can get down there to ride Intimidator on one of the days like you guys were able to experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArizonaGuy Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Steve - we'll definitely be back. SFoG is what we call our Home Park, but Carowinds is closer, cleaner, nicer and I don't feel like I'm going to be mugged by the staff and/or patrons I think Eli is coming up there next month and we'll definitely bring friends again once it cools off a bit. LOL....Is SFoG That bad??? I've been wanting to go to both SFoG and Carowinds so I think you've somewhat helped me make up my mind of which one should come first. Greats pics BTW. I can't wait to visit that park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 ^I was being a bit of a smart-a$$ about SFoG . My first job (A LONG TIME AGO) was there and I absolutely love that park. I just found that Carowinds was "nicer." The staff, the guests, etc... For example, the newly re-vamped Planet Snoopy is just awesome. It's in an established area of the park with trees and shade. A lot of rides and it is HUGE. The thing I noticed about Intimidator is that different sections of the train gave VERY different rides. They were all awesome, but it was a noticable difference between say front and back. I figured it is becasue of the new train styles (I haven't ridden any of the other trains like this.) The trains are very long. I noticed a consitancy throughout the trains on Goliath and AC. Still like Intimidator better. D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 ^I've found that the backseat is usually the best on the B&M hypers, and Intimidator is no exception (esp. true for Apollo's Chariot). I really like SFOG, but was rather amused when I wandered into the men's room near Goliath and disrupted a crap game--dice were being flung and money was being slapped on the floor. At least they weren't throwing actual crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 I really like SFOG, but was rather amused when I wandered into the men's room near Goliath and disrupted a crap game--dice were being flung and money was being slapped on the floor. This might be the best thing I've ever heard. So, I guess it's better to lose your shirt than your head at SFOG. BTW, nice report, David! I wouldn't have minded attending the event if it hadn't felt like the surface of the sun outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbear30 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Just throwing my ten cents in there (^no pun intended...) I have ridden Goliath, AC and Intimidator and I would rate Intimidator last. The day I went I rode it in the front and the back and was severely disappointed in the ride overall. The first drop was good but after that it just lost all speed and the the trims on the two hills just killed any good airtime to be had...I am riding Diamondback next month and I will see how it compares but I just feel like the longer trains make the coaster lose a lot of speed. They creep over the top of the hills where as the 4 across seating seems to fly over the hills much faster. So as far as what I have ridden to date, I rate them like this: 1. Goliath 2. Apollo's Chariot 3. Intimidator PS- B & M hypers are my favorite coasters out there and Intimidator didn't even break into my top 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 yeah, steve denies all responsibility because it was all my fault. heheheh I wish that I could have been there as well to represent. Alas being sick kinda got in the way of that... >.< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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