ECZenith Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) After much anticipation, my friends John, Nina, Matt and I were ready for the first leg of our journey. After driving and staying overnight in Virginia, we continued the next morning to The Carolinas. Carowinds, July 2, 2011 This was my first time visiting this beautiful park laid across both North and South Carolina. Our Cedar Fair platinum passes got us great, free parking in the season pass lot very close to the entrance of the park. We got right to work riding coasters, starting with Nighthawk as suggested by the locals. Here are the rides we experienced in order... Nighthawk: Vekoma Flying Coaster Carolina Goldrusher: Arrow Mine Train Carolina Cobra: Vekoma Boomerang w/ new train Carolina Cyclone: Arrow Loopscrew Drop Tower: Intamin 2nd gen. drop tower Ricochet: Wild Mouse Hurler: Wooden Coaster Vortex: B&M Standup Intimidator (x3): B&M Speedcoaster Afterburn: B&M Inverted Thunder Road: Double Racing wooden coaster Boo Blasters: Shooting dark ride Sky Tower: Observation cabin Bumper Cars We were fortunate enough to go on every ride we wanted to with wait times ranging from walkons to 10 minutes. This was especially amazing considering it was the Saturday before a major holiday. The park looked great, the coasters were ample and thrilling and I would definitely visit again. Next up, Busch Gardens Europe, featuring the roller coaster insider's tour! (Photo credits: Nina R. and Matt R.) The entry plaza of Carowinds, on the bricks is a line splitting the park between North and South Carolina. An aerial view of the back corner of the park We started off with Nighthawk, formerly Stealth at Great America An aerial view of Nighthawk Carolina Cyclone can't decide what color it is Going up on the drop tower, can't we think of a better name? Vortex, one of the original B&M standup models, definitely a little rough these days. Afterburn packs the punch of its big brother Montu, but without a midcourse brake run the speed never lets up till the end. Intimidator, a lot better than we all expected, easily the best B&M Speedcoaster out there. The 240' lifting structure To give you an idea of what the layout looks like Intimidator has something you don't normally find on a B&M speedcoaster, relentless airtime! Edited July 6, 2011 by ECZenith
ECZenith Posted July 6, 2011 Author Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Busch Gardens Europe, July 3, 2011 We arrived at the parking lot at 8:00 a.m. as our group had reserved an Insider's tour of the roller coasters of this amazing park. Busch Gardens Europe has been one of my favorite parks since I was very young, many of my fondest memories have been created here and today was no exception. Our $65 tour packet does not include park admission, however, it does include free parking, 2 rides on each of the parks adult coasters and a quick queue card for later use on each coaster for one more ride each. We were also granted access to Loch Ness Monster, Griffon, and Alpengeist's maintenance bays, a photographer to capture the experience on film, and a ride to the top of Griffon's 205' summit via gas powered evacuation trolley. We were introduced to our awesome tour guides, Nate, Greg, and Chelsea, and were brought to the Loch Ness Monster for a comparitive talk of old vs. new steel coasters. We were then allowed into the maintenance bay to meet the crew that keeps the beast alive, as well as hold and examine parts of the coaster like the wheels and chain dogs. The next part of the tour was a ride to the top of Griffon's lift hill by the gas-powered evacuation/inspection trolley. I've posted some photos our tour guide snapped from the top. The tour group which consisted of myself, 3 friends and 3 staff then moved into Griffon's maintenance bay where we got an exclusive view of the 9 ton, 30 passenger, floorless dive machine trains. We were able to hold Griffon's road wheels, which weigh an astonishing 45 pounds each! Next up was Grffon's control tower, complete with impressive touch screen controls and an amazingly friendly and efficient crew. We then were given two front seat rides on the world's largest dive machine. It quickly became my #1 coaster out of the 250+ I have been on. We moved on to Alpengeist's maintenance area and rode it twice in the front row. Alpengeist is my favorite inverted coaster, even with the trim brakes the layout is awesome and the coaster's second half has some nice carving elements close to the ground. The park was now open to the public so our guides walked us up the exit for the parks other 3 coasters, allowing us to sit wherever we liked. They also gave us a quick queue card to skip the lines for the 4 coasters later in the day. I just want to thank Chelsea, Greg, and Nate the supervisor for providing what was easily the best park experience I have ever had. I highly reccomend this tour if you plan on visiting Busch Gardens. We lucked out yet again with crowds later in the day, we assume the 100 degree weather kept most people indoors with their air conditioners. We waited no more than 5 minutes for everything at the peak of business hours. Here are the rides we checked out today. Griffon (x3): world's largest B&M dive machine Alpengeist (x3): B&M Inverted Loch Ness Monster (x2): Arrow looper Apollo's Chariot (x3): B&M Speedcoaster Busch Gardens Railway: miniature railroad/park transit Roman Rapids: circular rapids ride Escape from Pompeii: Intamin spillwater w/ dark ride The Curse of Darkastle: 4D Dark ride (amazing!) Europe in the Air: Motion simulator To wrap things up, you've got to love Busch Gardens. The service is top notch, the rides are world class and there's a perfect variety to choose from. Let's not forget that BGE has been voted the world's most beautiful park for many years. For those planning a visit, be aware that the park is still waiting for parts needed to open the new Mach Tower freefall ride, but the delivery is expected soon. Verbolten construction is moving right along, and can best be viewed from the bumper cars queue. Well done Busch Gardens, you never cease to amaze me. Photos are different sizes due to being from different people's cameras, thanks to Matt and Nina for taking so many of them! Busch Gardens Europe for the first time in about 10 years Nate, one of our tour guides It's interesting to compare LNM with the much more modern B&M beasts across the river. This is the maintenance car used to get to Griffon's summit The gas powered trolley goes much slower than Griffon's actual lifting chain Alpengeist and LNM far below One of Griffon's three trains resting before the holding brake Griffon is impressive to say the least One of Grif's massive road wheels Let's take a look at the trains What an impressive wingspan! Even the upstop wheels are larger than most coasters road wheels The entire bogey assembly is extremely flexible to maneuver the Immelmans and tight turns Let's get these puppies rolling! Griffon control panel We are locked in and ready for dispatch The holding chain at the top of the first drop keeps you in place to let you take in the view of what lies ahead Griffon's first, large Immelman Coming down from Immelman 1 The second drop is nearly, but not quite vertical and sends you into another Immelman After a small bunny hop, the gigantic trains splash into a pool of water My favorite inverted coaster was next, Alpengeist Lots of replacement wheels for Alpy Inside Loch Ness Monster's maintenance bay, we find ingredients for an Arrow train Loch Ness Monster's chain dogs and antirollback mechanism See how small LNM's upstops are compared to Griffon's? Let's head across the park to Apollo's Chariot and take a look at Verbolten's plot Footer Much of Verbolten will follow the Big Bad Wolf's former ride path, here are new footers leading from the final drop up to the station We were given two rides on Apollo, once in the very front and once in the back row, this is an awesome tour, I highly recommend it. Edited July 6, 2011 by ECZenith
paiging_jen Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 Looking forward to the pictures and I must say Griffon's crew is one of the best I've seen in my travels from the last couple of years, even on multiple visits to BGW. Efficient beyond words! I wish Tampa would take note.
jslim39 Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 Oooh sounds like some extra money will be needed whenever the day comes that I visit BGE. Looking forward to the pics.
ECZenith Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 Kings Dominion, July 4, 2011 To celebrate Independance Day, we were going to take advantage of our Cedar Fair Platinum Pass and visit Kings Dominion which is fairly close to Busch Gardens. We yet again lucked out with crowds and were the first passengers on both Volcano and Flight of Fear. While in line for Intimidator 305, a stuck brake fin caused a 20 minute delay but it was well worth the wait. I-305 is fast, wicked, and intense. The cable lift flings you over the 305' summit before you even have a chance to think about it. We rode after a rainstorm and the coaster felt like it was easily pushing a hundred miles an hour. The park has a great variety of coasters and flat rides, but to me, the awkward names and theming, as well as customer service and food are in serious need of some help. I understand it was a busy, hot day and many of the staff were working double shifts but after being amongst BGE's smiling ride crews it was like night and day. We do want to acknowledge Dale, an older gentleman working at I-305 who was clearly an outstanding, funny and efficient ride op. A thunderstorm did shut down most of the park for a few hours, but it was just enough to scare away the crowds in time for the parks awesome fireworks show later on that evening. When the storm passed, we were able to get night rides on Dominator, Volcano, and I-305 which has easily become the best coaster in the park. I am glad Cedar Fair is now in control of this park and look forward to improvements over the years. Volcano (x2): Intamin LIM Launch Inverted Flight of Fear (x2): Premier Indoor LIM Launch Intimidator 305 (x2): Intamin gigacoaster Anaconda: Arrow multilooper Backlot Stunt Coaster: Premier launcher w/ show elements Shockwave: TOGO Standup Ricochet: Wild Mouse Drop Tower: Intamin circular drop tower (270' drop) Grizzly: Wooden coaster Rebel Yell: Racing wooden coaster Dominator: B&M Floorless, perhaps the greatest ever Coasters: 4/5 Staff Courtesy: 2/5 Landscaping: 3/5 Food: 2/5 Cleanliness: 3/5 Thank you for reading my report. Special thanks to John, Nina and Matt for the photos throughout the trip! Unfortunately there's only one for today, and that's the awesome Mr. Dale! Please clone him and redistribute him as needed KD.
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