Carowinds TR

[LeeroyBennagins]

So this past Tuesday & Wenseday, I made the trek to Charlotte and a two day trip to Carowinds. And I must say I was extremly dissapointed. It might have been the crappy hotel I was staying at, the excessive heat or the fact that the atm ate mt debit card before I left TN and had to delay my trip a day to get a replacement card. Also operations were very poor, My home park is SFOG and I've been there on weekdays in the summer were they had less crowds than Carowinds and they still ran two trains on each coaster, even the less popular ones like Ninja & Cyclome. Here Carolina Cyclone was down to one train, which resulted in a 10 minute wait, which for a 1980's Arrow looper is unacceptable with low crowds. Also Hurler was closed both days, which I was dissapointed in because I love rough woodies, Both cars were on the transfer tracks Tuesday and the Blue one was on there yesterday. Also for a park that has such a good looking coaster lineup the rides themselves were really mediorce.

 

Vortex: For an early 90's B&M it wasn't as rough as I was expecting, but compared to Chang & Scorcher it definitly isn't as exciting.

Carolina Cobra: I've ridden two giant inverted boomerangs at SFMM & SFOG, but never a standard model. It actually was a pleasent suprise. It was smooth as glass and rather forceful.

Thunder Road: Front seat only. The middle of the car, at least on the South Carolina side literally beat the crap out of my back and kness. The front on each side was supringsly smooth and a few nice pops of air.

Afterburn: This was the biggest dissapoiment of the trip. The way people have raved like it was the grand messiah of B&M Inverts. Now granted the other 3 B&M inverts I've been on were all Batman clones, but they were definitly better rides. The drop & the batwing were pretty nice, but I didn't walk off in love like I expected.

Carolina Cyclone: Rough, also what kind of acid trip were they on when they painted this? I though it looked cool in pictures, but up close it's ugly.

Intimidator: The first half of this ride is thrilling, and air galore. Unfortunaly once it hits the midcourse breaks it suffers a bit.

 

Also I have a few questions about the park if anyone has any input.

What are the shark emblams on the Afterburn trains?

Is that Dale Earnharts real car in front of Intimidator?

Did Cedar Fair change to Coke products? I though they sold Pepsi products

[DJeXeL]

What are the shark emblams on the Afterburn trains?

 

Used to be called Top Gun but Cedar Fair didn't have licensing rights to keep the name so it was changed to Afterburn.

Same story with Flight Deck @ KI and Flight Deck @ CGA.

 

Did Cedar Fair change to Coke products? I though they sold Pepsi products

 

The Paramount parks had a contract with Coke I believe that Cedar Fair is still waiting for it to fizzle (pun intended) out.

[LeeroyBennagins]

What are the shark emblams on the Afterburn trains?

 

Used to be called Top Gun but Cedar Fair didn't have licensing rights to keep the name so it was changed to Afterburn.

Same story with Flight Deck @ KI and Flight Deck @ CGA.

 

Did Cedar Fair change to Coke products? I though they sold Pepsi products

 

The Paramount parks had a contract with Coke I believe that Cedar Fair is still waiting for it to fizzle (pun intended) out.

 

I've never seen Top Gun, so maybe it'll answer my question, but what do sharks have to do with Top Gun? I'm confused lol.

[BaMiTsPaT]

^Some planes are painted with shark mouths on the front of them. I don't know the connection to Top Gun as a movie, but the movie is about planes and the shark-faced planes look wicked

 

Also, The MCBR on Intimidator is near the end, which is bizarre and I agree that it kills the flow of the ride and dulls the portion after it.

[Intimidator305]

The Paramount parks had a contract with Coke I believe that Cedar Fair is still waiting for it to fizzle (pun intended) out.

 

No!

 

Also, nice trip report.

[The Bebes]

Leeroy,

 

I have ridden quite a few B&M inverts, and I still think I like the Batman clones best. They're tight and forceful in a compact little footprint that sends you through one element after another without pause. I think the bigger ones just have more straight track between elements.

 

That being said, I LOVE B&M inverts and I can't say I've ever been **truly** disappointed with one, though I have felt that some haven't lived up to their built up hype (see Raptor). I can probably say that for just about ANY heavily hyped coaster.

 

-Mr. Bebe

[LeeroyBennagins]

Leeroy,

 

I have ridden quite a few B&M inverts, and I still think I like the Batman clones best. They're tight and forceful in a compact little footprint that sends you through one element after another without pause. I think the bigger ones just have more straight track between elements.

 

That being said, I LOVE B&M inverts and I can't say I've ever been **truly** disappointed with one, though I have felt that some haven't lived up to their built up hype (see Raptor). I can probably say that for just about ANY heavily hyped coaster.

 

-Mr. Bebe

 

Looking back I think it sounds like I hated it, which I didn't. It was a nice little ride, I think I was probally just expecting to much, also the heat didn't help. I'm from the south and I'm use to the heat, but this past week or so it's been excessive even for us.

[Thunderhead]

I found Carowinds very meh. KD is taking a bus to there in a week for only 30 bucks, and i declined. I got my credz, but found nothing worth returning for. Intimidator is nice, and I enjoyed Afterburn, but everything else was just weak.

[Philrad71]

Interesting...we were also there on Tuesday and while the heat was definitely atrocious, it was a benefit because there were no lines for the coasters! Spent the first half of the day at the water park, rode a few coasters, watched the Snoopy on Ice show, left for dinner, came back and got all the credits we wanted.

 

Hurler was running when we were there, but don't worry...you didn't miss much. While not nearly as crappy as the one at KD, there were no spots of airtime and I got a huge bruise on my elbow from slamming the orange restraint. Probably one of the more pointless coasters I have ever ridden.

 

Carolina Cobra was down all day so we didn't get to experience the Boomerang with the new restraints. Didn't ride Vortex because it just didn't look all that great. Loved Intimidator despite the fact that it has quite a bit of rattle for a newer coaster - same for Afterburn (rattle). I ended up getting the last two rides of the night on Int and caught some nice floater air over the hills.

 

Where did you stay that was so awful? We stayed at the Comfort Inn across the street that was $86 per night and the rooms were nice and clean...not to mention a nice view of Intimidator from our room!

 

While this isn't a park I would hurry back to because of distance from our home, it's still a nice park with some nice landscaping. I think one more signature attraction (besides Intimidator) might gain it a bit more attention...definitely not a two day park though.

[jynx242]

I, for one, think Carowinds is a great park. I've never had a bad time there and I wish I could get up there for Coaster Stock this year. Although it was roughly 1000 degrees last year, they did it up right. If you get the chance to go, I'd highly recommend it.

[LeeroyBennagins]

Interesting...we were also there on Tuesday and while the heat was definitely atrocious, it was a benefit because there were no lines for the coasters! Spent the first half of the day at the water park, rode a few coasters, watched the Snoopy on Ice show, left for dinner, came back and got all the credits we wanted.

 

Hurler was running when we were there, but don't worry...you didn't miss much. While not nearly as crappy as the one at KD, there were no spots of airtime and I got a huge bruise on my elbow from slamming the orange restraint. Probably one of the more pointless coasters I have ever ridden.

 

Carolina Cobra was down all day so we didn't get to experience the Boomerang with the new restraints. Didn't ride Vortex because it just didn't look all that great. Loved Intimidator despite the fact that it has quite a bit of rattle for a newer coaster - same for Afterburn (rattle). I ended up getting the last two rides of the night on Int and caught some nice floater air over the hills.

 

Where did you stay that was so awful? We stayed at the Comfort Inn across the street that was $86 per night and the rooms were nice and clean...not to mention a nice view of Intimidator from our room!

 

While this isn't a park I would hurry back to because of distance from our home, it's still a nice park with some nice landscaping. I think one more signature attraction (besides Intimidator) might gain it a bit more attention...definitely not a two day park though.

 

 

I stayed at Lacas Inn, It's like 3 miles away from the park, It was only $41 a night, but if I knew how horrible it would have been I would have popped extra for somewhere else. All 6 Ice Machines were broke, there was no emergency phone in the elavator and the rooms stunk. I was kind of bummed not getting to ride Hurler, as bad as I've heard it was, I usually love woodies that other find rough. Luckily Carolina Cobra was up the next day I went so I only missed 1 credit. One day I'm sure i'll go back and give it another chance. It wasn't a horrible park, it just didn't meet my expectations.

[Philrad71]

^Definitely check out the Comfort Inn on Carowinds Drive next time...it was about $90, which (I think) is a great deal for a hotel being that close to the park. The rooms were nice and clean, the ice machines worked and you had a great view of the parks skyline.

 

Hope your next visit is better!

 

 

PS - Anyone looking for a good food option outside of the park, I would recommend a place called the Tilted Kilt. If you are leaving Carowinds Drive, hang a right at the light and drive a couple of miles. It will be at an intersection on the left side. They have an AWESOME beer selection (which tasted like heaven in the 100+ degree heat) and they also have great food. I had a chicken wrap with the sweet & spicy wing sauce which was very tasty. I also asked if I could try the "kilt burner" hot sauce on the side, which was a very flavorful, very spicy hot sauce. Next time, I would probably try the wings with both sauces!