CedarPoint6
Hyper Poster
Be warned. There’s a lot of pictures (74)! It’s almost a UC length post. Horray!
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I like planning things. Generally my day trips to parks are planned a week or two in advance and any sort of road trip gets done at least a month ahead of time. So for some reason, Allison had I had the brilliant idea of going to Carowinds on Sunday… we decided at 6pm on Saturday. It’s a 4 hour drive. To make things even better, I had finals next week!
So with that fantastic plan, we got up at 5.30 on Sunday morning and left Atlanta for Charlotte, North Carolina. About 2 hours into it, we realized I forget the maps. Thankfully I knew the way, although it was a little more interesting like this!
After a couple stops, we made it to the park at 10.30, just a little after opening. We used our ACE discounts and got a pretty good rate before heading straight onto the coasters. Nighthawk is right in from the gate and was sporting a fantastic new yellow and blue paint job. While so much nicer looking then before, the ride still runs like it has square wheels. We got assigned to row two and had a huge amount of shaking the whole way around. Still, the flip into flying position off the lift is very cool. That said, I’ll take a B&M.
Two states at once! North and South Carolina.
Walking the line.
It’s a giant sign. There’s a C and S in there somewhere.
Absolutely thrilled to be riding this.
It looks nice, though!
Seems like it could be a decent ride.
Ouch, pain.
More ouch, pain.
Loops and trackwork that just shouldn’t happen on a flyer. Or anywhere.
Lie to fly
Brake run with that nice awning so you don’t have to stare into the sun.
Yay supports? Just maybe not on this one.
For the perfect angle, I suppose.
Taking a B&M is exactly what we did next… Vortex, the 3rd installment from the famous company, a tiny standup and one of the only ones with a curving first drop. The ride is fun and intense, especially the vortex-like element in the middle. Sadly, it’s a bit short, but I suppose that’s to be expected with this kind of height. The ride carries a bit of a vibration from its age, although that’s not entirely bad considering Goliath at SFOG has a vibration about on par. From there, we took a ride on Ricochet, a standard Wild Mouse, but one with an unbraked top section—always a plus. Also, Carolina Cyclone, which runs pretty well for an Arrow. The 4 inversions are all pretty darn intense, actually. Corkscrews over the midway are also a good thing too. Somehow not as iconic as Cedar Point’s, but just as cool.
Drop and loop.
Closer up this time.
Not as bad as Mantis!
The vortexy thing.
Some more layout.
NERD shot.
A little more of the layout
You hold up that post.
Nice mouse. Mostly unbraked.
Don’t go in there!!
Most of that area
Not bad for an Arrow
Wheee. Actually fun this time around.
Shadow and stuff. Artistic? Or just an excuse for another picture.
Lunchtime. We looked for hot dogs upon Allison’s request, but found out they were ridiculously expensive (surprise). Instead, we went to a barbecue type place and got stuff there. While not spectacular, it was a pretty good meal (the fries were nice), and we had a good view of Carolina Cobra and some of the other stuff around there. To slow down after lunch, we walked around the park to the Scooby Doo shooting dark ride, always a fun little thing. Allison beat me this time around, although I’m relatively certain I had a faulty gun. Totally not an excuse. From there, we got the obligatory rides on the two kiddie coasters they’d let us on. It’s still amazing to me how a ride as small as Reptar is so rough and painful. It’s still the worst of those junior inverts I’ve done (out of 5 now) by a long shot. The little woodie is a good time, though. A tight fit, but pretty fun for its size. In fact, Carowinds just has a darn good kiddie area in general. All the old Paramount parks were good at that. There’s a huge amount of Nickelodeon themed attractions… it’s almost a small park in itself for all the kids.
Break time.
Mine Train reverse POV! …Of the break run
Part of the coaster. Horray flatness.
Well that’s probably not good..
Scooby Doo
The most awful kiddie coaster you can think of.
This one’s not so bad.
After finishing up the kiddie area, we stopped by the former log flume area to check out what’s going on. (answer: nothing) They have a huge area right there and room for a narrow span of coaster in either direction, so a nice big hyper would fit just fine. Let’s hope so. Hurler was next. For a wooden coaster with only right turns, it’s a whole lot of fun and running a lot better then usual. There was airtime on just about every hill and it wasn’t bone jarringly rough. It helped that we rode in the front, but it was a ton of fun and one we revisited later in the day. Drop Tower is a drop tower as the name seems to imply. It’s one of the 2nd gen models, the same as Kentucky Kingdom’s (RIP). I think these are maybe my favorite of the types. I’m used to Acrophobia’s standing, floorless, gyro, tilting, sugar coated thing at SFOG. A nice sitting version is a good change. It’s not huge, but the drop is great and there’s a lot of airtime. Also one to come back to.
Checking it out.
Lots of dirt.
Lots and lots of dirt.
A hypercoaster under this bridge? Please…?
Well that’s different.
Actually a darn good tower. …a drop tower.
Please don’t actually hurl.
First drop into a corner. Not the best of decisions, but not an entirely bad ride.
From above. It’s all right turns!
By this time, we finally got around to Carolina Cobra. I’d ridden it at Geauga Lake, and it was… well… not good. Thankfully, things are a bit better here. For starters, it looks absolutely fantastic. I was skeptical about the color scheme, but they pulled it off perfectly. I hope they’ll keep up with it once fading starts to set in. The line wasn’t too long (as were most through the day), so we were on in no time. The line is controlled, so you don’t get to pick where you sit. I guess it’s an efficiency thing. Still, we ended up with the front seat. Cobra uses the new Vekoma restraints. It’s sort of like a vest, I suppose, with the rigid part out further where you can hold on. It reminded me a little of the Intamin OSTR’s, just with a thicker band of stuff touching your body. As it turns out, they work really well. Headbanging is pretty much gone. As for the ride being smooth—well that’s a little much to hope for. There’s still a little shaking here and there, but it’s definitely the best boomerang I’ve ridden. No question there. The restraints made a huge difference. Still, it is just a boomerang, so it won’t be topping lists anytime soon.
Looking pretty nice with the trees
Cool logo
Heading back up the lift
Pretty intense loop
Lack of headbanging happens here (and everywhere)
A nice shot of the restraints. Good call, Vekoma.
Boomerang element
Shooting by the queue
Another nerd shot!
From above.
Pizza hat?
Saturator’s still hanging around. Just in a few more pieces.
After Cobra, it was time to finish up the coasters with Thunder Road and Afterburn. Thunder Road’s received quite a bit of retracking recently, including the entire turnaround of the blue side and most of the return hills on each side. Both trains run forward now, sadly, but the retracking has definitely helped. Blue is smoother then gray and runs a little faster, but they’re both certainly improved from what they were a few years back. Don’t expect racing all the time, though. We only saw them do it a couple of times, including when we rode the gray side. Our coaster finale was Afterburn, the park’s signature attractions and still one of the best B&M inverts in my opinion. Despite the inexplicable lack of an –er, the ride gives a darn intense ride though 6 inversions including the only B&M batwing aside from Montu. The use of terrain and path interaction is second to none and the ride is always going over or under something. There’s very little vibration and on the whole is quite a comfortable ride. Definitely the best thing in the park.
They’re actually sort of racing this time around.
Lift
Most of the ride is back there somewhere through the uncleaned glass.
Where’s the –er?
Over the path and pretty much all over the place in general.
It’s headed right for us!!
Loop.
Immelman.
Final awesome tight helix.
It’s down there somewhere.
With coasters done, we went back around once again, starting at Scooby Doo for another shooting match, which I won this time (ha.). The observation tower let us get a good view of the expanse the log flume took up and the place that will hopefully house a happy new coaster next year (it must be happy.). For some reason, we decided to do the rapids next and waited 30 minutes to get on a ride we later realized neither of us were really that interested in riding. It’s kind of a strange loading system, though… they split the queue to either side of the station, load the forward boat from one side and the backward from the other. Wouldn’t it be easier to keep it all together? (answer: yes) Oh well. The ride is alright for a flume, although maybe a little dull. As is to be expected with my luck, I was the only to get totally soaked, going under the only tiny waterfall on the course. Sigh. Good thing my camera made it.
The longest wait of the day.
Heading off into the abyss. Or just some curvy rapids.
Loading belts. All part of a stupidly retarded loading system.
Pictured above: awful loading.
Onride shot.
Excited?
Or scared?
Maybe just a little wet.
We went back over to Hurler to dry off and got another nice ride on that followed by several on Drop Tower. By now it was getting towards closing time, so we headed back over to Afterburn for a final few intense rides. It’s too bad the park closed before dark since those rides are always the best. By now, it was 6 and time for a quick stop at Shoney’s for supper and a nice 4 hour drive home, putting us there around 11.30. There was 8 hours of driving for about 7.5 hours of park, but it was certainly worth it. Carowinds is a nice park and a new coaster next year would only strengthen their lineup and make it more worthwhile.
The only sort of semi-decent ending shot!
Afterburn- 5
Carolina Cobra- 1
Carolina Cyclone- 1
Carolina Goldrusher- 1
Drop Tower- 3
Fairly Odd Coaster- 1
Hurler- 2
Nighthawk- 1
Rapids- 1
Ricochet- 1
Runaway Reptar- 1
Scooby Doo’s Haunted Mansion- 2
Thunder Road- 1 on each side
Vortex- 1
Hope you enjoyed my huge TR thing. Leave a comment or something. Those are always nice!
-----------------------------
I like planning things. Generally my day trips to parks are planned a week or two in advance and any sort of road trip gets done at least a month ahead of time. So for some reason, Allison had I had the brilliant idea of going to Carowinds on Sunday… we decided at 6pm on Saturday. It’s a 4 hour drive. To make things even better, I had finals next week!
So with that fantastic plan, we got up at 5.30 on Sunday morning and left Atlanta for Charlotte, North Carolina. About 2 hours into it, we realized I forget the maps. Thankfully I knew the way, although it was a little more interesting like this!
After a couple stops, we made it to the park at 10.30, just a little after opening. We used our ACE discounts and got a pretty good rate before heading straight onto the coasters. Nighthawk is right in from the gate and was sporting a fantastic new yellow and blue paint job. While so much nicer looking then before, the ride still runs like it has square wheels. We got assigned to row two and had a huge amount of shaking the whole way around. Still, the flip into flying position off the lift is very cool. That said, I’ll take a B&M.
Two states at once! North and South Carolina.
Walking the line.
It’s a giant sign. There’s a C and S in there somewhere.
Absolutely thrilled to be riding this.
It looks nice, though!
Seems like it could be a decent ride.
Ouch, pain.
More ouch, pain.
Loops and trackwork that just shouldn’t happen on a flyer. Or anywhere.
Lie to fly
Brake run with that nice awning so you don’t have to stare into the sun.
Yay supports? Just maybe not on this one.
For the perfect angle, I suppose.
Taking a B&M is exactly what we did next… Vortex, the 3rd installment from the famous company, a tiny standup and one of the only ones with a curving first drop. The ride is fun and intense, especially the vortex-like element in the middle. Sadly, it’s a bit short, but I suppose that’s to be expected with this kind of height. The ride carries a bit of a vibration from its age, although that’s not entirely bad considering Goliath at SFOG has a vibration about on par. From there, we took a ride on Ricochet, a standard Wild Mouse, but one with an unbraked top section—always a plus. Also, Carolina Cyclone, which runs pretty well for an Arrow. The 4 inversions are all pretty darn intense, actually. Corkscrews over the midway are also a good thing too. Somehow not as iconic as Cedar Point’s, but just as cool.
Drop and loop.
Closer up this time.
Not as bad as Mantis!
The vortexy thing.
Some more layout.
NERD shot.
A little more of the layout
You hold up that post.
Nice mouse. Mostly unbraked.
Don’t go in there!!
Most of that area
Not bad for an Arrow
Wheee. Actually fun this time around.
Shadow and stuff. Artistic? Or just an excuse for another picture.
Lunchtime. We looked for hot dogs upon Allison’s request, but found out they were ridiculously expensive (surprise). Instead, we went to a barbecue type place and got stuff there. While not spectacular, it was a pretty good meal (the fries were nice), and we had a good view of Carolina Cobra and some of the other stuff around there. To slow down after lunch, we walked around the park to the Scooby Doo shooting dark ride, always a fun little thing. Allison beat me this time around, although I’m relatively certain I had a faulty gun. Totally not an excuse. From there, we got the obligatory rides on the two kiddie coasters they’d let us on. It’s still amazing to me how a ride as small as Reptar is so rough and painful. It’s still the worst of those junior inverts I’ve done (out of 5 now) by a long shot. The little woodie is a good time, though. A tight fit, but pretty fun for its size. In fact, Carowinds just has a darn good kiddie area in general. All the old Paramount parks were good at that. There’s a huge amount of Nickelodeon themed attractions… it’s almost a small park in itself for all the kids.
Break time.
Mine Train reverse POV! …Of the break run
Part of the coaster. Horray flatness.
Well that’s probably not good..
Scooby Doo
The most awful kiddie coaster you can think of.
This one’s not so bad.
After finishing up the kiddie area, we stopped by the former log flume area to check out what’s going on. (answer: nothing) They have a huge area right there and room for a narrow span of coaster in either direction, so a nice big hyper would fit just fine. Let’s hope so. Hurler was next. For a wooden coaster with only right turns, it’s a whole lot of fun and running a lot better then usual. There was airtime on just about every hill and it wasn’t bone jarringly rough. It helped that we rode in the front, but it was a ton of fun and one we revisited later in the day. Drop Tower is a drop tower as the name seems to imply. It’s one of the 2nd gen models, the same as Kentucky Kingdom’s (RIP). I think these are maybe my favorite of the types. I’m used to Acrophobia’s standing, floorless, gyro, tilting, sugar coated thing at SFOG. A nice sitting version is a good change. It’s not huge, but the drop is great and there’s a lot of airtime. Also one to come back to.
Checking it out.
Lots of dirt.
Lots and lots of dirt.
A hypercoaster under this bridge? Please…?
Well that’s different.
Actually a darn good tower. …a drop tower.
Please don’t actually hurl.
First drop into a corner. Not the best of decisions, but not an entirely bad ride.
From above. It’s all right turns!
By this time, we finally got around to Carolina Cobra. I’d ridden it at Geauga Lake, and it was… well… not good. Thankfully, things are a bit better here. For starters, it looks absolutely fantastic. I was skeptical about the color scheme, but they pulled it off perfectly. I hope they’ll keep up with it once fading starts to set in. The line wasn’t too long (as were most through the day), so we were on in no time. The line is controlled, so you don’t get to pick where you sit. I guess it’s an efficiency thing. Still, we ended up with the front seat. Cobra uses the new Vekoma restraints. It’s sort of like a vest, I suppose, with the rigid part out further where you can hold on. It reminded me a little of the Intamin OSTR’s, just with a thicker band of stuff touching your body. As it turns out, they work really well. Headbanging is pretty much gone. As for the ride being smooth—well that’s a little much to hope for. There’s still a little shaking here and there, but it’s definitely the best boomerang I’ve ridden. No question there. The restraints made a huge difference. Still, it is just a boomerang, so it won’t be topping lists anytime soon.
Looking pretty nice with the trees
Cool logo
Heading back up the lift
Pretty intense loop
Lack of headbanging happens here (and everywhere)
A nice shot of the restraints. Good call, Vekoma.
Boomerang element
Shooting by the queue
Another nerd shot!
From above.
Pizza hat?
Saturator’s still hanging around. Just in a few more pieces.
After Cobra, it was time to finish up the coasters with Thunder Road and Afterburn. Thunder Road’s received quite a bit of retracking recently, including the entire turnaround of the blue side and most of the return hills on each side. Both trains run forward now, sadly, but the retracking has definitely helped. Blue is smoother then gray and runs a little faster, but they’re both certainly improved from what they were a few years back. Don’t expect racing all the time, though. We only saw them do it a couple of times, including when we rode the gray side. Our coaster finale was Afterburn, the park’s signature attractions and still one of the best B&M inverts in my opinion. Despite the inexplicable lack of an –er, the ride gives a darn intense ride though 6 inversions including the only B&M batwing aside from Montu. The use of terrain and path interaction is second to none and the ride is always going over or under something. There’s very little vibration and on the whole is quite a comfortable ride. Definitely the best thing in the park.
They’re actually sort of racing this time around.
Lift
Most of the ride is back there somewhere through the uncleaned glass.
Where’s the –er?
Over the path and pretty much all over the place in general.
It’s headed right for us!!
Loop.
Immelman.
Final awesome tight helix.
It’s down there somewhere.
With coasters done, we went back around once again, starting at Scooby Doo for another shooting match, which I won this time (ha.). The observation tower let us get a good view of the expanse the log flume took up and the place that will hopefully house a happy new coaster next year (it must be happy.). For some reason, we decided to do the rapids next and waited 30 minutes to get on a ride we later realized neither of us were really that interested in riding. It’s kind of a strange loading system, though… they split the queue to either side of the station, load the forward boat from one side and the backward from the other. Wouldn’t it be easier to keep it all together? (answer: yes) Oh well. The ride is alright for a flume, although maybe a little dull. As is to be expected with my luck, I was the only to get totally soaked, going under the only tiny waterfall on the course. Sigh. Good thing my camera made it.
The longest wait of the day.
Heading off into the abyss. Or just some curvy rapids.
Loading belts. All part of a stupidly retarded loading system.
Pictured above: awful loading.
Onride shot.
Excited?
Or scared?
Maybe just a little wet.
We went back over to Hurler to dry off and got another nice ride on that followed by several on Drop Tower. By now it was getting towards closing time, so we headed back over to Afterburn for a final few intense rides. It’s too bad the park closed before dark since those rides are always the best. By now, it was 6 and time for a quick stop at Shoney’s for supper and a nice 4 hour drive home, putting us there around 11.30. There was 8 hours of driving for about 7.5 hours of park, but it was certainly worth it. Carowinds is a nice park and a new coaster next year would only strengthen their lineup and make it more worthwhile.
The only sort of semi-decent ending shot!
Afterburn- 5
Carolina Cobra- 1
Carolina Cyclone- 1
Carolina Goldrusher- 1
Drop Tower- 3
Fairly Odd Coaster- 1
Hurler- 2
Nighthawk- 1
Rapids- 1
Ricochet- 1
Runaway Reptar- 1
Scooby Doo’s Haunted Mansion- 2
Thunder Road- 1 on each side
Vortex- 1
Hope you enjoyed my huge TR thing. Leave a comment or something. Those are always nice!
