BOO! Scarowinds! 10/30

I work closely with a staff of four graduate assistants, and we decided we all wanted to have the BEST Halloween weekend ever. Or at least as good as it gets in greater western North Carolina. Friday night we hosted a department Halloween party complete with green rum punch and "REDRUM" scrawled on the bathroom mirror in blood, err, lipstick. I dressed as the lead character in the classic "Flashdance." It was so good to wear leg warmers again. ;)

Anywho...the party just wasn't enough, so we packed in the Volvo and headed south to Carowinds on Saturday night (with a quick stop in Hickory for shopping...since there's none here). The Carowinds entrance sign looked cool with a bloody "S" added and the park was PACKED! The line for BORG was spilling well out into the midway, and only got longer each time we walked by, so we never rode. In my 3 visits this year, I've never gotten on that thing. Oh well.

My non-enthusiast work friends were VERY impressed with Carowinds and spent the night comparing it to the amusement parks they grew up with (SFStL, Dorney, and SFMM). They all were impressed with the way the rides were "decorated"; not for Halloween, but in reference to theming. We were lucky to be walking by the Vortex entrance just as it opened and were on after only 5 minutes. Many in my group hadn't ridden a coaster in about 5 years, and they screamed as the train left the station. Then, we headed over to Ricochet, where they all--having never been on a mouse--declared it "too small". I convinced them to ride and they all loved it! We hit Carolina Cyclone (not bad...one of the ops was hand slapping...cute) and a 3-D haunted house where we all screamed until our throats hurt.

Headed over to Hurler and waited a half-hour for a miserable ride in the front seat. Ow. That thing is pretty inconsistent if you ask me, I remember enjoying it quite a bit just back in August.

Did Drop Zone and loved the awesome view of a big spooky moon over the park. Headed over to Top Gun and saw the line was long. Knowing we'd only get one ride, we waited for the front seat. Ride went down for a bit during our wait and staff were VERY nice about updating us on the status and just seemed to be enjoying interacting with guests. Top Gun was, as always, perfect! It's now officially my fav inverted. I loved the screams of delight by my colleagues at the misted tunnel. They all seemed to think it was the best thing they'd ever ridden and "better than Batman" from my StL and MM friends.

We ended the night walking through a haunted "escape from Alcatraz" experience that was good spooky fun. We were all sad at how quickly Midnight arrived, but enjoyed a mostly fog-free drive back up the mountain jamming out to an unusual mix of music thanks to my IPod.

I've been to my new "home park" three times this year and overall, I've been very impressed. The park is always clean, crowds are managed well, and staff is very friendly. Not to mention that the season passes are a steal at $69 including parking and admission from August 04 through the end of the 05 season. Yay Carowinds! :)

Sounds like you had a good time. I have only been there once and it was 100 degrees with no sleep, so I wansn't entirely impressed with it. Although I did enjoy the rides we got Hurler, it was giving great air when I was there. Damn woodies and their moodiness!

Kris, who is now listening to the Flashdance soundtrack. ;)

Glad to hear you had a great time, Dawny! It's always fun brininging "non-enthusiast" friends with you, especially if it's their first time or they haven't been on a coaster in so long.

So did you conjure up this green punch? ;-)

-Tina

Who else would bartend?

Dawn's green slime punch

1 gallon orange juice

1 2-liter bottle 7-UP

4 cups white rum (or vodka, or mix)

2 cups blue curaco

Mix in a cauldron. Use dry ice for effect if you can get it. Otherwise, float big ice "hand" made using rubber glove. Spooky! Who care's if Halloween is over.

Would also be appropriate for St. Patricks Day. Or maybe with ice cubes colored red, or made from a red juice for Christmas. Or whenever. :) *** Edited 11/2/2004 2:03:23 PM UTC by dawnmarie313***

Can't you get through a thread without being so cute Dawn? ;)

+Danny

Glad you had fun, Dawn! I'll be down for my yearly Spring Trip to PCar(next year complete with vomit free action;)), I may just have to drag you there with me. I love Carowinds, Good fun, Top Gun, and Southern Hospitality. You can't beat it.

Thanks for inviting ME, Dawn!

Joe "terribly disappointed" C. :)

Oh, sorry Joe! I totally forgot you lived in the area. ;)

Call me next time you're going to Great America, k? ;)

^^ and ^ *Double Roffles* with and @ Joe. :)

Start asking him to meet you at SFOG next season Dawn and act like you completely forgot about him moving when you go to Orlando. ;)

+Danny