Carowinds 5/26-5/27/23

Preamble:

I had two big goals for myself this year: Take a 2-3 day solo vacation to a city I don't have friends in and to visit an amusement park by myself to see if it's something I enjoy. Because I have a job that's incredibly social, I do a lot of things solo (cycling, going to the movies, going to Columbus Crew games). But amusement parks, with all the waiting in line, always seemed like the social part was almost a necessity. But I figured boredom could easily be cured with a pair of earbuds. Still, I got an unexpected taste of going to a park solo last week when I ventured off the freeway to visit Dorney Park and not once did I need those earbuds. Because I had Fast Lane+ built into my Platinum Pass, I rarely waited in line. And when I did, I mostly read the news, texted with friends, or scrolled through Instagram. So I knew this trip to Carowinds and Kings Dominion would be no problem whatsoever. Beginning my trip at 4am, I drove all the way from Columbus, OH to Charlotte, NC. My initial plan was to check out the park for a few hours on Friday and spend most of the day there Saturday. But it was due to rain on Saturday, so I skipped out on work a few hours early and ventured over to the park Friday and for a few hours Saturday. Turns out, that was all I needed!

The park:

Carowinds screams its aspirations from the moment you pull into the parking lot. I always think Cedar Point looks comical with the ridiculous amount of coasters you can see just from the entrance itself. To a certain extent, Carowinds does much of the same, showcasing Fury 325 and Intimidator right up front. But while Gatekeeper is a beautiful, dramatic display, Fury aggressively confronts you as you walk in, giving one of the most hype-inducing walks to the gate you'll ever experience. But once you're past that, the park really does welcome you in. Carowinds feels like a beautiful park...not just an amusement park. There are mature trees everywhere and the paths never seem so large that you couldn't get shade if you needed it. I'd often find myself just enjoying the greenery and decorations. In a weird way, it often felt like the coasters were wrapped around the vegetation instead of the vegetation being planted around the coasters, if that makes sense. And because the park isn't massive like the one I know on Lake Erie, it was so easy just walking loop after loop around the park.

The staff:

Carowinds doesn't have the small park feel that Dorney Park had, but it still felt non-intimidating. The staff were still young, but instead of being mostly teenagers, there was a good mix of teens and early 20-year-olds staffing almost everything. And they were doing a decent job getting trains dispatched. Still, it's painfully obvious that Cedar Fair's operation mandates and lack of staffing really hamper the team's ability to dispatch trains effectively. Often, there were only two ride ops checking restraints instead of 4. Like Cedar Point, ride ops had to lower lap bars, even though guests are fully able to do it themselves. But damn, did those ride ops do the best they could. Shout out to the dude on Hurler making jokes on the intercom. I would bet money that he's been working that ride for years and while the coaster itself is trash, he is a treasure.

The food:

I broke down and got a Cedar Fair meal plan, so I'm going to throw in short food reviews too. I loved the Fury Burger I got at Jukebox Diner. It's a smash burger with an onion ring and beef brisket on top. It sounded like a lot, but it was just right. I really enjoyed my meal at Harmony Hall Marketplace though. I went to the BBQ place and not only did it taste great, but the portions were excellent too. If I didn't have the meal plan, I wouldn't feel bad paying $17.99.

Day 1:

• Fury 325 (3x | station wait): When I walked off this coaster, I texted my friends saying, "I think Millennium Force and I are going to have to have a talk when I get home." Fury is simply a work of art on so many levels. Visually, it is just a powerhouse, darting across the front of the park with a shocking amount of speed. Even though I'd ridden Orion, I've just never seen a B&M move that fast. But riding Fury was a whole different experience. The first drop is, by far, one of the best (if not the best) I've experienced on a coaster in my life. This is especially the case if you're in the back seat because you are absolutely launched over the first hill. And the fall feels like it takes forever despite the speed. The coaster rips about the track, comfortably throwing you in all directions. Not a moment of roughness or any unexpected transitions. And after experiencing some of Intamin's and RMC's more restrictive restraints, I really appreciated the single point of contact that B&M's lap bars provided. The free movement of my upper and lower body added to the excitement of it all. Fury also compliments its smaller sibling, Intimidator, really well too. Unlike the Orion/Diamondback pairing, these coasters go after two different experiences and you can enjoy them in their own right. Speaking of Orion...I almost feel cheated that Orion came after Fury, given what Fury can do. I'm still in the camp of Cedar Fair not wanting to outshine Millennium Force, but I'll put down my tinfoil hat. I could go on and on about Fury, but I would absolutely say this is a coaster that you should make a pilgrimage for. I love Millennium Force, but Fury is a showcase of just how far we've come since 2000. I'm still debating whether or not it takes my top stop, but it's definitely within the top 5, if not top 3.
• Hurler (1x | 10 min): Hurler is garbage. Friends warned me going into it, but you can look at it and see it hasn't been cared for. The ride was indeed rough, but because it doesn't gain that much speed and elements are pretty drawn out, it wasn't as painful as Thunderhawk was at Dorney Park. Still, I don't know if giving it the RMC treatment like Twisted Timbers is the result I'd like to see. I did enjoy the Hurler's triple out and back layout. There is something fun about going into a turn tight off the first hill. Maybe the answer is a modern retrack, but something should be done. Still, the station was filled with people who apparently didn't get the memo of how rough the ride was. It has its fans.

• Carolina Cyclone (1x | 10 min): Carolina Cyclone is a pretty standard Arrow Looper, but I really enjoyed it. Unlike Corkscrew at Cedar Point, there are no rest periods throughout the layout, which made it slightly more exciting. Transitions weren't bad and I didn't notice any head banging. Great ride overall.

• Carolina Goldrush (1x | 5 min): Carolina Goldrusher isn't a complicated coaster...it only consists of hills and helixes with a tunnel added on...but I thought it was a great step-up coaster. The train really gets some speed in those helixes and even I found myself wooo'ing as the train went through them. And while the theming isn't as heavy or involved as other parks, Carowinds' makes a beautiful, forested backdrop to this mine train coaster. My only complaint are the restraints. I'm 6'0 and had to cross my legs just to get the restraint over my knees. Sure enough, the ride op recommended tall people do that just a few moments later. I just found that a bit weird.

• Copperhead Strike (1x | walk on): This was one of my favorite coasters in the park. At a glance, I thought the experience would be similar to Maverick, but I was absolutely wrong. Whereas Maverick focuses on quick turns and speed, Copperhead Strike focuses on quick turns and hang time. This may be the only coaster that I advocate sitting square in the middle of the train because you get the maximum amount of hang time 3-4 times on the ride. And because you aren't moving very fast, it almost feels like you're going to fall out. I wish the launches were a bit more intense, but I don't think that's what Copperhead Strike is going for. I will say, the theming is wonderful on this one.

• Afterburn (1x | walk on): Afterburn might challenge Banshee for my favorite B&M invert. It mixes the aggression of old B&M without the need to brace for head banging. In fact, the only head banging I experienced was the last corkscrew and given how unrelenting Afterburn is, I can forgive it. I love how this coaster dips underground at various points, picking up more speed than you'd think it'd have otherwise. Transitions are quick, but comfortable, which isn't surprising given that it was build in 1999. B&M was still in the phrase of making intense coasters, but really worked out the rider experience. I love Raptor because of its similar aggression, but it lacks the sophistication that B&M picked up later in the decade. Afterburn makes up for that.

• Intimidator (2x | station wait): I thought Intimidator was going to be your run-of-the-mill B&M hyper, but my god, did I enjoy it. The first drop was stellar, as expected. But I was surprised by the steepness of the hills that followed. My first ride was in the back and for a split second (because that's all I had), I wondered when we were going to get to the max steepness of the 2nd or 3rd hill because it just felt like it was taking forever to get there. This made for a lot of airtime on each hill. Somehow it felt more significant than Diamondback, even though both coasters are fairly similar. This likely takes the spot for my favorite hyper (sorry Diamondback/Magnum)...similar to Fury and Afterburn, I just couldn't stop riding it. That's a sign of a great coaster. Be sure to ride this one in the back becasue the airtime never ends.

Day 2:

• Nighthawk (1x | walk on): Nighthawk and I have a history that spans 23 years. The year of its birth, I rode it at Paramount's Great America and it was known as Project Stealth. It, along with Millennium Force, were some of the first coasters I remember rejecting riders for being too big. Being an overweight teenager and having been rejected from riding Grizzly at Great America, I was super nervous about riding it. But with a few crushing blows to my crotch, the ride op was able to get me riding. Nowadays, I'm about 85lbs lighter than I was back then. Nighthawk is a good coaster to have in your collection on paper, but kind of a bad coaster in reality. First, the wait was the longest in the park by far at two hours. Compared to the 60-75 minute wait for Fury, that's a lot of time to spend waiting for an okay-at-best coaster. Even with Fast Lane, I didn't feel like waiting that long on day 1, which is why I waited until morning of day 2 to ride. Second...it's just not good. A lot of people talk about a coaster being rough or bumping and I typically don't agree. Rougarou isn't rough to me...it doesn't have a rattle as I'd expect it. But Nighthawk is rough. So rough that it takes away from any sensation of flying because you're more focused on your entire body being shaken even when the train isn't going very fast. It reminded me of how on Mean Streak, I could barely feel any negative Gs on the first drop because the coaster was too busy throwing me in all directions at once...and not in a fun way. Now, Nighthawk wasn't painful. The soft restraints help that a great deal, but I only rode once.

• Afterburn (3x)

• Copperhead Strike (3x)

• Fury 325 (3x)

• Intimidator (2x)

• Carolina Sky Tower (1x)

Final Thoughts:

Carowinds was worth the 6.5 hour drive to Charlotte, NC and I'll likely start making it a yearly thing. They have so many quality coasters, fun flat rides (that I didn't ride), and decent food. Plus, it was just nice hanging out in the park. The themed areas were specific, but also flowed well from place to place. Plus, Fury 325, Copperhead Strike, Afterburn, and Intimidator are just powerhouse coasters. Fury commands your pilgrimage, regardless.

Great report and it reminds me again that I need to get back to Carowinds. My last trip up to the park was Opening Weekend of 2019 and outside of nearly all of your observations, my biggest takeaway was that the park felt like it was in midseason form as far as operations/open rides and food stands, etc., on Opening Day. It's a great park and a park you can tell Cedar Fair really cares about.

I'm not sure if a retracked Hurler would do enough to make it worthy of being in that park. I feel like that ride would suffer from Raging Wolf Bobs syndrome. A rough boring layout can only really be improved to a smooth boring layout.

I love Carolina Cyclone and it reminds me a lot of my beloved Geauga Lake Double Loop. It also doesn't hurt that the park has the old GL Mind Eraser, and until last season still had the old GL Yo Yo swings, which I always took a few rides on for nostalgia every time I went to the park.

Nighthawk is a rough mess. But I also remember X-Flight at then Worlds of Adventure briefly becoming my # 1 coaster as a 15 year old Ohio coaster nerd. I think those rides just didn't hold up, and relocating them probably didn't help.

And to borrow from the Hot Takes thread:

Fury > Millennium Force

Maverick > Copperhead

(and my most controversial)

Intimidator (Carowinds) > Fury (it's so close though)

Hurler was a solid coaster when it was new. I never thought the layout was boring (certainly not as "boring" as the John Allen racers at the Kings' sister parks, but those are always fun), it just got unbearably rough over the years. They still weren't as good as the original Thunder Run, though.

I ended up leaving my 3-day Carowinds trip liking Afterburn more than Fury. I'm not just saying that to be edgy; it really is an amazing ride. I am picky about pacing. I find that the trimmed camelback on the return run of Fury messes with the momentum too much and my body breaks out of bliss mode to question the change. I wish I could enjoy trimmed rides more, but my body knows they've been tampered with and rejects the feeling of freedom that comes easily from feeling the natural forces.

I marathoned Afterburn and found that I hit the brakes out of breath and laughing every time. It has zero dead spots. Dipping into the tunnel in the batwing at night was exhilarating beyond description. Unfortunately, lines were too long to let me marathon Fury enough to analyze it in the same way I could with Afterburn.

The positive Gs at Carowinds are not to be underestimated. They'll smoosh you good into your seat.

I found Intimidator boring. The trim was hitting hard and I only got good airtime in the very back. It feels sterile and the last half is missing something. A tunnel, another tighter helix, theming, sound effects, something. I liked Copperhead, Fury, Afterburn and even Nighthawk more than Intimidator.

Copperhead Strike is a perfect addition to Carowinds and is their most complete ride package. It has a little bit of everything. I wouldn't change it in any way.

Nighthawk at night was a very special experience. I wish I could take infinite loops laying on my back.

Be happy it didn’t rain. I drive 6.5 hours and they closed the park at 4:30 on what should have been a busy Sunday (it wasn’t) just for a couple hours of rain.

Advertised (bait and switch) close time was 10 PM. It was the third time in a month that they did this.

It’s a nice park but the VP has chased off a lot of customers with these ghost weather closures. It only seems to draw a crowd on Saturday despite a decade of high investment.

super7*:

the VP has chased off a lot of customers with these ghost weather closures.

I know bitter, and this guy is bitter.
Did I ever mention the time I flew out to Salt Lake City for Lagoon? And during my only two days there they experienced a drought-ending downpour? All day, every day rain. Many rides, one of which I would love to have on my list, were closed. The park closed early and if it was due to low attendance I’m not surprised. I didn’t have a season pass, by the way, I spent money on tickets. I didn’t even go on the second day. The weather did clear up about half way through but I could see from the parking lot that practically no customers showed up. Many rides stayed closed.
I considered storming in and accusing the higher-ups there of intentionally sabotaging the industry but thought better of it. They really needed the rain and acres of land were saved from additional wildfire damage. And maybe I’ll get back to Lagoon some day. It wasn’t what I’d call life-altering trouble, so I made peace with it. There are worse things to be bitter about.

Not bitter but not everyone is so spoiled in life that they have money to waste traveling for nothing.

This has happened to me twice there. The first time it was a 50° day (above the minimum operating temperature for all rides) and not a cloud in the sky.

The second time was as described above. It rained for two hours in the middle of the day, and when they closed the weather was good enough to operate in until closing time. In fact, the sun came out at 6 PM. It was a pop-up thunderstorm that wasn’t even forecast the day before.

This was not for tornado warnings or torrential all day, downpours, etc.

Both closures were purely for attendance. I don’t know if any other business. The chase is off paying customers because they don’t have enough of them on a certain day.

I just want people to be aware that if they travel there, they are risking wasting their time and money. The park can, and will close for no valid reason unexpectedly if attendance is low

super7*:

Not bitter but not everyone is so spoiled in life that they have money to waste traveling for nothing.

Terrible take. Being at peace with something out of your control is not even in the same ballpark as being spoiled.

And good lord, please tell us again exactly what happened and why you’re so unhappy. This is something like the fourth time, but perhaps somebody here didn’t get it.
We get it. You hate Carowinds now, and you’d like everyone to join you in that. We won’t. But you should absolutely stay home from there, it’s clearly bad for your disposition.

FYI they closed early again June 19 on what should have her. A busy holiday. 4th early closure for the summer season.

im sure my posts will save some decent people time money and disappointment I really don’t care what anyone that likes to argue thinks. I will keep posting factual closures.

Also Cedar Fair blamed decreasing attendance on the weather last quarter. But then some of their parks have closure policies that discourage customers from attending if the weather isn’t perfect. It’s not a sound business plan to count on perfect weather and constant cost cutting.

Ok, but are you on here calling me names? Drought boy? Is that meant for me?
What the hell is wrong with you?
I’d like to think that’s not tolerated around here.
Btw, people in the Carolinas think 50 degrees is cold, like winter-weather cold, and they don’t consider it to be theme park weather. If the place was deserted it’s ok, those same people will have plenty of opportunity to go back when it’s warm. It’s the advantage of having a season pass at a local park. But sadly for you…
The hilarious thing here is that you are dead certain that decisions the park makes to stay open or closed is some nefarious plot. Maybe it’s something as simple as being forced to make choices when business is bad. Or when they’re having trouble keeping employees. Maybe it’s better to disappoint a few hundred people with an early closure than thousands with a shortened season or abbreviated operating week. But by all means make it your life’s work to see that everyone stays away. Do you actually see that as being helpful?
Even though I’d like to be done with you, I’d also like to know how your conversations with the park went. I have a hard time believing that a park official stood under sunny skies and told you that they were closing for weather. And if they did maybe they meant that bad weather earlier in the day drove visitors away and caused their employees to jump ship. That happened to me once at Dorney, which I live nowhere near. I was on a trip. Rain early in the day caused an empty parking lot, maybe one row of cars. No one came. The park closed mid afternoon and nobody cried.
Lastly, you should spare us all and not visit Kennywood very often.

Edit: I see you erased the name calling. Yeah, thanks for that.

Hey Jephry,

Great trip report. I was just at Carowinds recently, and like you had my first ride on Nighthawk back when it was Stealth at CGA. Very cool to see someone else who rode it during its opening season.

I can see deleted and edited posts, FYI. Think carefully before pushing the submit button

Great trip report. I was just at Carowinds recently, and like you had my first ride on Nighthawk back when it was Stealth at CGA. Very cool to see someone else who rode it during its opening season.

That’s awesome! I knew of Nighthawk’s reputation going into the ride, but had to ride it anyway. I’m sad that the flying coaster concept didn’t take off as much as I’d hope, especially with B&M’s version of it. It’s a thrilling experience, even with the Flying Dutchman model. There is something terrifying about experiencing negative Gs while facing the ground (if that makes sense). Ah well.

The interesting thing is that enough people are interested in Nighthawk that it had some epic lines. Sure, part of that is due to the slow operations. But people want to ride it enough to wait for it, so something is right!

Jephry, it’s always nice to read a good trip report of a favorite park, so thanks. And I apologize that attention was unduly diverted from your intended topic.
You’re right, the flying coasters seem to be going away. Here in Ohio we had Geauga’s X Flight that moved to Kings Island as Something Hawk then was eventually removed to make room for Orion. When I first saw it at Carowinds I went straight for the ride as I’d heard the queue was a time suck but I wanted the credit. I seemed to enjoy the ride more than the others and the end had a different configuration. I was also mad at the park for altering a beautiful area of the park and removing a scenic boat ride for it. (Not mad enough to insist everyone stop going, though). When Paramount was in charge they were responsible for quite a few soul-stealing choices at more than one of their parks so I blamed them.
I also rode another Vekoma model at SF America so if I’m correct I’ve ridden them all. All in all the B&M rides are superior with Tatsu and Manta leading the pack.

Firehawk. I knew it would come to me.

When X-Flight opened at Worlds of Adventure in 2001 it was the most fun coaster I had ever been on. Granted I was 15, but that coaster was always a favorite and I always made time to ride it at Kings Island. A lot of it was nostalgia from WoA/GL, but I was sad to see it go.

For some reason Nighthawk hasn't aged as well, at least in the few rides I've had on it. But even though the B&M rides are a better overall ride, nothing beats the moment at the top of the lift when you do the "lie to fly" element at the highest point in the ride. That dramatic moment is completely lost on the B&M rides.

Flying coasters have always seemed like a novelty, one-and-done type ride for me. The prone position is uncomfortable at best, downright torturous at worst (bottom of B&M's pretzel loop). I prefer the B&M clones to the Vekomas, but none of them have been worth a second ride. I think the only one I've ridden more than once was Batwing, which was my very first, and the novelty was over after lap #2.

I rode Nighthawk by myself in 2009 after an hour+ wait, and it was atrocious.

Every time I bring this up, someone tells me I need to ride Tatsu, but whatever. I'd still rather sit down.

I'd make a prediction about flying coasters similar to the one I made eons ago about stand-ups (i.e. Scorcher would be the last one ever), but SeaWorld proved that one wrong this year. That said, I'd rather stand up than lie on my face.

Sitting > Standing > RRR > Prone

Aerophobia.