Associated parks:
None
First stop: Paramount's Carrowinds Friday May 14th.
The last time we visted Carrowinds a couple of years ago it was a crowded Saturday. This time we thought we'd try going on a Friday hoping it would'nt be that crowded. WRONG! It seemed like every school band in North Carolina brought teens to the park. I mean bus after bus full of 12-16 year olds. There had to be 100 teens to every 1 adult. We knew this was going to be a long day waiting in lines. Enough of the crowd now for the coasters.
1. Vortex: Vortex was the first coaster we came to after coming through the gates. I like this coaster, but the wife hates them. Come to think of it she hates all B+M standups. A powerful coaster, but way to short. Not a bad way to start the day.
2. Ricochet: We rode PKD's Ricochet a couple of years ago and didn't care for it to much so we skipped it here last time. However this time we gave it a shot, and we were both impressed by it. I liked how it started with the neckbreaking turns right off the bat. They also seemed alot longer than PKD's. A good ride and kind of scary.
3. Flying Super Saturator: Amazing is all we can say about this ride. Who would have ever thought to combine a water ride with a coaster, and let you play with water guns on top of it. Just shooting the waterguns at people was plenty of fun for us. We both feel that this should be a standard water ride for every park. Would love to see PKI get one(after there 1st B+M).
4. Top Gun: This coaster will probably always be in my top 5, and is the main reason I come back to this park. The Loud sound that B+M inverts create fits perfect with the theme of this coaster not to mention the layout. From beginning to end it's a constant thrill, especially in the front seat(like all inverts). The Batwing is awesome Especially filled with fog. I already can't wait to ride it again in the future(whenever that may be)
5. BORG Assimilator: After riding X-Flight at Geagua Lake(SFWOA then) we weren't really expecting much of this coaster. The theming was neat I've always been a fan of Star Trek. I did like how the first part of it was over water. It was also neat to be able to ride the first flying coaster. However I missed the helix from X-Flight at the end seemd like the ride was well short.
We did manage to ride The Hurler, Carolina Cyclone, and Thunder Road, but I have nothing special to say about them. Overall We had a good day the lines weren't horrible, and the park was only open until 6:00 so we could manage putting up with the teens for that long. Carrowinds will always be a favorite park.
Second Stop: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Saturday May 15th
This was our first trip to BGW, and we were both very excited about it. After the 4 1/2 hour trip to get here from South Carolina we couldn't wait to get our feet back onto the ground. We arrived at the park at about 11:30, Got our tickets, and headed into the front gate. Already I could tell this was going to be a Park that I loved. We had no idea that the park was going to be so beautiful. It was kind of like going to IOA for the first time. After we got the park map we decided to head to Apollo's Chariot first.
1. Apollo's Chariot: Last year we had the pleasure of riding Raging Bull at SFGAM and me and the wife loved it. So we had high expectations for this one, and it never let us down. We immediatly went straight for the back seat to get maximum airtime, and when we went over the first drop it felt like it wanted to rip us out of our seats. I love that feeling. Then I began to notice that every drop felt like that. I felt like I was in Heaven. This is an amazing coaster, and will be placed high in the top 10
After eating lunch in the Ireland section of the park we decided to stroll throught the wildlife section and New France only to come up to what looked like the mother of all inverts.
2. Alpengeist: Huge! I couldn't believe how big this thing was. To me it looked like it could chew up Top Gun and spit it out as a kids ride. I was worried about the speed of the line because of an earlier trip report I had read, but the line seemed to move pretty fast. I wanted to sit in the front seat, but didn't feel like waiting another 40 min. besides it gave us something to look forward to until the next time. The first drop was amazing, and powerful at the same time then came the inversions. Flying through an Immelman, a loop, and a cobra roll at that speed was incredible. the corkscrew at the end was also very fast. After that ride all I can sya is welcome to #1.
After Alpengiest the rest of the day went by pretty fast. Big Bad Wolf was intense, and Lochness monster's tunnel was insane. We did manage to ride every coaster, but Big Bad Wolf twice including night rides on Nessie, and Apollo's Chariot. I'm already looking forward to the next time we get to visit BGW. Thanks BGW for making me a happy customer.
nice TR!
I'm interested to know how the mid-course trims were set on AC. On my trip last year, after all that air on the first half, it was like coming to a stop and rolling through the rest of the track.
I missed out on Alpen due to long lines, but it sounds like it rides as incredible as it looks! Next time...
macho nachos said:
You were so close, too bad you couldn't have squeezed in PKD.
I didn't realize how close Richmond was to Williamsburg. However vacation time was limited.
Dad of Steel said:
Great TR!I'm interested to know how the mid-course trims were set on AC. On my trip last year, after all that air on the first half, it was like coming to a stop and rolling through the rest of the track.
The brakes didn't stop us that bad. the little double dip at the end gave a lot of air time.
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