Copperhead Strike at Carowinds test tease footage

Not sure I would have commissioned the roll right out of the gate (it sure didn't help Hydra), but here we go...

I actually loved the slow roll at the beginning of Hydra! There is just something about slow inversions I love! :)

I too loved the heartline roll out of the gate on Hydra and especially on Smiler, where it's in the dark. Great way to start a ride.

It was neat. Once.

It's a gimmick, sure, but a smart one.

Considering most people visit a park once per year and will probably only wait in the long line once, it will certainly have people talking about it with their friends.

And of course there's the marketing angle.

Personally, I like the roll on Hydra, but Dorney is not my home park, therefore I do not have to ride it repeatedly and get sick of it.

I do think that at my home park, CP, Gatekeepers slow rollover on the first drop is amazing and do not tire of it. However, we don't ride GK every visit because it's just not high on our list.

^ And the amazing thing on Gatekeeper is how different that rollover is on either side... On the left the train pitches you up and over, on the right the train drops out from underneath you.

And I always take the right side. IMO that roll off the lift is the best feature on the ride and I think it’s far more fun if not slightly unnerving, to have the seat drop out from under me.

I was more excited about that amazing chain link upside down head chopper, then realized it wasn't a permanent fixture. :(

This definitely looks like one of the better inversion coasters in the United States. I really like how there is pacing in between the inversions instead of just consecutively been turned upside down

RCMAC said:

And I always take the right side. IMO that roll off the lift is the best feature on the ride and I think it’s far more fun if not slightly unnerving, to have the seat drop out from under me.

Odd... I really dig the left side. I like the up & over more than the down & out. This could become the next Left Twix vs Right Twix debate.

Wrong chain's marketing. ;)

This shouldn't even be compared to Hydra imo because of the lap bars. For 99% of riders this will be the first time they've ever hung inverted on a lap restraint. It's a great little gimmick.

RollrCoastrCrazy said:

This shouldn't even be compared to Hydra imo because of the lap bars. For 99% of riders this will be the first time they've ever hung inverted on a lap restraint. It's a great little gimmick.

99% of the riders won't notice whether it's a lap bar or an over the shoulder restraint. Plus, the concept of a lap bar that comes over your head will confuse things further!

Footage looks interesting, Icon at the Pleasure Beach is fun - but not sure it's a top tier ride, does a lot of meandering. It does miss a lot of the intensity that Blue Fire and Helix have - this looks to be along the lines of Icon.

"99% of riders won't notice whether it's a lap bar or an OTSR..." I'm sorry that's just laughably wrong. The general public absolutely does notice it, have you ever waited in line for Daredevil Dive at SFoG? It's all people talk about. Hell, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld added fake OTSR's to their Premier launchers solely because guests would be too afraid of having just the lap bar.

That's not my experience. Whiny enthusiasts talk about restraints, the general public tend not to.

I was just at SFOG for opening weekend And have been several times in the last few months and got a couple times the last year.

I’ve never heard anyone in line talk about lap bars.

On occasion I will hear someone say something on a ride that inverts without OTSRs, but it’s most certainly not all they talk about in line for Daredevil Dive.

From a fear-based perspective, I can tell you that a large part of the fear (and ride-refusal) for Dragster and Millennium has to do with the restraints (i.e., "that can't possibly be enough to hold someone in on a ride that goes so fast"). And there aren't even any inversions.

You don't hear people in line talk about the lap bars because the people that are worried about them haven't gotten in line. :)

I’d agree with that. I think most people take a “more is better” approach to restraints. Now, I occasionally hear people talk about how “that one banged my ears so bad” but when I mention most rides could and should operate without all that their eyes get really wide.

But the 1% who do like and share are my true friends.

I think Carowinds has another hit on their hands.