PKD Monorail Question

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LocoDriver said:
Pretty sure that the old monorail station at Carowinds is now the station used for Vortex.

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Actually Vortex and the Monorail were at the park together for Two Years. The Monorail station was located next to the shade arbor in Carolina Showplace. Very small squeez, and at one point the Monorail, Vortex and the Goldrusher all crossed over each other.

I also prefer Themed Parks to regular Parks. Some of my Favorites also include Dollywood, BGW, the Disney Parks, and Universal Orlando. I think theming helps make you feel like you've stepped into another place. I hate it when you can see the Parking Lott from inside the park.

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"The Mountain Slidewinder. Voted The #1 Non-Rollercoaster Ride in America Amusement Business Magazine, 1991"

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Jeffrey R Smith said:
"Part of the reason I immensely enjoy parks like Magic Kingdom, Busch Gardens, Silver Dollar City, Dollywood etc is because they adhere to their theming. The jobs are never half-done. The storyline in the areas around the ride is considered as important as the ride itself."

Preach on Shaggy! Some times I feel like I'm the only one that feels like this. It is great to see others that place some inportance on theming and atmosphere as part of the amusement park experience.

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Give me wood! :-)
328 and counting!

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Give a man an amusement park, and he will be entertained for a day. Give a man a theme park, and he'll cherish the memories forever.

Amen.

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Love,
The Mole

Thanks for the old Kings Dominino pic links. That ariel view of Candy Apple Grove really makes your realize how much they have trashed the park since its opening with the flat ride removal and the removal of lake charles. The waterpark (which could have been located elsewhere), really junks up the area and removed much of the magic we have been talking about.

Its a shame the US should be the leader in quality theme park entertainment, but so few parks are actually themed now.

Smurf Mountain anyone??? DOES ANYONE REMEMBER SMURF MOUNTAIN!!!?? :'-( i used to love that ride. Im only 15, and i remember riding the monorail once with my dad and just about going nuts when a giraffe got really really close to the train. hehe.......oh well.......its nothing like that anymore........

Josh

I dont remember Smurf Mountain at PKD. I do remember Smurf Island at Carowinds. I think Canada's Wonderland had a Smurf themed area too ??Smurf Forest??

As for the Carowinds monorail it was constructed with the original park in 1973 for the plans of it becoming like disney world resort complex. The hotels belonging to the park were never built, as Taft took over after just 2 years of the original owner owning it. Then as we all know Carowinds lost its glory!

Did the Monorails at PKD, PKI, Carowinds all look the same. Did any of the other parks have a monorail?

I'm with you Super7,I can't believe the way the park has changed since the time that arial pic was taken.

At one point in time(my guess was 1975) the parrotroopers ride was located in between wave swinger & octopus,that's funny to me because I always recalled it being in the congo area of the park roughly where DF used to be.

I guess the parrotroopers was moved there in 76 when the apple turnover was added to candy apple grove,I also remember smurf mountain as well(although at the time I first rode it the ride didn't have the smurf theme at all) it had a totally different theme to it back then.

Yup. Smurf Mountain was originally called the Land of Dooz. I remember being pretty bored with it when I was a kid. Smurf Mountain wasn't much of an improvement, either.

The Parrot Troopers was in the Congo section of the park (then called Safari Village). It was on a semi-circular wooden 'pier' that extended a few feet out onto Lake Charles, I believe near King Kobra's entrance. And speaking of King Kobra, I found some great pictures of it as well. Check out this site. Holy nostalgia. By the way, you can see a Parrot Trooper tub in the second pic from the top in the right-hand column.

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
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A couple questions regarding the Safari Monorail at PKD -

The Safari Monorail used to travel through the Lost Mountain at one point, I believe right at the beginning of the ride. Is the tunnel that is now used for Volcano's launch the old Safari Monorail tunnel?

Recalling from memory, the Safari Monorail may have returned through a tunnel in the Lost Mountain as well. Is this tunnel now used as the exit-way for the Bobsleds?

A couple years ago, I discovered a back-road that ran behind the park, where Flight of Fear and Volcano stand. I got out and looked around and it did not seem as if the land for the Safari Monorail existed anymore - in fact, Volcano was right up against a fence. across the road was either a trailer park or a baseball field, I can't remember which. Did King's Dominion sell off this land where the road now stands?

Actually, the monorail track was still in place for a few years after the Avalanche bobsled was built. It passed over the brake run, but it never traveled through the tunnel that the exit walkway passes through (the tunnel didn't exist prior to Avalanche). I also don't remember it ever traveling through the mountain at any point. It definitely ran pretty close to the mountain at a couple points, but not through, if I remember correctly.

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
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