TheBEASTunchained Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Thanks for sharing! I really need to get out there and give Thunder Road a goodbye. A couple of questions though.... 1.) What did you think of Fury 325? 2.) Where did you get that Banshee "statue"-like thing in your profile picture? It looks awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGalati Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Wow we were there Tuesday thru yesterday. You wouldn't be from Hamilton County by chance and stayed at the Clarion Hotel? Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk I do live in Hamilton County but we were there Sunday afternoon through Tuesday evening. We stayed at the Qualty Suites at Carolina Place Mall. The hotel is about 4 miles from the park but the rates were very reasonable, rooms were great, and the included hot breakfast bar was a nice plus. Will stay there again when we visit next. One other thing I failed to mention is that I was happy to see Carowinds placing walking paths underneath multiple rides that allowed you to enjoy the ride without being on the ride, Carolina Cyclone, Nighthawk, and Afterburn each had great access to watch riders enjoying their ride. For me, Nighthawk is more fun to watch than ride. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCandyManCan Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 The Hurler at Kings Dominion is substantially worse than the Carowinds one. Trust me there 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGalati Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Thanks for sharing! I really need to get out there and give Thunder Road a goodbye. A couple of questions though.... 1.) What did you think of Fury 325? 2.) Where did you get that Banshee "statue"-like thing in your profile picture? It looks awesome! Sorry for the long post. 1. I like 325, but I feel like it is 2 rides in one, before and after going underneath the bridge. The first part is about speed and high speed turns, the 2nd part was more of a typical B&M air time party similar to Intimidator, DBack, Behemoth, etc. I understand they are wanting to eliminate alot of momentum before the final break run and the bunny hops help. Watching from the parking lot, the trains sound awesome as it flies along the track. When we got to the park on Sunday afternoon, we (my wife and I) went straight to Fury 325 to ride. There was a ride op assigning the rows rather than a free for all. Our very first ride, ROW 1. WOW, what a rush staring 325 feet down waiting for the rest of the train to push us over. Lots of wind and the banked turns are really cool. We immediately got back in line for a second ride, ROW 8. That was fun to watch the train twist as we flew through the first part of the course. Overall great ride. I like the high speed banked turns and hope they introduce those elements in future rides. Honestly though, Millennium Force, for me, is still a better ride simply because MF never lets up. I also like the Intamin trains better than the B&M trains, sitting lower, maybe less drag. 2. That is the original model created in the Cedar Point model shop. We met the designer during our June trip in 2014. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Cool was just wondering. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 The Hurler at Kings Dominion is substantially worse than the Carowinds one. Trust me thereAgreed.Carowinds' Hurler is a fast, fun (if jolting) coaster that has enough airtime and laterals in it to keep it interesting the whole ride. It's not for everyone, but there's something worth trying there. It's probably my favorite coaster there, and it's definitely the one I've ridden the most. Kings Dominion's is... not. Trims, and then endless, airtimeless shuffling. Once you've ridden Carowinds' version, it's also pretty disappointing. I wish Carowinds wasn't removing any wooden coasters, but if either Thunder Road or Hurler had to go... I'd choose Thunder Road. But like many have pointed out, it's odd that the park didn't just put a path under it... I have to imagine it's for something big, or else there was an unexpected reason that required Thunder Road to go. Given how they mentioned the 2016 announcement as part of the 2015 announcement, I'm betting they've got something good up their sleeves. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I'll also be sad the day Vortex is retired but hopefully that's a long time down the road yet. I no longer ride The Vortex, but will be sad when/if it goes. Holds memories of a high school friend who is now gone. Roller coasters are so much more than machines or material, they have a life in the lives of people. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Waterpark expansion confirmed, possible and most likely a gate to the waterpark. Darn that waterpark, it costed us a Swartzkopf shuttle loop and now Thunder Road. May the demise of Thunder Road cast a curse on Soak City. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 We could dam the water park... Maybe that would work? Anyway, I'm sure the removal of Thunder Road was mainly a maintenance issue. The wood may not have been stable enough for the supports to have holes cut into them due to the unpainting job they did. At least, I'm hoping that's the case. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 There has always been maintenance roads under Thunder Road in similar locations to Racer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 According to one of the Coaster Crew's Facebook pages, it was said at the Coaster Crew event on Saturday that Thunder Road's trains (three-bench PTCs) will go to KD (as whole trains) or KI (as parts). Glad to hear that the trains will live on. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondyRidesOn Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 This is also a good sign that Rebel Yell and The Racer will be spared... For now. Blondy, hoping for the best out of this. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron88stang Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I doubt Racer has anything to worry about for a long time. It seems to be more loved and respected by the park and GP than Thunder Road was. If only they would paint the old girl...I think Rebel Yell is going to be ok too and it looks great in the new/old color scheme. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth555 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I was at that event and I recall the tour guide saying 2 trains would go to KD and 2 for KI 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 I've heard that the main reason for lack of painting on Racer is the fact that the original paint was lead-based, and therefore special care and procedures have to be taken in order to remove it. I would love to see it restored to its original red white and blue paint scheme, but at the very least a nice shade of white. That's something that seems to be unique to Racer - I've seen other parks with racing wooden coasters that are simply treated wood with no paint (easier to maintain no doubt, but doesn't look as spectacular as Racer). 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Meanwhile, in Chicagoland... Yet another reason to worry.... See also Rolling Thunder. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 I've said in a few other threads that I worry about that coaster. For the current moment, its blue side is used to advertise the Blue Man Group - heavily. Train wraps (the only ones in the entirety of SFGAm, I might add) and banners advertising Blue Man Group all along the entrance and exit paths. For now, it is valuable because advertising partnerships bring in money. Once that advertising partnership expires, I fear for that coaster. Seeing the condition of that coaster made me very sad. It runs well, but its paint situation is, to put it kindly, shameful. My father grew up in Milwaukee. In his youth, that ride was to him what Vortex is to me. Following my most recent ride, I immediately called him and urged him to make a trip up there ASAP to ride it one last time while he can because I do not have a good feeling about its future. And given that SFGAm already has an RMC, I don't think that one would see a second life in spirit via an RMC transformation. Methinks that once American Eagle is done... It's done. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Racer. American Eagle. Rolling Thunder. Thunder Road. All have/had white paint of a certain vintage. See also Big Dipper, Camden Park. But see Big Dipper, Geauga Lake. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Forgive me but what about American Eagle? Last weekend for Thunder Road, I can't promise I won't cry on my last rides. I really wish history meant more to more Carowinds visitors. I also wish I had requested Thunder Road instead of Hurler when I worked at Carowinds in 2006. Time marches on.. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 American Eagle, like Racer, and once Rolling Thunder, is painted with white paint of a certain vintage. It badly needs repainted. So did Thunder Road--once. It was--stripped. And now... Chronological sequence does not necessarily signal causation. Yet... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSalsa Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Yikes- the lead-based paint theory actually makes since, at least to me. It would also help explain why Six Flags demolished Rolling Thunder instead of RMC'ing it, since the RMC iron horse conversion would not have fixed said problem. The supports would have still had the lead paint in them. Kings Dominion did repaint Rebel Yell fairly recently, so maybe there could be some hope for Racer to get a similar treatment in the future- plus it isn't exactly in a spot where you could do much without another ride blocking the way (thanks to rides like Adventure Express and Flight of Fear). But looking at a Google Maps image of Six Flags Great America, I noticed American Eagle takes up a considerable plot of land. You could easily fit a decent-sized B&M (comparing it with X-Flight, the Wing Coaster next door) in its spot using only the area from the lift hills and not even jump the maintenance road (leaving room also for waterpark expansion if desired). It even looks like if Six Flags wanted to go really big they could fit a out-and-back Giga Coaster there (along with using some of the grassy spots nearby that are currently unused for that one). It is gonna stink if we end up losing more of these classic wooden coasters due to problems with their once-gorgeous paintjobs. It also makes me wonder (and fear)- how many other wooden coasters possibly have this issue? I know the natural-colored ones like Beast that never had it are probably safe, but there are still plenty of other white painted wooden coasters out there... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Call me a hater, but I wasn't too big of a fan of American Eagle when I went in 2008 and it wouldn't hurt me very much to see it go. I can understand being sad about losing American Eagle for nostalgic reasons, but for me, it doesn't mean all that much. However, I would be sad if great woodies like Racer, Beast, Viper (SFGAM), Lightning Racer or Thunder Run bit the dust. For a period of time, I was actually pretty ticked about the possible RMC-conversion of Roar, a ride I've never even been on. TLDR: I don't feel the same way as some do about American Eagle, but I understand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 One needs to watch all this with great interest. I still say in less than ten years, Six Flags and Cedar Fair will be one company. Not to mention Cedar Fair has now shown it, too, is not reluctant to deal out fate to a ride like Thunder Road. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth555 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Im really gonna miss this ride Carowinds wont be the same without it 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindingSon Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 There is no park chain who is interested in preserving old rides just for the sake of it. Those that did are no longer around. Think about that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 See Conneaut Lake Park. Many lessons to be learned... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Do places like Kennywood and Knoebels not count, or am I not understanding the point of what you two are saying? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindingSon Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Do places like Kennywood and Knoebels not count, or am I not understanding the point of what you two are saying?The key phrase is "For the sake of it." Kennywood and Knoebels keep their old rides around because it makes good business sense.If they do it for other reasons, it doesn't usually lead to good things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Fair enough. I was about to try to make a point about Kennywood, but then I remembered how many coasters have come and gone there since Racer and Jack Rabbit. They keep the ones that still make business sense to keep. I WAS misunderstanding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsus Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 No matter what, decisions to keep older rides, refurbish them, convert them, or replace them (and with what) must make good business sense. If not, the park as a whole will not last. Good business sense is what keeps the place profitable, and thus the gates open. If a business doesn't make money, or worse, loses money, that's no good. Now, there can always be more to the decision than just business sense. Maybe keeping an older ride would be profitable but not as much so as another ride. In that case, the park could stick around for quite some time. Maybe the reason to consider if it was profitable enough to keep a ride was a sentimental reason, but the park needed the financial insight to back that up. Don't mind my random ramblings.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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