Carowinds trip report

[Bansheelover]

The Bansheelover family has returned from their first trip to Carowinds. We planned on doing two full days, but it turned into 4 days of fun.

 

Day 1 Monday June 10 

 This was initially planned as a travel day, but we made incredible time arriving at our hotel at 5pm. We checked into the hotel, and Carowinds was only 3 miles away. Knowing we had the meal plan we decided to go check it out, and scope out the crowds, eats, and layout.  We arrived at 6:30 and found the place to be deserted. If there were 500 people including employees there that might have even been a stretch. There was a lot of bad weather around the park that day, but was cloudy when we arrived. First thing we did was go to Harmony Hall, and grabbed a variety of meals. I had the beef brisket very dry, and didn't go back there again. You would think North Carolina would have some killer BBQ, but Harmony Hall is in South Carolina so it did not. The kids hate the pizza which I too snagged a bite and enjoyed.  With the excitement of hardly anyone there we knew Fury would be walk on. Before the last bites of food were swallowed we were headed towards Carowinds' famous monster giga coaster. Looking at the teal coaster it is a magnificent, intimidating, and beautiful ride. We board the four wide train with clamshell restraints. Chris the ride attendant came, and made sure we were not getting out. He was best restraint placer ever. Never once did we have problems with our restraints.  The all clear was given, and up we went. Never had I rode a coaster that was so smooth and forceful. The initial drop into the twists was amazing. The turnaround, and following airtime hills were amazing. We rode it 3 more times before we turned out attention to Copperhead. Copperhead did not have a line either. I'm not going to go into detail on this amazing ride. You need to experience it for yourself. A great thing the Carowinds staff did today was they did not require us to exit and walk around. As long as no one was waiting for your row just ride on. We stayed until closing exploring, and finishing with riding Ricochet which is terrifying. 

 

Day 2 Tuesday June 11

   This day was planned to be an all day event. We arrived at 10 and stayed until 8. The kids got tired,  but we rode everything multiple times. Nighthawk was our longest wait, and it was no Firehawk. It was terrible.  Afterburn was fun, but Banshee is superior in every way.  Hurler has a lot of new track, but is a very tame mild wooden coaster even our youngest thought it was a kiddie ride. Carolina Cyclone was a longer version of Cedar Point's Corkscrew, but just an old arrow coaster. Intimidator was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the Dale Earnhardt theme I really enjoyed the hard turn to the back of coaster. A lot of force there. We ate Chic Fil A, and Carowinds cafe. Their version of Hank's it was very good. 

 

Day 3 Wednesday June 12

     This day was a rainout, and supposed to be our last full day. Before the heavy rains we got two rides on Fury, and ate lunch at the Blue Ridge Country Kitchen. It was a lot like Coney BBQ. The park closed at 6pm and we left around 12.

 

Day 4 Thursday June 13

    Due to the heavy rains we decided to return to the park. Although original plans called for us to leave for Cincinnati at 10 am. We went to the park and had a great time. We got 4 more rides on Fury and 2 more on Copperhead. The youngest wanted to ride Ricochet again, which is the  still the scariest ride I've ever rode. 

 

All in all we had a wonderful time. The kids enjoyed seeing familiar things, and discovering new. The ride attendants made sure you could ride, and would not just tell you to get lost. Having Platinum passes is well worth the extra money, and Charlotte is an easy beautiful drive down I-77. Fury 325 is the king of their coaster lineup. It dominates the drive in, and everyone is focused on it. The staff knows it is their money ride. We will return the littlest is able to ride Fury.