TR: Carowinds & the Phantom Flyers * VERY LONG*

[Delirium_Guy]

I knew Easter weekend was fast approaching and had made plans to visit my parents who live in Huntington, WV. Then, an idea hit me. PKD and Carowinds were both open for Easter.....its about a 5 hour drive to both from their house. Hmmm. So my mom and I were to head off to Carowinds on Sunday. Mother nature wasn't on our side yesterday, so we ended up making the trek today. So where do I begin.

The last time I was at Carowinds was for the Top Gun media day in 1999, the rest of the Park was closed. Prior to that, my last full visit was in 1997. Oh my, how time has changed that little park. Speechless. I think that sums up my reaction to Carowinds today. Without a doubt, I fully believe this has quickly became the gem of the Paramount chain. I'll get into that later. My mom and I arrived shortly after the 10AM opening, flashed our PKI passes at GR, and were in the Park by 1030. Hmmm.....where to go, where to go. The obvious choice was to head to Danny Phantom's Flyers of course, but not without a quick glance at how beautifully they situated BORG in the CENTER of the park.

Phantom Flyers -- I hate to say this, but the ride runs better at Carowinds than it ever did at PKI. I swear it feels as though they are slightly faster, but thats not definite. The new motor did wonders. When the timer kicks off, the ride is stopped within 15 SECONDS. If that. Capacity, according to the Park's website, is now 325 guests per hour. A definite improvement there. The paint job, FUN. I was a little skeptical at first, but after seeing it in person, I really like it. In the background, a cool painted streetscape that gives the illusion that you are flying through. The queue itself is rather large, with a nice covering over top. I took 5 rides today.....they still got it. Its still the best set of flyers out there. I had 5 wonderful rides and a bruise on my back to prove it. Even better, seeing the locals experience it for the first time. They were soooo interested in the snapping and were talking while waiting in line about what technique they should be using. All I could do was smile. This is going to be a favorite at Carowinds for many people, just as it was for us at PKI. "Go Ghost!"

Nick Central -- I read this in other TRs and I gotta agree, I think PKI's has been topped. This new Nick Central is the true family area, I believe. PKI's mostly seems to cater to small kids. Thats perfectly fine. What I like about Carowinds, it has a mix of attractions in it for that EVERYONE will enjoy. The surprise was the new Flying Dutchman's Revenge. It reminds me of a baby Himilaya ride. The cars ride over an undulating track at a pretty good clip of speed, but through out the ride, they turn from forwards to backwards. It was a little disorienting, but totally fun. The Fairly Odd Coaster was looking nice. I was happy to see that they didn't just slap a new name on it and be done with it. The trains have received some new artwork on them, so has the queue, to fit in with the new name. The Thornberries wasn't as well done as PKI's but still nice. Rocket Power was just fun! Where Nick Central truly outshines our version at PKI, the landscaping. BEAUTIFUL. This would be a trend through out other areas of the Park too. Lots of huge shade trees throughout the area, beautiful fountains, trickling streams (this even runs underneath Reptar). Its so well done. Congrats to Carowinds on an absolutely spectacular job!

Top Gun -- Its entrance conviniently located just a short walk from the Flyers. It had been 6 years since I had ridden last, wasn't sure how much of it I remembered. Its just an all out fun ride. Its not intense, but it still manages to provide the thrills. I love the Immelman, especially in the back, it just kinda throws you up then floats you over the top of it. Of course the Batwing is the most powerful part of the ride and how impressive it is dominating the south entrance to the Park. Took 3 rides, all in the back, loved it. Glad to see the themed loading and unloading spiels still in place, including the Top Gun soundtrack. "Clear for Flight" or "Congratulations on completeing your mission!". Nice touch. Even the ride ops address those standing on the metal hand railings as "cadets". Nice touch.

Scooby Doo & the Haunted Mansion -- This is the first version of a Scooby ride that I have ridden outside of PKI. Most who know me very well at all, no I strongly dislike the one at PKI. Considering the unique and very well done attraction that preceeded Scooby, its a step down. However, I enjoyed this version. I think there are a few factors which set it (and Im' sure the other versions as well) apart from PKI's. For starters, it features the exact same scenes from the PKI version. Where the differences come into play is how they are set up. The scenary at Carowinds is very "in your face", you are close to everything. There are no spaces or dead spots between scenes. Throw in the invidual cars that you are riding in, it really feels like you are making your way through an actually house. Throw in some more sound effects. Nicely done. PKI's could have used a few more scenes or more scenary, something. Everything just seems spread out and thrown together for some reason. Even my mom, who doesn't go to many parks, noted the difference between the two rides and preferred the system at Carowinds.

Borg Assimilator -- I've ridden X Flight and Batwing, this wasn't anything new. I was glad to finally ride it, seeing as how I was at PGA when it was being built. Like a lot of the other things Paramount has attempted to theme, there's no story to the ride. But it didn't matter. I was simply amazed with how they placed the ride. I get the impression that the area that BORG now occupies was very similiar to our antique cars. Lots of trees, just a beautiful area. All of which is gone. They did compensate nicely though. Some nice landscaping in the area makes all the difference. One thing that caught me off guard was the soundtrack for the ride. The whole area had these wierd noises coming from different angles. It really set a mood, especially while hearing it going up the lift. I love how they incorporated the ride over water. This alone makes BORG the most effective of the three flying coasters that I've ridden. While the ride is fun, it doesn't seem to have aged well.....its definitely shaky but not uncomfortable. The paint job looks sharp, but I see a touch up job in the near future. There are a lot of sections where the paint has already peeled off, revealing the old Stealth colors underneath. The sphere is just too cool. All in all, JOB WELL done. The whole area looked fantastic. I hope Italian Job turns out just as nice.

Some other quick notes.

Hurler -- Major retracking on the first turn helped, rest of the ride needs some attention, but it still was running decently and was loaded with air! Still one of the ugliest stations and themed areas ever, but at least all traces of Wayne's World are gone

Carolina Cyclone -- OUCH, but love flying under the bushes headed into the corkscrews :-)

Richochet -- A well run mouse, minimal braking, very fun! I thought the station was cute, too. In fact, the whole boardwalk area was nice in that section.

Drop Zone -- Chalk me up as one who like the Generation 2 free falls better than ours. PKI's is fantastic for the view, can't be beat, but it doesn't really give me a lot of sensation. My god, their Drop Zone killed me. Something about those individual cars scaling up the side of the tower. You feel so vulnerable. I love it.

Vortex -- Two rides. One in front, one in back. Front was way smoother, back beat the crap out of me. Very cool layout though, still fun!

Super Saturator -- Closed, but looks way fun.

Thunder Road -- If only Racer ran this smooth. With that sad, Thunder Road was a crashing bore. ZERO airtime. It just kinda ran out and came back. Still love flying through the tunnel up into the station approach though.

Happy Days Diner -- Well, its better than Stan Mikita's.....thats about all I have to say on that one.

The park was empty. One train on Top Gun, BORG, Hurler and Thunder Road. Two on the rest, for whatever reason, and 5 running on Richochet. I ended up with 2 rides on all the coasters, 3 on Top Gun and BORG. It was basically as much as you wanted to ride. I can't say enough how impressed I am with the changes Paramount has made to the Park. They have truly started to turn it into something world class. They've incorporated a lot of the old into the new, something I wish PKI would do. Carowinds still has a lot of the old school charm that PKI has lost, I think thats why I liked it so much. The park was spotless. Landscaping, landscaping, landscaping. The Park is absolutely beautiful. Friendly employees, very efficient operations, a fantastic day. It really goes to show what Paramount is capable of doing. I think I see a very successful season at Carowinds this year and its definitely well deserved.

- Todd

[flightoffear1996]

Well it sounds like that the fliers have a good home but why did you put this in the PKI section?

[AZ Kinda Guy]

Maybe because it's a report on a trip he went on. Hence why it is in the TRIP REPORT section!

[CoastersNSich]

Great TR, Todd! Something tells me I have to go to Carowinds this year. The long drive might be a *****, but doing the Borg Assimilator, Top Gun, and the Phantom Flyers should be worth it. I think I might also stop at Dollywood along the way.

[Delirium_Guy]

Great TR, Todd! Something tells me I have to go to Carowinds this year. The long drive might be a *****, but doing the Borg Assimilator, Top Gun, and the Phantom Flyers should be worth it. I think I might also stop at Dollywood along the way.

Its worth the trip. Top Gun is a fantastic ride! BORG is gimmicky, but I really have fun on the Vekoma flying coasters.....the vertical loop really screws with ya :-) No doubt the Flyers are worth it. Dollywood would be an excellent add-on. Thunderhead is sweet, a top notch ride from start to finish! Overall, that place just has a lot of charm. I always enjoy myself there.

- Todd

[coasterbruh]

Im glad you had fun at carowinds! Its def. a great park and can easily become a home away from home!! Just wait the park isnt finish just yet!!

[Jasper]

Well thats good. At least the flyers are still running good.

[RollerNut]

Of course, Carowinds knows what they are doing, and ya'll were all worried.

[PCarowinds]

Rollernut don't start picking fights over here, you do that enough at Carowinds Connection, lol

I'm glad to see someone finally say something positive about the flyers being at Carowinds. All the moaning and groaning was kind of rediculous.

I can totally understand you being mad at losing this great ride, but the whole thing of assuming Carowinds was going to ruin the ride was kind of hillarious.

Today I was at Platinum Pass ERT and I must say those things being on top of the hill like that are creating a WICKED chance for some crazy snapping.

When braking on my 3rd or so ride (no one was there but us for most of ERT and I got 10 rides in ) the guy behind me tapped me with his tub!!! I was a little shocked that it could even do that.

I think the fact that it was so windy/gusty today had a lot to do with that.

You should have seen some of the snapping going on. It might have even impressed some of you PKI die hards, nah nevermind j/k

[The-Snapper]

I cant wait to go!! IM so excited