Carowinds: 6/14/09

[HandsUp]

Headed down there to see Phish, play disc golf, and see the wife's cousins...a great time to use our PPs too!

It was a nice sunny Sunday, so we were unsure what the lines would be like. The entrance was neat how the NC/SC state line bisects the main gates. I had previously not known how close Charlotte was to SC...made me wonder what state laws they're subject to. But for as unique that is, it still seemed a small and rather modest main gate. Really made me appreciate how majestic it is to walk into KI and onto I-St.

It was 4 of us-my wife, her cousin, and our cousin-in-law. I suggested that we kick things off right and do the flying Nighthawk. It looked like a winner-and bigger and more spread out than Firehawk. Unfortunately, it was shut down after we were about 2/3rds of the way through the line. Boo! We really wanted to get on a ride, so we left the queue and headed to the Carolina Goldrusher. On the way, we passed the waterpark...it was wild to see the WP so close to the main park. The Goldrusher was fun (walk on), but fairly tame. I liked the train-shaped cars, but thrill-wise, it was on par with Adventure Express.

We then headed to the Ricochet..my 1st experience with a wildmouse. My mom had talked about the one that was at old Coney,so I was looking forward to it. It looked rather child-ish, but those switchbacks were no joke. It really felt like you were going to fall out. This one probably gets 'sleeper of the day' award, as it caught us off-gaurd. I'd love to see KI put one of these in.

Then it was the stand-up Vortex. This one was fun and fast-although it was obviously old. Reminded me of a bigger, more intense King Cobra. It didn't bang us around too much, and there still is something about a drop while standing. Still seemed like a bit of a dinosaur.

Nighthawk was still down,and we found ourselves towards the front gate again, so we rode to the top of the space-needle type ride to check out the layout of the park. In general, the park is pretty spread out, and not heavily themed (save for kiddie land). From up high, we could see a big construction site towards the front of the park. A local told me that a B&M hyper is going there, and I told him about how great DB is. The footprint seemed a bit small, but they could build into the parking lot.

We then headed to the far side of the park with hopes of riding the wooden Thunder Road and the inverted Afterburn. The latter was also closed-a bit frustrating. But Thunder Road proved to be a very fun twin wooden coaster. It was fast, long, and adequately rough..also-a walk on to the front seat.

After that, we sought out one of our biggest goals-find the Eagles! We found them-now called Phantom Flyers-in kiddie land. They're green and purple now, but still the Eagles. We had a blast, and the ride op actually encouraged flying high and snapping the cables. He even personally congratulated those who made the most of the ride.

Then it was out to the lot for lunch and beers. By the time we finished, it was pretty warm, so we decided to do a water ride. We went to Rip Roarin' Rapids and the line proved to b the longest of the day. Like WWC, you can't tell how long the line is when not familiar with the ride layout. While in line, we could see the park's rather large ampitheater...according to the cousins, not too many big acts play there-but it is a nice looking venue-and quite big. RRR was fun, but nothing spectacular..still cooled us off a bit.

We then worked that side of the park and did the Hurler. Although it is small, it really packs a punch. A lot of G's on that thing-and a fun, intense wooden coaster. We proceeded to the Drop Tower, much smaller than KI's, with 4 seperate elevators. Although it was shorter, it sped up dramatically on the ascent the closer we got to the top...took us by surprise.

The Carolina Cyclone reminded me of a tamer version of our own Vortex. It had all the same elements, just a miniature version. Unfortunately, someone had yakked in a train-so they had to run that train empty-leaving only one train operational. The line was still very short though.

The rest of our group wanted to sit one out an get some ice cream...but I had to try the new addition-the Carolina Cobra. I am not typically a fan of shuttle coasters-and have sworn off Invertigo, but I figured it wouldn't kill me. The line moved very quick and before I knew it, I was settling down into the nicest OTS restraint I've ever experienced. The inner straps held me down-while still allowing plenty of give. Reminded me a bit of the chest straps on Firehawk. Outside of these was the actual bars-with handles. The 2-part system seems to be the answer to the head pounding that is typically a result of traditional OTS restraints. The ride was really fun too-smooth, fast, and disorienting-without the abuse. The local I'd met said the front or the back is the best, but I went where they put me. This was a good one.

We had seen that Afterburn was now running, so we headed over there. The line moved slow, as there was only one train running. But this was a great ride-my favorite of the day. It's been a while since I've ridden Raptor, but AB is in the same league, and I really liked the 'trench' that the track dips into. It helped being on an outside seat. Inverted coasters are awesome, and I'd love to see KI add one. They seem to keep you plastered enough into the seat that there is very little head banging-and it's just like flying. Would have liked to ride this one a few times.

Headed back through kiddie land and did the Eagles once again..too much fun. Then saw that Nighthawk was finally running so we headed over there. The cousins were beat down by his point and wanted to sit it out...but the wife and I wanted to give it a go. Unfortunately, there was only one train running-so the already-slow flying dutchman was even slower. It had already been a long day, and we didn't want to leave the rest of our group waiting too long..so we bailed on it and headed out.

Overall, it was a great time. It's always great to see different parks and ride different coasters. But it also made me realize how majestic and beautiful KI is-especially the main gate...as well as all the landscaping throughout. It was also a bit dissapointing that the 2 most modern coasters (Nighthawk and Afterburn) were closed for a large portion of the day-and once running-only had one train. Made me feel spoiled to have a mammoth capacity coaster like DB (10 min. wait tops on Friday...6 rides in 45 Min. for Sat ERT). Still, we had a great time and got toride several different types of coasters-the wildmouse was especially cool. Gotta love that Platinum Pass...now it's time to get up to CP!

[CoastersRZ]

I`m glad you had a fun visit down to Carowinds!

I agree that Afterburn is a great B&M inverted coaster. I was saddened when it and Vortex were closed when I went down to Carowinds on Sunday of opening weekend this year. But, I`ve ridden the ride back when it was Top Gun: The Jet Coaster in 2001 and 2003. Hands down a fun ride from start to finish.

Yes, the new trains and restraints on Carolina Cobra make for a very comfortable ride experience. I still think its sad that the unique Flying Super Saturator was removed for this ride, but I think that this ride likely has a higher capacity than what the FSS had.

Ah yes, Danny Phantom Flyers. This ride was the highlight of my trip back in March since Afterburn was down. Its still sad that this ride left Kings Island. Too bad KI can`t get a new set somewhere in Coney Mall. They would be an instant hit again.