Carowinds Opening day

[StalkerChick]

ok so it took me a few weeks to decide if i really wanted to drive all the way down to Carolina this weekend but that Monday i decided to go for it (since i got double my tax return back) booked a hotel right across the street and took off right after work on Friday. I picked up Jack on my way and plucked down my original pass money on my down deposit on my new apartment (finally) and finally got out of Cincy around 6:30. pretty uneventful car ride, so took advantage of being a passenger to sleep for a few hours. Checked into the hotel around 3am sat, and promptly texted Adam (pkiboy) to let them know we got in ok and went sleep with an alarm set for 7:30.

Woke up sat morning to GLORIOUS view of sunshine and roller coasters out my window

So a quick breakfast and a giant cup off coffee for me in the lobby and we were off to the car and to the park (then entrance was a few miles down >.<) paid for parking and were into the front row 16th car in. a quick call to Dave who was already waiting in line for us, and then off to buy my Platinum Pass and get it processed (since KI seriously lacks the notion that other parks open before them) We were in and out of processing in like 5 minutes. no wait whatsoever. And the guy taking my picture even let me take a goofy thumbs up one!! it was awesome!

Zomg platinum pass!! lol

So it was off to join dave and the fam and adam in line to await the running of the bulls... altho at this point around 9ish there really wasn't that many ppl. seriously like 100? not the huge throng at KI last year. it was really surprising. about 9:15-9:30 they let us in. but heres where it got interesting. they had us line up even tho no one was shovy or anything, and said we're gonna wtay together and walk back together, and if anyone gets out of line or takes off running, you'll be out of line. there were security guards along the line and everything, but not intimidating (teehee) it was really nice actually!

While we were waiting in line pretty much right behind the first rider auction ppl we noticed none other than our very own Don Helbig! We had a nice chat with him talking about how he liked it and how it compared, and how they had to tape the camera to his arm to take the POV on media night due to some technical difficulties with the rig i guess. But then they had the ribbon cutting and the announcement of how much they made, and then it was off to the races!! we ended up on the 3rd train of general public trains, me in row 3 (which is a fave on DB) of course i had to go into like i do with DB and reach for my toes down the first hill, but it just didn't have that speed and pull that DB had. It had a lot of cool elements with the sidewinders and what not, but just not all that airtime... and Timmy has TWO trim brakes!!! but was still a great B&M ride. unfortunately they weren't giving out first rider shirts which was really depressing! I would have paid to have one!! We ended up getting off the ride at 10 til 10, so the park wasn't even technically open, but the line was gathering so we decided to go and "Coaster Whore" as Kat would later call it since I had never been to this park, and needed all the credits i could get. First up was Nighthawk.

and yes it is their version of Firehawk, only they have one station. fortunately there wasn't much of a line yet. And in the station i noticed they still had one of their haunts up, The Asylum.

NightHawk was a surprisingly smooth ride compared to FH. Another bonus is it had a shade roof on the break run. But I was definitely a fan. Next we were off to Vortex. i was at 45 coasters at this point and the group decided that my 50th should be Afterburn since i'm a fan of B&M and my #1 coaster was Raptor at CP so we had to make a bit of a criss cross. For a stand up Vortex delivered. I got a ride in the front seat and was pleasantly surprised again at the smoothness! and it made for kick butt pictures!

this is currently the background on my phone

Then we got a call from Kat and Nick and decided to meet them at Thunder Road. We all road North Carolina first then switched over to South Carolina, bringing my total to 47 and 48. Still prefer The Racer to TR, but it was nice, especially in the retracked section. kat, nick, and adam went to go get their credits in, or so we thought. we walked past Boo Blasters, but then noticed the line was a little long. But seeing the "kiddy ride" totally triggered a great idea in my head, which kind of got shouted out loud. And we were off to Kiddy Land for...

(continued in next section dum dum dummmmm....) lol

[pkiboy]

I think I have a new Fav B&M Invert as well.

[CoastersRZ]

As I`ve said on here before, Afterburn is one of my favorite roller coasters. It is definitely my favorite inverted coaster. Granted I have only been on a limited set of B&M inverts (Raptor, Afterburn, and Dueling Dragons), but the pacing of the ride is simply excellent. And the use of tunnels/ravines on the ride make it a thrilling ride as well.

That is one thing that I feel Diamondback is hands down better at than Intimidator. Diamondback fits into the land and the site much better than Intimidator. Intimidator skirts the parking lot the entire way, while Diamondback is over the midway and through the woods. They are both great rides, but given a choice between the two, I`d take Diamondback. Although, the turnaround element on Intimidator is much better than Diamondbacks. However, as others have said, Intimidator seems to lack the air time that Diamondback has.

[StalkerChick]

ready?

did you guess it yet?

THE EAGLES!!!! I had never ridden them at KI cuz i'm not a big spinny ride person, but i rode them at Strickers and fell in love with them!! O.M.G. these. are. AWESOME!! it got to the point where i had them snapping so much and was going way too high i was scared for a bit.. and couldn't get it to stop!!! but it was so absolutely amazing. i've decided we're taking them back whether they like it or not. After our a-mazing ride, we headed for the carousel. cuz i'm obsessed with them >.<

We figured since i needed one more coaster credi to get to 49, and it was right next door, we might as well go for Woodstock express. I love getting airtime on a kiddie coaster. even if i do end up hitting my knees on the darned bar. And then... then it was time for coaster #50. AfterBurn

OMG. <3<3<3 I rode in row 2 with jack since there was 5 of us we split up 3 and 2 and they needed 2 ppl 2 trains before us so we hoped from line in row 3 onto the ride and left Dave and his girls behind. holy crap is this the smoothest funnest action packed invert i have ever been on. Pretty sure i pulled into the station and said out loud, "sorry raptor but you;ve been bumped to 2". as i was getting off the group in front of Dave and the girls was getting on and i looked at their group of 3 and next thing i know Dave is yanking me int line before the gate closes to take a spin one more time with them! it pretty much solidified my spot as #1. at this point it was close to 1 so we decided to head for lunch. we passed up a few old favorites and decided on Outer Hanks. Adam met up with us with Gary "Mr. Diamondback" in tow. It was nice. Adam lost track of his coaster count tho at some point with kat and then gary. But then it was time for more coastering. We setelled on Gold Rusher, the little mine ride since it was right there and would be a nice easy going ride after lunch. We thought we were headed for the back, but soon learned we were in line for the first 3 rows! So me, and jack took row 1, Dave and Elizabeth row 2 (the 4 of us in the same car) and Nancy and Katy row 3. we buckled up and waited on the lapbar to unlock from the up position so we could secure it when next thing we know we're pulling out of the station!! Man I will tell you I have never nor will i ever probably be on a more thrilling rinky dink little mine ride. FORTUNATELY it wasn't anything too big and bad, and i know its opening day and all with a noob/young crew. but man they didn;t check us for anything!! thankfully dave was with elizabeth and could hold her in, and the girls werent riding together but man it was crazy!

Then it was off to Hurler. Man is that ride a rough one! its not Beast tho. and the fly by the station is pretty wicked actually. but those turns are something crazy! While we were in the station we noticed Drop Tower running tests and eventually ppl so me and dave and the girls got in line for that. It was weird seeing the older generation one with the 4 seats on 4 sides that go up at different speeds but all come down together. It was way fast and way fun!

Around this time Cory Butcher texted me and said that him and CoastersRZ had just waited in line for Timmy for only 10 minutes, so we said what the heck lets take another spin. Off we went. This time i got in row 2. Funny that both times i was hoping and praying for either row 2 or 3 (which are my faves on DB) and ended up getting them, Had a little more fun on it this time around. We got off and Adam had to go figure out the issues with his pass from earlier, and we texted all the KICers to get a cycle on Eagles with all of us (since there were 10 of us including Daves girls) and 4 of them were in lie for Afterburn, so adam and nancy went off to guest relations, and the rest of us decided to go in the little observation spinning sky tower. It was so pretty.

look slightly familiar?

We finally got off of there, and headed over to the Eagles and met up with everyone there. While we were in line we noticed Don ahead of us waiting for his turn as well! We got to talking and thats when he told of us his real reason for being in the park was to bring these back with him i was totally up for shoving one of the tubs in the back seat haha. so we finally got one, one member short tho cuz Robbie hadn't been feeling good most of the day. and omg... First off I love this park b/c the ride ops actually ENCOURAGE snapping!! and going high! in fact the 3 cycles before us they were giving rerides to the person that got the highest! I think our group might have shown up the group of flyer enthusiasts that went a few cycles before us. The things ppl in line were saying were hilarious! When we were done, the ride just said "uhhh... ok yall have to get off cuz i couldn't decide who was the best all of you were just amazing." Mind you when we got on the ride there were just under 2 and a half queue lines full of ppl. when we got off the ride there was barely one full line. We literally scared away half the line!! So we decided no line? might as well do it again!

At this point we all decided to go our seperate ways so we could all get in whatever credits we needed. Me and Jack headed off to Carolina Cobra, which is similar to Invertaface, only not an invert. And as much as i HATE going backwards and can't stand invertaface, i actually kinda enjoyed this one! it was again incredibly smooth! As we walked on and debated leaving to go get a nap before dinner, we saw Ricochet, their wild mouse, was reopen. So we hopped on that and ran into Kat and Nick in line. Carolina Cyclone was right next door running what looked like ghost trains, but upon further inspection noticed there were only like 2-4 ppl on it. It was a walk on for the front row! And this is another one that beat out my Beloved Vortex. I mean really its pretty darn similar. Cyclone is really only one hill, the butterfly loop, and half a helix less from Vortex lol. At this point i was way tired out and my head was starting to hurt from not being used to all the craziness so we opted to head out and just by KFC on the way back to the hotel and call it a way early night.

(sunday on next post)

[CoastersRZ]

And for the record, I still am not feeling all that well. I have a wicked cough, which is better than the headache and sore throat that I had on Saturday.

[StalkerChick]

Ok so finally caught up on some much needed sleep and got up around 9:30. packed, got a cup of coffee from the lobby, checked out and loaded up the car and off we went. This time to the pass holder lot O:) It had rained a little earlier in the morning and was definately chilly and yucky looking, but no rain. Dave and fam plus adam were already in the park and in line for Timmy, Nick almost ran us over in the parking lot O:) and we ran into cory and robbie on the way in. Stopped off at Cinnabon for breakfast and then headed to timmy with nick and kat. We all wanted somewhere towards the back and kat asked nicely and the girl reluctantly gave a few single riders t\rows 2 and 3 and sent us to 13 and 14. I'll just say that this ride on timmy was incredible!! there was a lot more airtime in the back and the ride was TRIMLESS!!!! <3<3<3 it made for a great morning. there was no one in the park either might i mention. it was a one train wait. dave and adam were on the train right after us so we all met up decided we'd all go for one coaster to get whatever credit we didnt get then all meet up at the eagles again for another epic KIC cycle. Nick and kat went off to Nighthawk and the rest of us went to Ace's aerial chase aka reptar. man this was rougher than i thought it would be. but still fun. then it was off to the eagles again and another crazy high crazy snapping ride. it probably didnt help it was quite windy >.<

We all decided on another round on AfterBurn to a dead station. lines only for the front and back. I decided after 2 rides on row 2 i'd go for the rear. Kat and nick nicely gave up their seats in the back row to take the 2nd last row. and man... completely different still kickbutt ride!! they were allowing rerides and laps if you wanted to so kat and nick stayed on and me and jack headed back through the gate to wait for row 1. HOLY CRAP!!! COMPLETELY different ride in the front. and there is nothing in front of you. no wheels or anything. the bumper of the car is above your head. so you would hit something before the train did. and it was A-MAZING! man i love this ride!!

Decided to end up the day at Boo Blasters. minus one point for having to buy the 3-d glasses if you want to experience it that way. not cool.. not cool at all... but it was still a lot of fun! love the effects and the little surprises that are actually quite surprising! it was a lot of fun!! As much as i didnt want to leave this park, it was noon and time to head back. I am absolutely in love with this park!! the atmosphere is awesome the ppl are AMAZING and so incredibly nice. and the themeing is just wow. it still has that old school theme park boardwalk feel and i wish ki would get some of that back. I shall leave with proof that Cedar Fair CAN retain themeing lol

*Rawr*

and even though we had crappy weather most the way home. a little rainbow friend did come out to play

[StalkerChick]

That is one thing that I feel Diamondback is hands down better at than Intimidator. Diamondback fits into the land and the site much better than Intimidator. Intimidator skirts the parking lot the entire way, while Diamondback is over the midway and through the woods. They are both great rides, but given a choice between the two, I`d take Diamondback. Although, the turnaround element on Intimidator is much better than Diamondbacks. However, as others have said, Intimidator seems to lack the air time that Diamondback has.

i agree 110% the turnaround is just awesome!! but theres only 2 even remotely decent airtime hills

and get feeling better dang it!

[CoastersRZ]

I wish I was feeling better. I`m sick of being sick. Its no fun. Especially when I had to stay almost an hour late at work today. Guess I have to look on the bright side, at least I am working in an architecture office right now and made more money by staying late today, even if I felt like crap. But I so wanted to leave the office early and take a nap. Now, I`m off to bed to get some rest so I can hopefully kick this stupid cold and cough.

[gigacoaster2k]

Rachel, I absolutely love your pics! I can't wait to ride the flying scooters.. those ride ops had better watch out for OUR group! LOL.. glad you had such a great time, but I'm sorry your head hurt and Robbie got sick.. hope both of you are feeling better. I still have my painkillers and nausea prescription meds left over from my fight with a very nasty stomach flu virus just in case.. Giga has NO plans of getting sick, not this week, no-way!

[StalkerChick]

Thata girl!!! Can i steal some too lol <3

[IndyGuy4KI]

Great Trip Report Rachel!

[Tomkatt7]

Looking at your view of the white water ride from the observation ride brings back memories. I have been to Carowinds one time, in 96 or 97. Afterburn (Top Gun) was new, and I really wanted to ride it! We seemed to keep walking past the part where it dives under one side of the walking path, and comes back up on the other side. Awesome effect! We had a 3 year old with us though, so it was out of the question. We had a serious "potty" issue with the kid, and by time we got that taken care of, it was pretty late. We decided to take a lap on the white water ride. It ended up taking 2 hours to get through the line. They were having an issue with the conveyor ramp. We spent all day at the park, and ended up riding the rapid ride, and the Scooby Doo Ghoaster Coaster. I think thats the Woodstock one now. Little woodie. I remember really liking the park though. Very Clean, very polite and courteous staff. I remember thinking the park was really small at the time. By looking at your photos, I'd say it has grown a bit! Good times.

Just went back and checked. It was 1999 when we were there. Thats when Top Gun was built, and my daughter was born in 96, so that makes more sense. what can I say? I am terrible with dates and times! LOL

[Ki Man]

Ummm yeah.

1. Afterburn

2. Raptor

3. Great White

4. Batman: SFOT

5. Batman: SFOG (Wayyy too intense!)

6. Wicked Twister

7. Invertigo (KI)

8. Goliath (SFFT)

9. Lethal Weapon The Ride

10. Reptar (KI)

11. Reptar (Dreamworld)

Nice pictures! Hurler is one of the worst rides I've ever been on, by the way.

[bkroz]

Is Carowinds' Hurler a twin of Kings Dominion's? That ride is literally like a bat out of hell. Just standing in line you can see a place where the track is banked nearly ninety degrees... I have never ever ridden a roller coaster with a more out of control helix. And yes, that is a commentary on one of our own rides... If you haven't ridden Hurler... Oh man... You haven't lived (I mean that in the worst possible way).

[DaveStroem]

Great TR Rachel. We loved hanging with you and Jack this past weekend. Just a few days left till KD.

[StalkerChick]

LOL i can't wait either dave!!! and goody i hear its simialar but KD's is waaayy rougher. Hurler was enough for me to ride it once and be done with it for a few years.

And Zach your list is one of the reasons i <3 you

[The Interpreter]

The two Hurlers are identical, except for the maintenance since they were installed...

[Cory Butcher]

Hurler is one of my favorite wooden roller coasters of all time (in the front seat).

[The Interpreter]

When they opened, they were unbelievably fantastic rides, with airtime in every seat. That did not last. Sigh.

[Beast79]

Great trip report did you get anymore pic of Planet Snoopy

[CoastersRZ]

I got a few pictures of Planet Snoopy, that I may upload tomorrow. The area really looked great. Lots of bright colors. And kids were excited to see Snoopy and friends when we walked by on our way to Woodstock`s Gliders or Afterburn.

[beastrider97]

OMG THE EAGLES!!!! I loved those things. If I ever get there I will be on that thing sooo much!

[StalkerChick]

Great trip report did you get anymore pic of Planet Snoopy

[/quounfortunately no the only pics i have of it are the ones i posted. I honestly didn't even think to grab a "sneek peek" but i'll see what i can do at KD