KIC Coaster Trip 2010 PTR

[DropZone99]

As soon as I305 was announced, I knew I had to go to Kings Dominion. So I talked to Adam (pkiboy) about a trip. Many months later we planned to go to Kings Dominion, Carowinds, SFOG, and Dollywood. It wasn't just me and Adam though, Angie, Tom, Matt, Jared, and Shawn came along with us making it 7 people. For weeks I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing this trip will be. I spent countless hours watching POVs and looking at photos. Than finally Thursday April 1st. came!

I woke up at 5:55AM. and grabbed all my stuff and got in the car. My Mom drove me to Jared's house because my car would later be going to the shop to try to fix my MPG problem. So at about 6:30 or so I switched over to Jared's car and we drove over to Adam's house. We were the first to arrive at Adams, but Shawn got there not too much later. Adam, Jared, Shawn, and I spent the day looking at POV's, looking at park maps, and walking to Kroger. Than at about 1PM. we got the rental van which was actually pretty nice. A little before 2PM. Angie and Tom arrived at Adams and we drove over to Kings Island to get our Platinum Passes processed. The parking lot wasn't open yet so we waited at the drop off zone, than Matt met us there and we walked over to the season pass processing building. We were the first in line and waited about an hour. Kings Island opened it 15 minutes early, so after we got out passes we were on our way!

Wheres Intimidator 305...? Oh crap, were at the wrong park!

Oh no were not, were here to process our Platinum passes!

Adam showing off his pass from Carowinds

Heres me showing off my Kings Island Platinum Pass that DIDNT work at Carowinds...

Thats all for now! I'm going to do this PTR in small pieces making it much easier! It may take a few days to get the whole PTR/VTR up, but trust me, it'll be worth it! So check up on this soon for Kings Dominion photos!

[The Interpreter]

Wait...your KI Platinum Pass didn't work at Carowinds?

Why do I sense a trend here?

This needs fixing....

And then the following weekend the park acts like it's a new problem they have not seen before.

Customer service.

Sigh.

[StalkerChick]

*waits patiently* oh wait.. i guess this means i should work on mine from KD >.< lol

[pkiboy]

Wait...your KI Platinum Pass didn't work at Carowinds?

Why do I sense a trend here?

This needs fixing....

And then the following weekend the park acts like it's a new problem they have not seen before.

Customer service.

Sigh.

Nope none of my groups passes scan on the other hand my pass did scan at Kings Dominion with no problems but what really upsets me is the park doenst take the blame thats what upsets me is because I had the same problem last year at Cedar Point when the girl at the Soak City gate told me that my pass was not Vaild.

[Coney_man]

Cant you get a re-do on the processing, it will cost you at least 15 to 20 dollars to replace. i know in the days of Paramount lost or misplaced season passes cost about 15 bucks to replace. i dont know about the Cedar Fair Passes lost or stolen policy for their passes? Someone fill me in on the policy for Cedar Fair's pass recovery

[StalkerChick]

Cant you get a re-do on the processing, it will cost you at least 15 to 20 dollars to replace. i know in the days of Paramount lost or misplaced season passes cost about 15 bucks to replace. i dont know about the Cedar Fair Passes lost or stolen policy for their passes? Someone fill me in on the policy for Cedar Fair's pass recovery

I do know that you have to get it replaced at the park you bought it at. A few of us got them at Carowinds so thats a bit of a pain if we need to redo it and aren't planning another trip there...

[pkiboy]

Cant you get a re-do on the processing, it will cost you at least 15 to 20 dollars to replace. i know in the days of Paramount lost or misplaced season passes cost about 15 bucks to replace. i dont know about the Cedar Fair Passes lost or stolen policy for their passes? Someone fill me in on the policy for Cedar Fair's pass recovery

I do know that you have to get it replaced at the park you bought it at. A few of us got them at Carowinds so thats a bit of a pain if we need to redo it and aren't planning another trip there...

Rachel They can pull your info up and replce it with a KI pass if its lost from another park. Cedar Point pulled up my info on a KI pass and I had to reprocess NO CHARGE. Its just the lack of you know what that ticks me off. The lady at Carowinds says all the systems are different at the other parks witch they are not. The bottom line is If you buy a Pass that works at all parks it should scan at all parks. My self and others did not buy A 160 dollar pass to go to GR every time we go to a different Cedar Fair park.

[TH13TEEN]

^ Since you have a Carowinds pass, I woneder if yours will scan at Kings Island...

[pkiboy]

^ Since you have a Carowinds pass, I woneder if yours will scan at Kings Island...

It better Scan. I didnt Pay 160 Bucks to go to GR every time.

[StalkerChick]

^ Since you have a Carowinds pass, I woneder if yours will scan at Kings Island...

It scanned at KD just fine goofy kick butt pic and all

[DropZone99]

So after Kings Island we began our journey to the better version of Kings Island. We drove east and stayed in Ohio for about 3 hours. I've always thought West Virginia would be a scary state with mutant red necks (like in Wrong Turn), but after driving through it, it's a really nice looking state! Some time in West Virginia (near Huntington I think) we all stopped at Shoneys. I've always heard how good they were so we all agreed it'd be a nice place for dinner. People down in the south are so much friendlier and nice! Our waitress at Shoney's pretty much never left our table (except to get our food). She talked to us so much and she wanted to know all about our trip, and she ended up wanting to go with us!

Here is us with the extremely nice waitress!

So after our delicious meal we finished our long drive to KD. Right before we got to Virginia we stopped at a gas station and met up with Rachel and her boyfriend? (I think he is her BF.) By this time we had another 3 or so hours to go. I fell asleep right before we drove though Richmond but woke up 5 minutes before we passed KD. We got off the exit and parked next to our hotel which was in Kings Dominion's parking lot. I was amazed of how much better their skyline was.

Here is what it looked like only this was the next morning.

We were all tired and went to sleep right after our stuff was packed. The next morning we woke up around 6AM. and all took our showers than some of us went to the Dennys in our hotel. After a quick breakfast we walked to KD's entrance. I was shocked that no one was there. Pretty much it was just Clint Novak and the KDFansite people, than the KICers, than like 3 random people. Since we were some of the first there, we waited at one of the gates, and a few hours later the park let us in. When I walked in, I immediately fail in love with Kings Dominion, it is so much more beautiful than Kings Island. The Royal Fountains there are much more hidden by the trees and the fountains are a little smaller.

Here is all of the KICers at KD's entrance!

Kings Dominion has way more trees than Kings Island, which looks really nice.

So once they let us in the park, we had to wait at the Platinum Pass holding area which allowed us to get in 10 minutes before the general public. Than after they released us, we got walked back to I305, than after maybe two guys started to run, EVERYONE ran and the park just didn't care so I ran also.

Okay these next few photos were taken throughout the day, but they are all of I305. I just didn't have time to take many photos of I305 before my first ride on it since I was wanting to be one of the first.

I305 is located next to Flight of Fear, and to get to it you have to pass through this neat little tunnel.

I305 is so dominant and intimidating, I don't know which name is better, Intimidator305 or Dominator305

The hills behind I305 make for a stunning backdrop, infact this is one of my favorite photos of the trip!

I prefer ejector over floater, but back seat on this drop provides some great floater!

Night rides on I305 is something everyone should experience in their life, especially if it's in the front seat like our night ride!

And with not too long of lines and good capacity, you won't have to wait too long!

Okay so here is what I think of Intimidator 305. When it was announced, I thought Carowinds Intimidator looked better, but wow was I wrong. This ride has EVERYTHING I love in a coaster. Airtime, hell yeah, tons of it! Intensity, the most intense coaster I've ever ridden! Laterals, good amount, especially in the first turn. Smoothness (on a steel coaster), yes very smooth, and no head banging either. I only got to ride I305 5 times opening day but each time was as intense and exhilarating as the first, and I actually blacked out every time. This easily became my new #1 steel coaster, and too be honest, I can't imagine a steel coaster getting much better than I305 in the next 10 years. Yes it was that good. I could easily stay on it all day and never get off and I would still be excited and have tons of fun each and every time, I just might die though from all the intensity and blacking out!

I305= 10/10

Okay so after my amazing ride on I305 (with LakeCharlesGuy) me and him split up with the rest of my group and went to Flight of Fear. It was a station wait and we were next in line, but the ride opts. told us we had to leave the station because the ride is closed. So we decided to ride Volcano but the line was HUGE and over flowed into the midway, so we went to Dominator. On the way to Dominator we went though Treasure Cave which was really weird. I was excited because Dominator is my first floorless coaster (I rode SheiKra when it had the floor). Dominator's queue was full and leaked into the midway but we decided to get in line anyways. The hour line was worth it, it's a great coaster (minus the corkscrews).

Dominator= 8/10

To anyone who doesn't know what Treasure Cave is, it's kinda like a walk-though type attraction. You just walk in a cave, than you find the treasure, than you end up in some weird sideways building.

Dominator was a great coaster, pretty forceful for a sitdown B&M.

After Dominator Alex (LakeCharlesGuy) told me Grizzly probably has a small line, so we headed that way. We stopped at Flying Eagles first and I learned how to snap. Grizzly was a station wait, but we ended up waiting about 30 minutes since they were running 1 train. While inline for Grizzly, someone said "Aren't you on youtube?" to Alex, and Alex said yeah and told him he probably saw I305 rant. Than the other guy asked for his autograph (on an I305 first rider shirt) and than they talked about how they liked I305. So anyways, Grizzly was a pretty nice woodie. It had a small amount of airtime but the tunnels were awesome, and it had some laterals in one of the turns.

Grizzly= 7/10

Grizzly

I loved Flying Eagles!

The great landscaping at KD

Okay part 2 of Kings Dominion coming later tonight!

[TH13TEEN]

Great PTR so far, and I do agree KD looks better then KI.

[CincyMan98]

May I add it looks a ton better than KI. Not the rides, but just the scenery. It's amazing from what you posted.

[frisbeefan]

Drop Zone 99: Did you stay at the Best Western Kings Quarters? If so how was it?

[KIfan73]

Great TR. I so want to go to KD. Looks like I'm going to have to do it!

[DaveStroem]

I only got to ride I305 5 times opening day but each time was as intense and exhilarating as the first, and I actually blacked out every time.

Nick, I am glad you enjoyed I305 but I still wonder how anyone can think that a coaster that causes most people to blackout/grayout is a good thing.

Friseefan, we stayed at the Best Western Kings Quarters and would stay there again. Our room was clean and had no smell of mold like some mentioned that stayed there years ago. The only knock is that the bathroom was pretty small. They have a pretty substantial season pass discount too.

[frisbeefan]

Thanks, I'm planning on going to KD in August, and I'm trying to figure out where to stay.

[Beast Man]

I have to agree with everything Dave said about Kings Quarters.A very nice place and will definitely stay there again.The only real drawback is that it's more of a motel with room entrances from the outdoors.

[DropZone99]

I actually loved Kings Quarters. It kinda had a retro feel to it, but still had modern stuff. Plus how close it is to the park, they have a pool and tennis court, a Dennys built right into it, and the discount you get with a pass. I will make it a tradition to stay there every time I go to KD for now on.

[Delirium_Guy]

I only got to ride I305 5 times opening day but each time was as intense and exhilarating as the first, and I actually blacked out every time.

Nick, I am glad you enjoyed I305 but I still wonder how anyone can think that a coaster that causes most people to blackout/grayout is a good thing.

Because some people prefer to actually feel like they are on a ride.....

Most of the B&M hypers are waaaaaaaay to blah for my tastes, not so much because of the airtime, but I find the pacing on most of them to be terrible. When I ride the front, I don't particularly enjoy hanging over the next drop and slowing as the rest of the train catches up. I dunno, they just don't flow well. I305, much like Maverick and Bizarro, is non-stop. These rides just all flow incredibly well for me.

- Todd

[The Interpreter]

Just as some people get rides like The Georgia Cyclone and Tremors, while others would rather ride El Toro as their favorite wooden coaster. Both viewpoints are valid, but not for each other...

[Delirium_Guy]

Just as some people get rides like The Georgia Cyclone and Tremors, while others would rather ride El Toro as their favorite wooden coaster. Both viewpoints are valid, but not for each other...

Exactly Terpy, you and I are quite familiar with conflicting opinions on rides :-) Of course, I think we can both agree on the awesomeness that is Georgia Cyclone. I'll also never forget my first ride on the Cyclone at SFNE! Wow!

- Todd, who knows that Terpy probably much prefers Rolling Dumpster, er I mean Rolling Thunder, to its much bigger and better brother El Toro :-)

[Ki Man]

Looks like a regular CF park to me. I think Dollywood would classify as an "Amazing Looking Park"

[TH13TEEN]

^ Definition of regualr CF park is: 10 or more roller coasters with concreate.

I don't think Kings Dominion fits the bill.

[Tom76257]

Just as some people get rides like The Georgia Cyclone and Tremors, while others would rather ride El Toro as their favorite wooden coaster. Both viewpoints are valid, but not for each other...

Exactly Terpy, you and I are quite familiar with conflicting opinions on rides :-) Of course, I think we can both agree on the awesomeness that is Georgia Cyclone. I'll also never forget my first ride on the Cyclone at SFNE! Wow!

- Todd, who knows that Terpy probably much prefers Rolling Dumpster, er I mean Rolling Thunder, to its much bigger and better brother El Toro :-)

I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive to ride Georgia Cyclone on this trip, but I'm glad I did. I've NEVER had a ride pull me over hills while still turning and at the same time giving me MASSIVE ejector airtime. It was an experience I'll never forget.

[DropZone99]

First of all, sorry for the delay. I've been extremely tired every day and I'm trying to catch up with my sleeping pattern.

So after Grizzly me and Alex went to Ricochet since it's just right down the midway. We passed the closed Hurler, I wish I could of ridden it but atleast the next day I rode the one at Carowinds.

Closed Hurler...

Ricochet was a pretty weird mouse coaster. It seems a little taller than most, and has the drop at the beginning (I'm sure everyone knows this already). Every single trimmed area I expected the ride to stop, but it never did. We just kept on going faster and faster though the layout and never slowed down. Than kinda towards the end, OUCH... It stopped, instantly. And it was the one break run I didn't try to protect myself since I didn't expect it. Besides the painful stop, It was a great mouse but Dark Knight is still my favorite.

I really wanted to go ride Volcano so we headed back over to Congo. I love this area, bongo drums playing, random crates, over grown plants, and jungle themed buildings. Seriously, I didn't expect to see this in a CF park. I could see it being in the park back in the Paramount years, but I'd think Cedar Fair would want it all gone since they don't like parks with nice atmospheres. Anyways, we were getting close to Volcano when I saw flames, water jets, mist, and a gondola swinging all over the place. It was Tomb Raider: Firefall (not Crypt... lol). The line looked to be only 3 circuit wait so we decided to ride. While in line there were like seven hundred and fifty two thousand carpenter bees. They don't sting you but they still intimidated most people but not me (I'm scared of every bug except bees). It actually scared some people out of line which I thought was pretty hilarious. Before I get too off topic, let me tell you what I thought about TR:FR. It was very intense, much more than the only other two top spins I've ridden. I still prefer Kings Island's as it was back in 2002 and 2003, but this one is way better than the one at KI now. I think I counted 9 inversions total.

This is the only photo I got, pretty sad right? I didn't even take the cool signature photo showing off the theming.

After Tomb Raider, Volcano closed for a while with a full queue and than ran one train so we opted not to ride yet, and went to Intimidator 305. The queue line was full and over flowed a little bit which really isn't too long but we decided to use the single riders line instead. It ended up being about 3 minutes and the seat assigner sat both of us together near the front! My first ride was in the back, so I wanted to compare. It was just about as intense as the back only you get no airtime dropping down the first drop. Still a great ride, we decided to reride. This time the line got a little longer but was still only like 10 minutes. We got a middle seat and the ride was still great but didn't have the airtime coming out of the first drop. I still wasn't intimidated enough so I wanted to ride once again. Alex was thirsty so he said he would go get a drink but wait for me at the exit. Well while we were on the ride, the single riders line got significantly longer. It was about a 20 minute wait. So to pass up the time I called my best friend fellow coaster enthusiast Mitchell (also a forum member). I told him how amazing I305 is and the day so far. Than I was close to the station and told him I would call him back because I'm about to get on. So I either put my phone in my pocket, or wrapped it up in my first rider tee with my camera and wallet. I got assigned a back seat with a little girl who was just about crying. Had a great ride (minus the little girl next to me screaming)! I get back into the station and grab my shirt which has my camera and wallet in it. I'm about half way down the exit ramp and I hear something drop and the people behind me start laughing. I figured it was a lose article that fell from the ride since a train just flew above us. Than I'm about in the gift shop and realize I don't have my phone. So I go back to the station and look for it. Couldn't find it so I filed a missing article paper. I than look around the exit area to see if I can findout. No luck, so I went back to meet up with Alex. By now it's been well over 30 minutes since I got in line and hes gone. I don't blame him though, he probably thought I left without him. I didn't know his phone number so I couldn't get a hold of him.

For the next hour or so I spend my day freaking out because I'm all alone, it's about 3 hours til' close and I only have like 3 credits and I can't find anyone. So I have this weird idea of going on to the Eiffel Tower thinking I could see them from there! Obviously I'm retarded because you can't.... So I took some photos from the top (I already showed a few, the rest aren't worth showing).

I'm near Anaconda than I find Jared! I guess he was separated from the group like me. We decide to go ride Volcano since neither of us have ridden it yet. The ride was closed but they were letting us in line. The actual line was just the station and a little bit of that indoor ramp. They got rid of one train and tested it a few times. About 10 minutes later the ride opens back up with one train. Fifteen more minutes later and were on. Sadly Jared couldn't ride, but I stayed on since I really wanted this credit. I loved the launches, and all the inversions were great. It's now my #1 invert, and my #5 steel in general (above Diamondback)!

Volcano= 10/10

After my amazing ride on Volcano we walked towards Grizzly to meet up with Tom and Angie. Rachel and John were in line too. The line looked short but they were running one train so we had to wait a long time. While we were waiting, I actually fell asleep sitting on a planter and had a dream that I was at Kings Dominion... Than I woke up and they were getting off the ride.

From there we went to Intimidator 305 and met up with Adam, Sean, Dave, and Matt. Adam's phone got Dominated on Dominator. Adam told us to meet up back at I305 at like 7:30. So we all waited in line for a few minutes but I305 went down to one train so we decided to go ride Avalanche. We waited over 30 minutes and the line never moved, the whole country of Mexico line jumped us, and honestly there was better credits to get so we got out of line.

After our bad Avalanche queue credit we found James Cole which now has over 100 rides on I305 already! None of us had Anaconda ridden (besides James since it's his home park) so we got in line. The queue was almost full but we only waited 10 minutes. I ALWAYS ride in 7-1 on Arrow loopers and Vekoma loopers. Anaconda started out great! The drop was really fun and smooth. The tunnel was a neat element. The loop was pretty fast along with the immelman type inversion after. Than came the pain. Those weird turns hurt like hell, and they looked like a stop sign because instead of being a smooth circle, it was cut into pieces. Ouch!

Anaconda= 4/10

After Painaconda (Someone called it something like that) we met back up with our group and I think stopped for some food near Drop Zone. I didn't eat and instead I was going to get on Drop Zone since it had been testing for a while. I waited a few cycles and the ride opts. said go ride something else than come back. So I went to Rebel Yell. Only one side was open but it was running two trains and was a station wait. I normally like front seat on old woodies, but rode near the back on this one. Rebel Yell had NO airtime, it had tons of jack hammering and wasn't even that fun. The only part I liked about it was the awesome view of I305.

Rebel Yell= 5/10

Americana was randomly closed

I met back up with the group and we went to Drop Zone since it just opened and waited about two circuits. There was about 15 of us total, so we took up a big portion of the ride. I have to say I like Kings Islands just a tad more... KD's looks cooler because the neat colors and the huge ring, but it doesn't spin and it doesn't hold you at the top as long. The actual drop is almost the same as KI's only this one feels a little more intense.

♥

It was about 7:30 by this time so we all headed to Intimidator 305 to get one last ride on it. It somehow took us like 25 minutes to get there because we were one of the very last people to get in line. This was the longest I305 wait of the day for me (about 30 minutes). Once we got into the station there was only a few people behind us. I got assigned the very front seat and rode with Matt (or was it Adam?) Who ever it was, it was freaking amazing! Front seat night rides of my favorite coaster in the world with some of my best friends. Could it get any better? Yes, but it's probably against the rules to bring Pepsi on the ride... The ride seemed to be running FASTER at night, and the faster, the more intense! This was the best ride experience of my life (better than MF sleet rides, Beast last train of the season double ride, and even Son of Beast with the loop during Fearfest with fog rides)! Once we hit the brakes I almost wanted to cry. I wish I could of stayed all night and just rerode I305 with all my friends. But sadly, Kings Dominion was over. Even though I didn't get but half the credits and didn't get to enjoy the park as much as I wanted, this WAS the best park of the trip and probably my favorite park ever. I will for sure be coming back to KD, hopefully for more than one day. I want to experience everything this wonderful park has to offer, including Water Works.

I305 Queue

Already showed this, but I'm showing it again because it was taken during this time period.

Group photo at I305's entrance area.

Rides I rode...

I305: 5

Volcano: 1

Tomb Raider: 1

Anaconda: 1

Eiffel Tower: 1

Drop Zone: 1

Rebel Yell: 1

Ricochet: 1

Grizzly: 1

Flying Eagles: 1

Dominator: 1

Treasure Cave: 1

I will try to have Carowinds up tomorrow...

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

Just as some people get rides like The Georgia Cyclone and Tremors, while others would rather ride El Toro as their favorite wooden coaster. Both viewpoints are valid, but not for each other...

And a few say they rather ride Son of Beast all day

[DropZone99]

Just as some people get rides like The Georgia Cyclone and Tremors, while others would rather ride El Toro as their favorite wooden coaster. Both viewpoints are valid, but not for each other...

And a few say they rather ride Son of Beast all day

I'd rather ride Georgia Cyclone all day. Son of Beast is in my top 10 woodies (it was my favorite last year, now look how low it is!) But Georgia Cyclone has some of the craziest airtime ever! Like Angie said, it's the best worst coaster ever!

[DropZone99]

After Kings Dominion we began our drive to Carowinds. I slept most of this drive but woke up in Charlotte. Our hotel was right across the street from the park and we could see Intimidator from our window. We figured the park was going to be empty since the weekend before was their opening day of a new coaster and it was pretty much dead. Well we were wrong...

I loved how Intimidator looks from the parking lot, it's so dominant and is pretty much the only thing in the skyline except Afterburn and their Observation Tower. We were running late and the park was already open so we couldn't stay and take photos of Intimidator, we had to get inside the park. The entrance area was a big mess, it was so crowded and confusing. None of our season passes scanned (except Adams) so we had to go to guest relations (I think) and they gave us tickets. When we walked into the park we took a quick group photo than walked to Intimidator. I loved how you could see Nighthawk and Vortex from the entrance area, it reminded me of Cedar Point for some reason.

We were shocked to see Intimidator had a full queue and even had a small section of temporary queues! It ended up being only 40 minutes if even that. The queue was about the same as I305's only shorter. My first ride I got assigned the second to last row (15) and a single rider sat next to me. We told him about our trip and he said he used to live near SFOG and back then GASM & Mindbender were new. Anyways, Intimidator's lift hill seemed about the same speed as Diamondbacks. You could see Charlotte to your left and the whole park to your right. I wasn't expecting Intimidator to be a top 10 ride because of all the reviews I've heard about it, but wow EVERY review was wrong. Sitting in the back car I got pulled over the lift hill and down the drop providing great airtime. It felt weird not curving at the bottom of the drop like I'm used to. The next hill didn't provide any airtime but it was still awesome with the twist on it. The next hill has some great airtime, most of this ride's airtime is a mix of floater and ejector, but more ejector. The panoramic turn (or hammerhead) was way better than Diamondback's. This one twists you in a few directions and is banked more making it seem more out of control. Diamondback's just kinda picks you up than turns you around gently than drops you. The next two hills had good airtime like the one before the panoramic turn. The hill leading to the MCBR was a little more intense than I'd think. Since it curves, you get a little bit of laterals and a pop of air since you come into it so fast. Although the brakes did trim pretty hard, it did NOT ruin the rest of the ride like Diamondback's does. There was a good amount of ejector airtime coming out of the MCBR, and the helix was better than both of Diamondback's but not as good as Raging Bull's or Goliath's. We all said 'SKLOOSH' after the helix as if a splashdown was there.

Overall Intimidator was way better than what people were saying. I heard there is no airtime at all by many people. WRONG! This ride has more airtime than any other B&M Hyper I've ridden, If you've ridden Diamondback and you love it, wait til' you ride Intimidator. More airtime hills, all with more airtime, better hammerhead, better helix, weird awesome twisted drop, and a MCBR that doesn't ruin the ride.

Intimidator= 10/10

So after our awesome ride on Intimidator, most of the group decided to go to Wendys outside of the park and eat. Me, Tom, & Angie decided to keep riding. Nighthawk had a HUGE line and was running one train so we decided to go to Vortex. Vortex's queue was set up weird. It usually curves a lot and goes behind the station, but they closed off that park and made it to where you just walked right to the station.

Carowinds still has their plant tunnel!

Vortex's station

Before Vortex I've only ridden Iron Wolf, Georgia Scorcher, and Mantis. Georgia Scorcher being my favorite. From the look of POVs, Vortex looks like it may have been as good as Georgia Scorcher. WRONG! We sat in the front, a usual smooth seat, and it was pretty rough. First of all, the lift hill was pretty slow. The drop was fun and smooth. The loop had a little bit of headbanging and was almost too intense being in a standup position. The turn around drop thing was taken pretty fast and was rough. The following helix was extremely fast and luckily didn't have too much headbanging. The corkscrew was the worst part of the ride. I've decided that EVERY corkscrew on a B&M I've ridden is the worst part. I love corkscrews on Arrows, but on B&Ms, they are always taken way to fast and they are too small. But back to Vortex, the turn after the corkscrew wasn't too bad, it may have been because we just went though the worst part of the ride so we were too busy remembering how awful it was and didn't feel the pain of this turn.

Vortex= 4/10

After Vortex we went to the nearest coaster which was Carolina Goldrusher. Sadly I didn't take any photos of this great mine train, mainly because it was kinda hard to. I've seen POVs of Carolina Goldrusher before, but not in a long time so I couldn't remember the layout. The ride is pretty much just helices with great head choppers, than a surprise drop at the end. I still think I like Adventure Express a little bit better because it's more themed, but this is a great coaster.

Carolina Goldrush= 6/10

Ricochet was right next to Carolina Goldrush but we kinda passed it up and went to Carolina Cyclone. It has a simple layout, but it's probably my favorite Arrow looper. I ALWAYS ride in 7-1 on Arrows, and it worked extremely well for this ride. The little drop right after the lift hill and before the turn around to the big drop gave me a small pop of airtime. The turn was taken faster than I thought it would. And than the best part of the ride... The amazing drop. Riding in 7-1 gives you a smoother ride and extremely crazy airtime. I tried 7-1 on all the Arrow loopers I've ridden and so far only Vortex and Carolina Cyclone give me this feeling. It's not your ordinary airtime, this feels like your flying out of your seat and falling to your death. This is the only reason I ride Vortex at KI, and the main reason I rode Carolina Cyclone. After the crazy drop is a double loop, both are taken fast, than a quick turnaround. After the turn is a double corkscrew over a midway, these are taken faster than any other Arrow corkscrew I've experienced. You'd think they would be painful, but they were actually alot of fun. The final element of this short ride is the helix at the end which is somewhat under ground.

Carolina Cyclone= 8/10

Some how this is the only photo I took of Carolina Cyclone, it's me touching the track...

Hurler and Drop Zone were just right around the corner. Drop Zone had a small line so we rode it first. Being used to gryo-drops, I didn't know that I was in line for a bad seat. The car we rode in faced away from the park but you could see Hurler a little bit. We didn't ride for the view though, we rode because we love Drop Towers. Even though Drop Zone is probably the smallest Drop Tower (excluding 1st. generations & S&S towers) it packed a punch. The drop seemed almost like you were launched down, not just released to fall. We all wanted to reride but we had credits to get!

I was upset that Hurler at KD was closed, but luckily Carowinds' Hurler was open! The queue was only half full but it was still a 40 minute wait. I've heard that front car is where the airtime is on Hurler. Hurler didn't disappoint. It was smooth, had airtime, and had laterals.

Hurler= 9/10

If you look closely, you can see Angie & Tom

Here are a few random photos of the Carolina Boardwalk section of Carowinds. It's themed pretty well.

Part two of Carowinds should be posted sometime tonight, or tomorrow.

[DaveStroem]

I am glad that I232 is getting more air as it works in. When we rode it on opening day (3rd public train) it had little very little air. By the next time it was much better. Adam (PKIBOY) reported that the next week it was still better then our rides the week before.

So I guess what I am saying is that the early reports were not wrong, but that the ride very well could have improved with actual loaded trains. Did Diamondback change from week 1 to 2?