Carowinds 7/5 - ThatGuy11

[ThatGuy11]

So as many of you might have heard, I went to Carowinds on July 5th. Let me just say first off, I had LOTS of fun.

We arrived at the park around 9:45 so we would have time to put sunscreen on and enter the park right at 10. When we got there, the first thing I noticed was their main entry gate. It is themed like some type of colonial county home. I can't really describe it but I liked it, I thought that it made the park seem more "welcoming" I guess.

So our first ride was on Nighthawk with a 5 minute wait for the back row. Let me just say WOW. This coaster exceeded my expectations. I have never ridden a Vekoma Flying Dutchman model but let me just say that this coaster was especially thrilling (maybe it is because it is over water?) I give this ride an 8/10.

Next up was a walk on ride in row 6 of Afterburn. This B&M inverted coaster was a great mix of zero g's, heavy positve g's and crazy inversions all in one. This was probably my favorite ride of the day. 8.5/10.

Now we were planning on riding Thunder Road (which is like The Racer) but it seemed to be down so we walked on over to Carolina Goldrusher. This little ride is actually quite fun considering it was the first coaster at the park. My brother and I rode it around 5 times over the course of the day just for a nice break from being flipped upside down and tossed around. 6/10.

We then chose to eat at Chickie's & Pete's Sports Grill. My whole family (4 people) shared a pizza and two small buckets of crab fries which was more than enough to fill us up. The crab fries were absolutely out of this world. They had the perfect amount of seasoning and flavor to blow me out of the water. The pizza on the other hand, wasn't so good. But I expected that from amusement park pizza so it really doesn't matter.

Now we decided to trot over to Carolina Cyclone. This is a neat little Arrow looper with a simple layout and a crazy color problem going on. 6.5/10.

Now onto Hurler. I actually liked this ride despite all of the hate it has recieved. The trick is to "lean into the turns" and you will be fine. We rode this ride about 3 times in a row. I give it a 7/10.

After this we were planning on riding Afterburn again but it was closed for some reason so we went over to Intimidator. This ride was a great airtime producer with an awesome helix at the end. 8/10.

After Intimidator we rode Afterburn. This time we got back seat so we were tossed around for a great ride. Then we went over to Thunder Road or "Tunda Rod" as my brother liked to call it. They weren't running the South Carolina side for some reason so the line for front row was twice as long as usual. This ride was probably the roughest ride all day but I guess that awesome wooden coaster airtime comes at a price. 7.5/10.

I rode Afterburn front seat for the last ride of the day. It was pretty cool but I still think I liked the back more.

Overall, I had a great time on a day where the water park was more crowded that the main park.

Coaster Count: Intimidator:1 Afterburn:3 Carolina Goldrusher:4 Thunder Road:3 Hurler:3 Nighthawk:1 Carolina Cyclone:2.

[LoraX]

We are heading to Carowinds. It's good to hear positive things about the park.

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[upstop]

Great report! Glad you had fun!

I've only been there once, but it is on my list of great parks. I rode Night Hawk when it was Borg Assimilator...What a great ride. I think its a bit shorter than Firehawk but it packs a punch for sure.

Intimidator looks fun for sure as well.

[tuxedoman52]

Glad to hear that you had fun. Are you sure you haven't ridden a Vekoma Flying Dutchman before though?

[ThatGuy11]

Yes, I am sure. Last time I went to KI I was only 50" tall, too small to ride Firehawk. Last time I went to Carowinds I was 55" but I was too scared to ride a roller coaster laying down.

ThatGuy11, who used to be a scaredycat.

[Banshee Back VII]

When was the last time you went to KI?

[LoraX]

Intimidator was a really good ride. I think Afterburn was the best ride that we rode. I think I like it better than Patriot at Worlds of Fun. We were on a restricted time frame and did not get to ride a few rides and I did not have the opportunity to re-ride most of them either.

Hurler was a surprise to me. After riding the one at Kings Dominion, I was apprehensive to ride it. The two rides do not compare. KD's is exceedingly rough. Carowinds is a fairly smooth ride.

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[APE]

If Carowinds Hurler is smooth I am not going anywhere near the one at Kings Dominion. That thing felt like all the wheels had been flat spotted.

Anyway Afterburn is the best they have at Carowinds to me. I actually put it as my number two invert right now. But I have limited inverts I've been on. 6 I think.

[ThatGuy11]

When was the last time you went to KI?

Around 3 years ago....

I feel really bad that I haven't gone now.

[touchdown62]

I just went to Carowinds yesterday. My first time in either Carolina (outside of an airport). I enjoyed it. I may do a little TR later. As far as Hurler was concerned, I wasn't quite sure what to make about seeing the rebuilt turn after the 1st drop. I was like "ok, what happened here) thinking back to what happened with Sonny. I enjoyed Hurler. Didn't seem as rough as people made it out to be in the past (from what I've read). The rebuilt turn was quite smooth and set you up for the rest of the course. Nice little woody.