Surreal Carowinds 11/1

tjpavlik · November 3, 2014

I had the pleasure of flying into CLT on 11/1 for a day trip. I knew things would be ugly when I saw the weather: 700' Overcast with 5 miles visibility due to rain. 40 degrees. At 7000' we accumulated a fair amount of rime ice, but nothing the anti ice system couldn't deal with. I hand flew the instrument landing system approach to runway 36R (right overtop Carowinds). Several times we were advised to keep our speed up. We had a 45mph headwind at 3000' ! After landing and putting the airplane to bed I had 7 hours in Charlotte with nothing to do but wait..... Carowinds here I come!!

They seem to be building something big on the north side of the park....Hmmmmm....

Upon entering the parking lot I realized I was the only car there. The entrance has been moved to the picnic area right behind the Intimidator. (The front gate should be awesome!!) I parked in the first spot in front of the temporary ticket booths. It was a 15 step walk. (I counted!) I expected to be turned away at the gate because of the weather.... but no.

I passed through security as they asked if I was here for early ride time (9:40ish) I then officially entered the park. Both Intimidator and Nighthawk were supposed to be open for ERT but due to cold neither were. Security invited me into a gift shop to get warm and out of the rain. They informed me that I was officially the ONLY guest in the park. At 10:00 the National Anthem played and I heard the distant roar of a B & M coaster....

AFTERBURN!! I walked up the steps and saw 6 ride ops absolutely astonished someone was there to ride. I took the front seat and off I went. Two observations, rain hurts at 50+ miles an hour and the underground elements would be really cool on an undead themed coaster. I rode it twice and then had to buy the on ride photo.

I wandered over to our Flying Eagles and had to convince the ride op, yes I really wanted to ride since it had been about 20 years since I had last ridden them. I tried very hard to snap the cables but with only me on the ride I didn't have enough momentum or angular velocity. The ride was as good as I remembered, just a little more wet.

As I walked back to the front of the park I met up again with my security friend from the gift shop who told me that a group of people had come into the park and there were now FIVE guests in the park, including me!

Off to The Vortex. I'm not a fan of stand ups (they should be all converted in my book) but I wanted to see what other rides were open from the top of the lift hill. An additional uncomfortable item was that bike seat was soaked so now my crotch was soaked now too! And its still a head banger. Ouch.

I then wandered over to the Hurler which I liked. It seemed less rough ( perhaps the rain??) I rode twice in the front seat. The ride afforded a great view of the station for the Fury 325 which is almost complete. The rain still hurt, but the temperature seemed to be rising slowly.

I then rode the Carolina Cyclone twice, with the ride op letting me hop off, snap a picture, then hop right back on. (He said, "Its not like anyone is waiting.")

The Carolina Cobra actually had additional rider waiting. He took the front, and I took the back. Two people total in the train. I hadn't remembered the restraints but they are different from a standard Vekoma Boomerang. The overhead shoulder restraint is wider and has a vest similar to the Banshee/Gatekeeper. The vest material is lighter weight however. As the train started up the hill all the water in the back of the train poured down the back of the seat. Now I was completely soaked!

Most of the other rides were closed as were the majority of the games and restaurants. The Intimidator's trains never left the storage shed while I was there. The Nighthawk was locked up tight. I think I rode all the non kiddy rides that were open.

I ended up in the shop where I waited in the beginning. The two guys manning the store were wondering if they would sell anything that day. I bought three shirts from the bargin rack. While I was in there a guy came in looking to purchase a Fast Pass. Seriously. I left before I saw how that worked out.

I have never been in a deserted, yet open amusement park. It was so quiet. In the distance you could hear rides running but no screams/laughter/talking. Weird. At one point I did hear those sounds but then I realized it was the soundtrack for the Fury 325 promo video. I was completely miserable by this time so it was time to go. One final weird issue was when I walked out the ride camera for the Intimidator would flash (as if taking a picture) about every 30 seconds. It was like it was mocking me.

Luckily it was a really short walk back to the car, so it was back to the airport for a shower and a change of (dry) clothes!

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