Copperhead Strike Reviews

[BoddaH1994]

For those who have been able to ride Copperhead Strike at Carowinds, what are your thoughts? How does it compare to similar rides like Maverick?

[kiisgreat]

In my opinion, Maverick isn't really a similar ride to it.

[flightoffear1996]

Just curious as to why its not similar.  They are both launched blitz style coasters.

[FlightTimberHawk]

CStrike isn’t nearly as intense as Maverick but it has more hangtime

[Creed Bratton]

It’s a ton of fun! Of course, I’m not snobby about rides, I enjoy them for what they are. 

 

The launch barn is cool, great theming. The hangtime is amazing! At night it feels more like Maverick’s wild turns. Great addition to the park. 

[pianoman]

My thoughts on it are that it’s one heck of a coaster! The hangtime is out of this world and really adds to the experience. This was my first coaster with a jo jo roll out of the station which I thoroughly enjoyed. The barn before the first launch is cool but you have to ride several times to see everything. There’s also a lot of really cool theming in the queue line so make sure you pay attention to it.

Honestly this is probably my new favorite coaster at the park. It’s definitely up there with Fury as far as best coasters I’ve been on. As far as night rides go, it’s definitely the best night ride in the park IMO. As far as comparing it to Maverick, yes they are both launch coasters but I’d say Maverick is definitely more intense. The launches on CS are not as intense as Mavericks but it’s still a lot of fun. If you have the chance to go to Carowinds this year, I would highly recommend this ride to anyone who enjoys a good thrill.






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[goettablitz]

How is the launch on the ride?  Ive heard that Mach launches are pretty unimpressive?  What about the boost in the middle of the ride?

[Creed Bratton]

The launch on the ride is pretty forward moving. It gets the job done. Nothing on this coaster is unimpressive. The boost in the middle of the ride is fun going up hill and being launched again.

[CoastersRZ]

I got the chance to ride it on Thursday for media day as part of my job  .  It is definitely a fun ride.  It has just enough intensity, but isn`t too intense.  As the others have said, the hang time is wonderful.  I don`t know if I have experienced hang time like that on a vertical loop on any other coaster.  There are also several nice pops of air time.  The theming is very well done, and the queue area gives you a nice view of the ride.

It is also nice to the the Flying Scooters that once graced Kings Island and Coney Island once again entertaining guests.  I highly recommend a visit to Carowinds to check out this ride.  Sadly, I still have not experienced Fury 325.  But my wife and I are planning to try and hit up this park later this year.  She can`t ride coasters at the moment as we are expecting our second baby in June.

[KIBeast]

On 3/25/2019 at 1:31 PM, CoastersRZ said:

I got the chance to ride it on Thursday for media day as part of my job  .  It is definitely a fun ride.  It has just enough intensity, but isn`t too intense.  As the others have said, the hang time is wonderful.  I don`t know if I have experienced hang time like that on a vertical loop on any other coaster.  There are also several nice pops of air time.  The theming is very well done, and the queue area gives you a nice view of the ride.

It is also nice to the the Flying Scooters that once graced Kings Island and Coney Island once again entertaining guests.  I highly recommend a visit to Carowinds to check out this ride.  Sadly, I still have not experienced Fury 325.  But my wife and I are planning to try and hit up this park later this year.  She can`t ride coasters at the moment as we are expecting our second baby in June.

Congrats on the new baby!

I have not visited Carowinds as of yet, but it's on my amusement park bucket list. I am, however, going to visit Hershey Park, another one on my bucket list. At age 48, I know I won't be able to do this forever, so I want to visit as many as are financially feasible before I have to retire.

[bengals fan]

7 hours ago, KIBeast said:

At age 48, I know I won't be able to do this forever, so I want to visit as many as are financially feasible before I have to retire.

I'm 71  I have slowed down but still riding the thrills

[IndyGuy4KI]

13 hours ago, bengals fan said:

I'm 71  I have slowed down but still riding the thrills

I think that gives the rest of its hope. Thanks!

[KIBeast]

22 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I think that gives the rest of its hope. Thanks!

It gives me hope to an extent. However, and I did not bring this up, it's not just the age that is a factor. I had back surgery when I was 19. Now, in my latter years, I have issues with back pain. Multi-level degenerative disc disease, bulging discs, and a disc that grinds on one particular nerve. I had a nerve ablation done 2 years ago which alleviated that last problem. However, the nerve grows back and I am waiting to be scheduled for another ablation. The good news is, it did work for 2 years. Word has it that it can grow back in as little as 3-6 months, so for it to last 2 years is a blessing. 

[Drummermattk]

I said it in my recent video of whats new at Carowinds for 2019 but One thing that really surprised me was the amount of theming that the ride has. As soon as
you enter the ride's entrance plaza near the first vertical loop, you are greeted with signs telling you to get out, copperheads are on the loose and cool illustrations along the walls. Once you get past the entrance plaza and enter the
actual queue, you are greeted with more sign's telling you to get out, you walk in between a couple old rundown shacks, old cars that are themed to the ride and other miscellaneous props. I think one thing that surprised me was the amount
of hangtime and airtime you get on this ride. From the top's of the loops, to being tossed up out of your seat over the hills, i was honestly really surprised. If you've watched the POV's that are out on the internet you may be thinking....
...... it looks slow. I'd say that POV's and off ride footage do not do this ride justice. In person it is crazy fun. You get whipped over a lot of the airtime hills not to intensely like maverick but enough to give you ejector and the hangtime on the inversions.............................oh the hangtime.............. i love it. Not to mention that if your a non rider and you love taking pictures, it is a VERY photogenic coaster. 

[chad_1138]

Making our first (and second) ever trip tomorrow and Saturday.  Cannot wait to ride this!!

[KIBeast]

@Drummermattk nice pic! I really need to make my way to that park and check it out for myself. 

[chad_1138]

Just rode CS.  Fun, fast, lots of hanging air time.  Excellent job on the theming and an all around great addition!!!  I will say the 2 shoot outs have a bit more force than it looks like in the videos.  Definitely proves that a new ride doesn’t have to break all the records to be fun!!!

[kiisgreat]

This isn't a review but apparently the support columns for the inverted columns and the 2nd launch are wobbling a lot. I don't know if that's an easy fix or not. I still think they'll continue ties with Mack Rides considering all they went through before cutting ties with Intamin

Per Carowinds Connection, 

"Has anyone noticed the extreme wobbling and ossilation in the support columns for the inverted top hat and 2nd loop? It leaves a sound too when the columns wobble up against the fence. The cross bracing columns wobble the most and their only job is a force member (like a truss). I believe the reason this is happening is because those cross bracing columns are not one continuous column, they are two separate bolted together; and it has to do with the slenderness of the columns. The columns are very skinny and the base they are attached to on the track has a small surface area (bearing capacity) . A little moment is needed, just like a bridge, but this is a LOT of movement. This might impact the quality of the ride in the future."

"Yea they do move a ton, I noticed this opening weekend. That column all on its own at the second loop especially. I’m just going to keep my trust in the engineers at Mack rides. They make the big bucks for a reason. They are the engineers, I’m not."

[Creed Bratton]

If it doesn’t shake, it breaks. 

[gad198]

I rode this last Friday.  Overall, I'd say that the ride is good.  I think the ride is fun and it definitely fills a niche within the park.

I respect everyone else's opinions.  Having said that, I don't really think that there's anything particularly memorable about this ride.  The ride was designed to be a more family-friendly launch coaster and Mack certainly succeeded in that objective.  The seats and restraints are comfortable.  Load times were a little long and the ride seems to be having some early season hiccups, so hopefully that gets straightened out before too long.  Those of you heading down to ride will want to hit this first because of some of the technical issues.

I think Kings Island would definitely benefit from a coaster like this at some point, but there is absolutely no way I'd be in favor of getting one of these before a B&M gigacoaster.  The possibility of B&M gigacoaster 3.0 interests me WAY more than a third launch coaster at Kings Island.  Most of the guests who just got off the ride or were chatting about the ride elsewhere in the park all said pretty much the same thing - that it is a fun coaster for what it is but not something they were dying to get back in line for again quickly.  My final grade would be a B-.

[fromkingstocedar]

I actually just rode Copperhead Strike on Saturday! What a fun ride; it's a great addition to Carowinds. People aren't kidding when they talk about the hangtime on it, it's excellent, as are the launches. It's definitely not as intense as Maverick, but a ride doesn't have to be intense to be fun! I honestly feel like Copperhead has more airtime pops on it than on Fury. The theming is also great; I'm glad to see Cedar Fair stepping up and going all out with it.

Strike Squad! 

[FoF96"]

On 4/6/2019 at 11:15 AM, kiisgreat said:

This isn't a review but apparently the support columns for the inverted columns and the 2nd launch are wobbling a lot. I don't know if that's an easy fix or not. I still think they'll continue ties with Mack Rides considering all they went through before cutting ties with Intamin

Per Carowinds Connection, 

"Has anyone noticed the extreme wobbling and ossilation in the support columns for the inverted top hat and 2nd loop? It leaves a sound too when the columns wobble up against the fence. The cross bracing columns wobble the most and their only job is a force member (like a truss). I believe the reason this is happening is because those cross bracing columns are not one continuous column, they are two separate bolted together; and it has to do with the slenderness of the columns. The columns are very skinny and the base they are attached to on the track has a small surface area (bearing capacity) . A little moment is needed, just like a bridge, but this is a LOT of movement. This might impact the quality of the ride in the future."

"Yea they do move a ton, I noticed this opening weekend. That column all on its own at the second loop especially. I’m just going to keep my trust in the engineers at Mack rides. They make the big bucks for a reason. They are the engineers, I’m not."

Lightning Run wobbled a ton when it first opened.  It had a supporting brace added which reduced the wobbling significantly.

[IndyGuy4KI]

If you are going in expecting Maverick your will be let down. This is a hang time machine. I was not sure about the JoJo roll out of the station, but it works. The launches give you enough power to just barely get through the inversions. After the second launch you get some good ejector air and fast transitions. I like the pacing. It has some great theming too. The more I rode it the more I liked it.

The only thing I did not understand is what it's going on in the barn. After 5 rides I am still not sure what the story was they were trying to tell.

This is not even all of the theming in the queue!

 

A look at the first hang time inversion!

 

More of the queue!

[DeltaFlyer]

I rode Copperhead Strike 3 times this weekend. My first ride was in the back row, my second was in the middle, and my third was in the front. Out of the three, I think the front was my favorite. The hangtime in the Jojo roll is fantastic. I'm still not totally sure what exactly happened in the shed, but it was very well done nonetheless. The theming as a whole pretty well blew me away- it was so immersive as you walk back the queue that you were pretty well isolated from the rest of the park. 

This was my first time on a Mack that wasn't a wild mouse or a bobsled, and I must say I liked the restraints. It was a little weird at first having to raise my arms up to lower the restraint, but after the first ride it was pretty easy. It felt like a minimal restraint compared to a normal shoulder harness, and I would probably say I like it better than Maverick's. 

It's hard to compare Maverick to Copperhead strike- they truly are totally different. This is more about hang time and is not as intense, nor as fast. With that being said, there are some awesome pops of airtime and some really cool laterals. The second launch is really cool, as a launched airtime hill is pretty unique. The inversion that follows the launch is easily my favorite part of the ride. 

The bad (which really isn't much) is all operational. I was there on a Saturday afternoon and a Sunday morning, and the operations there were about as slow as I have seen. There is a handy countdown timer on the screen in the station that tells the operators how long they have to dispatch, which they were missing by roughly 45-50 seconds every cycle. The greeters at the entrance were doing a great job at having people try out the test seat, so no one I saw was unable to ride. Hopefully as time goes on they will get the ride closer to the theoretical capacity. 

Overall, I would give the ride and experience an 8.5/10. Definitely worth checking out and riding as much as you can.