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kweiss

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  1. Very interesting reports. How is distancing on the rides themselves? Or are they filling each row and seat as usual?
  2. I'm curious to know TPR's thoughts on two questions: 1. Which section of a theme park has your favorite scenery and theming? 2. If you could create your own section of a park, how would you theme it? My answers: 1. I'll admit, many of the parks I've been to skimp on the scenery. But of the places I've been, Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Orlando absolutely blew me away. They way it's hidden from the rest of the park (true to the Harry Potter books) is such an unexpected twist, and really takes guts on the part of the park. (Knockturn Alley, within Diagon Alley, doubles down on this concept, which I think is just so awesome.) 2. I've always wondered why there's not a LOTR themed park somewhere. You could have a nice green space dedicated to The Shire. Some sort of ride through a forest with Tree Ents. Encounters with Orcs. A looming Mount Doom in the background, which naturally would be home to some sort of volcano coaster. Hopefully the rumored Universal Orlando area actually happens and lives up to this potential. Excited to hear everybody else's answers!
  3. Wait, it is??? From who??? I still think it's one of the best RMC coasters out there! Most of the newer lists in this thread. But I'm glad to hear the original still holds its own.
  4. I've seen it in marketing materials, but I've never seen any sort of official rankings for the stat. It's pretty easy to find lists of the tallest coasters. Coasters with the most seconds of airtime? I haven't seen anything.
  5. It really is crazy to think how far RMC has come. I've been out of the coaster game for a while, and the last time I frequented these forums NTAG had just opened. At the time, everyone was amazed by the design, most riders agreed it was the best steel coaster in the US, and I remember how hyped everyone was over its 14 moments of airtime. Now, NTAG is considered a mid-lower tier RMC, and Steel Vengeance just came out with least 20 moments of airtime, PLUS another 4 inversions, a 30% taller lift hill, AND a steeper drop. As someone who ranks NTAG in my top 3 and who hasn't ridden many of the newer RMCs, that's pretty insane to think about.
  6. Anyone else curious about Steel Vengeance's 27.2 second airtime record? Not that I'm doubting it, but I've never seen roller coasters ranked by seconds of airtime. It would be interesting to see an RCDB style list of roller coasters with the most airtime.
  7. Parks I've visited: Carowinds, Cedar Point, King's Dominion, Lake Compounce, Nickolodeon Universe at MoA, SFFT, SFGAdv, SFNE, SFoG, SFoT, Universal Studios Florida & Islands of Adventure, Valleyfair 5) Six Flags Great Adventure - yeah... the park is kind of trashy, the scenery is basically nil, and the crowds can be brutal. But this park has El Toro, and that roller coaster is so perfect to me that it could be the only ride in a park and that park would still make my top 5. 4) Lake Compounce - my first ever "small park" experience, and it was a blast. From the ease of parking, to the cozy layout, to the lack of crowds. This place feels like a friend's backyard... who happens to have one of the most amazing coasters ever made inside it. Boulder Dash is an absolutely incredible ride that could not fit more perfectly with the park. 3) Six Flags Fiesta Texas - without question the best "park" of the six flags parks I've visited. The quarry setting is beautiful and totally unique. The way they've incorporated the coasters into the terrain feels like something straight out of Roller Coaster Tycoon. When I visited, Superman Krypton carried the park, and now that they've added Iron Rattler among others, I've got to imagine this park is getting even more awesome. 2) Universal Studios - never thought I'd say this, because until I experienced it, I always thought theming was overrated and only coasters mattered. On my visit, The Incredible Hulk was closed and I was still absolutely blown away by this incredible park. What they've done with Harry Potter World is magical, pun somewhat intended. They've truly brought a fantasy to life and created an alternate universe inside the park. Even waiting in line is fun. I dream of a coaster-centric park that puts a similar effort into their theming and world building. Can you imagine? 1) Cedar Point - the most magical place on earth for a coaster enthusiast. Driving up the peninsula and seeing the surreal skyline of so many coasters is like being transported to a dreamland. It almost doesn't seem real when you first see it. Bucket List: 5) Disney World - Again, never thought I'd say this because I've never been interested in their coasters, or lack thereof. But Universal Studios really opened my eyes to how much fun quality theming can be. Whenever I have kids, I'm sure I'll bite the bullet and drop a couple grand on a family vacation here. 4) Busch Gardens Williamsburg - I'm normally not the biggest B&M fan, but this park sounds beautiful. 3) Holiday World - Ever since I saw that first Voyage POV 11 years ago, I've been fascinated by that ride. The fact it has two other legendary wooden coasters, and the fact wooden coasters are far and away my favorite coasters, makes this place sound pretty darn perfect. 2) Hershey Park - Fun fact, of all the parks I haven't visited, this park has more Top 100 coasters from Mitch Hawker's poll than any other. The rave reviews of the atmosphere only add to it. 1) Dollywood - I've always wanted to visit this place because it seems like such a friendly, well run park. Now that they've added what looks like one of the best coasters in the country, I'm feeling like this is becoming more urgent. Its secluded location in the middle of the country, pretty far from any major airports or other driving destinations, makes this bucket list status more tempting.
  8. I’d be curious to hear more about this. Were there some challenges in getting the Fury project started? To the nighthawk debate, I don't think it was running so that made the choice easy. At least I didn't see a train on it all night. I did snap a somewhat cool sunset pic of it though:
  9. I was surprised by how small the park felt. Between Intimidator being right at the entrance, and Afterburn to Fury being a relatively short walk, it really feels like a cozy park packed with some coaster gems.
  10. It shouldn't have ended his night. We were there too. Rain lasted like 45 minutes TOPS and after the rain storm Fury opened immediately back up and night rides were a walk on. PROTIP: Never let a bit of rain "end your day" early. Wow, especially after the early Intimidator close, I figured there was no way they'd open a wet track just for 15 minutes of late night riders for a handful of guests. Guess I was wrong! And very impressive of the staff. Can't believe I missed you there either. Would have liked to say hi... the TPR ERT on during the New Texas Giant Bash several years ago was one of my best coaster memories.
  11. Well all, thanks for the advice in this thread, because I just got back from a fun and successful first night ever at Carowinds! As promised, I'm posting up a little mini photo TR as a token of my appreciation. I got off work a little later than expected, and I didn't make it into the park until about 7:15 PM. On the plus, flying through the parking booth and into the park a breeze! Maybe it's just been a while since I've been to a park, and maybe I'm just easily impressed by low tech, but I thought the Carowinds' eticket/app was really awesome! Less time buying tickets and more time riding coasters! Like I mentioned, I was very nervous about having less than three hours to get everything in, and I was even more nervous when the parking lot looked much more crowded than I expected. In any case, armed with the GPS app in hand, I stuck to the plan and marched right towards Intimidator. To my relief, there was NO LINE. Literally a one car wait for front row. And you guys must have sufficiently tempered my expectations, because I had a GREAT RIDE. I was really impressed. The first drop felt steep, trim brakes were minimal, and I got huge floater air over every hill. I resisted the temptation to go for another ride by reminding myself that Fury was still to come, and headed on to Afterburn. The app predicted an 11 minute wait and... another walk up! I got two rides in less than 15 minutes... a one train wait for the front row and a one train wait for the back row. B&M inverters are usually all about the front row for me, but I enjoyed my back ride more on this one. Definitely intense back there! Headed over to the main attraction: Fury. Again was nervous about the wait and was pleasantly surprised to time it at no more than 10 minutes. I forgot about the "no seat choices rule" and my first ride was assigned in the second to last row. The ride was nuts as expected, but not as nuts as I expected, and I think I overhyped it in my mind or just didn't enjoy my seat that much. That said, I quickly lapped around and went for another ride on Fury, and another. Before my second ride I noticed the front row had a group of three and asked the line monitor if I could fill it in. She sent me on my way and I was feeling lucky to score a front row ride! And I have to say, Fury is a pretty great ride in the middle seats. And it's and abso-freaking-lutely mind melting INSANE ride in the front seat. Seriously, my second (front row) ride absolutely blew me away. The sense of speed was totally different, and I can easily say it's one of the most incredible coasters I've ever been on. I lucked out again on my next ride and scored a back row seat, before doing something that may get me kicked out of coaster clubs everywhere - I abandoned Fury for... Hurler. Haha! Not the best wooden coaster ever, and I had read about the complaints going in, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for the raggedy woodies... there's just something about how much character they have and how alive they feel. I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. By this time it was about 8:50. I decided to try to sneak in one more run on Intimidator before finished the night with more Fury. Well, they closed Intimidator early, and as I walked back to Fury, out of nowhere the skies opened up and it started pouring rain. Fury was immediately closed, and I checked the radar and realized that was probably it for my nighttime riding dreams. Feeling pretty satisfied anyway, I happily called it a night. All in all, in two hours I scored 1 ride on Intimidator, 2 rides on Afterburn, 4 rides on Fury, and 1 ride on Hurler. Not bad! You Carowinds folks have an awesome park on your hands! What a beautiful sight for somebody on a coaster drought! I haven't felt coaster excitement like this since I was a kid. Straight to Intimidator, which I was pleasantly surprised to have an AWESOME ride. I expect this sexy Afterburn train shot to be the next RCT cover photo. I don't care what anyone says, Intimidator is one beautiful coaster! But this is one even more beautiful coaster! The reason I'm here. The 5-10 minute wait times were pretty sweet too... Fury getting rained on... and looking bad ass. No nightime ride for me.
  12. You're missing Afterburn, the second best coaster in the park by a mile. If you ride Intimidator but not Afterburn, you're doing it wrong. Ride it once in the front and once in the back for the insane batwing / pretzel thing. If I were you I'd start out with Intimidator (it'll feel like a kiddy ride if you ride it after Fury), then loop around to Afterburn and follow the loop to Fury where you can just spend the rest of the night. I guess you could also just go right to Fury to make sure you get a ride in and then loop around to the other rides. PS: Some a**hole is about to show up and tell you to waste your time riding their overrated flyers, ignore them. If you have a full day then sure, but if you only have a few hours then don't waste your time. Great info, thanks for sharing. Good call on Afterburn. I’d assumed it was just another batman-clone-style B&M inverter, but it sounds like I totally overlooked it. I’ll prioritize it. Your progression sounds ideal. If Fury somehow closes early during my rides on Intimidator and Afterburn, I’ll be kicking myself forever. But logistically that progression makes too much sense, and probably ensures the most overall rides in such a short time frame. I agree about the flying coasters. I know my coaster preferences enough to know that I typically find them overrated. Would much rather spend my time on the ABSOLUTELY INSANE looking ride that is Fury! Hopefully all goes according to plan, and I’ll have a great mini trip report to share later tonight!
  13. I'm planning to make my first ever Carowinds visit today. I'm on a last minute work trip in Columbia, SC. I didn't even put two and two together until I drove right past the park yesterday and saw Fury 325 towering over highway 77. My plan is to get off work at 5 PM, purchase a discounted afternoon ticket, drive the 1.5 hours to Charlotte, and sneak in as many rides as possible between 7-10 PM tonight. I don't know much about Carowinds, so I'll probably just lap Fury 325 and Intimidator, unless I'm missing something. Hopefully crowds won't be too bad on a cloudy Tuesday. Wish me luck!
  14. Here's a reference point for you. I went last Saturday, January 23. It was overcast and 40 degree weather which I thought would make the place dead. With the express pass, my waits looked like this: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: 45 minutes (express pass not valid) Dragon Challenge: 15-20 minutes for the front seat Spider-Man: 15-20 minutes Dr. Doom's Freefall: 15 minutes Hogwart's Express: 40 minutes (express pass not valid) Escape from Gringott's: A little over 1 hour (express pass not valid) Revenge of the Mummy: 30 minutes ET: 10 minutes Men In Black: 10 minutes Two lines I wasn't prepared for were the security line before park entry and the ahem.. securing valuables lines for HP Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, and Escape from Gringott's. We arrived 15 minutes after park opening and had a 30 minute metal detector line. Securing valuables in the ahem.. safe rooms added another 10 minutes to the above waits.
  15. No, not at all actually. That was just the way they were listed in the original post when I copy/pasted them. I honestly don't know which I'd put as #1 as I like them all just the same. I pretty much stopped ranking coasters a few years ago, even the Mitch poll I ended up grouping most of them the last few years, as I felt it really doesn't matter. I kind of feel that having a "top ten" just invites arguments and drama between people and IMO that's not what coaster riding is about. Let's leave the counting and ranking for the super die-hards and focus on riding and having fun! And you can pretty much do that on ALL of the RMC coasters! Just sarcasm on my part. I tend to agree. Personally I find it easiest to think of most of my rides ridden in tiers, and when trying to rank them in an exact order it gets down to splitting hairs.
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