Carowinds Discussion Thread

^ Thanks for the info! Not what I wanted to hear obviously, but I appreciate the info anyway.

If you get FL+ you'll be good to go even though it'll be busy. I've been there when it's absolutely slammed and FL+ was a lifesaver. We got on an unbelievable number of rides even with super long standby lines thanks to it.

Just had a beautiful visit to the park [9am to noon, haha...I've got an island to get to!]. Limited photos since I left the phone in the locker.

The park looks great. There are even entertainers around the park in character!

Electro Spin is crazy! Whew. Kind of like a choas ride.

Intimidator was just fine! The extra twisty bits were fun and I'm in the minority of loving the front over the back. If I closed my eyes I wouldn't be able to tell if I was on Diamondback or Intimidator.

Ffffuuuuuuuurrrrrrrryyyyyyy! This is such a fun ride. I will take the low to the ground transitions over airtime hills all day erry day. I'm impressed with how quickly you climb the lift for a chain lift. Is it the best ride in the world? Go and decide for yourself. Carowinds has a winner here and I hope future hyper/giga designs take notes from this ride. I like it a lot.

Afterburn is still my park favorite. The trees have REALLY GROWN IN AROUND THIS RIDE! The flat spin should be illegal. I love this ride. I love it. I may be a little sentimental here...but I was excited they still have the "clear for take off" upon exiting the station. Epic first drop, love the little twist after the loop, the zero g is perfect (but I haven't rode Kumba so what do I know), and there's no push/pull to the ride at all. The whole train is just a blur.

Oh also there's a truck currently parked directly under Fury's first drop so it makes for a pretty good scare as you pull out 10ft above it, haha.

Big shout out to Doug for being a great friend and making our day excellent.

^ Wow, no kidding on the limited photos.

Glad you had fun!

It's nice to finally see the addition of more string lights in County Fair.

I finally was able to get to Carowinds for the first time and ride Fury! I had a great time at the park and wrote up a detailed trip report about my experience and added some pictures I took too. It's such an incredible coaster and I really enjoyed the park overall. Check out the report on my blog here! http://thrillsawait.weebly.com/trip-reports/finally-fury-and-my-100th-coaster-carowinds-518-519

Hey guys, I'm planning a trip to Carowinds or Kings Dominion for Friday, June 2, but am in a bit of a situation.

Both parks have been on my bucket list for a while but I'm torn. My boyfriend and I only haveenough time to make it out to one of the parks and we don't know which to go to. My question is which park would be the best for us to go to? We plan on getting FL+, but other than that both parks equally draw us in which doesn't make this decision any easier. Any suggestions for which park to choose would be greatly appreciated

Hey guys, I'm planning a trip to Carowinds or Kings Dominion for Friday, June 2, but am in a bit of a situation.

Both parks have been on my bucket list for a while but I'm torn. My boyfriend and I only haveenough time to make it out to one of the parks and we don't know which to go to. My question is which park would be the best for us to go to? We plan on getting FL+, but other than that both parks equally draw us in which doesn't make this decision any easier. Any suggestions for which park to choose would be greatly appreciated

I personally prefer Kings Dominion slightly, but it's a really difficult choice. Kings Dominion has a better coaster lineup in my opinion and has a really good log flume, and both parks have pretty equal flat ride lineups (I prefer Carowinds because of their insane flyers and Schwarzkopf enterprise.) I suppose Carowinds has a slightly better atmosphere, especially with the impactful entrance and skyline, but they're both simple and don't have much theming, yet are well-kept and pretty. It sort of depends on what you want the most.

Hey guys, I'm planning a trip to Carowinds or Kings Dominion for Friday, June 2, but am in a bit of a situation.

Both parks have been on my bucket list for a while but I'm torn. My boyfriend and I only have enough time to make it out to one of the parks and we don't know which to go to. My question is which park would be the best for us to go to? We plan on getting FL+, but other than that both parks equally draw us in which doesn't make this decision any easier. Any suggestions for which park to choose would be greatly appreciated

In terms of which park? That really is a hard decision. Carowinds is my original home park so I may have some bias. They are both great parks, tho currently I believe Kings Dominion is a bit more well rounded with it's variety of coasters and with the log flume.

One thing to think about however: Kings Dominon is getting an RMC next year. If you think you'd be able to go there next year or in the next few years, I would chose Carowinds for this year since based of current info a coaster addition is not likely for next year there. Which ever park you choose, I wouldn't buy a fast lane in advance. You would be better off arriving and seeing how busy it is first so you don't feel like you wasted the extra $.

If you choose Carowinds, you likely wouldn't need a Fast Lane as the area schools are still in session until June 9th. It may get busier in the late afternoon, but most rides would have short lines during the morning and early afternoon. I've been to Carowinds the first week of June while school was in session in recent years and everything but Nighthawk was a walk-on to 10 minute wait at most. The water park is usually busier than the dry side during the week. Really the only day Fast Lane would be worth it is Saturdays when obviously more people are off work/school.

If you choose Kings Dominion, their schools are in session until Mid-June so the same would apply in terms of crowds. I hadn't been there in a long time, but others may be able to guide you on if you'd need a Fast Lane. I would think it would be similar to Carowinds...getting busier in the late afternoon as people get out of work/school.

Kings Dominion is the better park in my opinion. It has better atmosphere overall, better non coaster rides and a better coaster collection. Both parks are nice though and I do prefer Fury to anything at KD but I'll get some major pushback on that (Yes, I know I305 exists and I love it, I just prefer Fury).

That being said, KD is getting an RMC next year. If they're both bucket list parks that you can't get to often, do Carowinds this year and go to KD once they have an RMC.

Kind of piggybacking on what the others above have said, I think I'd go to Carowinds this year. KD has the better coaster collection currently in my opinion, but will be getting an RMC next year. Carowinds has the best coaster overall in my opinion (Fury), and you won't have to spend the extra money on Fast Lane, as lines are pretty non-existent outside of Nighthawk this time of year. So if you have the ability to return to the area next year, I'd wait and do KD next year, and Carowinds this year. I know I postponed my Virginia trip a year, to catch RMC Hurler next year for that very reason.

Kings Dominion is the better park in my opinion. It has better atmosphere overall, better non coaster rides and a better coaster collection. Both parks are nice though and I do prefer Fury to anything at KD but I'll get some major pushback on that (Yes, I know I305 exists and I love it, I just prefer Fury).

 

That being said, KD is getting an RMC next year. If they're both bucket list parks that you can't get to often, do Carowinds this year and go to KD once they have an RMC.

Just typed a reply and the site ate it. 100% agree with Bill - Fury is fantastic and if you're into flyers then Carowinds has some of the best flyers out there and they encourage snapping! However, Carowinds is a small park and depending on what type of rides you're into and if you like to re-ride things then you may be done with it in half or 3/4 of the day. Kings Dominion is significantly bigger and has a much larger coaster collection both tall and small, they have more flat rides, a great log flume, decent shows and the Eiffel Tower which is always fun to go up in. Volcano is my absolute favorite ride at KD.

With RMC Hurler opening in 2018, if you're only able to go to one park this summer then go to Carowinds now and Kings Dominion next year. If you can swing going to both parks this year but only one park next year, do Kings Dominion now before the entire DC area lets out of school and go to Carowinds later on in the year. Then hit up KD again in 2018. HTH, have a great time and of course take pics to post here when you're back!

I always hear good things about Carowinds flyers, but I could never get them to snap out of all my rides on it. Meanwhile at Kings Dominion I get really good snapping every time I ride their flyers. Maybe when I go back down this year I can figure it out.

Hello all, heading to the park from Cleveland the 21st and 22nd of this month (a Wednesday and Thursday I believe), and was wondering what kind of crowds to expect. We were there fury's opening year during the middle of the week in August and didn't wait much for anything. Everything but Intimidator and Nighthawk was a walk on. Intimidator was around 20 minutes and Nighthawk was like 1.5 hours.

Should I expect similar, larger, or less crowds?

I was there around that time a year ago and experienced crowds similar to what you saw in 2015.

^^Weekdays (well M-TH) are very manageable for most of the rides on the dry side. Carolina Harbor may be more crowded. As stated many times in here before, Nighthawk, Ricochet & Flying Cobras have the longest waits on any given day due to capacity. The rest should be no problem so a Fast Pass wouldn't be needed.

The webcam that was showing County Fair is now pointed at Vortex. Floorless conversion confirmed... (lol)

That actually is a pretty interesting development. That webcam never moves and has only been used to show construction of new rides / areas. They're definitely playing with us a little bit right now.

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^^They recently had it pointed at Carolina Harbor for a couple days, but was likely due to Flying Cobras having valleyed. That was more so tilting up and zooming in, not turning the cam left or right however.

On to the real issue: Do I count it as a new credit if they do convert when I go next year? LOL

(obviously most wouldn't...I probably wouldn't either)

On to the real issue: Do I count it as a new credit if they do convert when I go next year? LOL

(obviously most wouldn't...I probably wouldn't either)

You do you! lol, I counted Rougarou as a new credit tbh. Who cares how you count your own credits?

I'm still in the camp of move it to MiA, converting it along the way. Replace it with a bigger, better, 3 train capacity monster floorless/wing or something from Mack like Helix or Blue Fire.

I doubt they would open a floorless coaster at MIA three years after opening one at Cedar Point.

I know the whole "what counts as a credit" debate is purely subjective, and ultimately pointless, but within the construct of such a debate... I cannot understand how somebody wouldn't count Rougarou as a new credit??? It's an entirely different ride experience! Believe me... As somebody who rode Mantis A TON, and now has ridden Rougarou quite a bit, THEY ARE NOTHING ALIKE to actually experience as a ride! Yes, their track is exactly the same, but the way you experience the coaster, is ENTIRELY different! One ride sucked, terribly, and the other, is actually pretty decent, mostly. That definitely constitutes a change in ride experience in my book, and therefore, a new credit.

Compare that to Dominator at Kings Dominion... I rode it at Geagua Lake, so when I go to KD next year and ride it, I won't count it again, because it's the same exact ride, just moved. Also, I wouldn't count the newly re-tracked Incredible Hulk coaster at IOA, because even though it's all new track, if the entire ride experience is identical to what it was before, it's still the exact same ride experience. Similar to that reasoning, I wouldn't count a wooden coaster as being a new credit, every time it's re-tracked, such as The Legend at Holiday World, or Shivering Timbers at MiA. Now, you may ask about whether I count clones separately, as they are the same "ride experience", and yes, I do. Because they are literally separate coasters. However, FWIW, I often don't even bother riding clones (or kiddie coasters), because I'm not a credit whore! Again, it's all subjective, and you can count credits however you want. But this is my perspective on it...

To keep this rant on topic, Vortex sucks, horribly, worse than Mantis ever could have dreamed of being! Changing it to a Floorless, would be a fabulous improvement, and seems like a sure-fire move CF will make in the near future, likely as early as next season. And yes, I will then count it as a new credit, as it will definitely be a new ride experience, and almost certainly be a much better one!

I know the whole "what counts as a credit" debate is purely subjective, and ultimately pointless, but within the construct of such a debate... I cannot understand how somebody wouldn't count Rougarou as a new credit??? It's an entirely different ride experience! Believe me... As somebody who rode Mantis A TON, and now has ridden Rougarou quite a bit, THEY ARE NOTHING ALIKE to actually experience as a ride! [emoji38] Yes, their track is exactly the same, but the way you experience the coaster, is ENTIRELY different! One ride sucked, terribly, and the other, is actually pretty decent, mostly. That definitely constitutes a change in ride experience in my book, and therefore, a new credit.

 

Compare that to Dominator at Kings Dominion... I rode it at Geagua Lake, so when I go to KD next year and ride it, I won't count it again, because it's the same exact ride, just moved. Also, I wouldn't count the newly re-tracked Incredible Hulk coaster at IOA, because even though it's all new track, if the entire ride experience is identical to what it was before, it's still the exact same ride experience. Similar to that reasoning, I wouldn't count a wooden coaster as being a new credit, every time it's re-tracked, such as The Legend at Holiday World, or Shivering Timbers at MiA. Now, you may ask about whether I count clones separately, as they are the same "ride experience", and yes, I do. Because they are literally separate coasters. However, FWIW, I often don't even bother riding clones (or kiddie coasters), because I'm not a credit whore! [emoji14] Again, it's all subjective, and you can count credits however you want. But this is my perspective on it...

 

To keep this rant on topic, Vortex sucks, horribly, worse than Mantis ever could have dreamed of being! Changing it to a Floorless, would be a fabulous improvement, and seems like a sure-fire move CF will make in the near future, likely as early as next season. And yes, I will then count it as a new credit, as it will definitely be a new ride experience, and almost certainly be a much better one!

By logic of counting clones, isn't new Hulk just a clone of old Hulk? If new Hulk was built in a different park, would you have counted it?

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By logic of counting clones, isn't new Hulk just a clone of old Hulk? If new Hulk was built in a different park, would you have counted it?

That's a fair question! But it wasn't. So it's irrelevant!

Again, I don't care if anybody else counts it as a new coaster, but I could never justify counting it as such for myself, personally.

Incredible Hulk is the equivalent of a retrack. GhostRider and Legend aren't new credits so why would Hulk be a new credit?

As for me, I have a coaster-count.com account so whatever it calls I credit, I just agree with. It's not worth the fuss for me to worry about. I enjoy keeping track, but not to the extent that I need to justify a credit. Just ride and enjoy.