Carowinds Discussion Thread

Did anybody notice if their were big boy seats on the ride? Usually B&M have them, but those seats look different than any coaster seats I have seen.

Did anybody notice if their were big boy seats on the ride? Usually B&M have them, but those seats look different than any coaster seats I have seen.

All the seats are the same size on Intimidator.

Just woke up back in Orlando, and ready to share some thoughts on our AMAZING weekend at Carowinds. I've got a TON of pictures, some of which I may post later after I finish editing them.

Kara and I arrived at the front gate on Saturday right around 8:45am, and by 9:05am, they had let us through security and into the main plaza. I was VERY impressed with how they handled crowd control, as they formed a Intimidator-specific line that began just before the ride's plaza. Around 9:30am, security walked the line and informed everyone that they would be walking us back in a line, and that anyone who ran would be kicked out of line, and sent to the back. It was VERY efficient, and we were both quite impressed.

After the opening ceremonies and the cutting of the ribbon with the Earnhardt's, the ride opened before the official 10am park opening time. By 10:05, we had completed our first ride!

Before I get into the ride, I'd like to take this time to praise Cedar Fair for a GREAT park. Neither of us had ever been here before, and we fell in love. The entire park was beautifully landscaped, the employees were all extremely friendly and welcoming, and the ride selection kept us busy for a full day and a half. We didn't have much expectations, but ended up being blown away! Afterburn was AWESOME, and we had a blast on the Flyers, as well as the Sally ride.

As for Intimidator....Incredible.

For those saying it's not themed well, it really is. The trains look beautiful, even with the stickers (and I hate NASCAR), and the queue was well-themed, too. I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but the queue was surrounded by guard rails like you'd find around a NASCAR track, and the ride zones were blocked off by fence that, also, looked like fencing you'd find around a true track.

The ride itself is only "tame" in the middle, and even then, it's still a blast. We managed to get 10 rides in on opening day (including the last ride of the night in the front!) and then got in another 15 rides on Sunday before leaving the park around 2pm. The front really has true ejector air, and the back has some crazy ejector/floater combo air that's very hard to describe. I had high expectations for it, but Kara did not, and in the end, we both came away with a new #1 steel coaster.

Other B&M hypers I've ridden (in order of preference) are Goliath, Nitro and Raging Bull, and I will say that the openness of the trains was a great sensation, but the seats ARE a bit more "narrow," or snug. Still as comfy as always, but there's definitely less wiggle room, and having ridden Goliath three weeks ago, I think it's fair to say I'm pretty familiar. The crew on this ride was absolutely incredible, as well!

I've checked the thread for "duplicate" photos and will post some unique ones later. In the meantime, for anyone on the fence about going out of their way for this ride, do it! Its a great, great ride.

EDIT: Here's a link on the next page of this thread to some of my pictures.

^Sounds like a fun weekend, and GO GATORS!!!!

-,==,<

After reading 10 pages about the cheapness of the stickers, here are my thoughts (some of which are already stated).

Elissa's comment about the cheap look of the stickers is an overarching statement about the look of stickers on everything from NASCAR cars to the Intimidator cars.

Someone mentioned this and it's worth repeating, Dale Earnhardt Industries and NASCAR most likely insisted on the sitckers. I can't see a close-up but it appears that some of the sponsor stickers may be from companies that don't even exist anymore (MCI). We as coaster enthusiasts are excellent at nit-picking on inaccuracies, and you can be sure that Dale Earnhardt fans are sticklers for accuracy, also.

The side view picture makes the car look like crap, but looking at the front of the car from an angle that shows both the front of the nose cone and the side does looks much better.

Lastly, I'm much more concerned about how it rides than how it looks.

Nighthawk: Running one train, typical. Actually, I think it started with two and one broke.

This would unfortunately be correct.

The Nighthawk crew seemed to be moving slowly, with 6+ minute cycles when I first got in line, but by the time I got up to the station, they were running around like crazy. Also, two of the crew members were talking to everyone as they waited for the train to come back (since only one was running) asking about our days, if we were having fun, etc. They guy running the ride was funny, and on this ride people actually screamed that they loved the ride when it returned back to the station. The operator also kept asking if Nighthawk was better than Intimidator, announcing that it was the best ride in the park, etc. It was pretty funny.

In Our Defense. For most of the crew (im one of two who have actually worked the ride before) Saturday was their first day with people on the ride, so the entire crew was still learning all the little kinks and tricks to getting the ride to work and run properly, hence the 6 minute cycles at the beginning of the day. This is also how we managed to speed things up. Thanks, that was me asking about nighthawk vs intimidator.

Oh man, well sorry I didn't say hello.

No big deal, it happens.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Intimidator having the B&M rumble/shake found on some of their coasters. Is it non-existent on Intimidator?

Coasterlvr_nc, I definitely figured that out about Nighthawk. I thought you guys did a great job for opening day, and knew from the get-go that the one train thing was mechanical and no fault of the crew. By the time I rode you guys were sending the trains in about a minute. I always wondered if computer issues often sidelined the trains. I remember seeing a special about Stealth and it was detailing how complex the electronics were. I also assume it's one of the most complicated rides to load. And you were hilarious with the announcements!

thrillerman 1, I did not notice any rumble or rattle at all on Intimidator.

^^ There's a very minute amount of shaking in the very back of the train, but you can only feel it when the train is actually going full speed, so just in the first couple of valleys.

I noticed VERY little rattle; hardly noticeable at all.

Here are a few pictures I alluded to in my earlier post.

First drop

First drop

First half

Lifthill

Final drop before brakes

Helix

Second hill

Third hill

Full layout

Fourth hill

Fifth hill (best on the ride!)

Looking up at second hill

View of the queue around 1pm on Sunday!

On Sunday

Us!

And finally....Panorama!

Here's a link to a larger version of this photo.

Hope you guys enjoy these.

Nice pictures, gatorchomp83. Man it was gorgeous on Saturday. Is that last picture from After Burn's queue?

Also just noticed that you commented on the fifth hill. I agree, it's definitely the best.

Yep! Took that from the top of the queue, right before entering the station.

By the time I rode you guys were sending the trains in about a minute. I always wondered if computer issues often sidelined the trains. I remember seeing a special about Stealth and it was detailing how complex the electronics were. I also assume it's one of the most complicated rides to load. And you were hilarious with the announcements!

Thank you, I appreciate all of the compliments. Just like that special you saw, the ride is rather complex, electronically, and in the process it takes to properly load the trains. I a also glad you enjoyed my announcements as well, I like trying to keep things from being quite as repetitive and bland every cycle.

Very nice photos. My boyfriend & I are planning a trip down there in May..should be interesting.

I've lived here all my life and I've only been to 2 races, so that tells you how much I like the "sport".

 

I grew up in San Francisco, but have only had sex with two men. That should tell you how straight I am.

 

Seriously though, great photos from Pufferfish. Can't stand NASCAR, but I'd rather have a coaster slightly-themed to that than not slightly-themed at all.

I needed to laugh. Thanks.

The coaster looks amazing. And I think the area around looks very good! But do they really need barbed wire at the top of those fences by the station? Shouldn't the fence be enough?

Is it normal fro Carrowinds to be this deserted at this time of year? Remember seeing pics from the opening of diamondback last year, and the que was enormous!

^There is no barbed wire anywhere around our ride. The fencing around our ride near the queue line is designed to resemble the fences that separate the seating areas of NASCAR stadiums from the track. Also, the park was extremely dead on Sunday because just about 10 miles, or less, from the park the area was under a tornado watch/warning. Thankfully the storm completely missed the park so we were able to stay open all day with just a few rain showers.

Some people don't realize that Carowinds is never a park that's that busy. I remember when I worked there we averaged 10-12K people a day, and they got spread out pretty well among the water park and various other shows and rides.

After seeing how tasteful and elegant those decals are on the 0-train of that car, I've decided to outfit all of our vehicles with them. It's astonishing to think that cars aren't pre-outfitted with these stickers before leaving the factory. How else can I show my support to Chex Mix and Sham Wow?

A thought.. We get exact measurements of one of the stickers and create a TPR decal and clandestinely attach it to the coaster?

That coaster looks absolutely amazing...makes me a little jealous not to have this kind of quality-B&M close...

Have fun...

George "must accept just to have the over-trimmed SilverStar over here" T.

^ Hey, a B&M is a B&M. The closest B&M in general to me is 3 hours away, the closest hyper is like 6 hours. Plus, you can brag about having the tallest B&M hyper, and B&M in general, for that matter.

Does anyone know what the crowds will be like at Carowinds a weekday in July?

^I talked with a staff member, and he says that the crowds are pretty rare, even during July. I suppose even the Intimidator crowds will have died down a little by then, if you're planning on visiting.

I should probably just stay out of this and the Harry Potter thread, but it occured to me that I really got personally crapped on this year! Two 'franchises' that I totally hate got made into rides this year. Nascar and Harry Potter...LAME!!!

 

If you're going to theme your giant B&M to racing, make it look sleek and awesome like Silver Star, not cheap and terrible like Nascar...oh wait. Yeah. Sad.

 

I better get a Yo Gabba Gabba and Nsync ride next year!

As great as that would be, people may ban the park that an *NSYNC coaster would be in. lol. I <3 them though... dying for a reunion tour.

I agree with you on the stickers. They should have put his number on the side instead.

The only Hyper I have been on is Nitro. From what I hear, it is one of the top Hypers. Front, back, middle, rain, dark - it is all good! I do not see a future in getting to ride another, although I am going to Busch Gardens Europe this year...so we shall see! Intimidator looks to be fun, and of course if I were ever in the park, I would not pass riding.

Yesterday I got up to 15 rides so far on Intimidator.

My first 3 of the day were all in row 6. 666? Scury.

My next/last was on 7 or 8 I think.

The back is my favorite, but it's a great ride wherever you sit.