Carowinds Photo TR: Spring Break LineFest

Just a short little TR here...

Over Spring Break, I had the awesome opportunity to visit Carowinds, home of Fury 325 and Intimidator, two of B&M's best coasters. Unfortunately, it was Spring Break, so not having the Fast Lane Plus and leaving at 5:00 PM meant that I averaged about one ride per hour. Also, Carowinds' strangely restrictive ERT schedule meant that my Platinum Pass wasn't good for anything but admission and parking.

I arrived at the park just before opening time (since ERT wasn't happening) and quickly joined the growing mass of people set to stampede by Vortex to the Hurler/Fury/Drop Tower pavilion. When security opened the gates, I scrambled down the pathway and cut through gift shops to get to the new coaster. Unfortunately, I discovered something horrifying, which I hadn't anticipated:

LOCKERZ.

While for many this is just an inconvenience, paying $2 to ride AFTER I upgraded to a Platinum pass seemed like a ripoff (and I lost my place in line).

I really hope that this monetize-everything craze won't make its way to Kings Dominion when its new coaster is installed (if that ever happens) .

Anyway, after waiting in line for a healthy 20 minutes, I finally boarded the blue-green monster machine known as Fury 325. In many ways, the ride itself was anticlimactic. I have to be honest: As a frequent Intimidator 305 rider, I was expecting something legendary because of all of the hype. Unfortunately, it seems that B&M tried in vain to copy its successful (and AWESOME) hypercoaster strategy, which is filled with airtime, but replace the airtime hills with boring banked turns. End result: Frickin' awesome first drop, forceless and snoozefest rest of ride. I consider B&M's gigacoaster project a work in progress, but definitely showing some serious potential. The ride's still fun, but I'd give it a 7.5/10. In the gift shop below the station (clever engineering), I picked up a photo keychain, official T-shirt, and a pin for the ride. However, I wasn't gonna brave the 1+hr line to do that one again - there were other coasters out there. I skipped Hurler and Ricochet because Kings Dominion has exact clones, saw the line for Nighthawk and balked, and finally settled on waiting in the 1-hour line for Intimidator. IMO, Intimidator is better than Fury 325. The floater airtime is insane, it's smoother than Fury, and the weird stadium seating is cool in a good way. (The "start your engines" voice on the Intimidator sounds much less confident than the one on Intimidator 305.) Rating? 9/10. Next, I rode Afterburn. It might be just me, but B&M inverts are hit-or-miss in my book. They're either rough or memorable. My good invert experience was Silver Bullet at KBF, which was nice and smooth (as compared to Ghostrider, ugh), whereas I find Alpengeist and Afterburn to be absolutely unbearable. 3/10. (Also, if you have sensitive ears, Afterburn is not for you - really does sound like a jet taking off). After lunch (I packed, you can probably tell that I was in money-saving mode), I hit the only operating side of Thunder Road (the right side). This was surprisingly smooth and definitely worth the 30-min wait, even though it's a copy of Rebel Yell. Somehow, Thunder Road is incredibly smooth while the Rebel Yell has some rough portions. Rating? 7/10 (#savethunderroad). After this, I hit Intimidator again and then did a couple of flats: the Scream Weaver and the Drop Tower. Both were fun (and the only rides with no lines all day), but weren't anything special. Finally, I finished the day with a ride on Vortex. I. HATE. STANDUPS. It doesn't matter if they're TOGO or B&M, they should all be KILLED WITH FIRE. At least I got to ride the Nutcracker (I mean Vortex) in the front (I despise that assigned-row policy). Rating 2/10.

Ride Tally:

Fury 325 1x

Intimidator 2x

Vortex 1x

Afterburn 1x

Thunder Road (RIP, ) 1x

Scream Weaver 1x

Drop Tower 1x

And now for some pictures (all taken by me with my Galaxy S4):

Foggy Morning... How many coasters can you spot?

I made it!

If nothing else, this coaster is photogenic...

Here's an even BETTER B&M.

Getting closer...

Nearly there...

Strange stadium-seating provides for an unique experience.

The view from my seat.

The Afterburn queue

Why do I always end up in the back on the rough ones?

Kings Dominion or Carowinds?

Here's the full picture.

Goodbye Fury, hope to see you again someday!

"First to be stung" collectors' pin

And the t-shirt

On the way back to the hotel, I found this little place - they managed to spell "restaurant" three ways on their signs.

Spelling #2

And Spelling #3

TRception - thanks for reading!

Pretty cool report even though it sounded like a lot of waiting!

I seem to remember you had ridden F325 in every single seat on the train more than once, but in this report you claim to have ridden once. I'm just curious because that really affects how you enjoyed the ride.

After my first ride, I shared your sentiments, it was just a notch below I305. Then front row: took out 305 and claimed my #1 position. Thank goodness for FL+ and 7 rides on such an amazing coaster. I never felt any rattle, it felt much faster than 305, much more open/free than 305, had more airtime than 305 (dat drop, dat turnaround, and dem bunny hills ), and in general felt more complete as far as ride experience/fit & finish went. I still love I305, don't get me wrong, but this was the whole package.

I seem to remember you had ridden F325 in every single seat on the train more than once, but in this report you claim to have ridden once. I'm just curious because that really affects how you enjoyed the ride.

I exaggerate a lot lol but I was second row so I pretty much got the same experience as front. TBH I just didn't like it as much as 305, ppl on here sometimes forget that others have differing opinions .

you may be the only person that didn't like afterburn

Great report.

I completely disagree with your opinion of basically everything but great report. This solidifies my theory that there is an enthusiast somewhere that will complain about roughness on every single coaster ever built though. I don't think it's possible to build a coaster that's smoother than Afterburn.

To each his own I guess.

Don't know how you could call Fury a snooze fest. The airtime is the best B&M has ever done. If I ever get tired of taking overbanked turns at 90 mph, I'll find a different hobby. You can say it's overhyped, I get that, but to say it's a snooze fest is kinda crazy.

Just so you know, the Ricochet are Carowinds is a different model than Kings Dominion's is. Both are Mack wild mouse coasters, but Carowinds has the "Small Park" model, and KD has the "Large Park" model. No big drop off the lift hill, different layout.

Great report. I completely disagree with your opinion of basically everything but great report.

+1, William. I haven't been to CW for two years, but I really enjoyed the hell out of Afterburn to the point where I marathoned it at the end of the night. Keep in mind, I'm the guy who bitches about wooden coasters and I found Afterburn to be phenomenal and smooth. Right up there with Banshee. I'm also pretty sure I would wet myself (in a good way) on Fury.

Although we disagree, good report.

edit: I just remembered... I found it intriguing how you found Fury so lackluster, yet you bought two overpriced Fury souvenirs. Maybe I just don't get it since I'm not the type of person who would ever wear a roller coaster tee... (sorry, I just find them incredibly nerdy) Or did I miss something?

I seem to remember you had ridden F325 in every single seat on the train more than once, but in this report you claim to have ridden once. I'm just curious because that really affects how you enjoyed the ride.

I exaggerate a lot lol but I was second row so I pretty much got the same experience as front. TBH I just didn't like it as much as 305, ppl on here sometimes forget that others have differing opinions .

I rode second row before front as well. It's like night and day difference. Love both coasters!

Great report.

 

I completely disagree with your opinion of basically everything but great report. This solidifies my theory that there is an enthusiast somewhere that will complain about roughness on every single coaster ever built though. I don't think it's possible to build a coaster that's smoother than Afterburn.

 

To each his own I guess.

I agree with your theory. It might just be that I'm 5'11", 130 lbs. Because of my body type, I find the abrupt lateral g-forces on B&M inversions to be fairly rough. To each his own.

Nice little report there! It just goes to show that every enthusiast has their preferences. While I'm surprised you didn't like Fury or Afterburn, I 100% agree with Vortex. Burn it TO THE GROUND.

Nice report, some very cool photos, I'd like to visit this park someday. Were the Fury keychain/t-shirt/pin free? If not, I don't get why would you buy souvenirs for a coaster you thought was a snoozefest if you were trying to save cash.

Nice report, some very cool photos, I'd like to visit this park someday. Were the Fury keychain/t-shirt/pin free? If not, I don't get why would you buy souvenirs for a coaster you thought was a snoozefest if you were trying to save cash.

No, the items cost just under $25 total after tax+PPass discount. Bragging rights and proof of riding are the answers for #2, and I chose to spend that money on souvenirs rather than the exorbitant price of amusement park food .

So you starved yourself just to have "bragging rights" (that anyone who walked into the gift shop could've gotten) for a coaster you thought was a snoozefest? LOL. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to rag on you, but none of that makes any sense to me.

So you starved yourself just to have "bragging rights" (that anyone who walked into the gift shop could've gotten) for a coaster you thought was a snoozefest? LOL. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to rag on you, but none of that makes any sense to me.

LOL not what I meant to say I meant I packed food and saved money rather than buying the meals... I know it doesn't make sense, but a lot of my friends wouldn't believe me. I certainly wouldn't starve myself (I eat 2000-3000+calories a day, some days 4 meals, and can't gain weight bc of high metabolism and exercise).

So you starved yourself just to have "bragging rights" (that anyone who walked into the gift shop could've gotten) for a coaster you thought was a snoozefest? LOL. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to rag on you, but none of that makes any sense to me.

LOL not what I meant to say I meant I packed food and saved money rather than buying the meals... I know it doesn't make sense, but a lot of my friends wouldn't believe me. I certainly wouldn't starve myself (I eat 2000-3000+calories a day, some days 4 meals, and can't gain weight bc of high metabolism and exercise).

Lots of never before seen posts in the 10 years I've been on this site happening here in this thread.

Selfies/getting someone to take a picture of you in front of Fury would have been enough proof. But these friends sound like a topic for the random thread.

Maybe instead of saying the ride is 'rough' you could detail that you're skinnier and get thrown around in the seat during quick snaps. Great way to create lots of posts for your PTR though! Sorry you didn't have the best experience, but you sure had one of the most unique!

So you starved yourself just to have "bragging rights" (that anyone who walked into the gift shop could've gotten) for a coaster you thought was a snoozefest? LOL. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to rag on you, but none of that makes any sense to me.

LOL not what I meant to say I meant I packed food and saved money rather than buying the meals... I know it doesn't make sense, but a lot of my friends wouldn't believe me. I certainly wouldn't starve myself (I eat 2000-3000+calories a day, some days 4 meals, and can't gain weight bc of high metabolism and exercise).

 

Lots of never before seen posts in the 10 years I've been on this site happening here in this thread.

 

Selfies/getting someone to take a picture of you in front of Fury would have been enough proof. But these friends sound like a topic for the random thread.

 

Maybe instead of saying the ride is 'rough' you could detail that you're skinnier and get thrown around in the seat during quick snaps. Great way to create lots of posts for your Photo TR though! Sorry you didn't have the best experience, but you sure had one of the most unique!

I still think that the ride is rough bc my momentum from the quick snaps causes brain-rattling, which oftentimes can give me a headache. Strangely enough, I find both Intimidators and Apollo's Chariot to be buttersmooth, but these rides are more about vertical than lateral Gs.