Carowinds

Visited: October 13, 2019

Attending: Just Brian

I knew that Carowinds was a bit of a stretch for this trip. Driving from my home to Raleigh, I’d pass right by Kings Dominion, so that made sense. But Charlotte is a good two and a half hours southwest of Raleigh, so I’d need to make a whole day of it. The conference started on Monday, so technically I had nothing to do on Sunday and could spare the time. As it happened, I needed to do some work and practice my talk, but I’d already committed to Carowinds, so I went, with some misgivings. I had renewed my Cedar Fair Platinum Pass (which I just got in August), and that brought with it a few perks, such as a one-time bring-a-friend benefit, and a one-time FastLane Plus, both of which would be good for one park on one day in 2019. Although my nearest Cedar Fair park is Dorney, I doubted I’d go there in the fall, so I chose to use those benefits at Carowinds. Before the conference, I had tried to recruit some other attendees to come along with me, but travel plans prevented that from working out, so I ended up going by myself. (Special mention to Vicky, whose motion sickness doesn’t allow her to ride, but who was going to come anyway, just to keep me company, until I talked her out of it.)

When I’d packed for the trip, the forecast said that Sunday would be much like Saturday: partly cloudy, with highs in the upper 70s. A bit warm for mid-October, but good park weather. When I got up on Sunday, it became clear that forecast had changed, and it was supposed to rain all day. That made the trip even less enticing, but I’d already committed. I drove down to Charlotte in a steady rain, sometimes torrential. I got to the park around 9:30, and spotted some lightning as I arrived, so I knew nothing would be running. There was a small crowd of passholders hoping for early entry, but not all parks do that, and apparently Carowinds wasn’t offering it today. So we all stood around until 10, and entered the park in a downpour. I went right to the FastLane desk, where the staffer informed me that nothing was running at the moment, and they couldn’t offer refunds. I agreed it didn’t make a lot of sense, but since the FastLane was only good at Carowinds, and I wasn’t going to be at Carowinds again in 2019, well… I then waited a good while in a gift shop for the rain to clear.

Copperhead Strike

I had been to Carowinds in 2017, so Copperhead was the only coaster I hadn’t ridden previously, and I went straight there. Nothing at all was running, and there didn’t appear to be any line, either. I took some photos from outside the entrance, and then went past the sign, where I learned that the ride has kind of a plaza behind the main part of the ride, but before the queue. They weren’t letting anyone in the queue just yet, so there were about a dozen people standing around waiting in the drizzle. I amused myself with my phone, and learned from Twitter that Thrilling Moments Photography was headed to the park that day, so I invited him and his father to come stand around with me. They agreed, which was a pleasant surprise, and although the ride didn’t open until after 11:00, I was able to chat about coasters with the pair of them. Eventually the rain let up, they ran a few test trains, and then let us on. A bit of a crowd had arrived behind us, but we were close enough to the front that we were able to take the front row with very little wait.

The first thing I noticed was that the Mack Rides seats were very comfortable. I’ve always thought that B&M seats are comfy, being partly reclined, but these were even better, with nice lumbar support. The restraints come down from above, but they’re just lap bars, not overly obtrusive. And they’re definitely necessary, because this coaster is all about hang time.

On a rainy day, with only a few trains before us, I expected something of a slow ride, but the fact that the ride is launched kind of offsets that. Even still, the inversions on this ride are slower than anything I’ve experienced before. There’s pretty much no momentum holding you in the seat, so you very much feel the pull of gravity as you hang upside-down. I haven’t ridden a coaster that does that deliberately (as opposed to old Arrow loopers, which are just kind of slow), and while I’m not sure it’s something I’m particularly looking for in a coaster, it makes for nice variety. The ride itself is very smooth, which I’d expect from a new coaster. This was the first Mack Rides launched coaster I’ve ridden, and I heard that the launches aren’t very forceful, but they definitely got the job done. It was kind of a pleasant sensation compared to Maxx Force or even Flight of Fear. You’re definitely accelerating, but you’re not slammed back into your seat. Aside from the inversions, the ride is a twisted bowl of track, so you’re never quite sure which way you’re heading. There’s one Intamin-style sharp transition, but it’s not nearly as abrupt as one of Maverick’s. It certainly wasn’t extreme, but I wasn’t expecting extreme, so I was OK with that.

After one ride, I bade farewell to Thrilling Moments, and looped around for a second ride. There was enough of a line that I might have justified using my FastLane, but I didn’t bother. I waited a bit for a back-row ride, which was somewhat different, but not a ton, given that there’s not a lot of airtime to be found on this coaster. It was also raining pretty steadily for my second ride, which somewhat hampered my enjoyment. I thought about going for a third ride, but the rain was getting worse, so I figured I might come back later.

Afterburn

I headed over to Afterburn next, as it was somewhat nearby, and I thought the walk would give the rain some time to clear, which it did. There was no line at all, but given the bad experience I had on Great Bear in the rain a few years ago, I opted for the back row. I’ve heard from enthusiasts that this ride is intense for a B&M invert, but I didn’t think so on my one ride in 2017. The Batman clones are intense, but in a different way: Batman is always flinging you side to side or inverting you. Afterburn, by contrast, is often pushing you down into your seat, and even has a couple of moments of airtime, which is unusual for an invert. I knew to anticipate the rare batwing element, so I was better able to appreciate it this time. On the whole, I liked it better than the previous time I rode it. I think it would take another couple of rides to decide if it’s my favorite invert, at least until I get a chance to ride Montu or Banshee. I definitely want a front-row ride, and I thought about trying for one right then, but I didn’t want to risk the rain.

Fury 325

Fury was the main thing I wanted to ride, other than Copperhead, so I made sure to go over there to get my rides in. The rain was holding off at this point, and there were even a couple of peeks of sun, so I thought I should take advantage. I thought (mistakenly) that if I used my FastLane, I wouldn’t be able to pick my row, and I definitely wanted a back-row ride, so I went in the “normal” line and waited around 20 minutes. The first time I rode Fury, it was the tallest thing I’d ridden with a traditional lift hill, and I was pretty nervous waiting to ride. This time, only a couple of years later (and just a day after riding Intimidator 305), I had no fear at all. I got a good look around from the lift hill, and kept my hands up from the moment of the first drop, which I didn’t before. The back-seat ride was definitely worth the wait (that I didn’t need to do). The first drop is fantastic, and I think the drop off the treble clef into the tunnel is probably my favorite moment of the ride, especially from the back. If I could change anything, I wish the first big hills could be straight airtime instead of banked turns, but the ride needs to make a turn, so I guess there’s no choice. The last few airtime hills still have the best sustained floater I’ve experienced, and I love them.

After that, I decided that I should probably use the FastLane that I’d been avoiding all day, so I zipped right back around for a front-row ride. There was a little bit of fear with no cars in front of me, but not much. I was also surprised by just how much more wind there is from the front car, although I don’t know why that should surprise me. The airtime is still nice and forceful, and there isn’t as much difference front to back as there is on a coaster with inversions. I zipped around one more time and rode in row six, just to balance things out, and it was nearly as good as a back-row ride.

Having ridden Fury and Intimidator on consecutive days, I like them both, but ultimately I prefer Fury. It’s hard to compare the two, because they’re trying to do different things. I305 is aiming for intensity, and to take you on a forceful ride that leaves you breathless, which it succeeds at. Fury is still fast and intense, but its forces are more tolerable, and I think that makes the ride more fun. Different people are going to prefer different experiences, but Fury is the one for me, by a slight margin.

Intimidator

I’d had enough Fury for the moment, and I figured I should show the “other” Intimidator a little love. I wouldn’t have it said that I ignored a B&M hyper, just for the crime of not being as good as Fury. Some crowds were starting to build, but with my FastLane, I zipped right to the station and got a back-row outside seat fairly quickly. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t impressed. I like B&M hypers, but this one seemed unfortunately slow, and the airtime suffered as a result. I blamed it on the weather at the time, but I’ve since learned that there are some trim brakes that enthusiasts regard as unnecessary. I’ve been told that front row is the way to go on this ride, but I didn’t know that in the moment. I got back to the station feeling disappointed.

I don’t want to say that a poor ride on Intimidator killed the day for me, but the rain picked up again shortly after that, and I had to shelter for a bit. I had planned to go back to Copperhead and maybe Fury again, but I was thinking about the work that I needed to do back at my hotel, and how long it would take to get back there. As it turned out, I was right; the weather made the traffic slow going on the return trip. On the whole, it wasn’t the most successful trip, and probably a waste of a FastLane, but I definitely enjoyed Copperhead and Fury, so I’ll say it was positive on the whole. I’m up for trying again next year, if I come back that way.