Why Carowinds is a Confusing Park
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- čas přidán 26. 02. 2022
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Carowinds is a Cedar Fair park located on the border of North and South Carolina just outside of Charlotte. While Carowinds boasts an impressive collection of 14 roller coasters, including one of the world's best steel coasters Fury 325, there were some other aspects of this park that made me scratch my head.
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#Carowinds #Fury325 #Charlotte
Imagine caring about the opinion of a nobody
What
@@CoasterNerd I said what I said
@@brimarie3870cool
Yet, you cared enough to watch him give his opinion. 🙄
Damn, you got me 🤣
As a Carowinds fanboy, I feel your pain on the operations. That being said, you dodged a bullet with Nighthawk. You can avoid the hour+ wait by riding it in the morning, but then you have to spend the rest of the day with a patented Vekoma headache.
If you ride Nighthawk with loose restraints (they never staple you on that ride) and stay relaxed, you can marathon this ride with no problem. I have ridden it 10 times in a row without having to get off and felt fine.
@OneDayAfterAnother I agree. It baffles me when people say Nighthawk is rough. I have ridden it hundreds of times and have never had a rough ride. It does shake and shimmy through the corkscrew but if you are relaxed and not pinned to your restraint, that part makes me laugh every time.
lol not to mention if it gets stuck on the lift hill...... Happens all the time too, gotta love that macaroni and cheese ride
@@gametime2473 Yeah I've been on it once and I remember it being nearly as smooth as the new coasters there, I was shocked the first time I saw someone say it was rough
@@theduck9591 I don't know what the reason is. It's so weird. I'm guessing it's people stapling themselves while the ride ops never do, or people super tense on the ride. I'm clueless why that is.
I think you would have liked Thunderoad back when it was there, a phenomenal wooden coaster that was older but smooth.
It was along the border too playing into the two state theme.
@@benh2040 Yesssss it was soon cool
Thunderoad was awesome!
Thunder Road back when they had backwards trains and they'd race the two sides was awesome. I'm so glad I got to ride it back then.
@@RoastBeefSandwich same here. That was one of my all time favorites backwards.
I think you just hit Carowinds on a bad day where the hours weren't the longest and they had the biggest crowds. I can also point out that the reason why you don't feel much nestalgia around the park was because Paramount took away too much of that when they were in charge although Cedar Fair has started to bring it back bit by bit. I am hoping to go there for the first time next summer when I visit Dollywood also.
Carowinds is an awesome park. A few tips. Nighthawk is right at the entrance. Ride that first. Keep your restraints loose (very easy to do) and ride in the back. Stay relaxed and you will laugh the entire time as you get tossed all over the place. Next hit copperhead strike and ride it in the front. It is a rare ride that is FAR more intense in the front. Make sure to get an evening ride on Carolina Cyclone in the back. When it warms up it whips you over that drop and the back is the smoothest row IMO. The drop tower doesn't look all that tall but don't let that fool you, it is amazing. A night ride on Fury is MANDATORY if the park is open that late when you go. Front row far left is the magic seat on the train. Intimidator is also a great ride later in the day when it speeds up, back row is the way to go on that one. Afterburn is one of the best inverts as well. It's a shorter version of Montu but with no brake run. Front and back are both great.
@@gametime2473 as someone who goes to carowinds all the time I 100% agree with you, and I dont know if it makes a differnec but I personally like the left side on copperhead strike.
@@data-_- Hmm, i'll have to pay more attention next time I go and compare the left and right side on Copperhead Strike. I haven't been to Carowinds in a year at this point. We got Six Flags and SeaWorld/Busch nationwide passes last year and skipped Cedar Fair for cost reasons. This year we will be hitting the Cedar Fair parks again.
Right? I mean the Intimidator? Dale Earnhardt is a big deal here. That’s absolutely part of our collective nostalgia.
Furthermore, Fury’s theming is related to a Revolutionary War battle where a British general called the area a “hornet’s nest.”
I’ve always found Intimidator’s operations to be spectacular. In the past few years, I’ve rarely seen Intimidator with over a 20 minute wait (then again as Carowinds is my homepark, I usually go on weekdays and never holidays). I think you may have just caught it at a bad time
2021 was a bad season for Carowinds. Intimidator wasn’t good for operations at all because a lot of the good ride ops got directed to Fury.
it really just depends and things were odd last season
intimidator operations are always horrible when i go
@@luvbreeezy y’all say this and go on saturday 😬
Carolina Cyclone has some of the best operations of all time
Fury 325 and Afterburn always have great dispatches. In my experience with Fury they will rush you through the gates with a 5 second countdown and get super fast dispatches. With Afterburn I’ve seen the employees run to each seat to get a super fast dispatch time.
usually yes, but 2021 was infamous at carowinds, by far the worst operations in the cedar fair chain from my visits
yeah the guys on afterburn closed the door on my leg lol
I believe the reason why Mystic Timbers, Twisted Timbers, and Copperhead Strike all have similar themes is because their stories are all connected. Each coaster's queue has many easter eggs and references to the other rides.
Cedar fair cinematic universe?
they all have miami river lumber co
@@quethinks5429now thats the lore im interested in.
thank you , you get it....
@@Drummerchick2003 its not that hard to spot it it like it says right there
This park's operations are just the definition of "go big or go home"
When I went to Carowinds for the first time as a kid, there were only five roller coasters: Thunder Road, White Lighning, Gold Rusher, Scooby Doo, and the Carolina Cyclone.
Thunder road and white lightning were awesome coasters. All of these are fun but those two were really unique.
Hey there! Carowinds is my home park so take any comment here with a grain of salt. Before Cedar Fair bought Carowinds (in 2005?) it was owned by Paramount - looking run down and losing customers. So Cedar Fair has had to revamp a lot of the park itself which might be what's contributing to the "corporate" feel. Some helpful tips/knowledge (possibly?): The mine train ride is the first ride built in the park (1970 something). To this day I and many others who grew up with this park still call Afterburn, Top Gun because that was the name of that ride before. Also depending on the time of year/day you go Afterburn is quite frequently a walk on ride even though its one of the better rides at the park. Nighthawk almost always has a long line and frequently runs one train. I would recommend that the next time you visit you start with it first if it opens when the park does, otherwise the wait is usually an hour plus. We also use to have a log flume ride but they took that out 2 years (?) ago. So we're hoping for another great new ride to take its place. I hope you have a better time at Carowinds the next time you visit!
I love getting new takes on popular parks. This was definitely a unique perspective on Carowinds, I really hope I can get down there this year.
As someone who's been going to Carowinds since BEFORE Paramount bought it, I've also been wishing the new Cedar Fair management would get the theme together. I'm optimistic that the newer rides seem to have "Carolinas" theme with copperheads, whatever racecar thing Intimidator is, and Kitty Hawk. Maybe they'll tie it together eventually!
(Then again... I still adamantly call a few rides by their original Paramount names like Top Gun and the Borg)
also they don't train or pay their employees enough to stand around in the boiling sun and humidity all day. I haven't been since 2020 (even though I live nearby) but that was a problem before the pandemic that I definitely noticed getting worse even then
I felt personally attacked when you said Carolina Cyclone was bad lol. It's my number 4 at the park. I guess I just liked how out of control it was. You get yanked through those corkscrews and take the helix way faster than you should!
The only reason I don’t like it is cause my head always bangs from side to side on the harness and I get a massive headache, if it wasn’t for that I’d ride it more cause the ride itself is really good.
Fr Carolina cyclone is fun
I know right it was the first big coaster I rode so I holds a special place in my heart and it hurt for someone to say that
Cyclone was made before they started using computer 🖥 animation to create rides so it's not as smooth like the newer roller-coaster.
@@theCajonwarrior Yes
I just finished my first day at Carowinds and I agree with you on a lot. So many trains were leaving the station with tons of empty seats despite there being a line. Although the park was pretty empty being a Tuesday. Afterburn’s pacing was so good. Hang time on Copperhead was very unique for me and Fury didn’t quite live up to the hype but I’m planning on getting a few more rides in tomorrow.
Great review!
I found myself disagreeing with almost everything negative in this video. While yes, it was a holiday, the operations are all pretty good when I go, and I go a lot (Carowinds is my home park). I love Carowinds so much and find the operations to be so good. So, if you are looking to come to Carowinds perhaps not on a holiday (though i think he had a bad day) don't let the poor descriptions in this video upset you. It is a great park and definitely worth trying.
Right carowinds is my home park too and I disagree on most of this
I disagree with him on all
Carowinds is my home park and i went 15 times last season and from my experience most of the coasters that you said had bad operations usually don’t, like for example afterburn and intimidator usually have 1 min operations. but for gold rush, nighthawk and vortex your completely right . Loved the video
Yeah, Intimidator was insanely fast on my visit in mid July. But, Afterburn was running one train with 5-10 minute dispatches. That line was almost as bad as Nighthawk's.
Bro. You are right. When I go to a park you can feel that parts of the park that you know has history and has been there for years. But to me Carowinds feels like some one got a cookie cutter where they cut parts of other parks from others. Like it felt like a park build in RTC by the average Joe. And I been to alot of parks on the East coaster. And and afterburn dispatch time was absolutely atrocious. It was so bad we were wondering if they were running 1 train. Like a full 10 minutes went by and we was like…. Is the ride broke down. I didn’t even get a chance to ride it
Fast lane plus, every visit, every park, no kiddie credits, no holidays, no stress, no problematic visits for us. 🥃
Being fixated on credits with just one day in the parks seems like the real issue. Our first visit we only got 7 credits because we marathoned Fury. If you are bummed because you rode Fury a dozen times and didn’t ride Ricochet or Nighthawk, your priorities seem off.
As carowinds being my home park i can feel the corporate feeling and carowinds loosing its charm, especially compared to back in the day compared to other parks i been too. I feel one thing cedar fair should do in this park is keep the two states one park theme up and should put state line markers inside the park as well as some custom welcome to nc/sc line with a state vs state ride competition
I remember when I last went to Carowinds and the crew for Fury were competing to break record after record for dispatches, I remember them even sending a train out in only 25 seconds. Sadly tho some Karen must’ve called the manage cause after that one of the operators was on the phone for awhile and they stopped trying to send trains out at lightning speed.
The copper head strike, recently the dispatch has been slow, at one point there was 2 trains on the break run and it would take 5+ minutes to dispatch a train. My friend got in line and came out the ride like 45minutes-an hour after.
Being in Charlotte native I don't know why it hurts my heart that all of these ride names have been changed because it's no longer Paramount. I'm sure hurler will be gone soon like thunder rd back in 2015
Good video. We just bought our tickets for Carowinds last night. Cedar Fair was having the President’s Day sale and we couldn’t pass up the chance at $30 tickets. We’ve never been to Carowinds, but it’s been on our list and I’m pretty excited. Also, I’m closing in on 100 coaster credits (currently 93), so I may save Fury 325 for 100. Living in Middle Tennessee, it’s about an 8 hour drive. We are looking at going on Friday March 15th. I’m hoping since it’s early in the season and on a Friday, the crowds will be light. Living in the south, I know there can be a possibility of rain or cooler weather. Hopefully, the weather is mild!
We didn’t buy Fast Lane passes, so I’m doing my research to hit the lower capacity rides first. We’ll be staying at the Spring Hill Suites right across the road from the park, so it’s walking distance and we want to be waiting for the gates to open.
Any other tips or recommendations you have? Is the layout of the park pretty easy to navigate?
Thanks in advance!
Carowinds is far from a new park, but that corporate feel came from the fact that all the thematic charm was taken away when Paramount sold it to Cedar Fair. The whole thing used to be based on TV shows and movies. Example: "After Burn" was originally Top Gun and "Night Hawk" was the Borg Assimilator and it was purple and black, instead of the same blue/yellow that Cyclone is. Everything had a lot more character back then, but Cedar Fair just kind of made it all plain, when it comes to that specific aspect.
I visited Carowinds for the first time in Aug 2021. I remember sitting on the brake run on Intimidator for so long, I damn near forgot what ride I was on.
Secondly, you mentioned how Mystic Timber, Twisted Timbers, and Copperhead Strike all have a similar theme. If you look around in the queues of each ride, they all have easter eggs that are nods to each other as well as other CF ride, both operational and defunct!
For me, I have Carowinds as my second favorite Cedar Fair Park, just ahead of Knotts, Kings Island, and Kings Dominion. I have been to Carowinds more than once and I have seen it at many different times, including holiday events.
Fury is my #7 overall coaster, and the operations are always great on this ride.
Copperhead and Afterburn are each in my Top 50 overall, and Copperhead operations are one of the best around. Afterburn's operations are a little on the slower side overall. I've seen them fast but more often than not, they are slow.
Intimidator is the 4th best coaster, and normally the operations are pretty good. They are not Fury fast, but fast enough that the line normally moves quickly.
When I go I pretty much ride the big 4, but last year I did ride a few other coasters:
Carolina Cyclone: Used to be much better, but it ran horribly last year. They are using the old Vortex trains from KI.
Hurler: Ran worse last year than previous years. Normally the operations are pretty good with Hurler.
Vortex: I really don't care for this ride much and the operations are very slow.
Nighthawk: Really slow operations and you pretty much have to rope drop it. I rode it once in like 6 visits and it was on the day that I rope dropped it and got on the first train.
Carowinds isn't my home park but since I have family in the Charlotte area I've been to this park quite a bit. I think if Knott's gets that Giga, it will be the second best in the Cedar Fair chain. It far exceeds Carowinds, KI, and KD in charm and food quality. It's ride line-up is just weaker at this point, but a Giga would fix that.
Carowinds is my homepark, and I completely agree with this assessment!
I don’t understand how on earth you put Carowinds better than KI, even tho Carowinds is my home park. It has way better history and image, superior lineup and better operations. I love and respect Carowinds, but Carowinds is pretty weak outside of its top few coasters, while KI has a coaster like the bat, top flight and banshee as your midtiers.
@@TreeforLife KI has better operations, but I prefer Carowinds line-up. KI lacks an elite ride for me. None of their rides are in my Top 25 overall. Fury 325 is much better than Orion, and Fury's operations are generally very quick, so operations isn't an issue with Carowinds best ride. Afterburn is much better than Banshee (Not in my Top 100). Afterburn is my second favorite B&M Invert and Banshee is my second worst B&M invert. Both of the carowinds coasters are way better overall than KI's. I have Diamondbck slightly ahead of Intimidator, and I really have Mystic Timbers only slightly ahead of Copperhead Strike. I think Mystic is a bit overrated. Yes KI has the Bat which is good for what it is. Beast is overratted but is a ride that I enjoy. Kind of similar to the Bat. After that KI really drops off as does Carowinds, But when comparing these two parks, give me the one with the elite ride, and frankly less crowds.
@@TreeforLife I value a park with a few world-class coasters over one with a really deep lineup of solid rides. I would rather spend my time marathoning a top 5 coaster than hopping around a bunch of good coasters. I enjoy Fury and Copperhead much more than any ride at KI. And Carowinds operations is not a deal breaker because those two rides have great operations. Hence, I prefer Carowinds over KI
I went to carowinds for 3 days the weekend after july 4th, and their ops were spot on, however the following weekend my cousin said they were stacking trains on all rides except fury and copperhead. So i hope they have hired enough staff to have a better year in 2022 in terms of ops.
As someone who is a local to the area, I usually get a season card and a fast pass. Although, I must say that the person went to the park on a day the probably the worst day to go. I usually go on more cloudier days and can get more time on coasters.
Edit; Also, sometimes The Fury gets stopped when people pull out their phones. This has happened to me before.
the first time I rode fury someone had ther phone out an well he dropped it on one of the barral rolls. an it almost hit someone because it was in front of train he lost it but someone caught it on the same train. or it about hit them
FYI: Kiddie Hawk's theme is based on the Wright brother's first powered flight that took place in/near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and really has no corresponding theme to Nighthawk. In fact a nighthawk is not a bird of prey (hawk) so Paramount got the logo wrong with the hooked beak of a raptor. I guess Kitty Hawk is equally misrepresented as it sits in South Carolina and not North Carolina. Now if Nighthawk were named as a link of it's former name, Stealth, as in the USAF's F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. Then the two could be said to have corresponding aviation first, but again, Nighthawk's logo blows that theory...You're right this is a confusing park. lol
Kiddy Hawk is a reference to Kitty Hawk, but it most definitely is also a play on Nighthawk. Personally I think it’s one of the more brilliantly named kids coasters
oh i did not know that thats cool
I appreciate your comments on Carolina cyclone. I just made a trip to carrowinds and we rode a few of them with the last being the cyclone because I came off with a massive migrane!
At Carowinds, you always hit Nighthawk first, then keep going to Copperhead Strike, then hit Ricochet, then Vortex. They are all in a line and get long waits. Nighthawk gets the longest lines.
But nighthawk was closed in the morning, and why wait around for a meh coaster to open when you could ride more coasters
@@hedgehogcoasters7239 Yeah if the coaster is closed I wouldn't wait.
For me it’s intimidator first then u head over to night hawk then copperhead after that I head over to after burn boom then hit the other coasters in no particular order flying cobras, vortex, and other kiddie coasters u want to then grab lunch early so u can get cyclone and fury also hurler then get ur re rides in no particular order that is my guide to having a good trip at Carowinds
@@holdensland3305 The reason I said Nighthawk first is because the capacity on the ride is terrible and the line can get REALLY long really fast. Intimidator has very high capacity.
Just skip Vortex
I just experienced this park for the first time on Easter Sunday & April Fools Monday of 2024. Easter was well staffed, but the crowds were minimal (Zero to 15 minute waits on most of the major rides). Monday was shockingly busy by comparison, so I invested in Fast Lane. Some of the operations issues you mentioned on rides like AfterBurn & ThunderStriker (formerly Intimidator) seem to have been remedied. Fury 325 & Copperhead Strike are elite and worth the trip, but both were running only 2 trains on a packed Monday. Since this video was made, Aeronautica Landing has been added, and that is a massive step in the right direction. I'm thinking Cedar Fair are making strides to bring Carowinds, Kings Dominion, & Canada's Wonderland up to the level of Kings Island & Cedar Point. Carowinds really needs one or 2 more elite coasters, like an RMC & B&M Dive to round out their lineup. Nighthawk was a huge disappointment compared to the defunct Firebird at King's Island. It was rough to the point of almost being unenjoyable, and I get why those ghastly corkscrews were replaced with in-line twists on Firehawk & Batwing Vekoma Flying Dutchmans. I will probably return when they add their next major coaster, as a flight from Chicago to Charlotte isn't super expensive if I plan ahead, and there are plenty of places to stay within walking distance of the park.
Carowinds had its own originality’s before they started tearing down the rides I rode as a child I can’t even count the rides they took out to replace! Yes I love fury and they could have made room for it! There were some rides in there that was there before I was born I rode! Thunder road, the saturator, the white waterfalls, rip roaring rapids! And so much more! I believe that carowinds lost some business and had to make a huge decision! That’s why they brought the intimidator and fury in there! It’s sad! The character the park used to have is not there anymore! I wish you could’ve visited the park back in the early to late 2000’s! It was different.
When it went from Paramount to cedar Fair it went to ship
this makes me feel more confident about my trip in summer to get a ton of rides on fury. ive never been cuz its going to be a cross country trip, so i knew if i didnt get as many rides as possible before i have to travel back to CA id be crushed. definitely gonna factor in fun over credits
Go during the weekday during the summer and it shouldn’t be busy whatsoever
That line gets soooo long I use to work there the line gets horribly busy
@@claytonjenkins5041 i bet. but a long line that moves fast is better than a line that doesn't move at all
If you go during the week, the operations on Fury are so good there will usually be very little wait. Just make SURE to ride the good rides in the evening, night rides are the best. B&Ms take a while to warm up to max intensity.
i love carowinds
Iv been going to Carowinds NY whole life !! They should have never took out Thunder Road !!! But I finally got to ride Fury 325 last weekend and it was outstanding 👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 my main disappointment in my day there is that they have no sprinklers anywhere for people to get a lill wet to cool off. 20 years ago they had multiple places to cool off. It doesn't have the same feel as it did when I was a kid. But they have been through multiple owners. I remember when cartoon characters walked around the park for the kids and to take pics. I have a old pic setting in the Flintstones car lol all in all though I had a great time 🤘🏻
Back when the kids portion was "Hanna Barbara Land" was the BEST time! Smurf island and the Flintstones car were such a fun attraction as a kid!
The comment on Mystic Timbers, Twisted Timbers, and Copperhead Strike-all three of those rides had the same creative director, Greg Crane. He also did County Fair at Carowinds, where his face is featured on the right side of the Flying Cobras entrance!
I went the same day and had a similar experience. Ops were painfully slow on most rides. I had FL+ and even then I struggled to get the credits over the two days I was there.
Completely agree with everything you said. Visited in March 2022 and had very similar experiences to you.
Been going to Carowinds since I was like 9 years old. Never go on holidays and weekends once school is out. Go during weekends during the school year. Also carowinds operations are like 8 months out the year so you have plenty time to make a decent trip
Fury replaced a large wooden duel track racing coaster in 2014 btw
Fury did not replace any wooden roller coaster. It was the water parks expansion that replaced it.
@@AS-oc8lt I stand corrected I remember it being by a entrance I see it's the back entrance
@@JJacobs803 I wish it were still there 😔
@@AS-oc8lt me too carowinds has enough space but idk since being owned by a mew company they have different direct. They use to have that plum water ride at the front but got rid of it for no reason
@@JJacobs803 I've seen them have 4 water rides and now it's down to none. The log ride you're talking about was torn down for Intimidator, White Water Falls was torn down for the new Flying Cobra coaster, and the other Cobra coaster across from it use to be a water ride called Flying Super Saturator. The only water ride leftis the rapids and I haven't even seen it open in 3 years.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed how inconsistent the operations are at Carowinds. I went to the park in a similar set of circumstances and oh boy.
That day I had to fly into and out of Charlotte so I was crunched for time. I foolishly thought that the operations would be similar to my home park of Kings Island. I ended up getting six credits and a couple Fury rerides and that’s all I had time for. The Fury, Copperhead and Intimidator crew were killing it though. Next time I go down I’ll probably time the dispatches to see what crew sends out more trains the Fury crew or the Orion crew. It feels like the Orion crew does but it would be something fun to do while in line
I’m a local and I hit the park up yesterday on a Rainy day, park was absolutely dead and I marathoned Fury not even needing to leave my seat. Had a grey out in the front seat. As for Nighthawk, they always seem to run one train on that ride, the section between Fury and Hurler has pieces of the second Nighthawk train and what looks like an old Firehawk train as of the time I’m writing this
When you do finally ride on Nighthawk, be sure to try to ride in a center seat in whatever row you're in (front row is the best ride IMO). I've been on it dozens of times and sat in almost every seat. Even though I acknowledge it's not everyone's cup of tea, Nighthawk is my favorite ride in the world, bar none. Whenever I get free fast pass coupons, I use it on Nighthawk. (The line can be abysmal...the trains take forever to load.)
My thoughts since this is my home park:
-I think it had a lot of charm when Paramount had it. They did a lot better of a job highlighting the state border theme and a wooden racer where the two states race along the border was the most charming coaster in the park (Thunder Road).
-I think the operations are pretty much always as you described except Intimidator used to be consistently eating people if it wasn't down for vomit clean-up.
-It needs an airtime machine. It's also lacking in good supporting coasters. One of the most top heavy parks out there.
-I appreciate how flat it is.
-For some reason this park started feeling way more crowded after covid hit and it reopened last year. It could be because of Charlotte's growth I guess.
Yeah, this year was pretty bad, due to the one-two punch of increased crowds and reduced staffing. Only one of my ten visits (a Sunday in late October) wasn't stupidly crowded.
And a launch coaster. Copperhead Strike isn't a good launch
@@alecscheerer_run you take that back
Not every launch needs to melt your face off, and I would rather have a "weak" launch with the same layout than trying to cram a lift hill into the same layout.
@@ChiefBlueScreen The park needs a coaster focused on the launch intensity
@@alecscheerer_run No way, Carowinds needs an RMC next. Forget the launch intensity.
i’m going to this park tomorrow thanks for the tips
Fury is perfect in both the front and back! 👌🏼 Staffing still seems to be an issue at certain parks in 2022
Wow! So many awesome coasters here. As a Carolina native I can’t believe I’ve never been. Excited to visit very soon!
I went the day before you on Sunday, and it was absolutely slammed. I agree that the operations were really hit or miss, but we somehow got on 12/14 coasters (missed the kiddie coaster and kiddy hawk)
Hurler has been there forever. It use to have a Wayne’s world theme and it was amazing. They had the restaurant with the hockey theme and the fries were memorable. The hurler was the one you did if you were too scared for Vortex or cyclone. Cyclone is ROUGH and made my head hurt every time. Anyway love the Hurler and hope they never tear it down just for nostalgia sake!! Also love the intimidator.. the end might be boring but the drop at the beginning is so fun!
It was a holiday what do you expect!
Carowinds is my home park and it is amazing!
Makes since why he said carowinds is the most corporate Cedar Fair park. Cedar Fair is literally centered in Charlotte
The 1st time I came to Carowinds, it was 1992 and they only had 4 roller-coaster, vortex, Carolina cyclone, thunder road and gold rush. Then the hurler came along in 1994. When Cedar Fair bought all the Paramount Parks, they expanded Carowinds Big Time. It was like they was getting a new roller coaster every 2 years!!! For the most part, they made Carowinds into a family oriented park. And the other parks are for thrill seekers! Like you said Carowinds is not the best park but it still has its own unique charm that will make you come back for more.
When I went to caroiwnds near the end of the day I went to afterburner and there was NO line at all I was the only person there but I didn’t get to ride it by myself bc some other ppl came in after me
Staffing has been nearly impossible at every park. I’m sorry you missed out on Nighthawk. Carowinds is doing such a great job on so many things-the food is actually good-which is so so rare for a Cedar Fair park.
Carowinds is deceptive, it seems huge when you are inside the park but if you see the whole area from the air it is a tiny place.
For any visit after your first to Carowinds, if your not to worried about credits it’s a really fun park to get a fast lane at
Well for those of us who grew up going to Carowinds every summer...the best ride and always will be that Carowinds had to offer was Thunder Road...you raced the train beside you hauling ass on this wooden coaster... And best thing was you could ride this coaster frontwards or backwards... But of course the s*** heads at Carowinds decided to tear it down for a more s***** ass ride...Thunder Road was a piece of history
I agree I wish I could take my kids on Thunder Road. =/
We used to go on Sunday at opening. Lines were very short for a little while.
i was at carowinds a few weeks ago and there was a 3 hour wait for afterburn
Carolina Cyclone has gotten smoother and got a new paint job, and I agree that Copperhead, After burn, and Fury are the best rides. I also somehow got the first ride on Nighthawk right before it reopened for the day.
Carowinds has always intrigued me. It seems to have a decent coaster collection, and Fury just seems insane. Sucks to hear about its operations though.
im surprised to hear you got a smooth ride on vortex. last time i was on it the headbanging was so bad i had a horrible headache with some dizziness
I was their this week and they did amazing dispatches on fury, copperhead, intimidator, richotche, and, flying cobras
I agree with your assessment of Carowinds 100%. This is my home park, and I have been coming here since it's original opening in the 70's. The Park used to have a large lake, and a river boat which gave it so much character. They filled it in with concrete, and then started placing crappy coasters all over the park. Unfortunatly they got rid of Thunder Road, and white lightning. Those were great rides, and I would trade at least 8 of the current coasters for them. They added zero trees, and it is unbearable in the summer time. I live about 2 hours from Carowinds, but chose to buy a Busch Gardens Williamsburg membership, and its about 4 hours away. Busch Gardens has so much character , trees, and feels like an escape. Carowinds feels more like a parking lot with 4 good coasters, with crappy scenery. Just my thoughts
Yes and a lot of the queues have junk around them. Especially Nighthawk. Park needs a desperate makeover
@@techoperatives2232 Nighthawk is garbage, lol. They need to put some shade up, it gets so hot from sun beating on pavement. Busch Gardens Williamsburgh is our favorite. We live a couple hours from Carowinds, but rather drive 4 hours to BG.
@@truedad4555 I get the fast past so I never waited in line before. Decided to go in December and saw how horrible the park really is. I agree Busch Gardens is much better. It does seem like an escape and I think I’m going to get season passes. I wonder if Busch Gardens have fast past queue
@@techoperatives2232 They do. We bought the plat season pass. Get in all BG, and Sea world parks, Vip parking, and 50% savings on the majority of purchases you make. T-shirts normally $35, got them for $17. My son has every roller coaster shirt now. It also gives 6 free passes throughout the year for friends and family. We got to ride Pantheon before the Grand opening also. Tons of perks..
Carowinds is my home park. I agree with you on operations. It’s very hit or miss. I will say Intimidator has been great in 2022. The atmosphere is very corporate like, I agree. I went to Knott’s Berry Farm during Halloween and it felt charming. Some of the employees are in a “I don’t care” attitude. I hope Carowinds improves operations ASAP because the ride lineup is great led by Fury and Copperhead.
I love that Phantoms Revenge is in your intro. That's my home park
You were soooo close to Lake Winnie near Chattanooga. It’s a great little traditional park with a John Allen coaster-Cannon Ball!!
The day we had slated to go they were closed. It was a weekday in the middle of summer - very strange.
I agree the fury crew is a literal godsend they are so efficient and the clamshell lap bars just boost that efficiency up even more!
Hey man! Really like hearing your perspective. I just wish I could tell from your tone of voice which stuff you liked versus what you didn’t. It sounds like this video was homework.
I appreciate your knowledge on the subject, but also hope in the future that you would explain more of the coaster terms so that those not as informed could understand what you’re talking about too.
Just offering a couple thoughts. Thanks again for making this!
So I was actually there on the exact same day and we ended up getting a fast lane because of how crowded the park was. We waited for nighthawk in the fast lane line and it took at least 30-40 minutes. This park was ok but fury and copperhead definitely saved it
It seems like you caught the park on a bad day, especially since Memorial Day was the peak of the parks being unprepared, but seems like you made the best of it. I think the park looks like it’s a park on the upper tier of CF parks, and this park is only getting better. I’m sure operations will be fixed or have been fixed considering the park becoming one of the chain’s favorites. Nice video though, you did well to get us a full picture of your experience
Carowinds operations I would say were pretty good in the 7 trips or so that I had . I can agree though on Intimidator being slower then I’d expect. Of the B&M hypers I’ve been on (Mako, Goliath over GA, Raging Bull ) it had the slowest operations consistently which is probably contributed to the stacked seating.
I’ve been going to Carowinds my entire life and it’s gotten way better ever since cedar fair took over but it’s a hit or miss on ride operation depending on the day I’ve noticed around holidays is when it’s really bad. And to the nighthawk I’ve only been able to ride it 3 times in my life the line is either ridiculous or it broken down but the only thing I’ve not liked since the cedar fair take over was the demolishing of thunder road for a water park addition
Nothing buggs me more than tripple stacking trains. I went to Cedar Point last year and it was legit the worst ops I've ever seen. Tripple stacking every 3 train coaster. Hershey was pretty bad too, particularly Fahrenheit and Candymonium. I also haven't seen skyrush run more than 1 train any rime ive been there.
Carowinds is my homepark, so i go a lot on like tuesdays and wednesdays when pretty much everything is a walk on.
Definitely need to get the fast pass next time! I rode Fury like 8 times in an hour! Definitely worth the money because unlike other parks they let u ride unlimited! But I definitely agree that the processes of letting trains out at all coasters was weird. There were three trains on several coasters but there were always two waiting…made no sense. Might as well have 2 trains then 🤷♂️
Was just there this past weekend, and all the coasters were run very well, but most of the other rides were being run poorly due to them only having one crew member running them.
I totally agree with your last point, coming from someone who has had 2 different visits of 2.5+ days. It is missing something in the charm category. In my experience last year, Intimidator was by far the king of operations. They were crushing it, keeping the line under 10 minutes on very busy days, which is every day at this park. Fury's operations were almost as good. Afterburn was pitiful, running one train with 5-10 minute dispatches. It built huge lines every day. Nighthawk is ridiculous. I don't know how Batwing can have 10-20 minute lines, while Nighthawk's line is consistently 2 hours every day. However, Nighthawk is a strong contender for 4th best in the park ahead of Afterburn.
I'll be going soon. Not expecting to get all the credits since it'll be a Wenesday and Thursday in March but I'm certainly excited to get a lot of rides on their big 4.
i just want to say everytime ive went to carowinds (my home park) everything was amazing including staff and rides
I totally agree with your comments about the appearance of Carowinds. I have been saying for years that Carowinds feels average mainly because it lacks a distinctive charm that makes it truly unique. Sure, Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike are great, but the pak in general seems kind of bland. Personally, I think Cedar Fair should double down on the park's motto of being where the Carolinas meet and bring that Carolina charm to the park with more elaborate theming than represents the Carolinas.
It's a shame they got rid of Thunder Road. Having the dueling woodies with one track in NC and one track in SC was iconic. And it was an all around better coaster than Hurler imo. But I understand why they got rid of it. Had too large a footprint for not enough draw. Plus, its hard to complain about losing any ride if it means you get a Fury 325 where it once stood.
After burn “probably doesn’t get much of a line” BULLSHIT lmao I spent HOURS of my youth waiting for that one
The newer coasters don’t have the bins for storage so that’s why all others take forever.
My family told me that kiddy hawk was a good beginner coaster so i went on it. It was a bad experience. Originally i didnt know if i wanted to go on. The line around 4/5pm was ridiculous. The ride is about 45 seconds long and people waited almost an hour in line. I didnt have to since i rode around 8:30pm and there was no line. My dad said i could just keep my headband on and that was a big mistake. The coaster is agressive and my had kept banging into the shoulder harness thingy and my ears were slmed into the pearls on my headband. I rode again without the headband and kept my head as back as possible and it was fun-ish BUT i definitely think it was a bad first time. I wish i had went on either woodstock express or the goldrusher, the other smallish coasters, instead of kiddy hawk bc it was not the most pleasant. Ill be back there on a school trip in a few days and so ill probably end up riding something small then, but not kiddy hawk.
Carowinds has removed at least 3 major large rides in the last few years (water rapids, water log jam and Thunder Road woodie). Should they tear down the Hurler, they would have tons of space for yet another major roller coaster.
I'm glad that more content creators are taking note of operations. There is nothing wrong with publicly stating that a park isn't doing a great job of respecting your time being spent as a secondary currency. Personally I think that parks shouldn't sell front of the line tickets unless a ride is running at a high capacity. I shouldn't have to foot the bill because a park is being ran incompetently. Also, larger parks building rides that can't handle large crowds completely bothers me. Looking at you Iron Gwazi.
You are correct, Carowinds is a very top heavy park. Either great coasters or mediocre to bad. But 14 coasters are still 14 coasters. I am not too picky with coasters as I enjoy most of them, no matter what. Being on a coaster is my 2 min of feeling free and fun, no worries. My escape from real world issues. My homepark is Sea World Orlando and i would love if they had 14 coasters, lol. Even though they currently have 6, Project penguin has already started, so will have 7 come 2023 with the first B&M Surf Coaster. But I mainly just classify as having 4 coasters currently, but those 4 are all very high quality. So I don't mind fewer coasters if each one is a high tier quality over crap or clones. I liked your review of Carowinds. It was fair.
Every cedar fair park except cedar point is top heavy
When I went to carowinds intimidator was a really short line and they were getting they trains out really fast
The Fury is so popular they got a whole flavor named after it and it traumatized me because I didn’t expect that drop
I heard that the launch on copperhead strike is being worked on to make it go faster and the Carolina cyclone got repainted and got new cars!
I like the Hurler. The worst thing about it is it's a bit neck jarring at the end. But I'd hate to see it removed. It's a solid wooden coaster experience.
i feel like carowinds would have more of that historic feel if thunderroad hadn't been murdered
Good video. You only missed out on one coaster though, unless you had a small child with you. This is one of the Cedar Fair parks that won't let you ride the kiddie coaster without one.
As for the operations, we found very similar things to be true, but not as bad as yours. Copperhead, Fury, Afterburn, and Intimidator were all good with Copperhead being top notch. Vortex, however, had the absolute worst ride ops I've ever seen. Worse than I've seen at carnivals too. They had 2 train ops. They let everyone in with all seats in their highest position, but locked. They refused to unlock them to pull them down and told everyone to first climb into the seats. My shorter friend couldn't get up there and the main op literally said "just jump" over the speaker. When I said lower it so she can get it in the right position for her height, they said they'll adjust everyone AFTER we are all in the seats. They weren't lying either. They unlocked each row one at a time and lowered people, some whose feet were not even touching the ground, into position. When I asked why they're loading this ass backward way, I was told, "this isn't a sit down coaster." I said, "no shit?" I then told them that this is the only stand up of the many ridden I've load this way, including this one on two other visits. They acted surprised. This whole loading procedure took over 15 minutes per train and left the other train to bake out in the August sun on a day that was 99 degrees. I've never seen incompetence at an amusement park like this. Amazing how vastly different the Copperhead team was in comparison.
It didn't used to be this way, must be some new Cedar Fair liability bologna....
@@chasehardison5907 yeah, Kings Dominion and Kings Island have the same rule. Dorney Park, however, does not.
I grew up here and when Paramount had the park there was something special about it. Danger zone blaring as you boarded Top Gun (After Burn), Star trek clips playing as you waited to be assimilated into the Borg (NightHawk). Paramount had 7' tall Klingons walking around the park interacting with guests. Live shows just seemed to spring up here and there, usually Scooby-Doo cast. It was always exciting and you never knew what was going to be happen. It has lost that charm. This video is a year old and the ride issues are no longer present. The rides move fast. I've struggled with what element the park needs, but growing up through Paramount, everyone watched the same shows and movies then. I don't know what you could introduce that would be inclusive enough for a park that size. People are very distant now as far as entertainment goes.
I kinda want to say that Hurler should stay, but be reprofiled with somewhat sharper hills and have about 15-20 feet or so added to the lift if possible. It's one of those "we were this close to greatness" type of rides, where it almost does something but ends up just falling short. Also, am I really the only person who likes that high-speed turn just after the drop?
Also, Intimidator stacking is normal. The ride doesn't have a mid-course and it's a high-capacity B&M with stadium seating. If the ride operators aren't completely spot-on the coaster will pretty much always stack. This and the typically heavy amount of trim brakes Intimidator has result in the coaster being affectionately nicknamed "intrimistack".
Carowinds does not want to remove Hurler. They like that ride a lot, and is one of the most ridden rides in the park due to its family friendly layout.
Also, RMC and Cedar Fair aren’t on good terms.. don’t expect any RMC to arrive at any Cedar Fair park for quite a while.
When did this happen? I just thought it was intamin CF blacklisted?
@@itschillyog1546 They don’t blacklist anyone.. but they know who to buy from reliably. RMC cannot provide a reliable product, therefore no purchase.
@@itdbfrtwthm really? Im not that in tune with everything, but what did rmc provide unreliable to CF?
I agree with pretty much all of these points
I love all the coasters but I'm crazy about wooden coasters. They tore down my favorite was Thunder Road but I still LOVE Hurler. I really like After Burn and Intimidator. Fury is ok too though. I'm about 45 mins away so we go kind often. I'll NEVER go on a weekend or holiday bc you are spending 2 hours to ride some of the main ones. We go on Tuesdays usually and noone is there. A few weeks ago we went and usually walked right on and even got to stay on a couple times The longest we had to wait for any of the big ones was 5 minutes. You definitely hit a bad day bc I've never had a bad day/time with any of the coasters.
When I went in 2019 I had the opposite experience with Vortex and Cyclone. Vortex was rough; Cyclone was one of the smoothest Arrows I've ridden. Like, only Tennessee Tornado, of the 5 I've ridden, was smoother. Nighthawk was pretty good, but ops were terrible.
Cyclone at night in the back row is a blast. It whips you over the drop SO HARD. It is by far my favorite Arrow Corkscrew model. The boomerang is also the best of its kind IMO. It is smooth and has soft restraints so NO head banging.
I don't have a lot to compare it with, since the only other theme parks I've been to are Hershey Park, some 30 years ago, and Legoland Billund, but I rarely find the wait too long. Excepting, of course, the wild mouse. Especially surprised to hear how bad Intimidator was, I've hardly ever had to wait on it since they built Fury 325.
Personally, Intimdator is still my favorite, though I need to give Fury another go. Though if Afterburn was longer...