- June 14th, 2005, 5:36 pm
#12497
A day at Paramount’s Carowinds….
It all started as a normal Sunday outing to the park, driving up I-85 and then merging on to I-77, but wait, the ramp to I-77 south is closed? Well, then I drove North to exit 16, did sort of a Uee thing and back down I-77 south just to get stuck in traffic. That wasn’t too bad as we kept moving and it only took a few minutes to get past the hold up.
I was taking my Daughter and her boyfriend for a day of fun, and a little embarrassment for them, as I can act like a kid. There was no line at the gate, @ 10:15am so I zoomed on in and I parked right beside out favorite C3 picnic area. With a short walk and passes in hand we walked right in basically. Yea, we did the security gate thing but it’s not a problem when there was no one there.
As it goes, in a short condensed version, here is what we did:
• Bathroom
• Borg
• Flyers
• Flying Dutchmen
• Top Gun
• Thunder Road Backwards and Racing
• Sponge Bob
• White Water Falls
• Saturator
• Cyclone
• Hurler
• Scream Weaver
• Drop Zone
• Vortex
• Ricochet
• Country Kitchen
We rode more than once on most, and even with eating only spent 4 hours in the park.
ALL the staff, except for those at Drop Zone, was very friendly and efficient. They talked to you, they smiled and, they did a good job on checking the safety devices. One of the nicest days I have encountered in a long time from the staff. It was a job well done in my book.
The overall park was clean, the bathrooms smelled better and were clean, and the food was awesome as usual. The coasters had all their trains on the track and the lines moved very well. Even Borg was only a 15 minute wait. The snapping on the Flyers was out of this world as I could hear my Daughter behind me yelling at me and her boyfriend was laughing real loud. You could hear Cowboy Bill and the others scream out when it snapped. Ken B was at Top Gun enjoying a nice day and as usual Top Gun delivered its normal G pulling ride. I did not want to ride Thunder Road forward as I heard of the pot hole on the drop, and I experienced that last season but the backwards ride was fast, and surprisingly smooth. I noticed a huge amount of new wood and parts on both Hurler and Thunder Road. Which reminds me, Carowinds does take care of their rides better than others. Sometimes it’s the little things like new sensors that make a difference.
All in the entire park was running at, what I consider, one of the best performance days in a while. Even Frenzoid had several full loads in a row. It sure is nice to have this Themed Amusement Park so close to enjoy. It may not be the biggest park with the biggest rides but what I can accomplish in 4 hours is more than most can accomplish in a day or two some where else.
Oh, by the way, an unknown factoid to me was being a Platinum Pass holder we got a free drink at the Country Kitchen. To some it may not sound like much but we got a free souvenir cup filled with drink out of it. I thought it was pretty cool.
It all started as a normal Sunday outing to the park, driving up I-85 and then merging on to I-77, but wait, the ramp to I-77 south is closed? Well, then I drove North to exit 16, did sort of a Uee thing and back down I-77 south just to get stuck in traffic. That wasn’t too bad as we kept moving and it only took a few minutes to get past the hold up.
I was taking my Daughter and her boyfriend for a day of fun, and a little embarrassment for them, as I can act like a kid. There was no line at the gate, @ 10:15am so I zoomed on in and I parked right beside out favorite C3 picnic area. With a short walk and passes in hand we walked right in basically. Yea, we did the security gate thing but it’s not a problem when there was no one there.
As it goes, in a short condensed version, here is what we did:
• Bathroom
• Borg
• Flyers
• Flying Dutchmen
• Top Gun
• Thunder Road Backwards and Racing
• Sponge Bob
• White Water Falls
• Saturator
• Cyclone
• Hurler
• Scream Weaver
• Drop Zone
• Vortex
• Ricochet
• Country Kitchen
We rode more than once on most, and even with eating only spent 4 hours in the park.
ALL the staff, except for those at Drop Zone, was very friendly and efficient. They talked to you, they smiled and, they did a good job on checking the safety devices. One of the nicest days I have encountered in a long time from the staff. It was a job well done in my book.
The overall park was clean, the bathrooms smelled better and were clean, and the food was awesome as usual. The coasters had all their trains on the track and the lines moved very well. Even Borg was only a 15 minute wait. The snapping on the Flyers was out of this world as I could hear my Daughter behind me yelling at me and her boyfriend was laughing real loud. You could hear Cowboy Bill and the others scream out when it snapped. Ken B was at Top Gun enjoying a nice day and as usual Top Gun delivered its normal G pulling ride. I did not want to ride Thunder Road forward as I heard of the pot hole on the drop, and I experienced that last season but the backwards ride was fast, and surprisingly smooth. I noticed a huge amount of new wood and parts on both Hurler and Thunder Road. Which reminds me, Carowinds does take care of their rides better than others. Sometimes it’s the little things like new sensors that make a difference.
All in the entire park was running at, what I consider, one of the best performance days in a while. Even Frenzoid had several full loads in a row. It sure is nice to have this Themed Amusement Park so close to enjoy. It may not be the biggest park with the biggest rides but what I can accomplish in 4 hours is more than most can accomplish in a day or two some where else.
Oh, by the way, an unknown factoid to me was being a Platinum Pass holder we got a free drink at the Country Kitchen. To some it may not sound like much but we got a free souvenir cup filled with drink out of it. I thought it was pretty cool.