- August 3rd, 2010, 10:33 pm
#42104
Hey guys,
I'm new around here I guess you could say, and just recently made it down to Carowinds for the first time. Sorry I don't have pics, we left KD (it was an employee trip) at around 3:30 in the morning, and in all the confusion I forgot my camera. I'm sure you've seen your park before. Well here goes. My group included me (Travis), Dijon, Patrick, and Kyle (who all work at Intimidator 305), and Tyler and Kevin from our Log Flume.
We entered the park via backstage, ended up right next to Carolina Cobra. The first thing I noticed was how cheap the station looks. I understand it's a boomerang, but still, come on. But anyway, I rode in the back with Patrick. The first thing I noticed were the restraints and how comfortable they were. The entire experience was great, and aside from the fair-looking station, the ride was very enjoyable. No head-banging at all there. Next we rode Carolina Goldrusher, which was nothing really to speak of, just rode it for the credit. Then worked our way over to Cyclone, the first run through was very nice, the 2nd not so much (more on that later). After Cyclone we rode Drop Tower, which is flat-out lame compared to KD's. Rode Scream Weaver afterwards.
Next was Vortex, which I was honestly looking forward to, having never been on a B&M stand-up. I was throughly dissapointed. Super slow operation (not sure if that's common or not), and the restraints are uncomfortable for someone of my height (6'5"). Not sure if I like KD's Shockwave or Vortex more. We worked our way up past the entrance of the park and over to take a look at Nighthawk, which looked so cool even though it was closed. Never been on a flying coaster, and still haven't. Thanks Carowinds.
Next was highlight #1, that being Intimidator. First thing I noticed was three train operation on a Thursday. I was very impressed by that. First ride was in row 16, far right seat. I was sceptical about the new B&M hyper trains at first, but after riding Intimidator I love them. Now for the actual ride review, which can be summed up for me using one word: Airtime. Airtime all over the place. First drop was incredible, I loved the turn-around, all the way up to the MCBR. However, this is where I start complaining. The MCBR kills the ride. It's just too late in the ride, and it makes the helix super slow. Sure, there is still airtime there, but it's not nearly up to the caliber of the first half. We got off and went back around and rode the front row, and I was surprised to find airtime up there as well, which almost made me forget about the problems with the MCBR. Almost. Overall Intimidator gets a 9/10 from me. Definitely a great ride, and a wonderful addition to Carowinds' lineup.
After Intimidator we hoofed it to Afterburn, came up to find no line. Rode it four times in a short period of time. This ride impressed me the most, just because of it's shear intensity, especially in the back. The batwing was absolutely epic, as was the corkscrew, well really the entire ride. Just great. Much more intense than, say, Alpengeist, the only other B&M invert I've been on.
That's really it, as far as rides go that we rode, after that we went back and re-rode the highlights, which were mainly Cobra once, then back to Intimidator and Afterburn. Also rode Hurler, Ricochet, and Rip Roarin Rapids. So to tie up some loose ends, here are my conclusions.
1. As a location supervisor in the rides department at KD, I payed extra attention to the operation by the employees at Carowinds. Some things I noticed included: Trashy ride areas (especially at Drop Tower and Hurler), not even so much as an "all-clear" at Cyclone the 2nd time we rode it, not many smiles anywhere, and the girls rides uniforms are hideous, as are the blue shorts. However, the Intimidator crew was flawless, except for one small detail. They were fast, safe, and very friendly, but they need to get their facts straight. One said the ride went 85 MPH, another 80, another 75. Other than that though, very very great crew.
2. I'm not sure how much Nighthawk being open would've effected my opinion on this, but it seemed like there really aren't many major rides at the park. Intimidator, Afterburn, Nighthawk, and that's really it... and with Nighthawk being closed, it seemed like a big part of the park was missing. We rode all the coasters and many of the flats in a span of about 4 hours. Again, I'm sure Nighthawk being open would change my opinion here.
3. The park in general (aside from the Drop Tower/Hurler corner) was very clean, and most crews were very efficient in getting trains out quickly and safely.
Now, you had to know I was gonna do this.
Intimidator - Lots of airtime, huge capacity, no wheel problems, felt like I had ridden it before, MCBR killed the 2nd half, the plaza area seems just thrown together, and I don't really like it's placement up at the front of the park, right next to one of the other major rides in the park.
Intimidator 305 - trims, wheel problems, capacity not as large, never ridden anything like it, faster, more intense by far, placement is better but still not great, entire plaza area seems more thought-out, taller, it's a lot closer to me.
So all in all, I think I'll take 305 over 232 (yeah call me biased) just because of the fact that 305 is so totally different than anything I've ever ridden. I feel like I could go to Busch Gardens and ride Apollo's Chariot and I really wouldn't be missing anything on Intimidator. But don't get me wrong here, Intimidator is really fun, the park is really fun, I just wish we would've caught it when Nighthawk was open just so I could see the park at full strength.
Sorry this got so long, thanks for reading if you did.
Travis
I'm new around here I guess you could say, and just recently made it down to Carowinds for the first time. Sorry I don't have pics, we left KD (it was an employee trip) at around 3:30 in the morning, and in all the confusion I forgot my camera. I'm sure you've seen your park before. Well here goes. My group included me (Travis), Dijon, Patrick, and Kyle (who all work at Intimidator 305), and Tyler and Kevin from our Log Flume.
We entered the park via backstage, ended up right next to Carolina Cobra. The first thing I noticed was how cheap the station looks. I understand it's a boomerang, but still, come on. But anyway, I rode in the back with Patrick. The first thing I noticed were the restraints and how comfortable they were. The entire experience was great, and aside from the fair-looking station, the ride was very enjoyable. No head-banging at all there. Next we rode Carolina Goldrusher, which was nothing really to speak of, just rode it for the credit. Then worked our way over to Cyclone, the first run through was very nice, the 2nd not so much (more on that later). After Cyclone we rode Drop Tower, which is flat-out lame compared to KD's. Rode Scream Weaver afterwards.
Next was Vortex, which I was honestly looking forward to, having never been on a B&M stand-up. I was throughly dissapointed. Super slow operation (not sure if that's common or not), and the restraints are uncomfortable for someone of my height (6'5"). Not sure if I like KD's Shockwave or Vortex more. We worked our way up past the entrance of the park and over to take a look at Nighthawk, which looked so cool even though it was closed. Never been on a flying coaster, and still haven't. Thanks Carowinds.
Next was highlight #1, that being Intimidator. First thing I noticed was three train operation on a Thursday. I was very impressed by that. First ride was in row 16, far right seat. I was sceptical about the new B&M hyper trains at first, but after riding Intimidator I love them. Now for the actual ride review, which can be summed up for me using one word: Airtime. Airtime all over the place. First drop was incredible, I loved the turn-around, all the way up to the MCBR. However, this is where I start complaining. The MCBR kills the ride. It's just too late in the ride, and it makes the helix super slow. Sure, there is still airtime there, but it's not nearly up to the caliber of the first half. We got off and went back around and rode the front row, and I was surprised to find airtime up there as well, which almost made me forget about the problems with the MCBR. Almost. Overall Intimidator gets a 9/10 from me. Definitely a great ride, and a wonderful addition to Carowinds' lineup.
After Intimidator we hoofed it to Afterburn, came up to find no line. Rode it four times in a short period of time. This ride impressed me the most, just because of it's shear intensity, especially in the back. The batwing was absolutely epic, as was the corkscrew, well really the entire ride. Just great. Much more intense than, say, Alpengeist, the only other B&M invert I've been on.
That's really it, as far as rides go that we rode, after that we went back and re-rode the highlights, which were mainly Cobra once, then back to Intimidator and Afterburn. Also rode Hurler, Ricochet, and Rip Roarin Rapids. So to tie up some loose ends, here are my conclusions.
1. As a location supervisor in the rides department at KD, I payed extra attention to the operation by the employees at Carowinds. Some things I noticed included: Trashy ride areas (especially at Drop Tower and Hurler), not even so much as an "all-clear" at Cyclone the 2nd time we rode it, not many smiles anywhere, and the girls rides uniforms are hideous, as are the blue shorts. However, the Intimidator crew was flawless, except for one small detail. They were fast, safe, and very friendly, but they need to get their facts straight. One said the ride went 85 MPH, another 80, another 75. Other than that though, very very great crew.
2. I'm not sure how much Nighthawk being open would've effected my opinion on this, but it seemed like there really aren't many major rides at the park. Intimidator, Afterburn, Nighthawk, and that's really it... and with Nighthawk being closed, it seemed like a big part of the park was missing. We rode all the coasters and many of the flats in a span of about 4 hours. Again, I'm sure Nighthawk being open would change my opinion here.
3. The park in general (aside from the Drop Tower/Hurler corner) was very clean, and most crews were very efficient in getting trains out quickly and safely.
Now, you had to know I was gonna do this.
Intimidator - Lots of airtime, huge capacity, no wheel problems, felt like I had ridden it before, MCBR killed the 2nd half, the plaza area seems just thrown together, and I don't really like it's placement up at the front of the park, right next to one of the other major rides in the park.
Intimidator 305 - trims, wheel problems, capacity not as large, never ridden anything like it, faster, more intense by far, placement is better but still not great, entire plaza area seems more thought-out, taller, it's a lot closer to me.
So all in all, I think I'll take 305 over 232 (yeah call me biased) just because of the fact that 305 is so totally different than anything I've ever ridden. I feel like I could go to Busch Gardens and ride Apollo's Chariot and I really wouldn't be missing anything on Intimidator. But don't get me wrong here, Intimidator is really fun, the park is really fun, I just wish we would've caught it when Nighthawk was open just so I could see the park at full strength.
Sorry this got so long, thanks for reading if you did.
Travis
Supervisor - Dominator/Berserker (KD)
