General Carowinds discussion
By phareous
#106533
dabrian wrote:I really hate that ride, only coaster that has made me hurt after riding it. glad my kids grew out of wanting to ride it.


I don't see how anything can top how horrible kiddy hawk is.
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By yawetag
#106536
I only rode TFC because my son wanted to, and it was slow enough that we could get front row.

I rode KH last week. Will not ride it again. I've ridden its twin at Legoland Florida and didn't remember it being nearly as rough.
#106549
I have ridden it twice, one as Flying Ace Arial Chase and the second being Kiddy Hawk.
First time riding it, it was a monstrosity of a ride, head banging all around. For some reason I thought KH didn't have as much headbanging has what it used to be. I think they got new trains, which reduced the headbanging slightly. Not terrible, but still pretty bad.
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By gabed
#106551
I’ve got some nostalgia tied to Kiddy Hawk but if they took it out I can’t say I’d care all that much. For what it is though, I don’t see any reason to remove it now. Still gets good crowds and helps fill the family coaster lineup. Now as for Vortex, Nighthawk, and Cobras, I would go on a statewide campaign for their removal.
#106552
The thing with Nighthawk is that it's a crowd pleaser for the GP. Vortex will go when Carowinds needs the space for their next plans. As far as Flying Cobras go, i doubt that will be removed anytime soon, its not nearly as bad as some other boomerangs and it just got a new paint job so i don't think it'll be on the chopping block until at least 2025, if that.
#106553
How do people determine a ride as “a crowd pleaser for the GP”? A coaster at the front of the park often running one train with long dispatch times will get a wait regardless of its quality/popularity. When I think a crowd pleaser it’s something that people hop in line for multiple times, revisits the park for, buys merch for, has good reception/word of mouth. These are things I’d apply to Fury but not so much Nighthawk.
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By tarheel1231
#106554
Anecdotal knowledge, but most of my friends and people I talk to (non-enthusiasts) generally rate Nighthawk highly in the park, usually on the same level or above the "Big 3" (I hesitate to say 4 just because CS hasn't been open long enough, even though I would rank it as the third best coaster in the park). No matter what the enthusiast consensus is, the fact is that it's the 5th most ridden attraction at the park, and that has to count for something. As much as I'd love to see Nighthawk and Vortex ripped out in one fell swoop for some massive new RMC inverted 4D raptor aquatrax , I just don't think the park sees it as a net positive like we would. Maybe Vortex ends up going, but I still think a floorless conversion is a possibility (maybe even one for 2020? :think: ).
#106555
The ridership numbers are strongly correlated to capacity anyway so it’s hard to gauge some of the coasters popularity in the park when RnR is getting more ridership than most coasters in the park.

Anyhow I’m just trying to make the point that the “GP” aren’t some alien specie at parks. They generally line up for the same rides we line up for and tend to skip or only ride once on less popular attractions.

Edit: misspoke on Carolina Cyclone rider numbers, edited that out
Last edited by dirkdiggler1992 on April 8th, 2019, 4:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
By Glitch99
#106556
Peanuts Pirates was only mentioned as being the top kiddie ride. Just like Rock'n Roller was mentioned as the top non-coaster, not as the 6th most ridden ride.

I'd guess that Nighthawk just squeaked out #5 last year over Cyclone, and Cyclone probably squeaked out #5 over Nighthawk the year before.
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By coasterbruh
#106557
All Kiddy hawk needs is the new restraints that a lot of their jr inverts have and it will make a huge difference . . .
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