[RiDeWaRrIoR]

Today was nothing compared to last Friday. Not as many school groups, that's for sure.

By the way, I did notice an ACE shirt a couple times today. I don't remember what color it was though. Or I saw a few. I do remember starting conversations with people wearing a Voyage shirt and a Kingda Ka shirt though.

Also, if any of you were there in the morning at open........... Well, there was some ERT for like 20 minutes since it was so empty.

Don't forget we open one hour earlier on Fridays until May 28th. 9am instead of 10am.

Oh mine was lime green. I talked to someone (I think andrew) he said he is part of TPR, which is cool! I will be back up there tomorrow I believe for some ridin, anyway I can get some ERT I wish I coulda came up there today earlier but I had my daughter and didnt really want to take her. I just decided at the last minute to come up there from like 3:30 to 5:30 or so. I wish there was some ERT tomorrow I would LOVE that.... oh well, I will be there bright and early probaly like 9 30 or so. See yah there!

[Jonathan]

Rode 8 times this morning in about 45 minutes. 5 times in the back without getting off. Friday mornings from 9 AM to 10 definitely a great time to go (at least this Friday was). On a couple rides the second trim didn't hit at all nor did the midcourse; awesome rides. Redeemed my faith in the ride. Also, after riding Apollo's Chariot some more a few hours ago, Intimidator wins that battle hands down for me.

[jasonwilson88]

Thanks Jonathan for the positive report. I've been waiting patiently for someone to come in here and restore my faith that the second trim hasn't busted our ride.

It is pretty hard to decide between Carowinds and i305 when you live right in the middle though....

[coasterdave]

It is good to see that Jason is now somewhat pleased. And yes I am picking on you so do not get all bent out of shape.

As someone who does work in this line of work, I can say that even after a ride opens to the public there is always some tweaking still going on. So you might have a trimless ride one day and the next day they might be in full effect and tame the ride down. Just enjoy the ride.

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

Today the coaster was running great and the 2nd trim wasnt hitting at all! Was able to get 7 rides in today.... wish it would have been more of a dreary day to make a smaller crowd, but oh well. Oh and thanks anthony for the front row, it was great man!

[KDcoasterMAN]

Today I rode Intimidator.

It was a amazing coaster BUT did not live up to MY expectations. I judged it lightly against such coasters as Apollo's Chariot and Goliath (SFOG). I rode twice, back and front, and found the front the most enjoyable ride. I felt the back, though with alot of air, was rather forceless. I found that The front row had more force to the ups and downs and provided a most amazing ride. I may go back this year, but if the lines prove to be as long as they were today I may not.

Intimidator @ Carowinds... 8 out of 10 stars

[Blue Moon]

Check the webcam out right now. It looks pretty cool in the rain.

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

missed it

[Dude]

Today I rode Intimidator.

It was a amazing coaster BUT did not live up to MY expectations. I judged it lightly against such coasters as Apollo's Chariot and Goliath (SFOG). I rode twice, back and front, and found the front the most enjoyable ride. I felt the back, though with alot of air, was rather forceless. I found that The front row had more force to the ups and downs and provided a most amazing ride. I may go back this year, but if the lines prove to be as long as they were today I may not.

Intimidator @ Carowinds... 8 out of 10 stars

You have learned your lesson to not go on a Saturday if you want to ride the coaster more than twice!

[Mr.Nitro]

I'm going tomorrow for the first time, can anyone else provide perspective on how the trims were today?

[Jonathan]

Thanks Jonathan for the positive report. I've been waiting patiently for someone to come in here and restore my faith that the second trim hasn't busted our ride.

It is pretty hard to decide between Carowinds and i305 when you live right in the middle though....

The trim on 305 kills it way more than either trim on the Carowinds ride ever has IMO.

[coasterdave]

I agree with Jon on that. The trims on the second part of the ride on I305 kills it along with those dreaded restraints. I will say that Carowinds got the better end of the deal. But that is just my view and only my view.

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

I'm going tomorrow for the first time, can anyone else provide perspective on how the trims were today?

The first one was hitting kinda hard, but the second one didnt hit at all.

[jasonwilson88]

^^ but can you really fault the trim on i305 due to it's absolute necessity? Obviously that ride was built to have a trim there, a pretty serious one at that, or the return run to the brakes would tear the ride apart. Not only would the right to left transition be completely over the top (more so than the 90 mph one earlier in the ride) but the train would slam into the brake run and put huge lateral force on the straight up/down supports holding up the brakes (it already shakes a little when a train rolls in).

There is simply no way i305 would be able to run without the trim and it was designed that way. While Timmy's trims were also designed to be where they are, I don't think anyone can make an argument that a B&M hyper is going too fast at any point on any of them, I've just never heard anyone say "wow that was too fast/intense!" after a B&M. We're also talking a trimming of a couple mph on Timmy while i305 is dropping a good 20mph or more of speed to safely make it to the end.

No one is denying that i305's restraints are god awful, but I really don't think anyone can say that i305 should run without that trim. My personal feeling is that it could trim a LITTLE less on i305 and still make the end safe, but without it the end would totally be a broken experience much like the first turn feels .

The B&M trims are also more annoying in my opinion because of their highly variable nature. With the Intamin mag-trims you know what you're getting every single time - many rides like i305 and some of the European launchers with building height limits are designed with heavy hitting trims in mind to allow for their layouts. Every time you hit them you slow down but there is no mental "ah that didn't hit that hard" or "wow we just got stopped" when you roll over them - it's consistent every single time regardless of weather. I think what bothers most of us about B&M trims is the fact that they hold the ability to completely ruin every ride they are on but don't do so with any consistency, considering they are designed to be variable based on the conditions of each passing train.

Someone made the argument a few pages back (or maybe it was on a certain angry KD forum) that we should actually like trim brakes as enthusiasts because they allow many rides to go taller/faster than they would have been able to sans-trims. Certain rides (i305) can prove this to be true while others like Timmy (or even toned-down wooden coasters) use trims in a manner that in no way improve the ride experience. When given the option of a 305 foot tall Intimidator with a trim or a 250 foot tall Intimidator with no trim - aren't you glad KD bought those magnets?

Now, enough about i305 and trims, I'm sure both Intimidator's are thrilling enough people today. They are both awesome for different reasons.

[coasterdave]

Someone remind me not to let Jason on anything I am working on and again I am only kidding with you Jason.