[Carowindsman]

Thread to discuss Thunder Road and racing.

-Jonathan

[Dukeis#1]

I doubt Thunder Road will be going anywhere, anytime soon.

Just because the ride never looks crowded doesn't mean it is not popular/has low ridership numbers. If I remember correctly from a fact sheet I recieved from the park in the late 90s, Thunder Road (both sides combined) has the highest hourly capacity of any ride at the park. (Prior to Top Gun)

Evan if TR doesn't have a line, during an hour it's probably carried twice the amount of riders that other rides in the park, such as Vortex, Hurler, or Carolina Cyclone have.

And, I'm sure at least one side of Thunder Road is one of the top 5 rides in the park in annual ridership. Some people are afraid of loops, so they may head to Thunder Road instead of Top Gun. And then, you have the people that like loops who will also ride TR because it is just a fun ride.

I'd expect Thunder Road to be here a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if it outlasted Top Gun, Vortex, Borg ***, ect. It's a classic ride that most everyone can enjoy, and it's also the ride that made Carowinds a player in the coaster community.

[BoRgAsSiMiLaToR]

All 4 times i have been this year tr has been all full inside the station sometimes the line even goes out on the ramps. They do race if you ask them and if that one black girl is working she'll ask if you want to race. All you gotta do is ask!

[montumax]

Frankly, I find that explanation a bunch of hockey. I'm sure that it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to race the trains. Thunder Road is a racing coaster so it should race! Simple as that.

IMHO, as far as the ridership goes, it is still one of the most popular rides in the park. Even though the forward side is usually busier than the backwards side, that side still packs in riders. When do you see these 2-3 people on the trains? When it first opens in the morning? I don't really want to doubt your word but I really find it hard to believe that ridership is *that* low.

I don't foresee Thunder Road going anywhere anytime soon.

PS: Carowindsman...the "." can be your best friend!

[Jonathan]

If it only had a few people on the train, wouldn't that make it *easier* to race, seeing as they wouldn't have to worry about cranking through people really fast?

[carowindsfreak13]

Thunder Road is the best woodie I ever been on and it is a piece of carowinds history. Not to mention north and south carolina history as the first roller coaster to go in two states!



Please keep tr around!

[Trev32]

^isn't the first coaster to cross state lines goldrusher???



anyway, tell me HOW is thunder road not meeting capacity?? i saw about 200 people total on the 16th, in 2003 there was only about 50 people but backwards was closed(plus everybody was at cyclone!)

[The Anomaly]

Back in 2001 when I worked there, we raced the trains on purpose occasionally. The people working had to be in the racing mood though. Some wanted to race while others would be like "send the train out". Then there were other times where one side would have a big hold up and that would throw the trains off for a while. When I was one of the dispatchers it was fun trying to sync the trains so that they would both meet up at the bottom of the lift. If I get the chance to work over there this season, I'll see if we can race the trains consistently on that day.

[MarkD]

I don't see it ever having only 2 or 3 people on it even on Platinum erts. Maybe the first couple of runs but after that it is always at least 3/4 full. Ask KenB he can agree with me. We saw him in the frontward train in the back seat and the trains before us raced. Then as it was our turn we, in the backwards train, got sent out while they sat there. The next run we swapped sides and we, on the forward train got sent out then stopped on the lift then got going again only after the other train was 1/2 way over the hill.

So what does this all mean? I do not know how the hierarchy is on rides but who ever is in charge of operating it that day is getting away without performing their duties. After all, the web site clearly states "Thunder Roadâ„¢
Twin-racing rollercoasters that take you backward or foward through two U.S. states - North and South Carolina." I could yell false advertisement but I won't as I do not believe it is the owners fault but rather those in charge of the ride itself.
You want us to help "save" it because it has low customers? Well, I say give us back our Racer and we will ride it much more often.

Thunder Road is one of the best dual racers around if they would only let us race every time. As for your point of why it isn't raceing is a twisted and warped sence of thinking. If something is not working well you don't accept what you have, you make it better or replace it. Thunder Road will be around for years unless something catastrophic happens to it.

Do you ever take the online surveys after you visit the park? Maybe if more of us did and spoke our peace about this maybe things might change.

[The Anomaly]

Maybe I'll just set it on fire instead...

[Dukeis#1]

I think the Riverboat satisfied all of our needs for burnt wood...

[CMT]

Whats the big deal with racing? I mean if it were a wonder who would win, then I'd say go for it. But as long as you have one backwards and one forwards...the forwards will always have the advantage because of air resistance. That is if they do start at the same time. Then esp if more fat people ride backwards, that would weigh the outcome as well. Just enjoy the ride, whether it's racing or not.

[Cephas]

Look, forewards dosen't pull ahead untill the turnaround and after that, it dosen't matter wether you are racing or not because the trains have two tracks between them. So I say go ahead and try to race, because it is so much fun to be able to look at the other train and laugh at the people who are scared to death. Oh, and once I was on TR and they were racing this little kid across from me on forewards was giving me the finger and yelling something at me that his mother probably wouldn't approve of all the way up the lift and down towards the turnaround. Once I wasn't next to him anymore on the way back, I didn't have to think about him untill the brakes.

I'm out to get you if it was somebody in these forums.

[carowindsfreak13]

Sorry I didn't know you then. I apoligize!!

[MarkD]

Whats the big deal with racing? I mean if it were a wonder who would win, then I'd say go for it. But as long as you have one backwards and one forwards...the forwards will always have the advantage because of air resistance. That is if they do start at the same time. Then esp if more fat people ride backwards, that would weigh the outcome as well. Just enjoy the ride, whether it's racing or not.

Then you obviously have never raced.