What stood out to me even more than the potential hint at a Vortex upgrade was this:
The changes made at Knott's, mainly investing in atmosphere, refurbishments and improving the guest experience has been a home run success. Cedar Fair feels there is room to replicate this type of investment patterns at other parks to achieve the same results.
I like the idea of giving a little bit more theme to the Cedar Fair parks. Thinking about the kind of improvements Knotts (and KD even with their 40th Anniversary throwbacks) has made makes me excited for the future of the park in a way that doesn't relate to the thrills. Water (fountains, ponds, etc), trees, greenery, improved infrastructure, food, shows, and so on are important to giving a good vibe to visitors and not leaving that bland feeling some regional parks tend to put out. Carowinds is already well on it's way with the new entrance plaza, parking improvements, the toll booth, front gate bridge expansion, Harmony Hall, Chickies and Petes, etc. This gets me excited. I want our park to stand out and that is the direction we are moving in.
tarheel1231 wrote:I think Carowinds should paint Vortex's track white and supports orange and call it White Lightnin'.
Ew.
IF White Lightning's name ever does return to Carowinds, I wouldn't want it A) Orange... or B) to be a ride that's already been branded one of the world's most unpleasant coasters. Plus why would you want to deprive a whole new generation of riders the chance to hear the word's "Lightning Stikes Now!" before a launch? I honestly think the next coaster we get will be a Disk'O (not technically a coaster but CF calls it one
) as part of a Planet Snoopy expansion in the Dino Area within the next 3 years. (I can't see them avoiding family rides during this expansion TBH), then a launched coaster that will bring the White Lightning name back to Carowinds as a follow-up to Fury. At one of the ACE events or something last year they said they really wanted a launched coaster to come to Carowinds soon, was this to throw us off the giga trail? Maybe. Could they have been serious? I certainly think so.
Now, if they do the whole Rougarou thing (as mentioned in the Q3 Call) then I could see them possibly bring a name back since they seem to be wanting the Carowinds/Carolina charm to return. If they want mystical/deadly monsters or animals to be the theme of the standup-to-floorless wave then perhaps Black Widow, another former Carowinds name, would be a better fit. Even that name would fit the enclosure idea better since all you would see would be darkness for the most part.
I don't think this is all technically wishful thinking, these are ideas and responses linked directly to a conference call specifically about the future of the park. Although getting into the whole launched coaster thing is pushing it a bit, I don't think discussion of Carowinds/Vortex's potential future as it relates to statements made during the call is all that unfounded. But that's just my opinion. I think I'll bump that wishlist thread the next time I feel the need to ramble on and on about what I would like to see come to Carowinds lol!
