[LocoDriver]

[QUOTE=coasterbruh,Jun 27 2004, 06:04 PM]

Does anyone know why the old HB characters dont even roam the park anymore??

I had my son and nephew over at the meet and greet stage a couple of weeks ago and remember seeing George Jetson, Astro, Scooby Doo and one or two more of the older HB characters.

[coasterbruh]

Okay...I'm going off topic...

Is there something that I didn't know? Has Mystery Inc come out of the closet? I know there was speculation about Velma....

Somehow Scooby-Scat just doesn't sound right.

And everyone is going around saying fred jones was a metro-sexual!!!! I knew that ascot was a little fishy to me............and how about that Norville and scooby.........hummmmm

[coasterdude89]

Here is another Carowinds first. When Blackbeards Revenge opened up, it was the first of its kind. So we had the first ride to simulate being flipped upside down.

[Trev32]

Scooby-Doo(the old one not the new gay ones),

Okay...I'm going off topic...

Is there something that I didn't know? Has Mystery Inc come out of the closet? I know there was speculation about Velma....

Somehow Scooby-Scat just doesn't sound right.

Let me Rephrase, The old ones not the new Stupid ones.

[swampfox43]

Here is another Carowinds first.  When Blackbeards Revenge opened up, it was the first of its kind. So we had the first ride to simulate being flipped upside down.

Well, kinda but not exactly. Self-proclaimed park historians (like myself) know that Blackbeard's Revenge was a take off on the old Haunted Swing rides from many years back. They did exactly what BR did; use the method of illusion to make riders feel like they are actually flipping over.
There are still some out there. <a href='http://www.ridezone.com/rides/hauntedswing/' target='_blank'>Here</a> is the one at Dutch Wonderland.

Also, a newer version which I rode back in 1996 can be seen <a href='http://www.themeparksofengland.com/reviews/chessington/hocus.htm' target='_blank'>here</a> at Chessington's in England.

It would've been nice for Carowinds to relocate this ride elsewhere in the park but it's been quite obvious over the years that they have no sense of historical preservation there.

[coasterdude89]

Let me rephrase what I said. PC became the 1st park in the country to have Blackbeards Revenge ride type. It wasn't the first one, but in hte US it was. Read about this <a href='http://www.carowinds.com/corpinfo_press11.jsp' target='_blank'>here.</a> Just scroll down to 1985.

[swampfox43]

Carowinds was also the first and last theme park in North America to have a <a href='http://members.aol.com/k9660r/surfer.html' target='_blank'>Surfer</a> ride. This was a much tamer version of the Togada rides found in Europe.

I also haven't been able to find another theme park in North America to ever have a
<a href='http://members.aol.com/k9660r/monorail.html' target='_blank'>Waltzer</a> ride either. In fact, Waltzer's are a rare breed in the US period, even today. They are everywhere in England. To anyone that has ever ridden one, it's an experience you will not soon forget!

Gee, come to think of it, we had lot's of European made rides back in the early days.

[swampfox43]

**

[Jonathan]

Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags New England both have modern versions of the haunted swing, named Houdini's Great Escape, and manufactured by Zamperla (and quite costly). I rode both of them last week and they were really fun. I'm not sure if I'd really consider Blackbeard's Revenge to be a Haunted Swing though, although it's an extremely similar concept. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but Blackbeard's Revenge did not actually have any ride motion (IE: swinging) did it?

[swampfox43]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but Blackbeard's Revenge did not actually have any ride motion (IE: swinging) did it?

No, it had no motion. Some haunted swings do have a slight rocking motion.

[LocoDriver]

What happened to BBR? Did they sell it, or simply dismantle and destroy it?

[swampfox43]

^^I couldn't get a clear answer from anyone in the park when I asked back in 1999. So, my assumption was that they destroyed it. I hate to sound negative, but knowing Carowinds, it was probably was destroyed. Seeing what they did to the Sternwheeler practically confirms that now.

[Dukeis#1]

Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags New England both have modern versions of the haunted swing, named Houdini's Great Escape, and manufactured by Zamperla (and quite costly).  I rode both of them last week and they were really fun.  I'm not sure if I'd really consider Blackbeard's Revenge to be a Haunted Swing though, although it's an extremely similar concept.

I think Opryland USA had one of these as well back in 1972 when it first opened. It was called "The Lost Dutchman" and also simulated a battleship under attack. It was removed in '78 or '79 I think.

Speaking of things stored somewhere on the property, I once read that some of the old steam train cars are still buried in the back of a warehouse behind the park. (along with other RR equipment) Can anyone confirm this?

[swampfox43]

Speaking of things stored somewhere on the property, I once read that some of the old steam train cars are still buried in the back of a warehouse behind the park. (along with other RR equipment) Can anyone confirm this?

Well, you asked, so I'm tellin'.

As far as I know, the cars were sold along with both locomotives although the current whereabouts are not known. <a href='http://members.aol.com/k9660r/train2.html' target='_blank'>Melodia</a>, locomotive #1, left Carowinds and became a part of George Roose's collection in Sandusky, Ohio (George was a co-owner of Cedar Point amusement park). Around 1982 it was at Wild World Amusement Park (now Six Flags America) in Largo, Maryland. It couldn't handle the track in Maryland so in 1984, it was back in Sandusky. It never ran at Cedar Point, but was stored in Roose's collection, possibly in a warehouse in Cleveland. Roose died around 1990, and a fellow by the name of Bill Norred bought Melodia. Bill wanted to build a Victorian resort town in Ventura County, California, but died just a couple of years ago before he could realize his dream. Around 1990, Melodia was moved from Cleveland to Shop Services in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa for restoration (the same firm that rebuilt Carowinds #2 for Michael Jackson), and it was shipped from there to Norred's place in California around 1995 or 1996. As far as I know, Michael Jackson still has <a href='http://members.aol.com/k9660r/train1.html' target='_blank'>Carowinds #2</a> and the unused #3 engine is still on display at the Huntsville Depot Museum in Alabama.

Yeh, I know. Sorry for the history lesson.

[Dukeis#1]

Thanks for the info! I was aware that #2 had went to MJ, but I could never really find a complete answer on Melodia's whereabouts until now, though I did find a picture of her partly disassembled.

Too bad Carowinds's RR was ripped out so soon. I think that EPH really intended for it to be a big part of the park, as there was a lot of RR equipment. There was also some old Rio Grande freight cars used as theming in Frontier Outpost.

What I think is the old maintenance shop is still standing out behind Carolina Cyclone in the backstage area.