[Maverick44]

Hey guys....new to the site. I am about to embark on my very first trip to your beloved Carowinds. What can I expect? I am used to going to Cedar Point and Kings Island. Is it as busy / wait time as long as Cedar Point? I am trying to make it a yearly Trip and just want some insider points of view. S o I was read you are getting 5 new flats? Have there been any "leaks" or plans?

[gabed]

If you're going on a weekday lines will be nonexistent on most rides. Fury shouldn't be any more than 5 - 10 minutes max. Same for Intimidator. If you're going on a weekend, best of luck to you my friend. If you want to hit all the credits, I recommend hitting Nighthwak right at opening. The line will build up quickly and it's capacity kinda sux.

The heat this summer has been more intense than usual so stay hydrated. Also, make sure you wear sunblock. I cannot stress that enough. It's a miracle the skin on my arms hasn't melted off. Definitely recommend the brisket sandwich in Harmony Hall with BBQ sauce along with a side of Mac n Cheese. Also, be sure to take advantage of chain restaurants being on the meal plan if you have it.

Goldrush and Ricochet also tend to have longer lines and a meh capacity. Drop Zone is a lot of fun, one of the better drop towers I've ridden so definitely give it a try. If you're into water parks then Carolina Harbor is a must. Be warned though, it gets crowded given the heat.

As for plans being leaked, none have been found yet. But if tradition holds true this year we shouldn't have much longer to wait.

[Deere839]

Sorry fixing this post to make it better

[Jarsh]

I couldn't make it to the first period...

[FamousAmos]

You and me both!

[jeffdavis]

I had to work hard to get to the first period, the second came easy, but I still haven't found the third. So I vote four more periods!

[Maverick44]

I will be going to the park on a Friday. Does that count as a weekday at Carowinds haha? We can not wait to ride some new coasters we have never been on before! Sun block check! DO you think we will be able to get on all the coasters in the 12 hours we have? haha I'd hope so! Maybe with a waterpark break in the heat of the afternoon?

[tarheel1231]

^ Coasters, yes. Water park......

I haven't to Carolina Harbor yet, but just from looking at the webcam, you can probably expect long lines.

Also, don't miss out on Woodstock Gliders (which used to be at your home park) and Peanuts Pirates! They encourage snapping on the Woodstock Gliders, and Peanuts Pirates is just fun.

[uscbandfan]

Been to the water park.... love it. You may have to pick and choose which slides you want to ride based on the time you have allotted. It was a 20-30 minute wait for the drop slides when I was there... but worth it. I guess all the slides were about the same wait time-wise. with the drop-slides being the longest of them all.

The rides.... you'll have no problem. In 12 hours, you could ride every ride in the park more than once. Nighthawk and Ricochet being the problem children as far as wait-times go. (Grab them first if you want to ride them.)

[Maverick44]

Thank you everyone!!! I can't wait to ride Fury!!! So is everyone here on this site against Carowinds every getting an Intamin coaster?

[coasterbruh]

Yes

[Maverick44]

Yes

Why? I mean I know some of them have their fults but you can't lie about how freakin awesome their coasters are!!! Sorry I am a fanboy of Intamin

[coasterbruh]

It's obvious . . .

[tarheel1231]

We're not against Intamin because we don't like the rides, they're just poor designers. CF has been burned by Intamin too many times, from Maverick and I305 needing to be reprofiled, to Shoot the Rapids falling down its hill and almost drowning everyone on board.

And let's not forget the support on Millennium's first overbank grazing riders, pieces of Dragster's train falling off on the launch, and the fatal ejection on Perilous Plunge. And those incidents are only in the Cedar Fair chain.

I just don't think you can keep pulling the "but they're innovative, of course they're going to be a risky investment" card when even their "tried-and-true" rides are trying to murder people.

[gabed]

Here's my take on the Intamin vs B&M debate.

When looking at the ride experience alone and nothing else, then yes, Intamin is better. But when you look at everything else like safety, reliability, capacity, maintenance and so on, B&M wins by a landslide. I wouldn't say I'm against the park getting an Intamin, heck, my favorite coaster is an Intamin. There just aren't any I would care to have at this point. Fury filled many of the gaps most Intamins would have at Carowinds. I guess impulses are nice, but after seeing how poorly Wicked Twister aged since I rode it only 3 years ago I'll pass. (Although Possessed was pretty nice)

Unlike most of the people here, I wouldn't mind if we got another B&M next. Not saying we need one, just that I wouldn't be heartbroken.