[shane235]

I miss Thunder Road already. I was on the last train on the blue side and I had a blast. We all had our picture taken, and we were told it was the last ride. You can imagine our disappointment when we saw the train in front of us filled with people and making its way to the lift hill. So, like any Carowinds fanatics would do, we all started chanting "One Last Ride" and refused to get out of our seats... the entire train was chanting, and a Thunder Road veteran was seated behind us yelling louder than any of us were. Just as we were getting out of the seats, they announced "North and South Carolina will have one last race" and we left the station. We were racing up the lift hill when the blue side stopped, even though the silver side had people with their phones out... But, in the end we were the last public riders ever on Thunder Road.

We got off of Thunder Road, we were high-fiving everyone, and we then noticed it was already 10:40 and that the park was closed. And all of our stuff was in a Fury locker. We left the park around 11, but we had a story.

I had an amazing time yesterday, so thanks to ACE and the park for everything!

Also - #ThanksThunderRoad is trending on twitter. Over 880 tweets about it.

[Jonathan]

man people flipping out on carowinds facebook page. as much as I hate seeing thunder road close, I cant hate on cedar fair. Carowinds was struggling and was on the path to park closure. Cedar Fair rescued this park and is turning it into a top park. You cant make a cake with out breaking a few eggs.

Lol what. On the path to park closure? Rescued? Cedar Fair has improved Carowinds no doubt but let's not get ridiculous.

[SeasonDiningPlan]

I miss Thunder Road already. I was on the last train on the blue side and I had a blast. We all had our picture taken, and we were told it was the last ride. You can imagine our disappointment when we saw the train in front of us filled with people and making its way to the lift hill. So, like any Carowinds fanatics would do, we all started chanting "One Last Ride" and refused to get out of our seats... the entire train was chanting, and a Thunder Road veteran was seated behind us yelling louder than any of us were. Just as we were getting out of the seats, they announced "North and South Carolina will have one last race" and we left the station. We were racing up the lift hill when the blue side stopped, even though the silver side had people with their phones out... But, in the end we were the last public riders ever on Thunder Road.

We got off of Thunder Road, we were high-fiving everyone, and we then noticed it was already 10:40 and that the park was closed. And all of our stuff was in a Fury locker. We left the park around 11, but we had a story.

I had an amazing time yesterday, so thanks to ACE and the park for everything!

Also - #ThanksThunderRoad is trending on twitter. Over 880 tweets about it.

Sucks you guys lost. Good story tho.

My family and I were the first riders of the day and as we walked into the station the ride attendants were saying
"First Ride! Last Day! You made history! "
It felt special to be the first person on a virgin morning coaster before all those sweaty butts have stunk up the coaster for the last ride.

P.S ...I just love how everyone had their phones out at night, even tho it was totally dark outside and the coaster has no lights once you go over the lift. I mean what is their recording going to show? A dark black screen lol?

[uscbandfan]

^
Since the fury is exactly opposite of Thunder Road location wise, there is zero chance you'll get back in time for merchandising.
:

How wrong you are. I got 3 rides on Fury beginning at 9:30 AND was able to WALK (not run) over to County Fair and we rode the first train of Thunder Road of the day. Not a problem at all. Got our buttons and our posters.

[Capler]

I cried. But not that much.

Ummm to the person who said they didn't like the ride ops singing and talking "delaying" the train, I completely disagree. I might be wrong but I feel like the majority of people enjoy when the ride ops are enthusiastic... I really liked the singing and stuff, and I got really into it. I really liked the ride op named Grant because he sang spongebob XD

She really engaged the crowd, and at one point many inside the station started singing with her. It was very refreshing seeing this, considering all the other crabby patties working at the park. From what I saw, she was trying to humor the crowd because one side of workers, blue trains, were really slow and she was waiting on them so the trains could race. It was great seeing the trains race, has not see that in years. They use to race all the time back in the day. I also had not seen all four trains operating in a very long time. Honestly I had forgotten they even had four trains. Great send off to that great pile of kindling in the sky for Thunder Road.

[Merthecat]

My family and I were the first riders of the day and as we walked into the station the ride attendants were saying "First Ride! Last Day! You made history! "
It felt special to be the first person on a virgin morning coaster before all those sweaty butts have stunk up the coaster for the last ride.

I was on the first train of the last day however. as was my whole family. (Feels great to be able to say that)

We were the first riders again this morning with my family. (...)
(First ride on the last day of thunder road baby!!)

(We were the first riders on the last day! )

Yes, we get the point already.

[Capler]

man people flipping out on carowinds facebook page. as much as I hate seeing thunder road close, I cant hate on cedar fair. Carowinds was struggling and was on the path to park closure. Cedar Fair rescued this park and is turning it into a top park. You cant make a cake with out breaking a few eggs.

Lol what. On the path to park closure? Rescued? Cedar Fair has improved Carowinds no doubt but let's not get ridiculous.

Agreed, the park was very solid when Fair bought it, otherwise they would have tried to unload it like they did with GA.

[tarheel1231]

Thanks to everyone at ACE and Carowinds for putting on an amazing event. From the scavenger hunt to the behind-the-scenes tour of Thunder Road, the event was incredible. I hope it's not my last coaster classic!

[TheCoasterMan1]

I am just going to build off of what Shane said as Shane and I became close Carowinds' friends during our time at the park. I am 15 and Shane is almost 14 so it's nice to have someone to hang out with that is your age when you attend ACE events.

About last night:
I do not regret anything. We were told that the blue side was open to VIP (which we were) so we hurried and got in line at about 9:45. The crowd could have possibly been more hype than when Fury opened. I think the ride operators and attendants did a really good job of keeping the crowds spirits up although they all knew it would be there last rides on Thunder Road. It was LOUD! We rode and when we got off and looked at our phones I had a feeling of doubt because it was 10:03. We hurried and ran back to the entrance to find a worker guarding the entrance. I just knew that we would not get to try our hopes of being on the last train ever on Thunder Road.

This is where being at the park during an ACE event pays off. We told the lady that we were VIP and so she went to ask her supervisor if we could ride again. We were able to get back in line!

Many others were as willing as we were and did not want to get on the trains because they feared that it wouldn't be the last train of the night. Therefore there were half full trains leaving the station at some points. Shane, Shane's friend, my friend, and I all waited it out to the very end and I can say it was all worth it. With a full train the "last" official blue train left out the station, racing the silver side. When we left the station I think we could all say that we knew it wasn't going to be our last ride. As soon as we hit the breaks the Thunder Road veteran who rode it when it opened in '76 at the age of 23 started the chant, "ONE LAST RIDE" and everyone joined in. When we pulled into the station and the ride operator tried to tell us that it was over and time to go home we sat in our seats and got the silver side to join in with the chant "ONE LAST RACE". I am proud to say that we were being defiant. We wanted to race one last time because we knew that after we got off that train we would never be able to race/ride again on Thunder Road. The blue train crept out the station one LAST time, racing the silver side. We did stop at the top of the lift but I guess that made us the last public riders to crest the 93-foot lift hill of Thunder Road. Sharing this experience with some new friends and a friend of mine, along with a Thunder Road veteran is something that I will never forget.

Thank you Carowinds, ACE and Carowinds Connection for making a 13 hour day at the park one of the most memorable days in my life! #ThanksThunderRoad

Also thank you Mike, Steve, and Laresa if yall are reading!

I would like to get in contact with someone so I could get the picture that the lady took of every individual on the last train. If anyone knows how that would be great!

[Chris]

Quiet lift hill:

image.jpg

That was you??? That's me sitting on the hood of my car soaking it all in, one last time. I'm the guy who asked you if I was in your picture and if you wanted me to move.

[TheCoasterMan1]

This is LocalYokel's picture but the man still sitting in the train is the Thunder Road veteran.

[chknwing]

and the winner for top comment on carowinds facebook page regarding thunder roads closure...

"Johnathan Lemay I wish we could be this passionate about separation of church and state. This world would be awesome."

[LocalYokel]

The lights are on, the flags still wave, but the track is silent.

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[TheCoasterMan1]

I wonder if they will put one of the trains on the storage track after tonight... Or could trains possibly be coming off tonight???

Also Thunder Road is no longer listed on the park's website.

[arby]

Goodbye Thunder Road

http://www.tarheelcamper.com/2015/07/goodbye-thunder-road/

#ThanksThunderRoad