First disapointing PKD trip.

Carowinds 73-03 · #1 06-13-2003, 04:32 PM

Well all was not bad but i there was alot.
The days started off wonderful, the temp was low and the breeze was cool. I arived at the park at 9:30am just to sit and wait for an hour but i wanted to be ahead of the long line but when the gates finally opened the were about 200 people at the park. this number stayed around a that for the first 3 hours until the sun came out and the crowds came. Every ride was a walk on between 10:30-12pm as i got in 5 rides on hypersonic 3 of them i diden't even have to get off the ride and go around. well after that i decided to go check out the new Drop Zone
.......WHAT THE ******* I said, DZ was down but i wasen't to mad i just thought i still had 10 hours to ride so i went off to ride my KD fav's Volcano & FOF. Volcano was running very smooth that day and i still can't get enough of that 2nd boost that kicks you out of the top, what a rush. So after about 5 rides on that still no lines i walked to FOF and nothing was working, the had the bright overhead lights on in the cue house and no sound & no tv's and even the ride itself the lights and music were not working or just not on, i was kinda upset behind that because i love the lights and music as your twisting through the ride.
But soon became the ride i love on my 3rd ride they had everything working. after 5 rides on each Hypersonic, Volcano & FOF it was only 11:30 so we decided to leave the park to get that breakfast we decided to skip eariler that day, and boy did i need it, i got me awake & ready to go quick, well let me explain this one. We were very tired my friend wanted to go to the club the night before so we were both up buy 6pm hung out until 11pm and left for the club, stayed there until 3:30am and left from the club for the 5 hour drive to PKD. something i will never do again. anyway next we hit anaconda for our next 5 rides (yes we did 5 rides on each) and it was just as rough as ever. Just a reminder if you 5'12-6'2 feet i would not recoment sitting in a back seat always chose a front seat of the car for more leg room otherwise you will have some pretty sore knees but it's nowhere as bad a Ninja @ SFOG. well finally it was time to check out DZ again, the time now was 12noon but oh well DZ was still down, just my luck. so we hit grizzly and finally after our 5 rides on grizzly we looked around and the park was very very crowded (where did all the people come from in 15 min) so we rushed back to hypersonic to get another ride before the line got to 2 hours and they did later in the day. after the ride we decided to cool off in Water Works for a few hours but little did we know after going on 3 slides everything shut down, heavy rain thunder & lightning came with a quickness and lasted until around 5pm a good 3 hour heavy storm but we decided to stay and wait it out and grab a bite to eat in the process (PIZZA). Finally after all that raid (i would say a good ince if not more) we headed over to see some shows so we catched Spongebob in 3-d & Secrets of the lost temple (did anyone else get the lost temple movie, i was very confused behind that one). i know i said show but there were no more for the day and i really wanted to see there VHI vibe show to see it they were any better that Carowinds Vibe show but i guess next time. ok now after another 3 hours we headed back to DZ and guess what, still down. now me and my friend are starting to get angry. But after all said & done i'll have to wait till my next trip to ride DZ as we were really tired so we headed out around 6:45 after one more ride on Volcano & FOF. both were about 10 min wait's at this time, well except for Volcano The ride shut down for 20 min and you'll never belive why.
Some stupid pre-teen deceied to try and climb out of his harness during the launch but thankfully the ride op saw and shot it down just in time before the launch (the entire train was in the tunnel) i swear some people just have death wishes, you should have seen this idiot he did manage to get completely out of his seat and was turned sideways waving to the ride-op as the train moved. Just think if the lady did not see him there more than likely would have been another coaster death. so that pretty much wraps up the disapointing trip but still way fun.

If you missed everything disapointing in my TR here they are.

#1. Very angry that Drop Zone was closed all day.
#2. 3 hour Thunder storm.
#3. FOF lights & sound not working but was fixed.
#4. The stupid kid who almost died that day.

EDIT: sorry this was June 12th (yesterday).

Knoxville · #2 06-13-2003, 09:10 PM

Well, by the amount of rides u got on everything else, it seems to outweigh the bad. I wanna get to PKD sometime if its ever possible.

coasterguy1 · #3 06-13-2003, 10:59 PM

I went to PKD June 4th. Great park. You can read my TR downwards in page 1 of these reports (i think). The TVs and music are nice on FOF. And you got repeat rides on everything, so I wouldnt be so dissapointed. Drop Zone is good, but it isnt all that bad that it is shut down. You'll get to ride it again and it is basically the same as other drop rides, just really tall.

BTW, did you notice the construction next to Avalance? They had backhoes, frontloaders and construction workers there..doing something. No idea what. For all we know it is a bathroom or just landscaping. But it is pretty close to the Tomb Raider ad..and who would pay money for an ad with all those statues if you arent getting a ride like that next year?

Carowinds 73-03 · #4 06-14-2003, 12:28 AM

Now that you mention it i did see the construction there, there was a very large space cleared out so more than likely PKD is getting a tomb raider ride next year, I'am about 90% sure of it. just because it's the same amount of space that PKI's TR took up and that huge display. so i would say yes to tomb raider next year. I guess the park diden't want to keep it a secret, but we also still don't know if it's the same as PKI's or a totally new one. I wish carowinds would get one but if they do it wont be for a while and by then Tomb Raider will be old news.

Anaconda · #5 06-14-2003, 12:31 AM

Just outta curiosity, is DZ having the problems that Volcano and Hypersonic had their first seasons-constant breakdowns? Or is DZ reliable?

bgwfreak777 · #6 06-14-2003, 12:30 PM

Well hello all, I just got back from PKD and SFA as well.

I rode Avalanche and saw the mysterious construction as well. It's a very small area though.

When I was at PKI last year and rode Tomb Raider, it was a very large footprint of a space taken up.

I don't think they could fit Tomb Raider in there. That is unless they knock down a building next to it, or gasp! knock down Avalanche! Which I don't think will happen, but the riddership is so low on that ride.

If anything maybe a station for a coaster could fit there, but Tomb Raider couldn't, at least from what I saw.

It was funny though when I walked up the Avalanche, I was like no way! I have something to report on my TR lol!!!

I will be posting a TR soon as well so check that out soon.

coasterguy1 · #7 06-14-2003, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Anaconda
Just outta curiosity, is DZ having the problems that Volcano and Hypersonic had their first seasons-constant breakdowns? Or is DZ reliable?

For a new Intamin Drop Tower, I found it surprisingly reliable. Dugeon Drop broke down all the time its first 2 seasons, but it is prefect now. Anyways, Drop Zone may be having some problems. When I was there they only loaded 2 sides-the side facing Hypersonic and the side facing Volcano. Why? I have no idea. But other than that it seemed to be working perfectly. Of course it'll have initial problems, but they'll work them out. As for the construction, who knows?

Carowinds 73-03 · #8 06-14-2003, 07:10 PM

I think if they need the room for tomb raider the will tear down avalanche.
Also next weekend i have an extra day so i'll be hitting PKD again to see if DZ is open, I'll be at SFA on saturday & PKD on sunday.

coasterlove · #9 06-15-2003, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Carowinds 73-03
Well all was not bad but there was alot.

#1. Very angry that Drop Zone was closed all day.
#2. 3 hour Thunder storm.
#3. FOF lights & sound not working but was fixed.
#4. The stupid kid who almost died that day.

EDIT: sorry this was June 12th (yesterday).

I've never been there, but it doesn't seem like there was much to not enjoy about the day. Of your 4 reasons, I can only agree with#1. A thunder storm isn't the fault of the park. FOF might have not worked early, but was fixed later. The was acting unbelievably stupid, but a worker of the park was responsible and was doing his job correctly. On that matter, the park shoould be praised. I don't know the reason for Drop Zone's closure, but to me it wouldn't be a big deal since other than height Intamin drops are the same except for the view. One reason I love Power Tower, awesome view!!!

phantompenguin · #10 06-16-2003, 12:42 AM

I was there on the 11th, the date Drop Zone began it's little trouble.

I was po'ed too, I was walking to the ride when it got stuck on the top and the results basically kept it closed all day.

Check my trip report that I'll be making shortly that includes PKD.

BimmerZ3 · #11 06-16-2003, 01:47 AM

Dude, if Anaconda is not nearly as bad as Ninja, then it might as well be a Beema. Anyway, it sounds like a kick ass day (a lot better than driving 8 hours back from Florida that I was doing that day).

phantompenguin · #12 06-16-2003, 02:12 AM

Here, here Bimmer...'cept replace back from Florida to back from Virginia