Carowinds 10/9

DejaVu4Life · #1 10-10-2005, 02:44 PM

Day two of the band trip, and we were off to Carowinds. We arrived insanely late (around 11:00), because our clueless bus driver not once, but twice, drove right past the bus parking sign. Everyone was going nuts to get on rides, but first we had to go all the way back to Top Gun and meet in the pavilion. It was very short, and immediately 150 band kids ran to Top Gun. I took my first ride in the back, and headed off.

Next we headed to the other end of the park, and found Borg broken down, and a line that stretched nearly to the entrance, so we skipped it. Next coaster in line was Vortex, which had a wait of no more than 5 minutes. I headed to the back row, and squezed into the lovely small seat. Still not great, even for a B&M.
Heading on back we hit up Ricochet, something I had not ridden this summer. I was surprised to find a little bit of legroom for an ok coaster. Thinking about it as I got off, it was my 40th coaster.

Next up was Carolina Cyclone, which should have been a walk-on, but due to it only running one train, we wated a good 15 minutes. Learning from my mistake this summer, I rode in the front of the car, and found much more legroom than in the back.
After that we walked to Hurler, and the only people that were in line were 2 people for the front. It was running two trains, sowe boarded immediately, as I took the very back. Through the first half of the ride, I thought it was running pretty well as a whole, but I was wrong. Even through all that padding, the second half of the ride had a pain factor comparable to Georgia Cyclone. We got back and everyone else in my group wanted to ride again, and they did. I had no desire to go through all the pain again, so I sat outside and waited.

Next was Drop Zone, which was all but a walk on. We got on the side facing Borg and Top Gun and took the craptastic 150 foot drop down. This ride is absoloutely nothing compared to Acrophobia. I figured out the forumula for the drop on this ride, so if you want to know, ask.
It was close to time to head back to the pavilion, and we planned to hit Borg on the way, but before that we hit up Gold Rusher. I rode close to the back, with my knees mashed up against the seat in front of me...Whatever, I ride it because it's there.

Next we walked by Borg, but all my friends backed out because of fear. We ate lunch, and decided to go by myself to Top Gun and ride some. I waited for the front, and immediately when I got there it broke down. Within I would say about five minutes, the ride was back up. Good job mechanics. I ride in the front, and as I was exiting, a ride op told me there was an open spot in the front, so I seized the opportunity and rode again. As soon as we got back, the same lady again tells me that there is a seat in the very back, and I rode.
After my sweet 3 for 1 deal, I headed to Borg, where somehow or another my group met back up with me and we rode. The line was about 45 minutes, and we were assigned the second to last row, a nice change, since my only other two rides had come in the second row. It was running very well, much smoother than this summer, and threw some nice G's.

After Borg I split once again and rode Top Gun for the rest of the day, pulling off 4 in a row two different times. A bunch of my friends that got on the ride know I'm a roller coaster nut, so as I was getting off a few times, they invited me for a ride. I finished the day with a final Top Gun count of 17, and headed to the front gate, and back to the buses.

Awesome Day overall, and lines for the most part were pretty short Thunder Road backwards was closed like it was this summer, any idea why? Since backwards was closed, I didn't much care to ride it, and didn't.

I'm pretty sure I saw Carowinds 73 03 at Top Gun, but I don't know for sure. I was the guy in the Georgia Games shirt with blue shoes, who rode a bunch.

Carowinds2005 · #2 10-10-2005, 03:04 PM

Yes. Thunder Road was closed pretty much all weekend due to staffing issues. You should have rode White Water Falls and Scooby Haunted Mansion. Im the one with the curly hair.

TopGun2004 · #3 10-10-2005, 03:05 PM

You probably saw me also i was at Top Gun and the only guy at the time with the white shirt

dukeandPCfan · #4 10-10-2005, 03:27 PM

the reason our drop zone isn't great is because it is one of the first... i still enjoy its views of the park though...

as for cyclone, it is AWESOME in the very back car (ejector after the turnaround up top...) and Hurler ROCKS in the first three rows, especially at night she gives ton of airtime... I figured out the formula on hurler too

... its an exponential equation, going from great ride - horrible, as you move back in rows lol...

as for Borg - catch the first train of the day, or go on a weekday, or don't ride at all is my philosophy. The flying effect really does wear off, although its 'turnaround' above the midway gives a much better effect then Superman, the layout is better, and the loop really pulls a ton of G's, especially in the back...

glad to see you got an awesome day, but did you try the flyers? Because they are the absolute best ride at the park... My guess is not, so if you didn't, you should visit CC and download Jonathan's 2005 opening day video, then you'll what they are, considering it takes up about half the video...

Moral of the story is... snapping is AWESOME... lol