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Anyone that enjoys roller coasters will be happy to know that Carowinds, may be building the worlds tallest traditional coaster for 2015. Traditional meaning, a coaster with a chain lift followed by a series of hills and turns (as opposed to the launch coasters that exceed 400ft in height). Currently, the tallest traditional coaster in the world is the Steel Dragon in Japan at 318ft. The one at Carowinds is rumored to be 325ft.
There are teaser banners being posted around the park as of yesterday that say "8th Wonder of the World". And to make things even juicier, the blueprints have leaked and can currently be found here: Carowinds2015.
Well, this certainly explains what has happened to the old season pass/bus parking area. The longer walk to and from the entrance gate doesn't bother me much, but I did wonder what was going on. I suspected that it had something to do with the new coaster rumor.
At 325 ft, this is nearly 90 ft taller than Intimidator's initial drop. While this is certainly a taller coaster (and possibly a faster one too) I have my doubts of whether or not it will be a "better" coaster. After watching the youtubes of Steel Dragon and Intimidator side-by-side, it's hard to tell which ride is actually "better".
^^^Intimidator (though shorter, smaller, and slower) seems to have more air-time (that's when your butt leaves the seat). I just rode Intimidator today and my arse was out of my seat at least 5 times. I'll have to ride Intimidator and this new coaster before I can really get excited. I'll admit, when Intimidator was first announced, I thought that Carowinds got the short-end and Kings Dominion got the better ride with I305. Today, I can honestly say I was wrong. I could be wrong about this new coaster too.
The biggest difference between Steel Dragon, and the new Carowinds coaster is the manufacturer. And that does make a huge difference. The new Carowinds coaster will be made by the same Swiss company that made Intimidator (B&M). The seating will be more open than the boxy cars on Steel Dragon. A better coaster to compare it to would be Leviathon at Canada's Wonderland.
The biggest difference between Steel Dragon, and the new Carowinds coaster is the manufacturer. And that does make a huge difference. The new Carowinds coaster will be made by the same Swiss company that made Intimidator (B&M). The seating will be more open than the boxy cars on Steel Dragon. A better coaster to compare it to would be Leviathon at Canada's Wonderland.
Well, I hate to toot my own horn, but I called it last year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbancharlotte
As for the Cedar Fair pattern that I spoke briefly about; it's quite unambiguous. In 2008, Wonderland opened a ride called Behemoth (which is pretty much a twin of Carowinds's Intimidator). 2 years later (2010), Cedar Fair introduced Intimidator to Carowinds. In 2011, Wonderland got Windseeker. In 2012, Carowinds got Windseeker. In 2012, Wonderland got Leviathan (a 300 ft-plus 92 mph; $28 million coaster). My thoughts are that Carowinds can expect Leviathan's "twin" in 2015. The 300 ft height and the $30 million price tag certainly fits.
The fact that Carowinds will soon have a "Hyper" coaster (Intimidator) and a "Giga" coaster (the unknown $30 million monster) will be a total game changer for our park.
As for the naming of this coaster, "Carolina First in Flight" fits. I also like "The Charlotte Hornets". More could be done with the First in Flight theme though. "First in Flight" also gives us a chance to teach park visitors about NC's aviation history.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 07-07-2014 at 07:27 PM..
You certainly did! It will be exciting to this new coaster rise into the sky. It will be more exciting to ride it! I just hope it has a tunnel. Leviathon has one and some of the other leaked blueprints of the Carowinds one showed a tunnel.
The coaster could possibly be named "Fury 325", as it was recently filed as a trademark by Carowinds owners and would make sense with the rumored 325ft. height.
I knew Cedar Fair would bring big coasters to Carowinds, as their flagship park Cedar Point in Ohio is known for huge rollercoasters. I also thought Cedar Fair would follow the Canadian model from their Canada's Wonderland, where they have Behemoth followed by Leviathan. Both designed by B&M. And it appears this may indeed be the case here at Carowinds, with Intimidator followed by a Giga coaster similar to Leviathan, also by B&M. But taller. So great to see Carowinds becoming more of a major league, destination park. Now you won't have to go to Ohio, California, or some other state to ride a big league rollercoaster.
Apparently the official announcement will be Thursday, August 21. But preliminary speculation suggests record breaking height, and possibly length. Either way, it should be a major attraction on the level of Cedar Point and very exciting for Carowinds and the greater Charlotte region.
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