This vlog documents our return to Carowinds and my first experience with the newly renamed THUNDER STRIKER! The most AI-generated coaster name ever. My Raw Footage Channel: / @airtimethrillsrawfoot... More trip vlogs: • Trip Vlogs
I worked at Carowinds over the summer and I remember hearing that you were in the park that day, super bummed that I didn't see you, but I was at Carolina Cyclone and I can't blame you for skipping that one
I went in June. Lines were minimal, even for a weekend. Hurler was actually pretty smooth. I really wish I had a better ride on Thunder Striker. It is the worst hyper I've been on(yes, I have this below Steel Force in my rankings). I got back-to-back back row rides, with a mostly empty train
Thunder striker is my favorite hyper, and I’ve been on diamondback. I personally don’t understand the diamondback hype, Thunder Striker is smoother and it had better airtime. But I only ridden diamondback once cause I got a bad headache after it.
I would love to hear Sophie's thoughts on the rides without you talking into it all the time. It's much more interesting when you don't try to influence everything she thinks
Can you still call it ejector when the train is upside down and you are just pulled out by gravity? When I rode this year, it was purely hangtime, nothing else. I have ridden quite a number of Mack coasters, but this is far below the bottom of the list.
Yup! Carowinds has been my home park since moving here in '99! I LIVE so close I can be in line in 30 minutes! Only way to get a BETTER RIDE on FURY 325, is to put your LEGS UP IN THE AIR (HANDS TOO!) on the drop, curve before going down under the ground at the entrance, and the last two hills before returning to the station!! TRY IT!! IF YOU GOT THE GUTS!! Tell me if I'm wrong! I'm 62 and can still do it!!
Vortex got a refurb this year Including new harnesses I think. Which is why it's running better. I was so blown away that I rode a second time to confirm it's not as bad
Carowinds is my home park and I can tell you that Fury is one of those rides that usually gives good rides. Sometimes it gives mediocre rides and sometimes gives rides that you will never forget. I have had rides on Fury that took my breath away and made me feel like death could be imminent on that first right bank. So cute how you involve your kids in your coastering. I might be the only parent ever that had to drag my kids to parks riding coasters but when they talk about it now as adults, they remember it fondly.
We rode that in 2022 so we skipped it for time. We did have a long drive to Dollywood so we were just gonna hit her new creds and rides on the best coasters
Carowinds is my home park so I personally refuse to call intimidator anything else. Also if you didn’t know the two trains on after burn are completely different experiences and the red train runs slower and rougher while the blue train runs fast and smoother.
My lil girl just got her credits on Hurler, Carolina Cyclone, Flying Cobras, and Goldrusher. She was so excited to ride her first coaster that goes upside down! She has been wanting to ride Fury since she was 2. Still not tall enough yet! Next year we are going to Ohio and she can ride Millennium Force!
IVE SAID IT ON YOUR CHANNEL BEFORE AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN, CAROWINDS MISSED AN AC/DC OPPORTUNITY. Side note, I think the best way to describe how it feels to ride Fury is simply the guitar solo of “free bird.” I will not elaborate
I drove 6 hours from VA to Greenville SC to meet up with a friend, then drove the hour up to Carowinds the next day. For me Copperhead Strike was actually my favorite at the park, number 2 behind P305. It has decent inversions (I'm an inversion nut), ehhh launches (I still like them better than a lift), and great pops of ejector airtime. It also helps that the trains on it is the most comfortable I've been on, but I'm 6'4 280lbs. Fury was too much of a thigh crusher for someone of my size to enjoy it, I had bruises for a week after that.
Great video. Thunderstruck is def the unofficial song for Thunder Striker. My B&M hot take: Alpengeist and Montu are the prettiest but Raptor, Talon, Batman and Afterburn are all better layouts. No losers here though, they all rule.
Carowinds needs to nix the Vortex, or at least rename/retheme it "The Nutcracker" and sell themed jockstraps. They should dump The Hurler and Night Hawk as well.
Went there mid June for the first time. Vortex wasn't bad for what it is, and I know I'm in the minority but Intimidator was better than Fury, Except at night, Fury was like a totally different ride than in the day. Both Hawks were terrible, along with the boomerang and Cyclone. Agree about Hurler, not rough but not fun. I think you're crazy bc Copperhead Strike was so fun with the slow hangtime moments
I worked at Vortex and scrambler in 2013 best job i ever had. Then Carowinds killed my baby thunder road years after i quit. If they ever try to remove vortex i might protest lol
Carolina is considered "First in Flight", while Ohio is considered the "birthplace of aviation". Wright brothers born in Ohio, but flew their first plane in North Carolina, I believe. The only thing that's important is who's "best in flight" (aka which state has the best coasters) and that is without a doubt Ohio 😎
Hey, I can do the "two states at the same time" thing right in my town! Right between the pot dispensary and the place that used to be a crazy mortgage broker with conspiracy signs! woot (you can probably guess which side is Massachusetts and which side is New Hampshire)
Sophie get back in my state. Sophie-steps out into the other state. Saw it coming but still funny. Glad you are managing to get her to come aound on Fury-adds Carrowinds to the US road trip list(next is Japan-hello Eijunika,Thunder Dlphin and Flying Dinosaur).
as far as woodstock goes i'd say yes it needs 2 trains. i got the credit for it in 2021 when it was running 1 train, and man was it miserable. i think i waited close to 90 mins to ride it, and that was just after rope drop.
Honestly Fury is boring... I think Orion is pretty much exactly the same. The speed is awesome but compared to 200'' coasters the airtime sucks on Giga's all around.
Exactly!!!!!! I like leviathan and Orion, but I would probably rank at least half of the B&M hypers ahead of them, even though I love leviathan and Orion.
Really didn’t enjoy back row rides on Copperhead last year overall. It was underwhelming like you’ve mentioned before. But I rode it row 1 this month and it’s ABSOLUTELY a front row ride. Was running smooth and the ejector was nice. Plus the park was dead so we got to lap it twice. I’ve learned that row 1 is the Jekyll version 😎. Also, In-trim-adator did NOT hit the mid course brakes on my visit. Its a totally different ride without the trims
I was underwhelmed with Fury, I think it got overhyped. I'm a sucker for a coaster with a view so just looking at the parking lot put it down pretty far in my rankings.
You were really considering robbing Sophie of a credit for being a little rough? You're supposed to ride it once for the credit, take an Advil if necessary, and move on with your day
Carowinds and Canada’s Wonderland have so many mid to low tier coasters that could be expended for something better. They’re so close to being elite parks. They just need one more elite coaster to up their lineup. Though I guess CW is getting Alpenfury so Carowinds is definitely the next in line besides Kings Island.
Because we are gluttons for true punishment, we have ridden many, many Boo Blasters out there. Kings Dominion's was probably the best because of the queue theming. Kings Island's is probably the worst because so many elements were broken or not working, surprising considering how solid Kings Island operations usually is. Carowinds' was probably more fun than Hurler.
I would have thought Sophie, confused fury, and thunder striker. Had I not watched the video. To each her own.😂 I watched the whole video to get a nighthawk review. Dang! I love that thing. You hawk haters are crazy.😅
Man, your daughter is so lucky… When I was her age, I was at zero coasters… I’m now 41 and closing in on 300… I’m guessing she’s already surpassed me… So jealous lol… Anyway, yeah hurler is just kind of a boring coaster not all that painful just boring. The Carolina coasters are horrible. Carolina cobra and Carolina cyclone hated both of them… My ride on afterburn was exceedingly shaky… My friend really disliked it… I think his favorite coaster in the park was thunder striker… Mine has to be fury 325… But copperhead strike is a very close second.
are you going to kings dominion and busch gardens williamsburg on this trip? edit nvm finished the video - i hope sophie enjoys her 300th at dollywood! when will you all be visiting the virginia parks next?
I don't know what it is with the restraints on those hang&bangs. As there seem to be more than just the two obvious variants (the classic OTSR as on Kiddy Hawk) and the top-hinged lapbar as on Steel Lasso. I basically found out the hard way on my road trip. At Carowinds, they made me stand up to that measurement sign, and I was just shy of being too tall to ride. But when I sat down, there was no way to get the restraint to latch properly, as it was stapling down on my shoulders. (Nothing giving me sleepless nights as I was able to ride it some years ago) A few days later, I tried riding the very same model (I think they are even from the same year) at Wild Adventures in Georgia - and to my total surprise, despite visually having the same restraints, they hadn't posted a max rider height, and the restraints fit comfortably. Sure, they also had the same head-bang potential that Kiddy Hawk has, and they don't give you the same freedom as the top-hinged lapbar design, but I would have never expected there to be such a big difference.
I went here last summer - first time I've been to a theme park, despite being a huge coaster nerd (technical stuff and whatnot). Ended up only riding the arrow mine train and the Vekoma junior invert - god that thing was awful. Mine train was good though.
