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| Most Thrilling Roller Coasters at Carowinds © Katrena |
Although there are no weight restrictions on these rides, the seatbelts do have to fasten appropriately, and I have seen more than one parent have to sit some of these coasters out after waiting in line. The rides also have minimum height restrictions, and a few like the Nighthawk also have maximum height restrictions. Do your homework before standing in line – they will check height.
My kids have ridden all of the following aggressive thrill steel roller coasters at Carowinds, and I am providing the general consensus from our family with a few tips along the way. I have taught my kids that safety is the number one priority. We always make sure that minimum height limits are met, and I tell my kids that if anything does not feel exactly right with the safety checks or on the ride to immediately say something. No ride is worth one's life. If your kids are trying a bigger roller coaster for the first time, you might suggest a seat near the middle or fairly close to the front but not on the front row.
I would not recommend these rides for kids who have certain medical conditions or who are scared to go on them. An empty stomach and empty bladder are also helpful. My kids were excited about riding these roller coasters, but each one has her favorite.
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| The Intimidator Roller Coaster at Carowinds © Katrena |
If you are looking for tall, fast, and a long ride that will make you feel like screaming like an idiot but will probably take your breath away from the first hill, this ride is for you. This is one you can see several miles away from I-77 and is probably one of the most popular rides at the park for those seeking an aggressive thrill.
Since this ride is so popular, they often have three trains on the track, and the workers are quite efficient at moving the line. Although a lot of people head to this ride first, we tend to wait because the line for the Intimidator usually moves quickly. There are quite a few lines for other rides that crawl later in the day that we would rather ride earlier. However, if you travel to Carowinds and feel like you would be completely disappointed not to get a chance to ride this one, you might want to hit this one early.
Generally speaking, you won't have a choice where you sit, but I suppose you could let people in front of you until they are seating people on your desired row. Be prepared to store hats and other items that might come loose while riding because you probably won't have much left that isn't securely fastened to your body after riding this ride with the big red track.
The Intimidator makes you feel sort of like a loner. Two seats are close and the next two are far apart, making the view much better than it might be if all the seats were directly in front of each other. Not that you are going to be looking at the view after speeding down that first hill. You might think that a huge roller coaster like this would have a shoulder harness. Think again. Individual lap belts hold you and the kids in place. Yep...it's pretty frightening to most people.
The ride is simple and fast with multiple hills. After a couple of minutes into the ride, you might think it is almost done, but hold on because quite a few more hills can grab your gut on the way back to the beginning. Lots of times I scream on roller coasters. Frankly, on this one I'm just concentrating on breathing and hoping I don't utter something ugly under my breath that my kids can hear.
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| Carolina Cyclone Roller Coaster at Carowinds © Katrena |
I remember when this ride debuted. I was there the first summer it opened, when it was black and orange and the line wound from the sidewalk, through the downstairs, and up the stairs to the track. This was THE ride back in the day because it was the first to take riders upside down four times. I think it is still a fun ride. The last few times we have visited Carowinds, the Cyclone has had a very short line and wait times were minimal when compared to most other coasters.
This one has a couple of loops and corkscrews and crosses over the sidewalk, so you can get an excellent view of the ride before going on it. This one does have shoulder harnesses, and shorter kids may have their head surrounded by the harness. As the train moves riders from side to side, one's head may hit against the harness, making it a bit uncomfortable. It seemed to me that seats near the front and middle have less of the side-to-side movements than the seats near the back. Taller kids may not experience that issue.
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| Carolina Cobra Roller Coaster at Carowinds © Katrena |
For those people as old as I am, you might remember White Lightening at Carowinds years ago that had one loop that riders would ride forwards, and then the ride would stop and the train would run the loop backwards. That ride is no longer at Carowinds, but the Cobra reminds me a little of that ride.
After riders are strapped in with shoulder harnesses, the train starts in reverse as riders travel backwards and stop for a few seconds. It feels like a long wait, but I'm sure it is not. Then the break releases, and the train shoots riders through a loop and cobra roll, up a hill to a dead stop and then backwards.
For me, going forwards was kind of fun. Going backwards was okay too. But stopping suddenly at the end of the forward part made my brain think we were simply going to keep going off the end of the track. I wanted to put on the brake sort of like a driver's ed teacher would apply the brake from the passenger side if you are getting ready to drive over a cliff. I've ridden this ride once. I'm not sure I can muster up the mojo to ride it again.
Any roller coaster that goes forward and backward on a track is at a disadvantage regarding the line. They can only have one train on the track at a time, so even if the line seems short compared to some of the other roller coasters, keep in mind that they cannot load a second or third train while another one is moving on the track. This might be one to try early in the day if you particularly want to ride it.
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| Nighthawk Roller Coaster at Carowinds © Katrena |
This coaster was previously called the Borg. I'm going to have to go on second hand reviews on this one. My older kids and their dad have ridden this. The ashen look on their dad's face after riding it was enough for me. My daughters have not asked to ride this one again, partially because of the slow moving line and partially because it is pretty darn scary. They were just above the minimum height requirement, but my kids are pretty brave and tend to want to try every challenge put their way.
The nighthawk is unique in that riders lie down in the coaster. It does take a while to load because each rider must be secured while lying down. This ride will take you headfirst into a variety of twists and turns, much of it while lying face down. This one would be most suited to those who are going for a very aggressive thrill. I would probably ride quite a few other coasters first before checking to see if the kids would want to tackle this one. It is not as fast as some of the others, but the unknown factor due to the position more than makes up for that.
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| Afterburn Roller Coaster at Carowinds © Katrena |
This ride used to be called Top Gun. I tend to call it Top Gun to this day; Afterburn sounds like a gastrointestinal condition to me. As you wind up the stairs in the queue and at the end of the ride while you wait on the track, you might be able to see some of the dinosaur exhibit to the left. The line doesn't move as fast as the Intimidator, but workers have to check to see that seatbelts are secured to the harnesses. They typically have more than one train on the track.
This inverted coaster will take riders around the outside of the loops and picks up some pretty decent speed – around 60 mph. It is packed with lots of action with interesting twists and turns as it takes riders through a space drop, vertical loop, immelman, batwing, flat spin, and spiral, even going underground. If I had to pick a favorite coaster at Carowinds, this would be the one because it can be great fun to ride with a line that moves pretty well.
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| Vortex Roller Coaster at Carowinds © Katrena |
The vortex is a stand-up roller coaster. You can get a great close-up view of this one from the Carolina Skytower. The line tends to move slowly, and much of the queue is located out in the sun. It is also located pretty far away from many of the other rides, but the scrambler is close to this ride if you have shorter kids who cannot ride this one.
When riders load the Vortex, everyone straddles something that resembles a bicycle seat. Then they will lock the seats. I would highly recommend keeping your knees slightly bent before they lock the seats unless you want to sing soprano. Shorter kids will notice that they are just hanging in the air when the seats are locked. The workers have to manually push down on their seats to adjust them before starting the ride. Make sure the kids know to bend their knees slightly as the seat is adjusted.
This ride was another trailblazer of its time as it was the first stand up coaster in the South. My kids particularly like being at or near the front or at least on the outside seat on this ride. This ride is pretty short, so there is usually a wait at the end as the next train is still being loaded.
There you have it - these are the big ones at Carowinds. I did not include wooden coasters and high thrill rides in this review. Readers might also wish to read some of my other related articles:
- Fury 325 – Carowinds Builds World's Tallest and Fastest Giga Coaster for Spring 2015
- Favorite Moderate Thrill Roller Coasters and Rides at Carowinds
- How Tall Do You Have to be to Ride the Intimidator?
- Carowinds – Practical Tips for Enjoying NC/SC Amusement Park with Kids
- Love 2 Travel With Kids
- Travel NC With Kids
- Wildflower Bouquets (printable scavenger hunts, tips, articles, and more)
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