Share thoughts, photos, and reviews from visits to Carowinds or any other amusement park
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By Sean978
#94172
Day 6 Part 1

Moving past the travesty of a park that is Six Flags St. Louis, we hit the road and headed for Kansas City and the only Cedar Fair Park on our trip, Worlds of Fun.

We entered through Oceans of Fun and made our way to the park's Morgan hyper, Mamba.

Last year we rode Steel Force at Dorney, and I have to say that this felt exactly the same, forceless.

That being said, it's still pretty fun, and definitely worth the credit.

This however, was awful and barely worth the credit. The Flying Cobras isn't awful to me because of the vest restraints, but this boomerang has normal OTSR's.

Moving into "Asia" we encountered Tony Hawk's Adequate Spin. Same as Pandemonium at St. Louis, but mirrored. I actually really enjoyed both of these.

We decided to get an early lunch and sample the local cuisine. Where better than Panda Express?

After our lunch Gabe wasn’t feeling well, so we headed back to our cabin for some much needed rest.

Returning to the park around 4 p.m. we were feeling much better and ready to tackle the rest of the credits. We started with the wacky worm at the park.

You know the drill. It's embarrassing, but it's worth it for the credit.

To be continued…
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By Sean978
#94173
Day 6 Part 2

Moving towards Patriot we decided to ride Windhawk. No? Steelseeker?
It gave a great ride, and the usual amazing view. One thing we noticed was the sheer amount of open space between the road and Steel Hawk. You could seriously fit all of Fury's layout in that space.

Next up was the park's B&M invert. These are rarely a letdown, although they do kind of get repetitive after so many. I'm happy to say that Patriot had a good, forceful layout.

Finishing up the park's credits (Sort of) we boarded Timber Wolf. Short story: It wasn’t really awful, bit definitely not worthy of a re-ride.

"Where's Prowler?", I hear you ask. It was closed. But we did get the Boomerang, so I guess it was all worth it anyway.

Overall, I'd say that while it is my least favorite Cedar Fair park, Worlds of Fun is still is an amazingly beautiful park with a some notable rides and a very confusing parking lot.
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By gabed
#94174
Day 7 Part 1 - After nearly a week of coasters and tourist draws, the final park of the righteous trip approached. Nestled in the Ozarks, Silver Dollar City would be the grand finale to the epic road trip. Leaving our cabin at Worlds of Fun behind in the morning, we started the three and a half hour trek.

After a Hardee's breakfast and a brief nosebleed we were in the park.



Sean and I were both immediately awestruck by the park's beauty and terrain. Every inch of space was covered with shade which was very appreciated. The terrain will be one of the first things first-time visitors notice. If you thought Dollywood was hilly, you haven't seen anything yet. Anyone who's out of shape (which is very much me) can expect a good workout from this park. Also if you're a first-time visitor, you'll see how insanely difficult this park is to navigate.



That's not to say that there aren't some really cool sights to be seen. Still, even with a map it took us a long time to find the attractions, but nonetheless we found our first ride of the day.



Silver Dollar City does not waste a single opportunity, which is evident no matter where you are in the park.



While this may not be the best picture, it does show some of the key elements of theming throughout Wildfire's queue line. Already impressed, we took advantage of the short wait time and hopped in line for the front. Not too long after, the steam began and the train dispatched.





Even with the ride's relatively short layout, it packs a reasonable punch. My first B&M Sitdown, I had a great time on Wildfire. The pacing feels natural and not rushed at all despite the ride's shortness.
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By gabed
#94175
Day 7 Part 2 - With Wildfire ridden, we went off struggling to navigate the park before ending up at Powder Keg.



Just like the previous coaster, Powder Keg's queue was themed beyond belief. Not to mention that it was all shaded too, which was a massive plus. While the lines was much longer here, the operations were fantastic which got us on the ride in under fifteen minutes.





Powder Keg is a very odd ride. Most conventions you would expect to see on launched coasters get thrown out the window here. That's not to say the ride isn't good, because it very much is. The duration was much longer than I had expected, even if a lot of it was taken up by the ride's chain lift. All in all, a solid coaster that fits in very well with the park it's located in. One final thing, I love the little things that the park did to theme the ride. The decorative back spike and animatronic window shutters that deploy when a train launches are awesome.

Next ride of the day was a pretty obvious choice.



A ride I've been hearing about for years. Given the two RMCs I had already been on, I was very excited.



The ride certainly did not disappoint, great moments of air all throughout the layout. The ninety degree over banked curve was insane and the double barrel roll was smooth as could be. Despite this, I still think I'd place this at the bottom behind Storm Chaser and Lightning Rod.

Taking a break from ride's for a little bit, we looked for a place to eat before finding a good looking pizza place.



Why can't all park food be this good?
Last edited by gabed on September 10th, 2017, 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By gabed
#94176
Day 7 Part 3

After calzones, we headed back near Outlaw Run to give the park's Screamin' Swing a try. I had never been a big fan of the name "Giant Barn Swing", but it actually worked really well after seeing it in person. The theming was better and more immersive than Barnstormer and provided just as great of a ride.



Fire in the Hole, aka Blazing Fury at Dollywood was the next ride of the day. Very similar in both the storyline and settings used to Blazing Fury. The big difference here is the water ride ending which was a bit of a surprise.

The next hour or so was spent goofing off around the park as we looked for the next coaster to ride. Silver Dollar City, just like its sister park, has a lot of amazing shops to look around in.



Eventually we made our way to Thunderation and hopped aboard. I wasn't able to get any good pics of the ride due to how hidden it is, but it's a very unique and interesting Arrow mine train given how it uses the terrain to gain most of it's momentum. Thunderation also allows for some cool views of the park's upcoming coaster.



No clue what this thing is going to be, but there appeared to be Mack (or Gerstlauer) track in place at the site. No I didn't get a picture of that either because it too was hidden from sight.

With only one credit remaining, Sean and I went into the Grand Exposition area. The section is themed incredibly well all throughout. It's like a better version of Dollywood's "Country Fair" area. There's a lot of smaller, family oriented flats for the whole family to enjoy.



Didn't ride, but found the name reminiscent of home.



Standard kids coaster, not much to see here.
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By gabed
#94177
Day 7 Part 4
Rounding up the seventh day, we walked over to the park's newest area, Fireman's Landing. We were only intending on riding the area's S&S tower and then leaving, but we got a little distracted.



I don't care how old you are, this thing is awesome. We spent way too much time here than we should have and I don't regret any of it. Just a blast and an awesome time, nothing beats firing foam balls out of air cannons at people below.

After that welcomed distraction, we finally made it to the tower.



I've always preferred the smaller S&S towers and this thing was no exception. Great pops of air at the top and excellent theming as well. Once our ride had come to an end, we headed to the entrance to wrap up the seventh day.
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By gabed
#94178
Day 8 Part 1

After a week of fun and rides, the last day had finally come. Taking plenty of time to sleep in and get a good breakfast at our hotel, we headed back to Silver Dollar City at 9:00. The park did not open until 9:30 but we wanted to ensure ourselves a spot in the first tour of Marvel Caverns.

If you're not sure what Marvel Caverns are, it's okay because I had no clue either. Shows how much of the park's history I know. Anyways, much like Knotts, the park originally started with one attraction which had nothing to do with amusement rides. In Silver's case, it was a massive cave that measured over two hundred feet high. The attraction became so popular that new owners, the Herschend family built numerous shops and eventually an amusement park to keep guests entertained while they waited.

As the time approached, Sean and I wandered down into the cave with our tour group.





The hourlong tour was amazing. Do NOT miss this if you ever make it out to Silver Dollar City. The sights are absolutely breathtaking and beautiful, pictures cannot do it justice. Not for the claustrophobic or anxious, but an incredible experience nonetheless.

As our train pulled out of the cave and parked, Sean and I headed on to the rest of the park to get our final rides of the trip in. The first thing we decided to do was the park's log flume.





First time I've ever been soaked on a log flume, but it's also the best flume I've been on so I'll give it a free pass. The theming is constant all throughout to the point where the ride feels like it is part of the natural landscape.

The last two rides would be on Wildfire and Outlaw Run.

Silver Dollar City is an amazing park. And while it may not be a very popular opinion, I preferred it over Dollywood. While the two parks compliment each other very well, the edge has to be given to Silver Dollar City. There is not even one missed opportunity in this park. There are parts of Disney that didn't even feel this immersive, the effort put into making this place feel true and authentic is downright mind blowing.

In the end, it's been a great trip. But unfortunately, after 8 days, 37 coasters, 6 parks, and over 1,000 miles, that's a wrap.
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By Jonathan
#94184
Sounds like a great trip! I used to agree that Silver Dollar City was the better park, but some of Dollywood's recent additions might have pushed it ahead for me. Really excited to see the details on the Mack coaster for next year; it could be something amazing.