[Axel]

Millennium Force has never been the #1 steel coaster in any poll that actually has meaning, but yes, there should be little doubt that this will be a superior ride to Millennium Force.

Leviathan is in my top 5 (Millennium Force and I-305 are just outside my top 10) and this looks better. We won't know till we ride of course.

I don't think many would agree with your ratings, or your perception of "polls that have meaning". There is only one industry recognized poll that has meaning... Amusement Today GTAs (in addition to the "$ reality" poll of ridership figures).

I think there is an excellent chance that Fury 325 might end up as #1 steel but I bet it won't happen overnight... far more voting coaster fans visit the CF flagship Cedar Point and it's 16 coasters than will ever make the trip to Charlotte. The real coaster enthusiasts obviously will come as will the regional populace. After a year when a larger percentage of voting enthusiasts from around the world have ridden F325 is when we'll see if we get the expert vote.

[Littlegiles]

The trains are the same as Leviathan, Apollo's Chariot, Raging Bull, Nitro, Silver Star, etc. They are fine.

That's cool. I've ridden Apollo's Chariot and like those trains.

I've looked at the video mutliple times (I'm the only one right??) and I just can't see where there would be trims on this coaster. Only thing I see are multiple brake sections on the brake run at the end. I think this thing is going to be "all out" till the end!

[pproteinc]

Have they made any wallpapers yet? May have to create my own.

[Jonathan]

Millennium Force has never been the #1 steel coaster in any poll that actually has meaning, but yes, there should be little doubt that this will be a superior ride to Millennium Force.

Leviathan is in my top 5 (Millennium Force and I-305 are just outside my top 10) and this looks better. We won't know till we ride of course.

I don't think many would agree with your ratings, or your perception of "polls that have meaning". There is only one industry recognized poll that has meaning... Amusement Today GTAs (in addition to the "$ reality" poll of ridership figures).

I think there is an excellent chance that Fury 325 might end up as #1 steel but I bet it won't happen overnight... far more voting coaster fans visit the CF flagship Cedar Point and it's 16 coasters than will ever make the trip to Charlotte. The real coaster enthusiasts obviously will come as will the regional populace. After a year when a larger percentage of voting enthusiasts from around the world have ridden F325 is when we'll see if we get the expert vote.

If by "recognized by the industry" you mean "recognized by the parks that win the awards every year", then sure. Mitch Hawker's poll has also been recognized by quite a few parks over the years and is a much more reputable survey. I'm not sure what ridership figures have to do with anything but if that's the metric we are using then Viper at Magic Mountain has got to rank up there somewhere as one of the best coasters in the world.

I can say with utmost confidence that Fury 325 will never be #1 on the Golden Ticket Awards, because the setup of the GTAs simply does not allow for a park like Carowinds to do that well. Popularity plays too much of a factor meaning there is a snowball effect, which is why rides like Millennium Force continue to rank so high. I don't think I know ANYONE who has been on let's say more than 200 coasters and considers Millennium Force to be the best steel coaster in the world. The much more objective Mitch Hawker poll tells a very different story.

[Capler]

Honestly, the vast majority of responses on TPR were positive. Remember that is a huge site and with those numbers you are going to have haters. They are the kids who have nothing positive to say about your new bike only because they did not get one for Christmas. Unfortunately the world is filled with those people. If it is not all about them, -they mad.

[Capler]

Millennium Force has never been the #1 steel coaster in any poll that actually has meaning, but yes, there should be little doubt that this will be a superior ride to Millennium Force.

Leviathan is in my top 5 (Millennium Force and I-305 are just outside my top 10) and this looks better. We won't know till we ride of course.

I don't think many would agree with your ratings, or your perception of "polls that have meaning". There is only one industry recognized poll that has meaning... Amusement Today GTAs (in addition to the "$ reality" poll of ridership figures).

I think there is an excellent chance that Fury 325 might end up as #1 steel but I bet it won't happen overnight... far more voting coaster fans visit the CF flagship Cedar Point and it's 16 coasters than will ever make the trip to Charlotte. The real coaster enthusiasts obviously will come as will the regional populace. After a year when a larger percentage of voting enthusiasts from around the world have ridden F325 is when we'll see if we get the expert vote.

If by "recognized by the industry" you mean "recognized by the parks that win the awards every year", then sure. Mitch Hawker's poll has also been recognized by quite a few parks over the years and is a much more reputable survey.

I can say with utmost confidence that Fury 325 will never be #1 on the Golden Ticket Awards, because the setup of the GTAs simply does not allow for a park like Carowinds to do that well. Popularity plays too much of a factor meaning there is a snowball effect, which is why rides like Millennium Force continue to rank so high. I don't think I know ANYONE who has been on let's say more than 200 coasters and considers Millennium Force to be the best steel coaster in the world. The much more objective Mitch Hawker poll tells a very different story.

I agree Jon. i figured that out years ago concerning popularity. If you are not in certain circles, they won't even discuss your park. Carowinds has always been on the outside. Even though Top Gun is probably one of the top three inverts, people won't acknowledge it as being such. Same with Intimidator.

[Atombomb]

Intimadator is currently in the top 10 steel coasters on amusement today

[Jonathan]

I agree Jon. i figured that out years ago concerning popularity. If you are not in certain circles, they won't even discuss your park. Carowinds has always been on the outside. Even though Top Gun is probably one of the top three inverts, people won't acknowledge it as being such. Same with Intimidator.

It doesn't really have anything to do with anyone intentionally slighting Carowinds or other small parks; it's just the way the ballots are tabulated. For example, let's say you have only been to one park in your life. Let's say it is Carowinds. So, you submit your Golden Ticket ballot and your steel coaster rankings are this:

1. Intimidator
2. Afterburn
3. Goldrusher
4. Cyclone
5. Ricochet
6. Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie
7. Flying Ace Aerial Chase
8. Nighthawk
9. Carolina Cobra

Your ballot then gets just as much weight as any other. The assumption is that you like Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie better than Leviathan, Millennium Force, Bizarro, Expedition Ge Force, Shambalah, etc. But you don't necessarily like Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie better than those rides because you've never even been on those rides.

Let's say 300 Golden Ticket voters visit Cedar Point. Now let's say 10% of them find Millennium Force to be the best steel coaster they've ever ridden. That's 30 first place votes. Now let's say 50 Golden Ticket voters visit Carowinds and HALF of them find Fury 325 to be the best steel coaster they've ever ridden. Sorry, that's only 25 first place votes. Millennium Force still wins.

The Golden Tickets are fine for what they are, which is a chance for the big name parks to annually pleasure themselves in the main industry trade publication. For anyone who is seeking a more statistically relevant comparison of different roller coasters, though, the Mitch Hawker poll, while having many flaws of its own and being subject to manipulation, is the best thing available right now.

[Carolinacoasterguy]

Does anyone know if the announcment is on YouTube?

[KenB]

I am officially calling this the tallest non-gimmicky-bull**** roller coaster in the world.

We need T-shirts with this slogan.

[Jonathan]

I think we've got our Carowinds Connection opening day shirts.

[tylerSC]

Sounds like it was a great announcement and a great day at Carowinds for those who attended. I am very excited to watch the construction in the coming months and looking forward to riding next year. Looks like an awesome coaster coming and many thanks to Cedar Fair.

[DarK Ei8ht]

Does anyone know if the announcment is on YouTube?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TzULENCeGU

What an awesome looking ride. Hopefully won't be too crowded opening day.

[KingHippo1]

I proclaimed a wing. Swing and a miss. I suck. But I'm loving this. Working all day with a dying phone and manipulating my way to find the dets. Longest steel coaster in NA. Stoked and not butt hurt. So proud. I remember white water falls as the new thing. Now we get this. This is the start and not the end.

[double_a2013]

Yeah but TPR thinks it's boring.

By the way, here are all the news articles posted online so far: https://news.google.com/news?ncl=d5KJR_ ... CDEQqgIwAQ

Yeah, TPR has got into total hater mode. Ya know, since the world's new largest coaster is coming to their home parks and all.