[carowindsman6654]

You can see two holes drilled just past the four. It's in the exact same pattern as the first part of the lift hall on Diamondback. However, they're going in the opposite direction of the parking lot. Weird. Maybe it will go under the bridge afterall. Wishful thinking though.

[b&mcoaster1095]

I think it's more of a rectangular shape with the continuation of the lift hill on the long side. The next lift hill footers would be rotated around those four at a 90 degree angle either direction.

[carowindsman6654]

The part of the parking lot that is closed off is to the right of the four holes. The two holes that you see also drilled are to the left of the four holes. You can see the two holes between the dark sections of dirt. I'll get a pic up of what i'm talking about.

[carowindsman6654]

The red boxes are where the holes are dug:



-My guess is that the station for the coaster is going to be in the same area where the station for the log flume was. The coaster will start off going towards the Dora train then take a quick 90 degree turn to the left and go up the lift hill. This is just a guess though so take it with a grain of salt.

[b&mcoaster1095]

Oh okay, I see what you are saying now. I didn't see that before. They look slightly closer together. Could they possibly be for the station? Do stations have V-supports?

Edit: Yes, they do. Look towards the extreme right side at the station.

[Jay]

Listen they did not block off the parking lot for no reason, use some common sense people.

[carowindsman6654]

Good point B&Mcoaster. Could be for the station too. I'm not saying it won't go over the parking lot. Of course it will. I'm just wondering which direction the coaster will go up the lift hill.

[Jay]

Okay enough of breaking down every tiny hole the park is making and get to some interesting stuff:

On my way from Coney Island to Kings Island I took a little detour.. its about 6-7 miles off of the Cincinnati beltway in the middle of nowhere.


Yep I'm here.


Here is a picture of my awesome rental car a 2009 Ford Focus and .. oh wait look track!


Four pretty large pieces.


Ready to go I hope?


Ooh this piece is quite curvy.


Here is a bunch of platforms and catwalk type things, used for oh say brake runs and transfer areas?


Closer look at the platforms. The label was the same as the ones on the track so its all going to the same place.


Speaking of label:


Top of a hill perhaps?


Based on the support connection I would say that this piece will be going up. Or down.


Bottom of a hill perhaps?


Lets move on to supports.. these are pretty big..


This strange looking piece will be the top, and connect to the lift track.


MOAR SUPPORTS.


Unfortunately NONE of the supports that I saw have paint on them.


There are a ton of smaller ones here.


Now class here is an overview of what we learned today.


Overview of the supports.


While I was driving around to get out I saw these pieces getting ready to be painted.


Crap I almost forgot the money shot.


A few notes:
* The track was all Fire Engine red (much like Vortex.. was..) where as Diamondback is more of a Blood red, so they aren't exactly the same color.
* The yellow track seen in previous pics was NOWHERE to be found on my visit, my guess is that it has been shipped.
* The supports have no paint on them at all, not sure when that happens.
* There were no fences, borders or anything else to keep me out, I could have walked completely around the building probably, but alas I was too afraid.
* I tried to take a piece home but it did not fit in my carry-on. Sorry guys.

[derek_lentz]

^Suddenly my update doesn't seem all that interesting. I will give it a go anyway.
Here are a few more pics that I took this afternoon. I will try not to repeat too much.
Here is a close up pic of the drill and some of its handiwork.


We also have cement trucks onsite. They have begun pouring.

[b&mcoaster1095]

So we have footers?!

Is it me or has construction picked up ten-fold today?

[Jay]

It just seems that way since there have been literally 4 update posts today alone.

[b&mcoaster1095]

I think that's a record!

But also rebar arrived today and concrete is being poured, something we've been waiting on for months!

[Wormy]

Jay, now THAT is a collection of images worth scrolling through. Thanks for the detour.

Yours too, Derek.

[MarkD]

Thanks all of you for the pic updates. J you're great. Funny how you would think that the fabrication shop would be fenced in but who is going to come steal a peice of track or supports?

I have been thinking of the splash down we may or may not get. We all know it really doesn't add to the ride itself but for the public and media watching it does make for some excitment. To me it is like all the former BORG items scattered under the ride. It did absolutley nothing for the ride but did make it visually appealing just to sit and watch.

One question keeps popping in my head. Does anyone here know how deep a footer has to be in relation to hieght, g-forces, etc? I was looking at other rebar / footers from other projects and found that the ones Carowinds are putting in are quite deep.

[John43221]

About the Splashdown:

When Kings Island decided to put one in, there had already been a large pond there (the last remaining natural-looking body of water in the park), so in keeping with the aesthetics of that, I feel thats why they decided on a splashdown, though it does virtually nothing for the ride itself.

I'm going to think that Carowinds will not be getting one now, considering the park does still have a body of water and also as a space concern, Plus, I feel that ground work and piping for one would already have been started. I'm not sure if any landscaping around the ride will feature water, but Im thinking no at this point. We'll have to see what happens in the next month before we know for sure.