[chknwing]

To me it continues to look more and more like this is going to be extremely close in layout to Leviathan. I can pretty much picture how the entire thing might look in my head at this point.

hopefully longer though, thats the only problem with leviathan. its over before it starts

[tylerSC]

To me it continues to look more and more like this is going to be extremely close in layout to Leviathan. I can pretty much picture how the entire thing might look in my head at this point.

hopefully longer though, thats the only problem with leviathan. its over before it starts

What is the length of Leviathan and what is the length of Intimidator? Maybe the new coaster will be a bit longer.

[chknwing]

To me it continues to look more and more like this is going to be extremely close in layout to Leviathan. I can pretty much picture how the entire thing might look in my head at this point.

hopefully longer though, thats the only problem with leviathan. its over before it starts

What is the length of Leviathan and what is the length of Intimidator? Maybe the new coaster will be a bit longer.

Leviathan is about 100 feet longer, which is all in the hill. but the fact that its going 92 mph makes it seem like a short ride as opposed to intimadator.

[bgwfreak]

Per Carowinds Twitter feed Chickie's and Pete's opens Saturday.

[MarkD]

For those of you who know, how much does it cost to run a Webcam that refreshes every minute and a half or so versus one that streams live video?

Is it in the hardware?

I ask because several parks do not have a webcam, ours is slower than paint drying and Earthcam is pretty awesome. All are free, at least to us they are.

[Wormy]

Dunno Mark, the park obviously doesn’t seem concerned with providing coverage for the moment. It would be nice to see the cameras get a hardware upgrade, or at least a settings adjustment on the existing ones - if you remember five years ago, the stationary Intimidator cam was squeezing out at least a couple of frames per second:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvC7YUsSdSs

They had at least two additional alternating cameras dedicated to that project, as I hope they’ll do again with another project of this size. Or not - if they switch those things around on an almost weekly basis like before, I may not be able to keep up.

[swampfox43]

Dunno Mark, the park obviously doesn’t seem concerned with providing coverage for the moment. It would be nice to see the cameras get a hardware upgrade, or at least a settings adjustment on the existing ones - if you remember five years ago, the stationary Intimidator cam was squeezing out at least a couple of frames per second:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvC7YUsSdSs

They had at least two additional alternating cameras dedicated to that project, as I hope they’ll do again with another project of this size. Or not - if they switch those things around on an almost weekly basis like before, I may not be able to keep up.

Hey, what a nice archive Wormy! For all we know we were over there at Fiesta Mall taking photos.

[arby]

For those of you who know, how much does it cost to run a Webcam that refreshes every minute and a half or so versus one that streams live video?

Is it in the hardware?

I ask because several parks do not have a webcam, ours is slower than paint drying and Earthcam is pretty awesome. All are free, at least to us they are.

I am no expert but I have installed and integrated surveillance systems at my former job. That was 10 years ago and some technology has changed since then. But back then, most of they systems I worked with allowed you to choose how you wanted to configure it. Since I was doing it for residential customers who wanted to check out their home from remote locations, they wanted live streaming.

However, I would assume that a commercial entity such as Carowinds would use other options in the base unit as it appears they have which would prevent live streaming. Quality bandwidth is not free and I can only imagine the cost of tens of thousands of views a month doing live streaming.

Looking at the source code for their page, it appears the base unit is generating a JPG image which is then loaded into the page with a refresh set for 1 minute:

cam1.BaseURL = "http://174.121.245.214/cfcc/WindSeeker_640.jpg";
cam1.theTimer = setTimeout('reloadImage(cam1)', 1);

A configuration like that would keep the bandwidth down to a reasonable level. So I don't think it has to do with limitations in the hardware but a purposefully configuration setting to allow us some insight into the park without them wasting a bunch of money on bandwidth. That is my 2 cents on the topic.

[pproteinc]

Well it's OPEN!!!! It's a very nice venue, way bigger than expected!! Prices are a little steep but that's to be expected.

[pproteinc]

Also it looks like Harmony Hall will have a brick front with of course that ugly siding on the rest of it. The upside to it is they're a lot of windows in the front as well, at least I think it's an upside.

[intaminboy]

When I was standing in line for Intimidator yesterday, they were putting some brick on the side of Harmony Hall as well. So, once it is finished, I bet a good portion of the walls will be brick.

[goldsteh]

I love Carowinds. Been a Season Pass holder since 1998. 2014 marks the first year were have not renewed our passes. Why? The food prices and entertainment options. As a season pass holder you want to be able to enjoy everything the park has to offer. Shows have been poor at best the last few years. The food options have been stale and below standards of other parks. The prices are way out of wack. Now seeing the prices for the the new C&P I rest my case. No one is going to pay those prices in the Carolina's. They are even higher than Dolloywood and they have the best food in the nation. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday's. What a complete waste of a nice space. Bring back the fried chicken! Why CF would want to associate with Chick-fil-A is beyond my imagination. Just my thoughts. Let's hope we get some fun food options and a dynamic coaster to make up for it. Then maybe we will come back in 2015.

[Capler]

goldsteh, I understand how you feel, but you have to pick and choose when attending any amusement park or entrainment venue. Amusement parks are expensive and few of us can afford everything they are offering. It starts with the prices. You get around that by buying season passes or looking for discount tickets. Parking is next, you car pool and split the cost, or park and walk a distance. On the food prices, you may have to pack a lunch, or wait till you leave to eat. Carowinds has never been known for it's shows. You should enjoy what you can and focus on that aspect of the park. I've been doing that for years at Carowinds. I only do the shows when I want to rest in air conditioning for a while. Seldom do I ever buy that over priced horrible food. Yet when I go to other parks and the food is good, I will gladly pay. I'm not cool with Chick-fil-A, so I don't really care when they are open or closed. I stopped eating there several years ago, and I actually love the food.

I do the same thing when I go to the movies. The $3 surcharge for the 3D glasses is not worth it to me, so I will usually see the regular version. The popcorn and soda is way too expensive, so I will usually pass because I seldom eat much of it anyway.

My point here is that you will seldom find a situation where everything works for you, when you don't just pick and choose what does and leave the rest for someone else. Enjoy the moment.

[Jay]

My hope is that with the addition of all the new food places, the food will get better as well. While the food should be good and cheap, it CAN'T be expensive and bad. Expensive and good is tolerable.

I had some pizza at Kings Dominion a few weeks ago that was actually really really good, and not too expensive. 6 dollars for two slices of pepperoni pizza, but I didn't buy a drink and opted for six tiny cups of water instead.

As for your fried chicken I would be willing to bet that a lot of the stuff that used to be in Country Kitchen will find its way into Harmony Hall. I imagine they are still working on the menu, since Harmony Hall still looks about a month or so left until it's finished.

EDIT:
I'm guilty of not having eaten in the park very much (other than the catered food at events) in the last 6-7 years. I had a Cajun Grilled Chicken Sandwich at Outer Hanks last year that was pretty good. I want to give Chickie and Pete's and Harmony Hall a try before I write them off. Hopefully they are good and that leads to me eating in the park more often.

[Edwardo]

Food prices at Carowinds seem to be in line with any other entertainment venue. Anyone been to a sporting event or concert lately?