[Edwardo]

. I have friends who work at both converted coasters. The one at CP (apparently. Again I'm not completely sure if it's B.S. or not) but I heard that Rougarou did not have as many riders as anticipated, thus did not possibly provide much of an R.O.I. Again, I don't work there, so I'm not completely sure if this is true or not.

Yeah I can confirm that whoever said that is incorrect. Rougarou’s ridership was where the company expected it. It isn’t as if it was some major change to the ride a la Steel Vengeance will be, basically they purchased 3 new trains and modified the station and brakes, and had the controls updated. The ride’s line moved much faster than Mantis, which always had a line due to poor operations and the fact that it’s harder to load a stand up bs floorless coaster. The company was happy with both conversions.

As for our Vortex, I’d imagine it’s likely to happen on an off year. It’s not a ‘new addition’ and even a small bump in ridership can justify the cost, especially when a floorless coaster is often cheaper and easier to maintain in the long run. Plus the trains on the two smaller Vortices are shorter, and there’s not as much station to convert. Even from a purely maintenance standpoint, it’s apparently worth it from what I’m told.

Also the park as a whole has been trying to modify their notoriously uncomfortable rides into something more comfortable. See: Ghostrider, SV, TT, maverick, Timberwolf, etc.

[FamousAmos]

Thanks for confirming about the other two. I wasn't sure how accurate anyone was. I figured it they were just guessing, but wasn't sure.

[Edwardo]

It definitely wasn’t a situation where either were getting huge bumps in ridership, and in 2015 & 16 when I was there the waits to ride were minimal for Rougarou. But it wasn’t the plan for either to be massive bumps in attendance or ridership. I will say I was shocked at Vortex West getting converted till I heard the reasons behind it.

And esp for Rougarou, the line moved so much faster as a floorless because it was simply getting on the train and bucking in. No multiple unlocks for height adjustment.

[arby]

Your explanation makes perfect sense, Edwardo. Eventually converting Vortex clearly fits into their Fun Forward strategy, making it a ride that more families can do together vs a standup.

[BS1983CLT]

So let's say, we do get a coaster in 19'... What does everyone think it will be?

Woodie?
RMC Hurler?
Launched?
Wing Rider?

So glad this thread is getting the attention that it deserves the last few days!

[gabed]

Wooden seems the most obvious to me. Cedar Fair has recently been adding rides that are necessary to each given park, rather than rides that are popular. Case in point, Banshee being installed in 2014, nearly ten years after the last B&M invert being built in America.

This said, Carowinds DESPERATELY needs a wooden coaster, more than any other park in the chain. I'm sure Cedar Fair has noticed this, and they're not afraid of adding newer wooden coasters as seen with Mystic Timbers last year.

[cadi40]

I would say a Wooden, RMC or a Launched.

[BS1983CLT]

I would love a GCI woodie with a 48-inch height requirement.

Have a height of 120ft. and over 3,500 ft. long!

Then the next coaster can be RMC Hurler...

Then we get our long-awaited launch coaster

[tarheel1231]

I get the feeling our next major “new” coaster won’t be until 2021, with a moderate water park addition next year and a Vortex conversion in 2020.

[uscbandfan]

A Vortex conversion isn't worthy of a major year announcement. IMHO.

[A-z coasters]

Here is what I made:

Red: possible Woodstock gliders locations.

Blue: new roller coaster location.

black: more possible land for roller coaster (please tell me if this is not possible)

[Edwardo]

The building in the black area is fairly new. I don’t see it going.

[A-z coasters]

I did some measuring with the land on google maps and compared it to some other GCI coasters and if carowinds does get a GCI, it will definitely be compacted (around the size of thunderhead), its definitely possible though.

[gabed]

Yeah I feel like a compact coaster is a given (if we ever do get a GCI). A ride like Prowler or Mystic Timbers just isn’t feasible anywhere in the park unless you did some major rearranging. I would imagine one with a footprint similar to Roar or American Thunder. Put the entrance in Crossroads and you’re all done

EDIT: Now I don’t have any insider info, but with how good the economy is going and with the four coasters this year, I will not be surprised if Cedar Fair does two more next year. If this is the case, CW and Carowinds seem like the most likely candidates.

[BelowThePeak]

I think a decent-sized wooden coaster would be plausible in the current Dinosaurs Alive area, especially if they decided to revamp the South Gate entrance and let the new coaster interact with it just like the Main Entrance. It probably wouldn't be an enormous wooden coaster, but I could see it being somewhere in the 3,000-3,500 ft. range if they utilized that space to its full potential.

The WWF area seems too small for a major new coaster, though. I'd rather they fill that area with a brand new water ride for the dry park instead.