[alecscrews]

Is the vortex satation an old monorail sation, I didn't know that

And where do you get those pictures of old carowinds from

Actually, the photo roxxxtar posted was on my "now defunct" Early Carowinds website. I got plenty more where those came from including more aerial construction shots from 1972. A favorite photo of many was the Goldrusher transfer track with 4 trains on it and the monorail station in the background. Yes, they had 4 trains for the Goldrusher! I've had quite a few emails asking if I were going to ever upload the website again. Well, the answer is. I'd like to. Can anybody suggest a good, cheap ISP?

Maybe 1and1. Not sure if they are cheap but i have them and its pretty good.

[RollerBee]

www.topclasshost.com has domains and hosting for $6 per month, or $70 a year. That is the cheapest I know of. Maybe one day I will do a Carowinds fansite again, but not for a couple years.

[MaximAgency]

Is the vortex satation an old monorail sation, I didn't know that

Nope. Vortex was built before the monorail left.

[Wormy]

Alright kids, go play in the yard while the geezers grab a couple of rockin' chairs on the porch, have some iced tea, and talk about the old days, back before Carowinds had electricity. (Kidding, I'm only 38.)

I apologize if this is off-topic, but I guess there's nothing else to do while waiting for the next deconstruction photos to show up.

Sorry Capler, I'm not sure if I remember the ducks, that may have been before my time. My first visit would have been '77. I remember this because my parents made my lie about my age if anyone asked so I could get in for the kiddie rate. I was six. I hated being demoted a year.

The monorail - I remember a little of the tour-guide speech the ops had to give. They pointed out when the train was changing speed, particularly when they really opened her up to about 30mph over the parking lot and back (the cool-off zone, whew, the breeze). They pointed out Scooby Doo, touting it as one of the country's few junior coasters, with some unexpected thrills. They mentioned the original plans for the park to be a complete resort and how this tied into the intended purpose of the monorail. And the whole state line thing. Hopefully others remember more than that. And yes, the monorail station sat in about the same spot the Vortex station occupies now; the upper floor of the station served the monorail, the bottom floor queued up for the Speedway cars. I believe the cars and Vortex share the same exit at least.

And what extreme rides these were, along with the Hillbilly Jalopies. Cars straddled on a rail on a track. Yes, you could steer, kind of, you had a few inches of play before the rail caught you from driving off. Yes, you could monitor your speed, from a complete stop to the speed of a lawn-mower. We waited in line for this. And you could bump, or be bumped, by the cars ahead of or behind you. You were an a-hole if you did this, as this behavior was highly frowned upon. Of course, now we have Vortex in its place instead, and now we think Vortex is boring.

All this really got the adrenaline going. It got you so warmed you could then go get on the Octopus! (Nobody called it the Witch Doctor, essentially a vertical Kaleidoscope).

Speaking of defunct rides, there was nothing like the Oaken Bucket. The objective of this one was to ride until you threw up. A dozen or so times spinning around pinned to a wall by centrifugal forces with the floor dropped out was usually enough to do the trick. There was a reason it was named after a bucket.

Then it was time for Turkey Shoot. Shooting the man in the arse to make him play piano was the bomb.

Then it was time to go in circles. Carousel - horses in a circle. Whirling Dervish - swings in a circle. Wild Bull - mini coaster with a hill in a circle. Flying Dutchman - planes flying in a circle. Wagon Wheel, up and down around a circle. Skytower - going up and back down in a circle. Kaleidoscope, as well as afore-mentioned Witch Doctor - twisting around in a circle. More Oaken Bucket - spinning in a circle. I believe the Sternwheeler travelled a circle. Meteorite - spinning around and upside down in a circle. Blackbeard's Revenge - room spinning around YOU upside down in a circle. White Lighting - looping upside down in a vertical circle. Frenzoid - more looping upside down in a circle. Goldrusher - underground circles. Cyclone - ending in a circle. Too old to ride the other Hanna-Barbera Land rides that spun kids in circles. Wishing I could have ridden the rides that were before my time, the ones what went in circles.

And then, Thunder Road.

And then it was time to go home and hit Independence, when it was the flying death trap that it was. Those three skinny lanes taking that bend (not far from the Krispy Kreme) was scarier than half the rides at Carowinds at the time.

And Swampfox, I loved your site back in the day! Hope you can bring it back...it needs to come full circle.

[roxxxtar]

Hey swampfox, I hope you didn't mind me posting that pic. I saved all the pics you had on that site.

[roxxxtar]

.

[Jimmy H]

just post the pics on here! i would like to see some more pics also

[Jay]

I think this is the best picture I have of the Log Flume, unfortunately it is from 2003.

Sidenote.. you would have never known it was on a hill if it weren't for the construction/deconstruction pictures.. just amazing.




I also have one from 2001, before the retheme but it SUCKS.

[Capler]

Hey Wormy, or anybody else, remember the television commercial for Thunder Road & White Lightin? I would love to see the one for Thunder Road one more time before I die. Why don't Carowinds dig it out and play it again to renew interest in Thunderoad. It went something like this.......

They pictured a man coming from the hills through the front gate, dressed in bib overalls and looking up at ThunderRoad. The announcer mentioned something about a Mountain boy spending the day at Carowinds and then the music started.....

Riding, Thunder, Thunder, Roller Thunder Road
The biggest, fastest, coaster ride that ever pulled a load
Going faster, faster, swinging around the bend
............ The mountain boy who spent the day at Carowinds.


I swear, that song will be forever etched in in brain.

The White Lightin theme song went something like this...

"White Lightinnnnnnn, It'll take you for a loop"

Maybe Dana will dig out all the old commercials and put them in the museum.

Oh, the best part about the Oaken Bucket was that few inches sudden drop that occurred when the bottom fell away from your feet. Now that was a heart stopper.

[Capler]

This thread is really turning into a great memorial service for the Log flume and other lost rides and attractions. It's nice.

[Jimmy H]

I totally agree this is a nice memorial for the flume and a few other rides

[PreferParamount]

Cool, this is my 100th post..

If you look at the photo from 2001, you can see the old green "television shaped" animatioin sation sign by the ballons. and the "Power Station" or climbing set by the helicopters, I always wondered why they removed that..Iasume it was because of liability and matinence problems.

And can someone make a post about how to post a picture, I want to share mine too.

[Davidtmp]

Is the vortex satation an old monorail sation, I didn't know that

Nope. Vortex was built before the monorail left.

Please explain, I remember the monorail station and the speedway cars down below, as well as maybe some arcade games. Been a while. That may not be the same structure as the monorail, but is in the same place. They couldn't put Vortex there with the cars, and they shared the station with the Monorail. Or was Vortex built behind the monorail, and later torn down. I thought they used part of the Monorail station for Vortex as they were both elevated.

[bgwfreak]

Dora ain't going anywhere anytime soon...looks like Swiper finally stole something!

[Davidtmp]

Does anyone know what happened to the monorail? Was it sold to someone else, still in use, scrapped, or some guy buy it to ride it on a whim?