Spent some time at Carrowinds....Wow!

About the water park thing. Valleyfair was the first to add a waterpark to the amusement park. It was limited access, and the park sold slots of time. Something like your wristband allowed you to go 11-2, the next group was 12-3, etc. The concept was to keep a constant flow of guests and keep crowds manageable. Cedar Point took that concept one further. I remember when Soak City opened they also had short time periods where you could attend, but they also eventually added an all-day option. And it made sense, as pointed out earlier, since there is more of a resort atmosphere at CP and guests were encouraged to stay so they were given an entertainment option other than the park. Challenge park came along after that, adding more options for the resort guest and the park guest.

Eventually the wristband access was scrapped, nobody does that anymore, and the only option is the all-day ticket.

Remember, the many other Cedar Fair waterparks were originally Paramount waterparks and their concept was different- they built most of their waterparks right in the amusement park, and they thought the added value for guests was to make it free. That's somewhat successful, but is also the occasional overcrowded eyesore. Cedar Point is not about to give up that cash cow they built at the rocky end of the beach, intentionally away from Cedar Point park. The pay to play culture there is long established and it works well for them and for guests.

And as for the cleanliness thing,... please. Cedar Point has been known since the early sixties as one of the cleanest, safest places in the nation- they hang their hat on it. Tyler correctly points out that the environmental anomaly of Lake Erie spiders and bugs is rather unavoidable and doesn't equate to garbage or filth. And anyone who thinks that it can be kept up with on a daily basis by having crews cleaning ceilings and rafters everyday should have a go at it themselves. And only after cleaning the spider webs and bugs off of their own homes. In my 50 seasons of attending amusement parks, if I had one thing to say about Cedar Point it would not be that it's trashy or filthy.

I've been to Carowinds many times, and while it's reputation as a lovely place to visit is growing, and as much as they hold to the corporate values of cleanliness, I certainly wouldn't call it cleaner or nicer than Cedar Point.

I'm sorry, but I do not see the hype of Carowinds at all. The only thing I enjoyed there was Fury 325, and the fact that half of the park was in North Carolina and the other was in South Carolina (pretty neat how they do that). I agree with Jeff though, the layout is pretty bad IMO. The only thing I got to eat there was Panda Express (even though Cedar Point has a Panda Express).

However, I will attest to the fact that it is a very clean park. But I really think CP looks very clean this year also.

I think I actually enjoyed Intimidator more than Diamondback and Afterburn is one of the best B&M inverts.

Interesting. I just got back from Carowinds where I encountered a bizarre layout, a ride selection that was clearly victimized by the Paramount Purge, and operations that ranged from merely irritating to downright hazardous. Maybe it's because I didn't spend most of the day at Fury and Intimidator, but some of the things I encountered in that park were downright weird. Like the uniformed employee standing behind the cash register in a busy food joint who informed me that he couldn't ring up my purchase because he was on break. Wait...what? I didn't much care for the goon squad wanting people at the front gate, either...

On the plus side, Fury was great, Harmony Hall is a fantastic concept that I hope to see spread through the chain faster than the Red Garter Saloon, and of course the Flying Beagles may well be the best Flying Scooter that isn't in Elysburg.

Carowinds is a nice park, but structurally and operationally they have a long way to go.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:

I didn't much care for the goon squad wanting people at the front gate, either...

They were doing the same thing at CP yesterday. Totally annoying.

What's the goon squad and why did they want you at the front gate?

I think maybe he meant wanding at the front gate.

Yeah, I typed "wanding" and my iPad decided it was wrong. DYAC.

The "goon squad" traditionally refers to a group of "heavies" who serve as enforcers on the show. In this particular case, I use the term "goons" specifically because most of the people working the gate at Carowinds were apparently NOT park employees. At the main gate there was a park security guard overseeing the operation, but the dirty work was mostly being done by contractors.

I got the impression that it was a temporary measure that been set up in some haste. I guess they decided that the coaster nuts in the park to say good bye to Thunder Road and the Catholic families holding their outing in the park made for a dangerous crowd.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Carowinds had permanent metal detectors before the main gate renovations. They've also been using the wands since early this season on most if not all days, from what I have gathered.

CP, on the other hand, is a different story.

I believe all of the former Paramount Parks had (some still have) permanent metal detectors. At Carowinds, they move the checkpoint depending on how busy it is. Sometimes it's a consolidated checkpoint right at the main entrance, other times they have multiple checkpoint stations before you enter the plaza.

Hoping to include this in a 9 day, East Coast amusement park tour next year.

^^Kings Island does not have metal detectors permanently, only during various unannounced times during the regular season. During Haunt security does increase a bit (bag & body wand checks)

noggin said:

Miss_Maverick07 said:

It makes me mad that most, probably all of, the waterparks at other cedar fair parks are INCLUDED in admission, EXCEPT CP's soak city. Yes, it's part of the platinum pass deal, but still. why can't CP just be like the others and include it?

Unlike other Cedar Fair parks that combine a ride and a water park, these two parks are separated by a road and Challenge Park, which creates several issues.

In order to combine Cedar Point and Soak City, the two parks would have to be enclosed together, which would cut Challenge Park in two. Challenge Park could also be wrapped into a Cedar Point/Soak City mash-up, of course. But I believe either option (full disclosure: being not a fan of water parks or go karts or miniature golf, and too cheap to stay on the Point, I rarely venture into this area of the peninsula) would create access issues for guests of Lighthouse Point.

Access to a combined Cedar Point/Soak City could be managed by wristbands; but why spend money season after season on wristbands when you can make a tidy profit selling separate tickets to the ride park and the water park?

There is an underpass to get to Soak City near the exit of Magnum, so the road really doesn't separate the parks.

True, but that's an underpass designed to handle a different level of crowds from the more frequent back and forth of combined iron and water parks. And would still leave poor Challenge Park cut in two.

CoasterCam said:

[...] Add all that to its crazy good capacity (they were dispatching trains every 30 seconds)

Maybe every 60 seconds. Impossible to dispatch every 30 seconds.

My opening weekend experience was quite different. They weren't dispatching until the previous train was hitting the final segment of brakes. They were also forcing people to line up in certain rows, unless those people ignore them and went wherever, then yelled at the next people to do that.

Made my first trip there this past May, both days Fury did not open on time for early ride time. But was able to get in 9 rides. There line gets pretty long on Saturday's, but if there is no slow downs in the station, trains leave in about every 20 to 30 seconds. Was really impressed with Afterburn, that is a very intense coaster. The anti roll back going up the lift hill sounds just like Raptor, and the wheels scream as loud as Mantis. Was not able to get the front seat, it was to long.

How do people think it's physically possible to dispatch in 30 seconds? The train has only just pulled into the station and people haven't had any time to exit. Meanwhile the previous train is still on the lift.

Ride ops for Fury 325 seemed to think 30s dispatches were possible. They were yelling at guests to sit down and buckle up, and closing the loading gates, way before guests had gotten off the train.

Meanwhile, yelling did nothing to hasten the disembarking process. Fail.

Loud is the Fury queue per the lift... Epic ride.. Yet somehow I still rate MF slightly better. Just slightly.

In such situations, yelling at me to hurry up is a fine way to get me to slow down :-)