Carowinds Connection: Discussion on Carowinds amusement park near Charlotte, NC • Unofficial Carowinds amusement park fan site

Carowinds Introduces Million Dollar Light Show and Expanded Hours in 2011

New nighttime spectacular utilizes light, sound and motion to create a full sensory experience

The skyline of Carowinds will light up next summer as the amusement park announces plans to debut Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular, a million dollar nighttime walk-through light and sound experience featuring Snoopy and the PEANUTS™ gang, in the Summer of 2011.

Designed using a diverse mixture of low energy and high efficiency LED lighting, this immersive light and sound spectacular will stretch from County Fair through the entrance of Planet Snoopy and feature more than one and a half million LED lights adorned from trees and buildings. Midways will be accented by vibrant animated and stationary light displays, vivid theatrical lighting and other cutting edge special effects, all orchestrated to a custom designed audio soundtrack.

To showcase Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular, Carowinds will extend its operating hours until 10PM every day from June 27 through August 7, 2011. This expansion will offer guests more evening hours of fun to experience everything Carowinds has to offer. Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular will come to life each evening during these 10PM closes.

"Carowinds is dedicated to providing diversified entertainment the entire family can enjoy together”, said Carowinds' vice president and general manager, Bart Kinzel. “The addition of Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular and extension of our operating hours reaffirms our commitment to providing quality, family entertainment at the greatest value."

Guests can experience more hours of thrills than ever with a 2011 season pass, now on sale at http://www.carowinds.com or at the Carowinds main gate during regularly scheduled operating dates. 2011 Gold season passes are available for $64.99 each when you purchase 4 or more, and include exciting benefits like free parking, admission to SCarowinds Halloween Haunt and discounted Bring-A-Friend dates. Special renewal rates are also available for current 2010 season passholders. Offers expire October 31, 2010. Click the button below to learn more information about our 2011 season pass program.

Official Website

On July 24th Carowinds hosted its 2nd annual Coaster Stock. The end of the evening featured the 1st annual Coaster Stock video competition. Carowinds Connection's very own Wormy was the winner of the video competition which included a bonus perk of being a guest blogger on the Carowinds blog over at http://www.carowinds.com/public/fun/blog/.

So, without further adieu….here’s Wormy!

So Bryn asked me to be a guest on the Caro-Blog and tell you a little about the submission I made to the CoasterStock video competition. Never Caro-Blogged before, hope it doesn't hurt.

When the park opened in the spring of 2009, it became clear that the log flume formerly known as Wild Thornberrys River Adventure was being removed in order to make room for a future park attraction(s). This was months before the park made any official announcement on what was to come, but it wasn't long before many of us over on http://www.carowindsconnection.com were heading out to the park to snap pictures of the project's progress. With a wooden fence in the way, the best way to do this was to hitch a ride up the Carolina Skytower, or take a walk over by the season pass processing center. Or stroll through the parking lot to see what was being done behind the mysterious chain link fence. As the summer went by, and once the dirt had cleared, the telltale signs of coaster construction began appearing - utility flags, drainage equipment, and markers for potential footer placement. Soon, out went the bulldozers and in came the diggers, the rebar, and the cement trucks.

One day in August, an unannounced but highly anticipated beautiful piece of red B&M coaster track appeared in the parking lot, raising the excitement level to a fervor for those following along. Soon after, Carowinds made the official announcement and ended years of speculation - new for 2010: Intimidator, the tallest, longest, and fastest rollercoaster in the Southeast. More track and supports began to arrive, and the station house and the first several pieces of track began to go "vertical".

Then, one very tall crane arrived. Then another, and yet another. With baited breath, everyone kept their eyes on the newly installed webcam overlooking the construction site, and I took up position at the outlet mall across the street from the park, where there was a clear view of what was to come. Before long it became part of my almost daily routine when passing by to capture the progress.

After the park closed in the fall and on into the winter, Intimidator continued to rise. Construction ended well ahead of schedule on December 21, an early Christmas present to all its fans. The cranes were packed up and driven off, the final touches were made inside the park, and the coaster completed its test runs. Intimidator in its inaugural season has been a great success.

All that said here's my submission: a collection of my photographs (except for one) from four seasons of coaster site-prep and construction set to a score as majestic as the coaster itself. Believe me when I say the entire process was a labor of love, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Thanks to Bryn for letting me blabber on, thanks to all the fellow shutterbugs, and a big thank you to Carowinds for Intimidator!

Wormy

Great write up, with an even better video to go along with it. Congrats Wormy!

This was passed along to me a couple days ago, and it would be great to see a few members from here involved. It's a chance to help out a great cause while riding a roller coaster all day as Cedar Fair parks will be hosting coaster marathons to raise money for Give Kids the World, a charity that serves children with life threatening illnesses.

Coaster marathon will take place on Thunder Road.
Event is limited to the first 30 fundraisers that register.

Itinerary
6:30 – 7:30 a.m. – Registration and breakfast (coffee, juice, and assorted pastries)
7:30 a.m. – Welcome by park management
8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Coaster marathon on Thunder Road
11:30 a.m. – Bag lunch provided.

Prizes for top fundraisers
• First place will receive 4 admission and VIP Dinner tickets to SCarowinds ($400 value)
• Second place will receive 2 Good-Any-Day admission tickets ($100 value)

KISSIMMEE, FL (July 6, 2010) - The thrill of a roller coaster ride will have a whole lot more meaning on Thursday, July 29 when Cedar Fair Entertainment Company’s eleven amusement parks host “Coasting For Kids 2010” to raise money for Give Kids The World Village, the nonprofit organization that provides weeklong vacations to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

The fun-filled event is a company-wide effort. Park fans and coaster enthusiasts alike will enjoy a day filled with riding the coolest roller coasters at their favorite park over and over again. Featured rides include Gemini at Cedar Point, Shivering Timbers at Michigan’s Adventure, Jaguar at Knott’s Berry Farm and the Racer at Kings Island, with rides at the other seven parks to be announced soon. All participants are encouraged to raise at least $50 for Give Kids The World to take part – with prizes going to the top three fundraisers at each park.

All participants will receive complimentary admission to the park of their choice, a “Coasting For Kids” t-shirt and unlimited rides on the event’s featured attraction. Each participating park will also offer additional event perks unique to their location.

“Cedar Fair has been proud to partner with Give Kids The World for many years,” said Lee Ann Alexakos, Vice President Marketing and Advertising, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, “’Coasting For Kids’ is the perfect way for our guests to enjoy our parks – and help children with life-threatening illnesses.”

“We are so excited to work with Cedar Fair,” echoed Give Kids The World President, Pamela Landwirth, “We had such fun at the inaugural event at Cedar Point last year, and are looking forward to this nationwide coaster marathon at all eleven locations this year. This tremendous support for Give Kids The World will help us continue to make dreams come true for children who need it most.”

To register for the event, go to the Give Kids the World website.

A few videos of Intimidator uploaded to YouTube in the last couple of days:

Kerry Earnhardt rides Intimidator

Motor Racing Network segment with great Skytower footage

Front seat POV released by the park

106.5 The End radio host rides Intimidator

For a full selection of photos, click HERE

The big day is upon us. At 10:00 AM tomorrow the first public riders will be on their way down Intimidator's 5,316 feet of track. The charity auction for seats on the first three trains raised over $10,000, which is fantastic. The media got a sneak peak at the new roller coaster and the revamped Planet Snoopy today, and responses were extremely positive, to say the least.

Between our construction tour photos from two weeks ago and today, a lot of work was done on the Intimidator plaza and queue to put on the finishing touches. The entrance looks great.

A replica of the famous 3 car is on display near the entrance, along with a wall listing all 76 of Dale Earnhardt's NASCAR wins.

A ribbon cutting ceremony got the Intimidator ready to roll. All of the familiar faces from last year's press conference announcing the ride, including director of marketing John Taylor, were back again, but this time with the final product in the background behind them.

A stone in the center of the plaza pays tribute to Earnhardt.

The always articulate VP of Operations, Jerry Helms, was swelling with pride as he enters his 33rd year at the park with the biggest attraction in its history coming to life under his watch.

Lieutenant Governor André Bauer of South Carolina was on hand to represent the state, as Intimidator is located on the South Carolina side of the park.

Members of the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated team were back again to see the results of their joint venture with Cedar Fair, and they seemed thrilled with the final product.

Finally, park GM Bart Kinzel spoke, and Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinzel was on hand as well for the big opening.

After the speaking, the ribbon was cut and fireworks were shot off, officially declaring Intimidator open.

Nothing left to do but ride.

A nice touch to the queue as it passes under the brake run. To those who were wondering, there is a single rider line.

The first train of the day navigates the final drop. Seemingly every media outlet in the greater Charlotte area (and some beyond) was at the park today, so keep an eye on the local television news and print for coverage.

Rows were being assigned in the station until later when the line shortened, and it is probably a safe bet that they will be assigned during regular operation when the lines are long. The good news is that there really isn't a bad row on this ride. Also, there are storage bins in the station, so it looks like loose articles will be permitted in line (no lockers near the entrance either).

The trains are sleek, comfortable, and look really sharp overall with the Intimidator logo on the front and NASCAR style advertising decals on the sides of the lead car.

A couple of Carowinds Connection regulars were excited to take their first ride on this long awaited coaster.

The ride itself is everything it was hyped up to be. Brilliantly smooth, lots of speed, and a number of moments of outstanding airtime. It really is the signature ride that Carowinds needed. It dominates the skyline, and is the clear feature ride in the park. There is a great chance that it will debut in the top 10 steel coasters on the notorious Golden Ticket Awards next fall. Intimidator is going to make roller coaster fans in the Charlotte area happy for many years to come.

The Intimidator cake stand for the press event was a nice touch.

While the excitement this year surrounds Intimidator, there is more new at Carowinds, as Planet Snoopy marks the fourth different theme that the Carowinds children's/family area has had since the park opened.

Since the construction tour a couple of weeks ago, a ton of work was done to complete Planet Snoopy. It turned out well.

There are a number of these signs in the area marking the 60th anniversary of Peanuts.

Snoopy's Space Race.

And now the former Phantom Flyers, which I know is what most everyone is concerned about.

The ride looks better with the Woodstock theme, and runs just as wild as it always has.

The new view from the Woodstock Gliders, like many other areas of the park, is jarring.

The entire area feels more unified now with the singular Peanuts theme.

The brighter and refreshed children's area will be a welcome addition for families with children that are not quite ready for Intimidator.

The Sponge Bob fountain has been replaced by a Snoopy statue.

Overall, Planet Snoopy seems almost like new. The park could have done a bare bones removal of the Nickelodeon trademarks, but instead went the extra step to create a nice new area.

For children or adults, it is shaping up to be quite the year for Carowinds. There is no reason to expect anything less than their biggest year ever, both in terms of attendance and general buzz. Intimidator is going to be a national draw for roller coaster enthusiasts, and should pull in guests from a wide regional area. It is by far the best ride the park has ever constructed, and one of the top rides in the United States.

Have fun Saturday everyone!

To get the hype going for Saturday's big opening, we will have thoughts and images from Friday's media preview. We will be posting to Twitter (hopefully with some photos) live from the event from 11 AM until 2 PM. Look for a full write up and photos on the website later in the afternoon. If you haven't signed up to follow our Twitter, that is the fastest way to get information.

Now that we are less than three days away from seeing the completion of Intimidator's transformation of Carowinds, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back to where it all began. The speculation and rumors regarding a possible hyper coaster at the park have existed for a decade if not more, but it wasn't until October of 2008 that the first concrete evidence started to emerge, when it leaked out that the log flume would be removed prior to the start of the 2009 season.

Allow me to pull out some gems from that thread. Remember, this was October 2008.

From CoasterDad, who nailed the ride and the height 10 months before it was announced:

If the logs are indeed leaving, it would seem logical not to open the ride in March and begin taking it apart then or shortly thereafter. When I visited KI in early June, they were already well underway with sight prep for their new hyper coaster, concrete pad and all, even though no official announcement was made until July. But it was August before the track started to show up and of course now, they are making good progress. Chances are, CF has multi-year, multi-coaster deal with B & M. As we all know, it takes time to construct one of these monsters. Wonderland got theirs this year, KI gets theirs for next year, and I'm guessing we will get ours, finally in 2010, given economic conditions don't cause a delay. I really feel there is a done deal with B & M for the next couple of coasters once Diamondback is finished. I think it is VERY likely that CF will build a large 230' coaster at our park, thus establishing their dominance in the southeast market as compared to what they already have at the sister parks in other regions. That would easily establish Carowinds as having the tallest and longest coaster anywhere south of GA! And so, I hope it begins!

Almost immediately, users began dreaming and plotting out where they thought a possible new ride might go. Wormy pretty much hit it right on the head with this overhead view on October 29:

So the offseason leading up to the 2009 season at the park was filled with speculation and rumors, but no certainties. When the park opened for 2009, the fun truly began...

Very little remained of the log flume, but the construction area extended well beyond that:

Fencing was already up along what would become Intimidator's outbound run, making it clear that whatever the new project was, it was big.

Next, the trees disappeared.

After that came the first footer markings in the parking lot, which several members were quick to point out matched those of previous B&M roller coasters. As these clues appeared, so did the outlandish rumors on the forum, such as this gem:

The start of the ride is with a launch mechanism. It is supposed to be over 300 feet. They want it bigger than Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster. The beginning of the ride will be just like these two coasters.
***RUMOR: The announcement for the ride will take place before next Friday. Reason for this is that the merchandise people need to start preparing for this "large" attraction. That was discussed on site 2-3 days ago "announcement within 10 days". Let's see what happens.
I also do believe that the old log flume pool will be used for an ending splash down effect after looking around and from up above today.

Following this was maybe the greatest debate on the forum, as the NASCAR theme of the coaster started to leak, but was countered by the red herring that the ride would be called White Lightning, in reference to the Schwarzkopf shuttle loop coaster that was one of the most popular attractions at the park in its early years. There are a lot of foot in mouth moments from that discussion, and still some intriguing questions over where certain parts of the White Lightning rumors originated, but those may never be answered.

From the steel fabrication plant in Ohio that does work for B&M, moderator JamminJ stirred the pot with photos of what eventually did turn out to be track for Intimidator.

Mid July saw the excitement that was the pouring of the first support footers, leaving no doubt (not that there was any) that a roller coaster was on the way.

Many coaster fans attended the Coaster Stock event in July with the hope that the new ride might be announced. While that did not happen, there was plenty of teasing, with an announcement date revealed and several clues to the size of the coaster and its racing theme.

With a weeks to go until the big announcement and the anticipation building, there it was: The first piece of red B&M coaster track, dropped off in the parking lot behind Thunder Road. The week before the announcement, Kings Dominion announced Intimidator 305, with several press outlets also revealing that the Carowinds ride would have a Dale Earnhardt theme as well.

Finally, on August 26, 2009, the speculation was put to rest.

Carowinds would be installing the largest roller coaster in the southeastern United States.

With the facts revealed, there was not much left to do but to watch Intimidator rise into the sky.

In short order, the skyline south of Charlotte down I-77 changed forever.

It took less than 4 months from the first piece of track installation to the last, and now three months after that final piece of track was installed, Intimidator is ready for the public. Cedar Fair reports season pass sales up 30% at the park, so it's sure to be a huge year for business. For those that have followed the progress of this ride from the first idle speculation to today, it has been a wild and fun ride, but the best part will come this weekend. I would like to give a massive thanks to everyone on the forum who provided us with construction photos to look at throughout this year long process. I have to mention Wormy especially, as he seemed to stop by the park nearly every day to get the latest, and those of us who do not live near the park were able to track the progression of the ride. There have been over 10,000 posts discussing Intimidator on the forum.

Stay tuned for our preview coverage of the ride from media day on Friday, and cross your fingers for nice weather this weekend. So far it's looking good...

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