Devil's 2018 TR: Carowinds - Is Fury 325 any good?

If you haven't already, check out my 2017 reports where I visit my favorite theme parks at Universal Orlando. Basically, my situation is that I have lymphoma which was supposed to be gone, but has come back. I am currently undergoing a Bone Marrow transplant where I kill my immune system and receive my sister's. I don't care to go into too much detail, but between chemo treatments and when I get better, I am trying to make the most of my summer by visiting theme parks. Bone Marrow transplants are still very successful, so I still have high hopes to have many theme park seasons ahead. Anyway, I am excited to share my experiences that I had and will have for 2018 as it gets underway.

So far, I was able to squeeze in trips to Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and Knoebels. Once I get the clear from the doctor, I intend to go to Cedar Point, Michigan's Adventure, Indiana Beach, and Kings Island, but that is still up in the air.

I will leave you with my Top 25 as of before this year, so you can see the changes as I go along.

1. Boulder Dash
2. Legend (HW)
3. Beast
4. Ravine Flyer II
5. Phoenix
6. Wicked Cyclone
7. Thunderhead
8. Storm Chaser
9. Maverick
10. Voyage
11. Phantom's Revenge
12. Lightning Run
13. Skyrush
14. Prowler
15. Superman the Ride
16. Outlaw Run
17. Kentucky Rumbler
18. El Toro (GAdv)
19. Manta (SWO)
20. Ride of Steel
21. Intimidator 305
22. Kumba (BGT)
23. Batman the Ride (GAdv)
24. Batman the Ride (SFSL)
25. Mine Blower

I also moved my list around a bit as I've had loads of time to sit on these coasters. I am most excited to see where Maverick and Intimidator 305 end up as I have not ridden either in a while.

Kings Dominion

This was not my first time to Kings Dominion. It was April 5th during spring break, so we were expecting some crowds. I had visited back in 2010 for the opening year of Intmidator 305. If you don't know the history, the park had put aggressive trims on the first drop, which made the ride not thrive the way I would have hoped. I was very excited to finally get back after 8 years to see if it's better without the trims on the wrong spot of the ride. We had one day at the park since we went to Carowinds the next day. This time my sister was busy, so she didn't tag along. It works out though because she blacks out on I305.



I really enjoyed the park last time, and was excited for another go. Sadly, we didn't have the best possible day, but we were able to get on most of the rides and enjoy ourselves.



The story starts with all of my experiences with RMC coasters. As always, I head to the RMC first to make sure I get to ride it. I did it with Wicked Cyclone, but the first time I went opening year, the ride was down for the day. I had to go back and drive the 3 hours both ways just to finally get on. Then Lightning Rod was closed (duh) opening year when I went to Dollywood. With Storm Chaser, I had to sit through multiple hours of thunderstorm before it thankfully opened with a few hours left of park opening. Outlaw Run was the only easy one. Now we get to Twisted Timbers, and I am determined to not miss this ride because of longer lines later in the day. They were testing the ride to make sure it was warm enough not to valley, so I figured it would eventually open and I could get on with no line. Instead, the ride breaks down just as it would be able to operate, leaving us with a good chunk of our day ruined waiting for another RMC. My luck has been very bad.



Anyway, we headed over to Volcano next, which is a really unique, cool Intamin invert. It is easily the most unique coaster in the park, and it is loads of fun. After sitting through the 45 minute queue, we finally got on near the back. Both launches are great, but the immelman coming out of the volcano is so great. The way it head-fake twists coming our of it is really really intense. The rest of the ride is weird but loads of fun and quirky. I really wish the line was shorter to ride it more.



We then went back towards Twisted Timbers because there was a food venue over there. The food at this park is overpriced and terrible. The only advice I can give is to not go to the Jukebox diner. It had the worst most overpriced food I've seen.

While we were over there, we hit Grizzly, which is an awesome PTC wooden coaster. There are loads of airtime moments and loads of laterals to make for a very strong wooden coaster for the park. I think it far surpasses its clone at Canada's Wonderland, which is also a good ride.

We headed back across to Dominator, which had no line, and we rode it a few times. I have to say, my previous judgements were wrong. I think that this is the best floorless coaster I have been on. It is intense, fun and fast paced throughout. Plus it's massive. I particularly like the low to the ground turns that it has as well as the overbank.



Next was the long awaited re-ride of Intimidator 305. I can't tell you how much no trims does for this ride. It starts alone with a massive boost of ejector air on the first hill that was sorely missing with the trims. Even with the new turn, though, I was just a little too gray for comfort before this hill. With the airtime, we were right back on track for an absolute barage of airtime, lateral filled twists with pure intensity all the way throughout. Low to the ground at high speeds with forces that are basically uncomparable. It doesn't let up until the end even with the mid-course trims. I loved the airtime on both hills and the finale pumps the intensity level up to 11. You look at a ride like this and you can't believe how far they were willing to go. It pushes pretty much every limit right up to the end and leaves you breathless. Basically, I can't think of a more perfect steel coaster. I'm glad to see that it was able to make it to my #1 steel coaster after all these years of trim regret. It's sort of turned me back into an Intamin fanboy haha. One thing I have to say is that this is not re-ridable for me. Yes that one ride was one of the best of my life, but I was in no rush to get back on. The first turn is just too intense. I don't mind though because it is a memory I will never forget.





We also did Anaconda, which I missed last time. I still don't like Arrow coasters and this is no exception. No enjoyment to be found here. Sorry.



It was time for one last stab at Twisted Timbers. The line was reportedly 3 hours long earlier, so we were ready to spend the rest of our day there. Instead, it was a 45 minute wait. This meant that we would have time for more afterwards.

This is when I get a little annoyed over a coaster that I fell in love with. Basically, this is the best RMC I have been on objectively. However, I didn't come off surprised or mind blown because it felt all too familiar. There was nothing new to be presented on this ride and it just felt like "another RMC." The RMC fatigue may be real and I'm not sure if I'm ok ranking these up as high as I do. For now, I will, but they are starting to almost seem bland.



I digress though because I have tons of good to say about this ride. The airtime all around is crazy intense and the awkward twits work relatively well. It felt to me like an improved version of Storm Chaser. It just brings the intensity up a notch. The quick successive bunny hills mid ride provided one of the craziest ejector moments out there and I think it one-ups Storm Chaser's finale. The inversions are good on this ride, but just like Storm Chaser, I would have liked to have seen the crazy ejector hang time I got on Wicked Cyclone. Basically, this ride takes these 2 RMCs and brings it up a notch. To me though, it was like re-riding each of them on a different day. It makes me respect the more original layout of Outlaw Run much more. It makes it interesting that now my 2 favorite steel coasters are in one park. I think I305 blows this out of the water, but this was still a world class experience and worth a stop.

We then did Woodstock Express since I missed it last time. Check on the credit.

We also did the drop tower which kind of sucked.

And that wrapped it up. It was getting late, and we had gotten most everything we wanted to done. I wish it could have been more relaxing with less crowds, but we managed to sneak out a fun day at what is a very fun park. I look forward to visiting again soon

Thanks for reading, and stick around for my Carowinds Trip Report as well.

Updated Top 25:

1. Boulder Dash
2. Legend (HW)
3. Beast
4. Ravine Flyer II
5. Intimdiator 305
6. Phoenix
7. Twisted Timbers
8. Wicked Cyclone
9. Thunderhead
10. Storm Chaser
11. Maverick
12. Voyage
13. Phantom's Revenge
14. Lightning Run
15. Skyrush
16. Prowler
17. Superman the Ride
18. Outlaw Run
19. Kentucky Rumbler
20. El Toro (GAdv)
21. Manta (SWO)
22. Ride of Steel
23. Kumba (BGT)
24. Batman the Ride (GAdv)
25. Batman the Ride (SFSL)

Bold - New
Underlined - Moved

We headed down the next day to the Carolinas to visit Carowinds for the first time.



We ended up having a pretty terrible day with crowds, but we got to enjoy the park and pick up some credits. I wasn't able to complete the park, but I don't think I would have been able to since my treatments were making it difficult to get around the park. I was just happy to be able to try out some of the coasters and get a taste for this place.



To be honest, I was most excited for Afterburn because after Canada's Wonderland, I wasn't expecting much from Fury 325 or Intimidator. I was still excited to finally get to ride Fury and see if any of the hype was worth it.

Speaking of Fury 325, it was the first coaster we headed to as to avoid the lines. I made that mistake with Leviathan and only got to ride once (not that I cared.)







Basically, I thought Leviathan was a pretty worthless coaster, and it left me very skeptical for Fury 325. What I was hoping for from Leviathan was forceful low to the ground turns with nice twists, but instead it was slow paced and very very forceless. Fury on the other hand, is a much better roller coaster. It did everything I had expected from Leviathan. There was good ejector airtime on every transition and actually had some decent whip through every turn. It was like a weaker I305, which really impressed me. The treble clef element was not what everybody hypes it up to be. I mean it's fine, but this whole raving about "sideways airtime" between this and Outlaw Run is really starting to annoy me. It's not like its actually a new sensation. The ride dies down in the middle and kind of reminds me of Leviathan again with its super slow hill and helix. The final hills were really good and some of the strongest airtime on a B&M I've experienced. It's kind of like the end of Ride of Steel, but not as good. All in all, I was really impressed and is easily my favorite B&M Hyper/Giga. Does that mean best steel coaster in the world? Absolutely not. And anybody who feels that way has a lot of explaining to do. I wouldn't even put it in my top 20. Don't get me wrong I really really enjoyed it, but I don't really follow the massive hype.



To rank the gigas I've been on:

1. Intimidator 305
2. Fury 325
3. Leviathan
4. Millennium Force

I would say it impressed, but it doesn't come close to touching I305.





We rode it again before heading over to Hurler.



I had ridden the one at Kings Dominion back in the day, and this was exactly the same. A little boring, some airtime, and relatively smooth. The best part about this was comparing to Twisted Timbers the day before and seeing all of the similarities. It's crazy how similar the areas are as well, and it really reminds you that you are at a park in the same chain. Here is a comparison picture:





Obviously, Twisted Timbers is a better coaster, but my opinion it is not worth getting rid of a decent wooden coaster like this. I wouldn't mind if they keep it this way with either option being available at each park since they are relatively close parks. It was definitely fun to get on Hurler again though.

Next, we headed over to the Arrow looping coaster, Carolina Cyclone. Again, I don't like Arrow coasters, but this took the roughness to a new level. I can't believe the break neck speeds it took the inversions. Ouch.

We then did the drop tower which was really amazing. One of the best ones out there check it out.

Next was Vortex, the B&M stand-up. I HATE B&M stand-ups, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is worse than Apocalypse. This has the most aggressive corkscrews and twists I have ever seen that sent my head wailing into the restraint at every turn. This is easily the worst B&M I've been on.

The park was starting to really get crowded, so we waited an hour for Intimidator.





I have not enjoyed similar B&M hypers in Behemoth and Diamondback, so I was not really too excited for this ride.





Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. There was ejector airtime on every hill and is one of the more forceful B&M hypers out there. I actually left the ride with a smile on my face. My initial judgements when it opened was that it looked good and I should have stuck to my guns. I still think Goliath at La Ronde is better along with Fury, but this edges out Apollo and Nitro. Be sure to give it a chance even if you are a B&M hyper skeptic like me.



We then waited another hour for Afterburn which was my most anticipated coaster in the park. I love B&M inverts and I heard that this is the best in America.



I have to disagree. It's good and has some really fun forceful moments, but it reminded me of Montu in the way that there wasn't any crazy pacing with wild twists and corkscrews. I have more of a preference to the Batman the Ride types that really toss you around. It was still very good, but I preferred the 2 hypers in the park.

The final new ride was Carolina Goldrusher. We were running out of time at the park, and my legs were killing me from my treatment, so we couldn't do much more around the park.

This was a fine mine train, but it was nowhere near the best. It picked up a good pace by the end though.

We did one more re-ride on Fury, and we got a front row ride. It was very good, but I'm not a big fan of my face getting tossed around in the wind. That's why I never ride Kingda Ka up front.

Overall, I really enjoyed the park. Going on a Friday for spring break was a terrible idea, and I missed a lot of credits, but I got everything I really wanted to get done, and this was the only day I could go. One day I will go back and pick up the missing credits, but for now, I had a good time.

The park is overall nice. The Carolina gimmick wasn't played up as much as I thought, but it was a nice touch. I liked the fairground area too, which was an interesting touch. I would recommend the park, even to someone like me who doesn't like B&Ms because there is plenty of fun to be had. It would be nice (as with most Cedar Fair parks) to have a lower spread of sh***y coasters all over the place.

My top 25 did not change. Fury made it to 28th behind Mine Blower and Intimidator is 37th.

Great trip report and I hope your treatment goes well.

[mkingy]

Great trip reports - I always enjoy reading them. Hopefully your treatment goes well and you'll be able to write some more