I recently ventured to Carowinds to ride The Intimidator: the longest, tallest and fastest coaster in the Southeast. Three minutes and nearly three hundred feet of exhilaration! My comrades and I hit the ground running: from the Vortex (standing) to the Afterburn (suspended) with a dousing of White Water Falls inbetween. One experience I didn't expect was the rush of memories that a visit to the amusement park brought on. Growing up about 30 minutes away, I held a season pass which meant I would often spend my days searching for the shortest line and the fastest ride. They didn't have nearly as many coasters back in the day, but I managed to have fun all the same. As Carowinds is on the border of the Carolinas, one of my favorite activities was straddling the state line. This was my little version of "the four corners" and I thought I was totally cool.
While the park is full of plenty new (there wasn't a waterpark back in the day) there was also plenty that was the same. I have to admit I appreciate the advancement in coaster technology - after riding The Hurler (an old wooden coaster), I was surprised how painful and jarring it it was. Luckily, I have my chiropractor on speed-dial. The new coasters provide a much smoother ride, although the anticipation of climbing that first hill is still the same and makes me question my sanity.
After a full day of being barrel-rolled, corkscrewed & turned upside down, I thought the perfect ending would be a trip up the air-conditioned, rotating tower that used to be sponsored by Eastern Airlines (now it's the Carolina Skytower). It offers a birds-eye view of the park, allowing the perfect vantage to appreciate how large The Intimidator really is.
And after that view, how could I resist one last ride???
