Carowinds Rides Ranked

I give an overview of Carowinds as a park in my last post. Now, let’s break down each ride and rank them. ALL of Carowinds rides, ranked from painful to heavenly.

I admit Carowinds isn’t the most amazing theme park on the planet. But it doesn’t do too bad and has one of my very favorite roller coasters.

Carowinds Roller Coasters

#12 – Nighthawk

The Nighthawk is a 2004 steel Vekoma flying coaster, meaning you lay on your back/fly on your stomach during the ride. Some flying coasters tilt you forward to go up the lift hill – Nighthawk tilts you on your back, which I dislike. It’s also stinky. The ride restraints are like a rubber vest that buckles in the front, and that rubber/foam seems to absorb every sweaty body odor from all the riders before you – yuck.

And then there’s the ride. It’s like getting a concussion and a cut-rate spinal adjustment at the same time. It’s so painful! The Hurler below simply fails at being a good ride. The Nighthawk is just plain mean-spirited.

The only nice part about the ride is where you zoom over the artificially teal water and you can see your reflection for a second. A swoopy bit on your back really bangs your head against the thin head cushion, and the twisty corkscrew bits really did a number on my back. It’s not a good ride, and I wish Carowinds would put it out of its misery (and ours.)

#11 – Hurler

The Hurler is an old-style wooden coaster from 1994 that also needs to be put out to pasture. It’s rough, it’s boring, even the ride operators don’t like being near it. The best thing I have to say about the Hurler is that the line is pretty shaded. I’d definitely skip this one.

#10 – Vortex

I don’t know of anyone who actually likes stand-up coasters. I view them as an interesting but failed experiment by the innovative B&M company. This 1992 example is no exception. Even riding in the front, which I consider the only worthwhile spot to ride on a standing coaster, it’s a boring and uncomfortable ride with a lot of head-banging between the overhead restraints.

There’s one little bit where you zoom around low to the ground, but standing up is an awkward position to ride a coaster in, and the seats are hard to get into, and there’s a lot of adjusting by ride operators before you even get started. I don’t think it’s worth it.

#9 – Kiddy Hawk

It really says something when you rank a kid’s coaster over three proper big coasters! Not that Kiddy Hawk is that great, but it’s a decent little ride. It bangs your head a few times and doesn’t have a ton of momentum, but it’s not half bad.

Now, mind you, I didn’t ride the two kid’s coasters in Camp Snoopy. They looked closed during my visit, and I don’t really seek out credits as some coaster enthusiasts do, so I can’t compare Kiddy Hawk against them.

#8 – Ricochet

Ricochet is about as fun, jolty, and swoopy as any wild mouse-style coaster ever is. I would even say this 2002 Mack Rides version is as good or better than most. But the line – and other people in the line – are the worst. It’s full in the sun, moves excruciatingly slow, and seems full of bickering families. At least that was my experience! Folks can be really mean to their kids…

I will say that it has a really nice look, with one of the turns going right out over the ride’s name. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it on stock photo sites.

#7 – The Flying Cobras

The best thing about The Flying Cobras is the theming. It really takes advantage of the County Fair theme, and if you look closely, each 4-person car on the train is themed to a different air-show “flyer.” The ride itself is pretty inconsequential. It’s a 2009 Vekoma boomerang, where you’re lifted backward up the lift hill, rocket through the station, and through a couple of loops before being pulled forward up a parallel lift hill, then backward through the same elements.

It might be more fun if you didn’t see this play out multiple times before you ride – the queue for the coaster is right in the middle of the ride. For some younger riders, this might heighten their fear/expectation, but I was already bored with it by the time I got on. Still, it’s a decent ride.

#6 – Carolina Cyclone

The Carolina Cyclone is a zippy Arrow coaster from 1980 with a simple layout of two loops, two corkscrews, and a helix. It’s a good ride in the back especially and holds up fairly well for its age.

#5 – Carolina Goldrusher

It may be a little silly to put a simple mine train this far up the list, but I really enjoy the Carolina Goldrusher. The basic layout is just a couple of lift hills and a couple of helixes, but I enjoy that they’re dug into the ground. And it’s just a fun ride and usually not much of a wait. It’s telling that I sought to re-ride this when I had the chance. It’s also one of the few rides original to the park, built in 1973.

#4 – Copperhead Strike

The newest coaster at the park, the 2019 Copperhead Strike from Mack Rides is a unique coaster with a slow roll right out of the station! It heads right into a show building where a moonshine still explodes, launching you out into the rest of the ride. There’s a second launch ON a hill, which is interesting, and in general, a lot of the loops are sluggish. Plus, the entire last quarter of the track is awfully boring.

The seats and the restraints are very comfortable, which is good since you’re held upside down so much. But the theming here is really top-notch, especially for Carowinds. The queue winds past rusted-out cars and moonshine stills, and the snake’s eyes in the sign glow red at night.

When you’re on the ride, make sure to try to sit on the left, and farther back on the train to see the show effects in the shed. If it’s not obvious yet, it’s a good coaster for this park, but I don’t care for it too much. As always, I hate to spend the $4 for a locker to ride it – it doesn’t feel worth the upcharge.

#3 – Afterburn

One of the few rides I rode twice on my first visit, Afterburn is a fantastic ride! It’s a suspended roller coaster, which I generally like, and themed to flying a fighter jet (used to be called Top Gun.) My first ride was near the back, and I just had to ride it again to see where I was going, so it might be worth waiting for the front on at least one of your rides.

I’m not sure how to explain why I like it so much except to say it is really zippy and makes quick turns and doesn’t relent through the entire ride. It really rides like a good story.

#2 – Intimidator

The Dale Earnhart-themed Intimidator is a B&M built in 2010 with a long-ranging, out-and-back layout with no loops or other inversions. I feel like steel out and backs are the epitome of the roller coaster experience – height, speed, and that mega first drop. The first drop on Intimidator is 232 feet tall, and you don’t have to deal with lockers or not having your stuff with you in line. Yet, the ride operators consistently dispatch trains in a (mostly) timely manner. During my visit, two trains were frequently on the track waiting to come into the station while they dispatched the third. So, I guess they aren’t *that* fast.

The only bad thing I have to say about Intimidator is that it goes a little lame after the final brake run.

#1 – Fury 325

The best ride at Carowinds is definitely Fury 325. It’s another B&M hypercoaster with a simple out-and-back layout—this one topping out at 325 feet at the first drop and 95 mph. What I like most is the height, not just at the first drop, but overall it’s very high off the ground. The height is exaggerated by putting the turn around over the entrance area, where you can see people entering and exiting the park. And there’s a fun zoom-through under a bridge, with neon rings of light. It’s thrilling from beginning to end and never goes lame. Ride it in the front, ride it in the back, ride it all over. It’s fantastic.

Carowinds Flat Rides

I spent a day riding Carowind’s non-roller coaster rides, and I have my opinions about them too! Let’s look at Carowinds flat rides, ranked top down this time.

Electro Spin

Electro Spin is definitely the most thrilling, with lots of height and flipping around upside down. It’s also a decently long ride time, half the time going forwards and half going backward. It’s fun! Ride on the outside of the arm for more thrills. I bet it looks great at night.

Drop Tower

Drop Tower takes only 45 seconds to ride, but it’s a hoot! I prefer it over ones that tilt you forward or drop so long you run out of scream. And it cycles quickly, too. For the best views, get in the outside lanes that take you to the front towards the park. It might only be open on the weekends. It wasn’t on my first Wednesday visit.

Windseeker

Windseeker is not nearly as thrilling as it looks. It’s like an observation tower with a nice breeze. It’s centrally located too, for excellent views. The trick might be catching it when it’s open. It was open on my Saturday visit, but not on Wednesday or Friday, and closed again later in the day.

Scream Weaver

Scream Weaver is pretty fun – it’s a decently long ride time and gets you going and up in the air pretty quickly. This is one where you can look out the side and see the world going in circles, which you don’t normally catch on a roller coaster! It is the only ride that made me dizzy, however.

Boo Blasters on Boo Hill

Boo Blasters is pretty fun. It’s an indoor haunted house/laser shooter ride, and you can rack up points. I find the laser hard to aim, but it’s still fun! The line is 100% outside. Once you’re in the building, you’re on the ride.

Do-Si-Do

Do-Si-Do is fun, like a scrambler but with more height. It doesn’t have sideways g’s like a scrambler, just a gentle up and down wave motion. It looks a bit more interesting than it is to ride.

Mountain Gliders

Mountain Gliders is as fun as you make it. You can either swing gently in a circle or use your wing to swing back and forth. And you can really get it going – I was hitting the tops of trees and almost twisting around! I appreciate that the line is shaded as well.

Southern Star

Southern Star is a looping pirate ship that only makes ONE full revolution! And it has no free motion like a regular pirate ship; it’s always controlled. And it takes a lot of setting up for not much payoff.

Zephyr

Zephyr is a swings ride, which I usually like, but this ride was SO short, it wasn’t enjoyable. The ride itself is pretty and carries the County Fair theme well, with blue ribbon-awarded animals and food painted on it.

Yo-Yo

Yo-Yo is another swings ride that ostensibly rocks you back and forth, but again, the ride was too short to really enjoy it.

Rock ‘N’ Roller

Rock ‘N’ Roller is one of those that blast music while you spin, which is usually decently fun. But here, getting it set up took SO long, and the ride was SO short that it’s not worth it. The line is deceptive, too – all in the back where you can’t see how long it is. And since it loads so slow, it moves very slow. Ugh. I rode another at a Myrtle Beach park, and it was much more fun.

Scrambler

The Scrambler is a Scrambler, probably more fun than you remember, but this one is in the full sun and located in a sort of forgotten corner of the park.

Bumper Cars & Carousel

I didn’t ride the Dodge’ems bumper cars, which is not so fun as a solo traveler. Nor the carousel, which I’m sure is nice. I also didn’t ride the pay-to-play Ripcord or Slingshot, which I suspect look more fun to watch others do it than actually to do yourself. They’re really something you survive than enjoy.

There’s also the Carolina Skytower, an observation tower near the front of the park. But it wasn’t open on any of my visits. I think it’s a slowly revolving room that (also slowly) rises up the tower for views from the top. It’d be great to take pictures from. I’d probably slot this in after Boo Blasters in the rankings.

Carowinds Carolina Harbor

Finally, on to the water park rides! Here are Carowinds water rides, ranked from worst to best. It’s not a great water park.

Standing but not operating

I’ll start with two slides that are closed, which is too bad; they look decent. They’re not listed in the app or on the website, so they seem officially defunct. One is a funnel-type slide; the other is a toilet bowl/whirlpool situation.

Kid’s Areas

The FOUR kids areas look great, but of course, I don’t have any interest in them myself. There’s Kiddy Hawk Cove, Myrtle Turtle Beach, Pirate’s Landing, and Seaside Splashworks, all with shallow water, lounge areas, and myriad interactive water features. Seaside Splashworks is the one with the big dump bucket.

There’s also a pair of gentle family slides called Pelican’s Plunge. All of these areas are located together for basically a large kids-only zone just for families.

Wave Pools

Nothing against wave pools – they’re a great spot to get fully immersed and cool down. They’re also a great spot to hang out on lounge chairs. Carolina Harbor has TWO wave pools, each about the same size as the other and both located at the back of the park. The water park area has kind of two lobes, with a wave pool at the beach of each, so while they’re side-by-side, they are surprisingly far from each other.

Coastal Currents

I actually prefer the lazy river over several/most of the slides here, but as lazy rivers go, this one is pretty boring. It’s crowded, in the full sun, short, and just not that interesting.

Storm Surge

The Storm Surge tower includes two tube slides and two body slides. These are the tallest slides in the park, and all slides are fully enclosed and in pitch-black darkness. I did a body slide first and felt like I never needed to do another body slide in my life ever again. It just isn’t fun.

Then I rode a tube slide, found it more enjoyable, and climbed the tall, tall tower to ride the other one and was told a manager was “checking it out,” so I had to ride the first tube again. It just left me with a bad impression, and I didn’t try again later.

Boogie Board Racer

The newest slide at Carowinds is the Boogie Board Racer, a face-first mat slide through enclosed tunnels and a checkerboard finish. It’s fun enough, but you totally get a face full of water on the way down, and I think I even bonked my head against the side of the tube.

Barracuda Blasters

Barracuda Blasters are two mirror-image (I think) tube slides that they run as a race, with two people going down simultaneously. They’re pretty short/low to the ground. My biggest beef is that they don’t supply it with enough tubes.

Hurricane Falls

Waterparks are generally a bit more awkward for solo travelers, and rides like Hurricane Falls are why. This is the only big-raft ride, and you can’t ride it by yourself. I ended up asking a couple of teenagers if they minded if I rode with them, and they didn’t, but it’s still a little weird. The ride itself is fun if nothing too notable.

Blackbeard’s Revenge

My favorite slides are the three tube slides on Blackbeard’s Revenge. Twisty and turny, not pitch black, and one practically does corkscrews. There are also three body slides on this tower, the kind where the floor drops out from under you and you go straight down, which gets a hard no from me. Also, the body slides are kind of clear, which is just unflattering for everyone involved.

What Carowinds DOESN’T Have

After riding everything at Carowinds, I am surprised to find no water rides beside the water park proper. No river rapids ride or log flume, not even a simple splashdown ride. However, I think there used to be one in the area where Copperhead Strike now is. I can definitely think of a better use for the land the Hurler sits on, or the watery area in the middle where Nighthawk should sink and die. A nice river raft doesn’t seem out of place, right? Themed after all of the rivers in Columbia, for instance.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for visits to Cedar Point, King’s Island, and some smaller amusement parks over the summer.