• Gavin Baez

    Airtimes First Drop Ejectors Inconfort

    El Toro is known to be the best wooden roller coaster in the world right now according to the golden ticket awards. To me, El Toro is perfect, besides it’s intensity. It’s speed and airtime are so extreme, that you’ll get a slight beating depending on where you sit. I sat in the very back and on the second hill, I banged my head on the back of the train. That doesn’t mean that wherever you sit, you’ll get a rough ride. It just means that if you sit more towards the front you’ll have a perfect experience on this amazing coaster. El Toro is perfect in its airtime, speed, turns, and theming.

  • Manuel G.

    Lap Bar Intensité Layout Trop court

    Hm. Difficult to rate this one. Let's start with the first encounter. You walk onto this plaza and you see the Sky-Rocket-II-structure towering in red - the station being decorated in a haunted-house-style, though. The theming around it is weird, not creating a spooky atmosphere at all and not being coherent. For example, the area around it features wrecked cars and a stretch limousine. Secondly, you kind of don't know what to expect in the cue line. It warns you about scary displays, that you mustn't enter under the age of 14 and with any bags. This is especially annoying, as it causes a lot of confusion, yet nothing happens if you take your bag with you and they even have a shelf for them in the station. The cue line in itself does not feature actors, but is merely scary decoration with some surprisingly old-school animatronics occasionally trying to startle you with movement and loud noise. Apart from these it is designed well, but pretty short and does not seem to improve the ride as much as, say, the Xpress cue line at Walibi Holland - it has too much of a fair ride vibe. Operations are efficient, although the cars are so small that getting to the other side to stow your backpack away is kind of a struggle. The ride: You get launched forward very softly into what could be a loop for all you get to know of the track by then. Of course, you don't make it far and roll back into the station. That moment feels a lot like the airtime on the highest point of a pendulum ride. What follows is probably the highlight: being launched backwards into yet another loop - this time you already reach quite a height. The force felt here is a relatively uncommon sensation and strongest in the back row. For this reason alone, I think this ride is best experienced there. You once again drop back into the station and get your final launch (none of these three feel strong whatsoever). Next comes a series of elements, that feel kind of like a quick best-of-coaster-experiences. Because the track is bent upwards in such a narrow radius, the positives are strong, but you immediately twist violently and get very strong airtime, when you reach the top of the ride, heads up. Next in line is a slow inline twist with beautiful hangtime, a feeling enhanced by the lap bars, before you tumble down into a non-inverting loop with once again strong positives at the bottom. The ride is intelligently designed to feature so many good things in such a concise space and is consistently forceful. Still, it fails to leave a lasting impression - it simply feels to flat-ridish.

  • Halish R.

    First Drop Intensité Ejectors Trop court

    Everything you want in a wooden coaster this had.

  • stxrry figures

    Situation Baffes Inversions Inconfort

    The inversions are just there for show; they do nothing but provide plenty of headbanging and not a fun experience. Nice location over a main walkway though. Giving 2 stars is generous.

  • stxrry figures

    Lap Bar Fun Layout Inconfort

    Great for a kiddie ride. This is a wooden coaster with small pops of airtime and fun twists and turns for the whole family. The line moves fast. Situated near a slushee stand for convenient, albeit expensive, Icees. $6 for a regular sized icee though they are huge and extremely tasty.

  • stxrry figures

    Situation Fun Inconfort Intensité

    You cannot expect a wildmouse coaster to not be uncomfortable and whippy. But this one is relatively smooth and the small airtime hills make for a small but fun ride element. I only ride this ride if I am over there by the County Fair. I woud not go out of my way or across the park to ride this ride. Great for kids. 4-seat cars and fast moving lines as it is a shorter ride.

  • stxrry figures

    Bonne suprise ! Confort Fun Temps mort

    Not many people love this one but it is buttery smooth and a nice refresher for small children and equally-as-scared adults.

  • stxrry figures

    Situation Vitesse Vibrations Inconfort Airtimes

    Rough. This ride is much worse compared to it’s older counterpart, Goldrusher.

  • stxrry figures

    Inversions Confort Hangtime Fiabilité

    This ride was fantastic and impossibly smooth. The heartline roll just out of the station had insane hangtime and a perfect representation of what to come. The building you go into for the launch was beautifully themed and a nice look into the Carolinas’ history; copperheads and kettles make for a great, rustic theme! The Plymouth in the queue line was a beautiful touch. After the first launch, you blast your way into the vertical loop (hangtime, friend or foe, is a huge part of this coaster). This ride is surprisingly smooth compared to the Fury 325, but these were built different years and by different companes, so it is hard to really compare them. This ride has fantastic pops of ejector airtime, 5! inversions, and a beautiful second launch situated over an airtime hill. I recommend this ride for all ages and all coaster enthusiasts. Ride wait on a cool summer night during the weekday was about 30 minutes, even with the ride needing maintenance.

  • stxrry figures

    Bonne suprise ! Situation Fun Inconfort

    For Carowinds’ first ride, this coaster is still going strong after over 40 years. It is definitely better and more intense at night, though the very back feels way less intense than say, the 3rd to last seats. Overall good for a minetrain coaster but due to being wooden it is still rough in some areas.