Hello everyone. :}
This is Thrillography, coming at you from the Culver's outside of Carowinds!
The time has finally come for us to meet the newest star in the roller coaster universe, FURY 325!
Following a lovely extended weekend at Dollywood for their 30th season opener (more on that later), I joined several coaster enthusiasts from all over to take on this mighty beast of a coaster!
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| Fury 325: Too much for one state to handle. |
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It's so beautiful!
(The new parking lot, that is. Fury's nice too. ;} ) |
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| Intimidator is also open today in support of its new sibling! |
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| Here we have the 91º whoopsie-daisy. :} |
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| It kinda looks like an "&" from some angles. |
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| Woohoo! With a fancy new coaster comes a fancy new entrance for Carowinds. |
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| Everyone's checking in at the fancy new ticket booths! |
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| #redcarpetrealness |
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| RAWR! A late-adolescence t-rex and a bed of daffodils are also ready for Media Day! |
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| Also new is this monstrosity. More on that later. |
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| We've still got another 45 minutes before the ride opens. What to do? |
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| SHOPPING! :D |
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| They have giant squishy hornets up for adoption! |
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| Most of the attendees were crowded around the entrance to Fury, but we were soon summoned to the stage for announcements! |
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| Just as Carowinds General Manager Mike Fehnel was beginning his speech, the governor of South Carolina called to say hello! |
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| Then the governor of North Carolina called! They both wished us well on our day of Fury 325! |
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| And then the mayor of Charlotte called! Imagine that. :} |
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| We have representatives in attendance from B&M, including Walter Bollinger's daughter, Sophie! |
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| And finally, we were treated to a video showcasing the design and construction process of Fury. |
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| WOOOOOOO! FURY 325 IS OPEN! |
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| *EXPLOSIONS* |
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| *FIRE* |
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| *o* |
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| So Fury is hornet themed, but the hexagonal motif (a la honeycombs) is everywhere. Do hornets make honey? Is this a thing? Is it just the hornets at Carowinds? :} |
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| I guess Fury is smooth as honey, so it works. |
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| We were given special permission to photograph our on-ride photos today! :} |
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| Fury's game is simple: It's the sustained speed and power of Millennium Force, but with some solid, consistent airtime. BIG airtime bunny hops with nice, prolonged floater air. |
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| The ferocity of the ride's pacing is nice. There's a ton of aggression and transitions in the first half, and then everything after the 91º stall is still top-notch hyper coaster fare. |
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| Speaking of top-notch hyper coaster fare, we haven't forgotten you Intimidator! The park's original steel airtime machine is still a great time (albeit a bit more sluggish today than on my 2012 visit). |
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| And, speaking of which (again), there have been several changes at Carowinds since my Coaster Con 2012 visit. In addition to Fury 325, the new entrance, new parking booths, and additional parking, Carowinds is now home to the fabulous Harmony Hall dinner-and-music venue. Also, RipCord hopped across the park and landed between Flying Ace Aerial Chase and Panda Express. |
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| It's chow time, Michael! |
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| These ice sculptures are nice sculptures, amirite? :} |
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| Inside Harmony Hall is great live music and great food for all! |
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| Offerings include snacks, |
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| fancy truffles, |
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| Casseroles and chicken wings, |
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| and seafood! :D |
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| Mmmmmm ^_^ |
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| After lunch, I decided to go out into the entrance area and take some pictures. |
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| The sun had finally decided to come out, so I couldn't resist. :} |
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| Every minute or so, a train of screaming riders tears through all 6500+ ft of Fury in almost no time at all! |
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| Fury's roar is not unlike that of a jet engine; it's loud enough to be heard from all over the park! |
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| As you can see, most of the attendees were having lunch at this point. :} |
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| This is probably the ride's best part. There's just nothing like it on any other coaster. |
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| Hello happy Fury riders! :} |
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| You'll get whipped around pretty good in those rightmost seats if you're not careful! |
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| Yeah, and the drop is nice. It just lasts forever! |
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| I'd say Fury is the coolest coaster in the Carolinas at this point. B} |
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| Here's the only moment on the ride where you *might* be able to catch your breath. It's airtime city from here on out! |
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| Gotta give the hammerhead some love, too. Because it's so low to the ground (compared to the first drop), it's over in a flash! Amazing forces! |
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| Get down to the Carolinas and ride this ride. Several times. Right now. |
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| That's exactly what Michael and I did. :} |
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| XTREME FURY 325 FRONT SEAT POV STATION CRAZINESS!! |
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| Our front seat ride finally allowed for us to take a decent selfie in the station (lighting n' stuff is weird). :} |
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| FRONT SEAT RIDE YAAAAAAS!!! |
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| After five rides on Fury, it's time to take advantage of our free ride on Slingshot! |
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| ♪Off we go! Into the wide blue yonder!♪ |
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| Slingshot selfie! Our ride was awesome; there was much flipping to be had. :} |
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| And that's a wrap! Lines closed at 2:30, and we were all out by 3. |
Thank you Carowinds for putting on such a fabulous event! I can't wait for everyone to come down and ride Fury 325. You've got a future world-renowned coaster on your hands!
And thank you to everyone I saw today for hanging out with me! I love you all! :}
There's a lot more excitement to come this season; make sure to keep up with all of Thrillography's happenings by liking us on Facebook!
Until next time. ;}
