Copperhead Strike
Copperhead Strike | |
---|---|
Carowinds | |
Park section | Blue Ridge Junction |
Status | Under construction |
Opening date | 2019 |
Replaced | Thunder Road |
General statistics | |
Type | Steel |
Manufacturer | Mack Rides |
Model | Launch Coaster |
Height | 82 ft (25 m) |
Length | 3,255 ft (992 m) |
Speed | 50 mph (80 km/h) |
Inversions | 5 |
Duration | 2:24 min |
Height restriction | 52 in (132 cm) |
Trains | 3 trains with 4 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 16 riders per train. |
Copperhead Strike at RCDB Pictures of Copperhead Strike at RCDB |
Copperhead Strike is a double launched roller coaster under construction at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina.[1] Manufactured by Mack Rides, the ride will debut for the 2019 season as part of a newly themed area, Blue Ridge Junction. The ride is the first double-launched roller coaster,[2] and the second launched coaster at Carowinds, after White Lightnin' (now Golden Loop at Gold Reef City).
History
Whitewater Falls, a Hopkins Rides shoot-the-chutes water attraction opened in 1988, closed at the end of the 2016 season. No official reasoning was given by the park for the closure of the ride, and the ride remained standing but not operating throughout the 2017 season until it was removed. In 2018, Carowinds began teasing a new attraction for the area formerly home to Whitewater Falls. On August 30, 2018, Carowinds officially announced Copperhead Strike, along with it's accompanying area, becoming the largest investment in the park's history.
Ride experience
The ride starts with a slow barrel roll out of the station before a right hand turn into Granny's Jam building. When something in the building goes wrong, riders are launched out of the building at 42 mph into the first of two vertical loops. They then careen into an airtime hill and a fast paced corkscrew, before hitting a turnaround and jumping into the next launch. This one is actually situated over an airtime hill and is virtually unheard of on a Mack roller coaster. The launch boosts the speed from 35 mph to 50 mph,[1] and speeds into an inverted top hat of sorts. That is followed by the second vertical loop around the track following the second launch. It then zooms straight through the first vertical loop and proceeds to travel along some high speed twists and turns in the middle of the ride's spread out structure. That takes it in one last airtime hill towards the brake run, situated directly outside of the station.
Characteristics
Theme
Incorporated into the new area known as Blue Ridge Junction,[3] the ride places guests in the shoes of visitors to old Granny Byrd's farmhouse, way out by the edge of town, where Granny's been cooking up her prize-winning jam for more than 40 years..but jam's not the only thing Granny's been cooking in the old shed beside her house, and she's not too keen on folks snooping around her still!
References
- 1 2 Carowinds (August 30, 2018). "Copperhead Strike, The Carolina's First Double Launch Coaster". Carowinds. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ↑ Marks, John (30 August 2018). "Carowinds is adding another roller coaster. It will be fast". charlotteobserver. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- ↑ Digital, WCYB (30 August 2018). "Carowinds announces biggest park investment ever with 'Copperhead Strike'". WCYB. Retrieved 30 August 2018.