As much as I like roller coasters, and for all the fun I had working at Carowinds in 1985, you would think I would’ve found time to make the drive from Raleigh to Charlotte for a weekend of fun at the park. For whatever reason, though, I’d never done it. My last visit was in 1994, two years after I moved to Raleigh. Though it went largely unfulfilled, my love for coasters lived on. Now that I’ve got a wife and kids who are old enough to appreciate it I figured it was a good time to make the pilgrimage.

We hit the road a little around 6:45 this morning for the three-hour drive to the park. Traffic was light and the ride was easy. We got there right on time, rolling into the Carowinds lot minutes after the park opened at 10. After some thorough applications of sunscreen we headed for the South Gate, with the new Intimidator ride looming over us.

Carowinds now searches bags and runs its visitors through metal detectors. This was a sign of the times but quite effortless. We handed the attendant our preprinted tickets and made it through the gate with no problems.
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