I don’t consider myself a roller coaster enthusiast, but there are only a few coasters that I won’t ride. We recently visited Dollywood and I rode everything, including the Lightning Rod, the fastest wooden rollercoaster in the world.
There’s an unexplainable rush when you ride a rollercoaster that goes really high or drops at an unbelievable angle. Coaster designers constantly try to outdo each other by going taller, faster, or steeper.
The Fury 325 coaster at Carowinds theme park in North Carolina is in a class called giga-coasters, which have heights from 300 to 399 feet. With a peak height of 325 feet, the coaster is in a class that others only dream of reaching. In addition, the coaster traverses both North Carolina and South Carolina on its journey while propelling guests at speeds up to 95 MPH. It’s been named the Best Steel Rollercoaster by Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards every year since 2015.
So it’s quite a shock that the coaster is closed until further notice after a guest called 911 and alerted the park after noticing a crack in one of the support beams.
That video is scary to watch and thankfully no one was hurt.
Carowinds is owned by Cedar Fair, which operates many regional themeparks around the US, including Schlitterbahn, our favorite water park. My main question is how did such a big crack in a main support beam go unnoticed?
With rides getting more extreme, it’s more important than ever to ensure they’re safe to ride.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Cover Photo from Flickr by Martin Lewison licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
