Carolina Cyclone's first of two corkscrews at Carowinds
2 loops, 2 corkscrews 3.5 gstrongest force on riders

Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina

Carolina Cyclone

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“The drop gives some actually good floater.”

POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
you go "WEEEEEEEEEE" and you get off
What riders love
  • The first two loops give lots of good positives and the corkscrews have cool interaction going over the path.
  • I do have a soft spot for Arrow, but this ride really surprised me with it’s super fun inversions and overall experience.
  • It is also as perfect intro to inversions in my opinion.
  • Then, you go into the very intense double loop, which is also very fun.
  • Airtime in the back, hangtime on the corkscrews, and heavy intensity through the loops and helix.
  • The inversions are very intense and the helix in the trench was fun.
  • Gotta sit in the back for that airtime pop on the drop.
  • The first half is great with boarderline ejector on the drop, and two intense loops back to back.
  • There's some great forces in the back going over the first drop.
Carolina Cyclone Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

2021 Carolina Cyclone Roller Coaster On Ride Front Seat 4K POV Carowinds

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Carolina Cyclone (4K Back Seat POV)- Carowinds, Charlotte, NC

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Carolina Cyclone POV 5K Rain Ride Arrow Dynamics Looper Carowinds, NC

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Carolina Cyclone 4k off-ride POV Carowinds

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Rough or Fun? - Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds REVIEW - RREC ep. 40

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Carolina Cyclone Review 1080p Carowinds Arrow Looper

youtube.com › Coaster Credits

Carolina Cyclone Review (Arrow Dynamics Custom Looping Coaster) Carowinds

youtube.com › Themeparkguy Productions

Carowinds Carolina Cyclone Roller Coaster

youtube.com › cmctps

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Carowinds

The pop in that back row is something that’s gonna keep me riding these old school arrows every time I come across em.

Marc Schneider

The first half is great with boarderline ejector on the drop, and two intense loops back to back.

Ben Lilly

The drop gives some actually good floater.

Caiden Brauchler

The hill between the loops and corkscrews had a surprise pop of airtime.

Eric Esty

Can’t diss that moment of death ejector tho

@MichaelBerra

It actually gave some unexpected airtime, wasn’t too rough the headbang sense, and had some intense moments.

@leonardo_decapitated4644

The ride is smooth compared to many arrow loopers and was the first to feature the somewhat over used double loop double corkscrew layout.

coaster land

If you’re on a mission to ride all of Carowinds’ roller coasters, then go for it and be prepared for some roughness.

Coaster Critic

It’s still an arrow looper, so there’s headbanging on the corkscrews, but not enough to give me a throbbing headache for the rest of the day.

Christopher S.

The forces were strong and expected and it wasn’t bad at all, first drop on corkscrew at CP is better but CC is better for everything else.

Jordan Pelaez

The loops are surprisingly forceful, but the layout is rather boring and the classic Arrow profiling makes headbanging frequent.

MapleFlakes

Definitely my favorite coaster I rode at Carowinds, I loved the intensity seeing the loops when riding up and when riding them but hated it at the same time, but would definitely ride it agian.

Cason Fraley

The entire layout has sort of a fast-paced, frenetic kind of intensity that I don’t really experience on newer coasters but enjoy quite a bit.

Michael M.

I guess it serves a purpose, probably a nice introductory coaster for kids looking to ride bigger rides or a first ride with inversions.

Adam Petersen

I love how the whole ride keeps up a great pace.

Ben Lilly

I rode this after we went to slaughterhouse at scarowinds because it was right there and it was scary honestly but at least it has a fast hill

@kevinandjosh67

This one’s rides about the same as other Arrow loopers out there; it’s enjoyable enough for a ride, and there never really seems to be a wait for it.

Evangelion Martini

I love this ride because it’s a forceful ride that is way smoother then people claim and it never has a line.

Jack Jack J.

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

95 ftHeight
325 Fury 325 232 ThunderStriker 116 FlyingCobras 113 Afterburn 95 CarolinaCyclone 90 Vortex
65 ftFirst drop
320 Fury 325 211 ThunderStriker 125 Afterburn 108 FlyingCobras 80 CopperheadStrike 65 CarolinaCyclone
41 mphTop speed
Fury 32595 ThunderStriker75 Afterburn62 CopperheadStrike50 Hurler50 CarolinaCyclone41 095 mph
53°Drop angle
81°Fury 32574°ThunderStriker65°FlyingCobras53°CarolinaCyclonedashed line: straight down, 90°
4Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

Great inversions

Criticised for

Rough or rattlyPainful or bruisingHead bangingOverrated

I love it for the nostalgia, but you must ride defensively to avoid having a headache for the rest of the day.

Matthew Ebert, Captain Coaster review

The inversions are just there for show; they do nothing but provide plenty of headbanging and not a fun experience.

stxrry figures, Captain Coaster review

Carolina Cyclone is a fun ride, but it has a strong rattle to it that can detract from the ride experience.

Nathan F, Captain Coaster review

They always look amazing and have a sort of quiet old school smoothness to them when they’re moving slowly.

David, Captain Coaster review

If you’re on a mission to ride all of Carowinds’ roller coasters, then go for it and be prepared for some roughness.

Coaster Critic, published review

The loops are worse than average and the corkscrews are better than average, but there is some headbanging.

George A., Captain Coaster review

Photos

Carolina Cyclone roller coaster at Paramount's Carowinds
Chris Hagerman, CC BY-SA 3.0
Carolina Cyclone's second loop at Carowinds. The only requirement of this license is that you give me credit, otherwise the image is free
Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
mliu92 from San Mateo, CC BY-SA 2.0
Carolina Cyclone with its new colors
Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0
Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds
mliu92 from San Mateo, CC BY-SA 2.0

10 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History

March 22, 1980Opened

A custom looping coaster, built by Arrow, designed by Ron Toomer.

$2 millionTo build
3.5 gStrongest force on riders

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Height requirement: Carowinds. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, coastercritic.com, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0), Chris Hagerman (CC BY-SA 3.0), Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands (CC BY-SA 2.0), mliu92 from San Mateo (CC BY-SA 2.0), Jeremy Thompson (CC BY 2.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

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Quote at the top of the page: Caiden Brauchler, Captain Coaster review.

What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): coaster land, rider review on Captain Coaster: “It holds up well for being the worlds first…”; Jack Jack J., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The first two loops give lots of good positives…”; Zachary Alexander Goitia, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I do have a soft spot for Arrow, but…”; Gabriel I., rider review on Captain Coaster: “It is also as perfect intro to inversions in…”; Michael M., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The entire layout has sort of a fast-paced, frenetic…”; Caiden Brauchler, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Then, you go into the very intense double loop,…”; Maddux, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Airtime in the back, hangtime on the corkscrews, and…”; Finn V., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The inversions are very intense and the helix in…”; Marc Schneider, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The pop in that back row is something that’s…”; Bryan Bonafede, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Gotta sit in the back for that airtime pop…”; Ben Lilly, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The first half is great with boarderline ejector on…”; Nathan F, rider review on Captain Coaster: “There's some great forces in the back going over…”; Eron, rider review on Captain Coaster: “You ride it, you go "WEEEEEEEEEE" and you get…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Coaster Crusader's back row POV, Carolina Cyclone (4K Back Seat POV)- Carowinds, Charlotte, NC (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.