Vortex's corkscrew at Carowinds
Ridden standing upa stand-up by Bolliger & Mabillard Upside down 2 times

Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina

Vortex

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POV
Ride it: back row POV
What riders love
  • It’s actually a really smooth coaster with an intense layout with a solid loop and corkscrew and some forceful turns.
  • Short and sweet stand-up with good forces throughout.
  • This thing is extremely intense and really not that bad if you bend your legs before they lock the seats.
  • I did not get any headbanging, only part I kind of had to brace I guess was the corkscrew, which has a hell of a whip.
  • From the cutest little lift hill to that lovely twist after that corkscrew, Vortex is a great ride!
  • i genuinely enjoyed this ride, it has some moments of good forces and i like the 2 inversions.
  • I expected to have a similar opinion after riding it again, but surprisingly I actually quite enjoyed it!
  • My first standing coaster. I don't see why everyone hates it so much.
  • Wow, guess I'm one of the few who actually enjoyed Vortex.
Vortex Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

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Performance

Vs. other coasters at Carowinds

Add in solid airtime on the drops and whip on the corkscrew, and you end up with a nice underrated ride.

Carter Eckhart

It also had airtime coming out of the turn over the lift hill and the corkscrew provides insane whip.

Aric The Kakapo

Plus there’s this one moment that actually has good airtime.

Inverted Thrills

It’s actually a really smooth coaster with an intense layout with a solid loop and corkscrew and some forceful turns.

Cooper Zimmerman

And unfortunately, you may experience some headbanging as your head comes in contact with the restraints that are over your shoulders.

Coaster Critic

This ride has a solid layout with many intense moments, but the rattle and the standup trains suck up almost all enjoyment out of the ride.

Ben Lilly

The only reason I give this a full star is it has a solid level of intensity that gives it a redeeming quality so i think that is important to mention.

coaster land

This thing is extremely intense and really not that bad if you bend your legs before they lock the seats.

CoasterBroCam

i genuinely enjoyed this ride, it has some moments of good forces and i like the 2 inversions.

SnowyShores

...I was in the front row, which seems to be the best place to ride these.) The inversions are fun and taking them while standing up definitely gives a unique experience and increases the intensity.

Michael M.

It is not intense, but it doesn’t have to be.

Caiden Brauchler

Vortex gets a few points for its novelty, but unfortunately, loses a few points for its rough ride and slow loading times.

Coaster Critic

Vortex had notoriously slow dispatches, as the seat height had to be readjusted for every row and it took long (20 min).

Aric The Kakapo

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

90 ftHeight
325 Fury 325 232 ThunderStriker 116 FlyingCobras 113 Afterburn 95 CarolinaCyclone 90 Vortex
80 ftFirst drop
320 Fury 325 211 ThunderStriker 125 Afterburn 108 FlyingCobras 80 Vortex 80 CopperheadStrike
50 mphTop speed
Fury 32595 ThunderStriker75 Afterburn62 Vortex50 CopperheadStrike50 Hurler50 095 mph
2Inversions

What riders say

Criticised for

OverratedPainful or bruisingHead bangingRough or rattlyUncomfortable restraints

I went on Vortex and expected to get destroyed, buy it actually wasn’t that rough.

Matthew Blair, Captain Coaster review

If you enjoy crotch pain, blood rushing into your feet and having your head caved in from blunt force trauma, look no further!

The Real E-Rock, Captain Coaster review

Sure, much of the layout is filler, and the standup gimmick is a harm, but the inversions are cool and it isn’t too uncomfortable to be unenjoyable.

Birb from not Canada, Captain Coaster review

I did not get any headbanging, only part I kind of had to brace I guess was the corkscrew, which has a hell of a whip.

Barclay Weil, Captain Coaster review

Vortex gets a few points for its novelty, but unfortunately, loses a few points for its rough ride and slow loading times.

Coaster Critic, published review

I couldn’t pay much attention to what was happening in the ride, as I was too focused on how uncomfortable it was.

nobody important, Captain Coaster review

Photos

Vortex at Carowinds
Coasterman1234, CC BY-SA 3.0
Vortex's drop immediately before its corkscrew at Carowinds
Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Vortex's loop at Carowinds
Coasterman1234 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Vortex roller coaster at Paramount's Carowinds
Chris Hagerman, CC BY-SA 3.0
Vortex in 2023
Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0
Next up was the semi-upright/standing Vortex, pretty short and sweet
mliu92 from San Mateo, CC BY-SA 2.0
Vortex at Carowinds
Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California, CC BY 2.0
Vortex at Carowinds
Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California, CC BY 2.0
Vortex at Carowinds
Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California, CC BY 2.0
Vortex at Carowinds
Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California, CC BY 2.0
Vortex at Carowinds
Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California, CC BY 2.0

11 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History

March 14, 1992Opened

A stand-up coaster, built by Bolliger & Mabillard, designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel.

$5.5 millionTo build

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, themeparkjames.co.uk, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Coasterman1234 (CC BY-SA 3.0), Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0), Coasterman1234 at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0), Chris Hagerman (CC BY-SA 3.0), Jeremy Thompson (CC BY 2.0), mliu92 from San Mateo (CC BY-SA 2.0), Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California (CC BY 2.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

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What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Kw6sTheater, rider review on Captain Coaster: “It’s a solid B&M coaster, certainly one that packs…”; Cooper Zimmerman, rider review on Captain Coaster: “It’s actually a really smooth coaster with an intense…”; Sean Reardon, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Short and sweet stand-up with good forces throughout.”; CoasterBroCam, rider review on Captain Coaster: “This thing is extremely intense and really not that…”; Michael M., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The inversions are fun and taking them while standing…”; Barclay Weil, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I did not get any headbanging, only part I…”; Savannah the Savage, rider review on Captain Coaster: “From the cutest little lift hill to that lovely…”; SnowyShores, rider review on Captain Coaster: “i genuinely enjoyed this ride, it has some moments…”; Caiden Brauchler, rider review on Captain Coaster: “This Standup coaster is so underrated! I went in…”; MapleFlakes, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I expected to have a similar opinion after riding…”; Colligo, rider review on Captain Coaster: “My first standing coaster. I don't see why everyone…”; rcwizard13, forum post on kicentral.com: “Wow, guess I'm one of the few who actually…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Theme Park POV's back row POV, 2021 Vortex Stand Up Roller Coaster On Ride Back Row 4K POV Carowinds (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.