Carolina Cyclone
Steel Looper at Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina. Opened 1980.
- Height
- 95 ft
- Drop
- 65 ft
- Top speed
- 41 mph
- Length
- 2,100 ft
- Inversions
- 4
- Ride time
- 1 min 30 s
- Designer
- Arrow Dynamics
Carolina Cyclone is a steel looping roller coaster at Carowinds, the amusement park on the state line between North and South Carolina in Charlotte. Arrow Dynamics built it, and it opened on March 22, 1980. The park says it was the first roller coaster in the world with four inversions.
After a 95-foot chain lift and a 65-foot drop, trains run through two vertical loops and a pair of corkscrews that the park calls barrel rolls, then finish with an uphill helix before returning to the station. The ride reaches 41 mph on 2,100 feet of track, and a cycle lasts about a minute and a half.
Two trains of seven cars each carry 28 riders apiece. Trains from Kings Island's Vortex, which closed after the 2019 season, were sent to Carowinds for use on Carolina Cyclone. The park's minimum height is 48 inches.
Sources
- sixflags.com/carowinds/attractions/carolina-cyclone (Park page: debuted March 1980 as the first roller coaster in the world with four inversions; 95-foot lift; two vertical loops, two barrel rolls and a 450-degree uphill helix; up to 41 mph; minimum height 48 inches.)
- rcdb.com/81.htm (RCDB: operating since March 22, 1980; Arrow Dynamics custom looping coaster; length 2,100 ft, height 95 ft, drop 65 ft, 41 mph, 4 inversions (two loops, double corkscrew), duration 1:30; 2 trains of 7 cars, 28 riders; Kings Island Vortex trains sent to Carowinds after 2019.)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Cyclone (Wikipedia: opened March 22, 1980; Arrow Dynamics, designer Ron Toomer; 95 ft, drop 65 ft, 2,100 ft, 41 mph, 4 inversions, 1:30.)
Numbers are from the ride's manufacturer and park where published; "n/a" means we have not confirmed that number yet. Spotted an error? Tell us.