In a world where the average roller coaster rider wants taller, faster, scarier....there are some coasters still leftover from the early days when coasters became more than going up and down tall hills. When the age of coasters started moving into the kind that would flip you over in loops or spin you around in corkscrews and so forth, that's the time in which the "Carolina Cyclone" came about.

Located in the Carolina Boardwalk area of Carowinds theme park in Charlotte, SC, the Cyclone is one of the older coasters in the park.....AND one of the ones whose time has come and gone and should be put out to pasture.

The ride itself isn't terrible, but that's the highest praise that can be given it. The initial drop into the first loop still manages to make my stomach do a flip, but that's over quickly....and sad to say, so is the entire ride. It's over a bit too quickly, with the ride lasting maybe...MAYBE....somewhere between 1-2 minutes long. You basically have two loops, a corkscrew and then some quick racing through coiled track before coming to an end.

As if the ride itself wasn't shot by it's overly short ride time, I'm sure many also can't help but be puzzled by it's very strange paint scheme as well: orange, yellow, and blue....with the colors alternating at weird points.

All in all, it's a very outdated coaster that probably ought to be replaced. But I'd rather see it stick around longer than others there like, The Vortex. For the best rides on Carolina Cyclone, either go for the very front car or the very back.