Hurler is the lone adult wood coaster at Carowinds. The ride has a reputation as a rough
ride and is a popular candidate for a Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid conversion.
That’s especially true because Kings Dominion previously had an identical clone of this coaster
that was transformed into the awesome RMC known as Twisted Timbers. But is Hurler really as bad
as people say? Find out in this review. Both Hurler coasters opened in 1994
when both parks were owned by Paramount. As a result, the coaster was themed to Wayne’s World.
The queue line was themed to a hot film set and the station was themed to the iconic
duo’s basement hideout. But after Cedar Fair purchased both Kings Dominion and Carowinds,
the rides were stripped of their Wayne’s World theming. Today,
Hurler has zero theming and the station is this ugly, desolate warehouse.
Hurler was the only ride ever built by International Coasters, Inc.
The layout is heavily inspired by Kentucky Kingdom’s Thunder Run. And I think it’s a really
good layout. Both coasters feature a large drop followed by a low-to-the-ground turn and a series
of bunny hills, except Hurler was redesigned to have some extra bunny hills in the second half.
Both versions of Hurler have been retracked quite a bit in their lifetime.
Depending when that occurred relative to your ride would dramatically impact your experience.
My first rides on the Kings Dominion Hurler occurred in 2006 just after the coaster had
been extensively retracked. And I loved it back then. The train flew through the layout
and the ride had lots of floater airtime. But when I returned to Kings Dominion in 2012 and 2014,
the coaster was much worse. For one, it was running rougher. Two, a trim brake was
installed after the first drop sapping the coaster of its airtime and power. It was a real buzzkill.
Kings Dominion originally planned to refurbish the coaster for the 2017 season,
but they decided to instead hire RMC to transform Hurler into Twisted Timbers for the 2018 season.
And that is a vast upgrade. Twisted Timbers is one of the best airtime machines on the planet.
It’s a sea of ejector airtime. The Carowinds Hurler has been retracked in
both 2014 and 2019, but it features the same trim brake. The ride now crawls through the layout,
but it’s mostly smooth outside of the final two low-to-the-ground turns.
Unlike Kings Dominion who had two other adult wooden roller coasters when they removed Hurler,
Carowinds now only has one adult wood coaster in Hurler. So it would leave a gap in their
lineup if they were to RMC their version. Unless you visit Carowinds on an insanely
busy day, Hurler is usually a near walk-on. This coaster typically runs two trains, each
seating 28 riders, which is really good for a wood coaster. But it also isn’t the most popular ride.
Both Hurlers ran the familiar 2 bench PTC trains with individual ratcheting lap bars,
which is pretty standard for a wood coaster. My favorite row on Hurler is the front row. I
think the airtime is the strongest up there. It also is the smoothest seat. Wherever you
choose to ride, I would advise avoiding a wheel seat, or the back of a car. Those low
turns will really beat you up in those rows. Once dispatched, you turn out of the station
and ascend the 83 foot or 25 meter tall lift hill. At the top, you get a great view of a
far superior coaster in Fury 325 and then you turn 180 degrees. While this turn is super slow,
the train really shakes through it. You then head down the ride’s largest drop by far.
It’s not steep enough to induce any airtime, but it does allow the coaster to reach its max speed
of 50 mph or 80 kph for a brief instant. Once you hit that speed, you immediately hit a trim brake.
I know how much airtime this coaster can provide without that trim; however, it’s a form of mercy.
It helps prevent wear on the structure and discomfort on those low turns.
The first low turn around the station is fast and fairly comfortable.
Hurler then cruises over 3 consecutive bunny hills. Up front, the first two give very weak
pops of floater airtime. If you’re in the back, the final hill gives a faint
feeling of weightlessness. In the middle, you won’t get anything close to airtime.
You then rip around another low turn. This one is minimally banked into it,
so you get some mild laterals at the start, but halfway through the turn,
the jackhammering returns. It’s quite rough.
Then the train coasts over two more bunny hills. The first gives another small pop of airtime up
front while the second again delivers a little bit of weightlessness for those in the back.
The next element is my favorite on the ride, the banked turn under the lift. Not only are there
some nice headchoppers, but the minimal banking results in some decent laterals throughout.
Hurler then meekly goes over an airtime-less bunny hill before navigating the final low turn.
This one has pretty bad jackhammering towards the end of it, much like the prior one.
Hurler then barely makes it back to the brake run, ending the 3157 foot or 962 meter long coaster.
So what would I rate Hurler? I would give the current form that you can
experience at Carowinds a 4 out of 10. This is a subpar wooden roller coaster.
The trim brake neuters the coaster’s pacing and power. The ride does have the occasional weak
pop of airtime and it’s reasonably smooth minus the final two low turns, but it’s a shell of the
ride’s original self. The version I experienced at Kings Dominion back in 2006 that was recently
retracked and running without trims would have earned an 8 out of 10. That ride started like
Kentucky Kingdom’s Thunder Run, but it still had some airtime hills in the second half as well.
I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing the Carowinds version get RMCed as well,
but it depends if Carowinds is ok not having an adult wood coaster.
So those are my thoughts on Hurler at Carowinds. What are your thoughts on this wood coaster?
Would you like to see RMC convert it? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
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