Intimidator not 305 is a Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coaster at Carowinds.
While this coaster placed in the top 10 multiple times in Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket
Awards for the world’s best steel coaster, the ride has earned the dubious nickname among
coaster enthusiasts as Intrimidator.
But is that really fair?
Find out if Intimidator is actually underrated in this review.
Cedar Fair purchased all of the Paramount parks, including Carowinds in 2006.
To revitalize the coaster lineups of those parks, Cedar Fair purchased a trio of Bolliger
& Mabillard hyper coasters all standing roughly 230 feet or 70 meters tall with roughly 1
mile of track.
Canada’s Wonderland received Behemoth in 2008.
Kings Island received Diamondback in 2009.
And Carowinds received Intimidator in 2010.
That same year, Kings Dominion received an even larger Intamin giga coaster named Intimidator
305.
While both coasters had the same NASCAR theme, the two rides were wildly different.
I305 not only taller, but it was a far more aggressive ride experience.
In fact, some have claimed the coaster was too intense and it actually needed to be modified
after the first season.
Meanwhile, Intimidator was exactly what Carowinds needed.
It was a super reridable, floater airtime machine.
While most coaster enthusiast prefer the insanity of I305, I think Carowinds got a better return-on-investment.
This $23 million dollar ride was so well-received that Carowinds has since become one of the
chain’s most-highly invested parks.
This is part of the reason the park received Fury 325 just a few years later.
Some actually questioned the addition of Fury, claiming a B&M giga coaster was redundant
for a park with a B&M hyper.
But the two rides offer wildly different experiences and compliment each other well.
Fury 325 is about pure speed while also mixing in airtime.
Intimidator start to finish is a floater airtime machine.
Intimidator would be placed in the Celebration Plaza section near the front of the park,
replacing the former Carowinds River Adventure log flume.
And this B&M hyper coaster would make quite the impression on the park’s skyline.
The giant camelbacks run along the edge of the parking lot to excite approaching guests
and the ride’s bright red track can be seen from miles away.
It is 232 feet or 71 meters after all!
Intimidator opened as the tallest coaster in the southeast.
The only coaster that has topped it is the aforementioned Fury 325 just across the park.
The ride is named after Dale Earnhardt, a famous NASCAR racer nicknamed the Intimidator.
I love the coaster’s entry plaza.
You have a giant replica stock car and some signage about both the coaster and Earnhardt.
Then the trains have some decals on the front, but that’s the extent of the theming.
But that’s fine since the coaster’s layout can definitely stand on its own.
Intimidator is a capacity machine.
Each train seats up to 32 riders.
The coaster is always running at least 2 trains and on busy days, it often runs 3.
The crew is usually pretty solid.
They can roll two trains, but they can sometimes stack with three.
Because this is the closest coaster to the main entrance, many guests make it their first
stop.
I would advise heading to one of the lower capacity coasters like Nighthawk, Ricochet,
or Copperhead Strike first.
Intimidator’s line spikes just after opening and it’s usually manageable by the mid-afternoon
because it chews through people.
Most days, the ride is no more than a 20 minute wait.
Intimidator is also super reliable.
I mean it’s a B&M hyper, so what else would you expect.
The one thing to watch out for is that this is the most sensitive coaster at Carowinds
when it comes to wind closures.
There is a wind sensor atop the lift.
I don’t know the exact speed when it triggers a shutdown, but it seemed to corelate with
a ground wind speed hovering around the 20-25 mph mark.
That’s usually not a problem in peak summer season, but it is something to keep an eye
on in the cooler months.
Intimidator has much different trains than most B&M hypers.
Unlike most that have the standard 4-across seating, each of Intimidator’s cars are
set up like a V. You have two riders shoulder-to-shoulder in the center and then two seats flared outwards
on the edge.
B&M used this set-up for the aforementioned trio of Cedar Fair hypers and PortAventura’s
Shambhala, but it hasn’t been used since.
This set-up offers slightly better views, but it lengthens the train and makes it less
maneuverable.
The restraints are the same as other B&M hypers though.
You have the familiar B&M clamshells.
I love the contouring of these restraints and how they keep your upper-body free.
There are seatbelts as well.
I don’t think they impact the ride experience; they just slow down loading a bit.
One change to the loading of Intimidator and Fury in 2022 is that guests cannot lower their
own restraint.
The operators do this for you so they can easily check the seatbelt beforehand.
Carowinds does sometimes have assigned seating when you enter the station, but they will
usually take seating requests.
I strongly recommend trying both the front and back cars, but I think I like the back
best by a slim margin.
When you go for that front car ride, I recommend row 2.
Because of the V-style seating, this row has the same wind-in-your-face effect as row one
and it’s usually a few trains faster.
Once dispatched, you climb up the lift hill.
If you look to your right, you get a great view of the park.
Once at the top, you plummet down the 211 foot or 64 meter tall drop at a 74 degree
angle.
And it’s a really nice drop, especially if you’re in the back car.
Those in the back get good sustained floater airtime the whole way down.
This ride apparently pulls 4.3 Gs.
I imagine that occurs at the base of the first drop, but I can’t recall a moment that forceful
on this ride.
For me, Intimidator was purely floater airtime.
The second hill starts as half a camelback, so if you’re up front, you get some strong
and sustained floater airtime.
The descent is a little funky.
It starts by twisting to the right, but then it banks to the left at the bottom.
The element is smooth, much like the entire coaster, it just looks odd.
The start of the descent does give a weak little pop of airtime though if you’re in
the back.
Now get ready for the trim brakes.
The next hill is a giant camelback with a trim on the ascent.
I find that this trim is usually off or biting minimally, so the resultant airtime is strong
and sustained floater airtime.
It’s better towards the front, but it’s really good in any row.
The far turnaround is mostly a dud.
It looks aesthetically pleasing off-ride, but outside of a little whip in the back,
it’s a pretty sterile element.
Intimidator then returns to the airtime with back-to-back camelbacks.
The first of these has some more trim brakes on the ascent.
Unless it’s a super cold and/or windy day, this one will likely hit.
The airtime is great sustained floater airtime on both hills without trims.
If the trims hit, the airtime is a tad weaker in power but every bit as sustained.
The ascent into the mid-course is another nice moment up front.
You get another good dose of floater airtime.
While the first two trims don’t bother me too much, the slowdown on the mid-course grinds
my gears.
No matter the weather, this brake run slow the train a considerable amount.
While the first half had some of the best sustained airtime of any B&M hyper, Intimidator
limps to the finish line.
The drop off the mid-course gives weak floater airtime.
But before you even finish the drop, it sort of feels like the train is slowing down since
the front of the long train is already climbing the subsequent hill.
The top of that next hill does give a pinch of floater airtime for those up front.
You then navigate a 360 degree helix that swoops down and up.
The lowest point delivers some decent positive Gs.
The drop off this helix has a nice headchopper with the start of the element and it also
gives a little floater airtime for those in back, but similar to the drop off the mid-course,
you feel the train decelerating by the bottom since the front is already climbing into the
final brake run.
And on that note, the final hill into the brake run does give a tiny bit of floater
airtime for those up front.
You then hit the brakes, ending the 5316 foot or 1620 meter long coaster.
So what would I rate Intimidator?
I would give this B&M hyper coaster an 8 out of 10.
This is a good coaster.
I think the Intrimidator name is a little unfair.
While there are two trims in the first half, the airtime is wonderful regardless if they’re
active.
B&M really is the master of sustained floater airtime.
The second half is really weak though, which is the ride’s biggest downside.
The final few elements are quite slow due to the mid-course brake and not overly exciting.
But the first half carries Intimidator and the smooth ride keeps me coming back.
I think Intimidator is in the lower half of B&M hypers because of its uneven pacing, but
it’s still a really fun ride with plenty of floater airtime in that first half.
And if you want to see what the best B&M mega coaster looks like, just walk across the park
to Fury 325.
So those are my thoughts on Intimidator not 305 at Carowinds.
What are your thoughts on this B&M hyper?
Do the trim brakes bother you?
Let me know how you think it compares to the other B&M hypers down in the comments.
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