<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en-US">
<head profile="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>Karol&#8217;s Roller Coaster Tour 2011</title>
<meta name="robots" content="noodp, noydir" />
<meta name="description" content="1 man, 3 months, 13,000 miles, every roller coaster in the United States." />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/layout.css" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/custom.css" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/archive.css" type="text/css" media="all" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/favicon1.ico" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://rollercoastertour.com/" />
</head>
<body class="custom">
<div id="archive_note">Archived from 2011 &bull; Comments are closed</div>
<div id="header_area" class="full_width">
<div class="page">
<div class="menu-primary-menu-container"><ul id="menu-primary-menu" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-97" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-97"><a href="/about/">About</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-96" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-96"><a href="/route/">Route</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-95" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-95"><a href="/sponsors/">Sponsors</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-94" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-94"><a href="/press/">Press</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-93" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-93"><a href="/blog/">Blog</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-92" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-92"><a href="/meet-me/">Meet Me</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-91" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-91"><a href="/contact/">Contact Karol</a></li>
</ul></div>
	<div id="ribbon"><a href="/sponsors/"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/ribbon.png" width="304" height="44" alt="Sponsor the Roller Coaster Tour" /></a>
	</div>

	<div id="logo"><a href="/"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/logo.png" alt="RollerCoasterTour.com" /></a>
	</div>

	<div id="header">
	</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="content_area" class="full_width">
<div class="page">
	<div id="content_box">
		<div id="content" class="hfeed">

<div id="videoWidget">
<div class="widget">			<div class="textwidget"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/k-hdxIrPEds?rel=0&amp;autoplay=1" srcdoc="&lt;style&gt;*{margin:0;padding:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{height:100%;background:#000}img{width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover}span{position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;margin:-24px 0 0 -34px;background:#f00;border-radius:12px;opacity:.85}span:after{content:&#x27;&#x27;;position:absolute;left:27px;top:14px;border-style:solid;border-width:10px 0 10px 18px;border-color:transparent transparent transparent #fff}a:hover span{opacity:1}&lt;/style&gt;&lt;a href=&#x27;https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/k-hdxIrPEds?rel=0&amp;autoplay=1&#x27;&gt;&lt;img src=&#x27;/images/yt-k-hdxIrPEds.jpg&#x27; alt=&#x27;Play video&#x27;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;" title="YouTube video" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
		</div></div>
<div style="clear: both;"></div>
			<div class="post-548 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates post_box top" id="post-548">
				<div class="headline_area">
					<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/carowinds-charlotte-nc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Not Intimidated At Carowinds – Charlotte, NC">Not Intimidated At Carowinds &#8211; Charlotte, NC</a></h2>
					<p class="headline_meta">by <span class="author vcard fn">Karol</span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-08-14">August 14, 2011</abbr></p>
				</div>
				<div class="format_text entry-content">
<p style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" title="Carowinds" src="/images/6040121732_b14df9c49a.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">In my current quest of <a href="http://www.ridiculouslyextraordinary.com/living-on-impulse-1/" target="_blank">living on impulse</a> I happened to be in Charlotte. I saw signs for Carowinds and &#8230; well &#8230; I couldn&#8217;t resist. It had been almost 2 months since I last rode a roller coaster. Since Carowinds is a Cedar Fair park and I have  a Platinum Pass, it wouldn&#8217;t cost me a penny (free parking!) to go to the park. So I did. :)</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Mostly I just wanted to ride The Intimidator, which is a great steel coaster. There was a single rider line so I barely had to wait!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" title="The Intimidator" src="/images/6039570205_3bd252b3bb.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">It was fun. It felt weird since I hadn&#8217;t been on a coaster for a while. A girl in front of me screamed in terror for the entire ride. All in all, good times.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Afterwards I walked around the park a bit and <em>had to</em> go on the Hurler, Carowinds&#8217; resident wooden coaster. It was bumpy. I think I inadvertently elbowed the girl next to me in the face.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" title="Hurler" src="/images/6039564917_c2d5571da1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">That was that. I left. I felt good. But the tour is still over. I&#8217;m not going on more coasters.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Unless I do. ;)</p>
<p class="to_comments"><span class="bracket">{</span> <a href="/carowinds-charlotte-nc/#comments" rel="nofollow"><span>0</span> comments</a> <span class="bracket">}</span></p>

 <center><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/bigDivider.png" alt="" /></center>
				</div>
			</div>
			<div class="teasers_box">

			<div class="post-536 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser" id="post-536">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/economics-of-roller-coaster-tour/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to The Economics (and Official End) of Roller Coaster Tour">The Economics (and Official End) of Roller Coaster Tour</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-07-12">July 12, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>I&#8217;m calling it. I&#8217;m not sure what my next excursion is going to be (although I&#8217;m strongly leaning towards moving to Nashville for a couple months), but I&#8217;m not going on any more coasters for a while. Maybe never. As I&#8217;ve said a thousand times before I&#8217;m not a coaster enthusiast. This was simply something [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/economics-of-roller-coaster-tour/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			<div class="post-523 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser teaser_right" id="post-523">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/tour-hiatus/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to In Which Tour Goes On Hiatus and I Get Another Idiotic Comment">In Which Tour Goes On Hiatus and I Get Another Idiotic Comment</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-07-02">July 2, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>I&#8217;m not well. I severely downplayed what happened at Six Flags Over Texas due to ego and not wanting to scare my family/friends who read this site. Driving from Arlington, TX to Hot Springs, AR a few days ago took me ~8 hours when it&#8217;s only a 4-5 hour drive. I had to stop regularly [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/tour-hiatus/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			</div>

			<div class="teasers_box">

			<div class="post-509 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser" id="post-509">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/six-flags-over-texas/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to In Which I Black Out at Six Flags Over Texas">In Which I Black Out at Six Flags Over Texas</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-28">June 28, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>Blacking out might be going too far although my vision did go near black / really blurry 3 times. It was really hot today at over 100F/38C. As many people who know me know, I absolutely love heat. Unfortunately, I haven&#8217;t been in this kind of heat for a long time and I just wasn&#8217;t [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/six-flags-over-texas/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			<div class="post-489 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser teaser_right" id="post-489">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/sea-world-san-antonio/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Shocked By The Steel Eel at Sea World San Antonio">Shocked By The Steel Eel at Sea World San Antonio</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-27">June 27, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>I got to Sea World about 15 minutes before it opened and it looked packed. There were people everywhere and even the will call line had about 10 people in front of me. Whoa! But don&#8217;t worry, I cut that whole entrance line you see in the photo above. I don&#8217;t have a kid or [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/sea-world-san-antonio/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			</div>

			<div class="teasers_box">

			<div class="post-474 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser" id="post-474">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/six-flags-fiesta-texas/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Six Flags Fiesta Texas Makes Children Cry">Six Flags Fiesta Texas Makes Children Cry</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-26">June 26, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>Last month I wrote a quick message on my Posterous about how I&#8217;d increase Six Flags&#8217; revenue $1 million within 12 months. That has nothing to do with anything here except that I&#8217;m thinking about fleshing out what I wrote there and posting it here on RollerCoasterTour.com. Now I actually think what I&#8217;d implement would [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/six-flags-fiesta-texas/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			<div class="post-463 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser teaser_right" id="post-463">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/elitch-gardens/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Slingshotting 216 Feet Up In Downtown Denver at Elitch Gardens">Slingshotting 216 Feet Up In Downtown Denver at Elitch Gardens</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-22">June 22, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>This morning on the way to Elitch Gardens Kristin said &#8220;I&#8217;m a little nervous.&#8221; My response was &#8220;yeah, I get nervous too.&#8221; Little did we know what we were in for. :) We met Jimmy, who would show us around the park, at the front gates and got right to it. We started out easily [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/elitch-gardens/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			</div>

			<div class="teasers_box">

			<div class="post-457 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser" id="post-457">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/lakeside-amusement-park/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Night Rides at Lakeside Amusement Park">Night Rides at Lakeside Amusement Park</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-21">June 21, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>I just got back from Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver, CO. The &#8220;adult&#8221; rides don&#8217;t open until around 7pm so I headed there around 8 when the sun was setting. There was only one coaster on my list today, the Cyclone. It&#8217;s a classic wooden coaster that has been around since 1940. I paid my [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/lakeside-amusement-park/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			<div class="post-452 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser teaser_right" id="post-452">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/lagoon-theme-park/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Becoming An Honorary Mormon At Lagoon Theme Park">Becoming An Honorary Mormon At Lagoon Theme Park</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-18">June 18, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>I&#8217;m just kidding. Don&#8217;t get mad at me. After the park today I actually went on an unexpected tour of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City conducted by two very nice girls. They were exceptionally friendly even after finding out about my own non-beliefs and I respect that. Too bad I didn&#8217;t get to [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/lagoon-theme-park/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			</div>

			<div class="teasers_box">

			<div class="post-441 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates teaser" id="post-441">
<h2 class="entry-title"><a href="/las-vegas-thrill-rides-coasters/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to No Cliché Headline About Las Vegas, Just The Thrill Rides">No Cliché Headline About Las Vegas, Just The Thrill Rides</a></h2>
<abbr class="teaser_date published" title="2011-06-17">June 17, 2011</abbr>

				<div class="format_teaser entry-content">
<p>I woke up this morning with quite a bit of pain, but not as much as yesterday, so that made me happy. What made me happier? I drove over to Ronald&#8217;s Donuts to get vegan donuts (an apple rollup and a raspberry filled). It&#8217;s a rite of passage for any vegan who comes to Vegas. Of [...]</p>
				</div>
<a class="teaser_link" href="/las-vegas-thrill-rides-coasters/" rel="nofollow">Read the full article &rarr;</a>
			</div>

			</div>

			<div class="prev_next">
				<p class="previous"><a href="/page/2/">&larr; Previous Entries</a></p>
			</div>

		</div>

		<div id="sidebars">
			<div id="sidebar_1" class="sidebar">
				<ul class="sidebar_list">
<li class="widget widget_text" id="text-11">			<div class="textwidget"><a href="https://twitter.com/karolgajda"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/twitterIcon.png" width="67" height="73" alt="Follow me on Twitter!" style="margin-right: 10px;" /></a>
<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/rollercoastertour"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/rssIcon.png" width="67" height="73" alt="Subscribe via RSS" style="margin-right: 10px;" /></a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/rollercoastertour"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/youtubeIcon.png" width="67" height="73" alt="Watch on YouTube" /></a>
</div>
		</li><li class="widget widget_text" id="text-10"><h3>The Details</h3>			<div class="textwidget"><p><strong>The Trip:</strong> <a href="/route/">3 Months & 13,000 Miles</a></p>
<p><strong>The Goal:</strong> Ride Every Coaster in the U.S.!</p>
</div>
		</li><li class="widget widget_text" id="text-9"><h3>Where I Am</h3>			<div class="textwidget"><p><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/whereIAmIcon.png" width="99" height="63" alt="Where is Karol Gajda?" style="float: right; margin: 0 50px 5px 5px;" /><br />
<strong><a href="/route/">Follow the route here.</a></strong></p>
</div>
		</li><li class="widget widget_text" id="text-7"><h3>* Final Destination</h3>			<div class="textwidget">While primarily a U.S.-based tour, my final destination is the fastest coaster in the world: <strong>Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi!</strong></div>
		</li><li class="widget widget_text" id="text-13"><h3>More About Me</h3>			<div class="textwidget"><p>Find me here: <a href="http://karol.gajda.com">http://karol.gajda.com</a></p>
</div>
		</li>				</ul>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer_area" class="full_width">
<div class="page">
<div id="bottomWidgets">
<div class="bottomWidget">
<div class="widget"><h4>Check my Route</h4>			<div class="textwidget"><a href="/route/"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/bottomMap.png" width="304" height="193" alt="Roller Coaster Tour Map" /></a></div>
		</div></div>

<div class="bottomWidget">
<div class="widget"><h4>My Schedule</h4>			<div class="textwidget"><a href="/meet-me/"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/bottomHearse.png" width="283" height="224" alt="Roller Coaster Tour Schedule" /></a></div>
		</div></div>

<div class="bottomWidget">
<div class="widget"><h4>Sponsors</h4>			<div class="textwidget"><a href="/sponsors/">Be the Exclusive RollerCoasterTour.com Sponsor by clicking here!</a></div>
		</div></div>


</div>
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
<div id="footerBox">
	<div id="footerMenu">
    <div class="menu-footer-menu-container"><ul id="menu-footer-menu" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-162" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-home menu-item-162"><a href="/">Home</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-100" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-100"><a href="/about/">About</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-105" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-105"><a href="/route/">Route</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-106" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-106"><a href="/sponsors/">Sponsors</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-101" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-101"><a href="/blog/">Blog</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-104" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-104"><a href="/press/">Press</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-103" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-103"><a href="/meet-me/">Meet Me</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-102" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-102"><a href="/contact/">Contact Karol</a></li>
</ul></div><br />
	<p>Copyright &copy; 2011 &bull; <a href="/">RollerCoasterTour.com</a> &bull; All Rights Reserved</p>
	</div>

	<div id="footerAttrib">
	<a href="http://www.charfishdesign.com"><img src="/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/images/charfishFooterLogo.png" width="104" height="24" alt="Charfish Design" /></a>
	</div>
</div>

</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
