Located in the south of North Carolina, actually, right on the border with South Carolina, you will find the city of Charlotte, NC. It’s an amazing city that managed to grow from cotton farms into today’s most populous city in North Carolina and it’s amongst the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Back in the day Charlotte fought for its independence either from colonists during its own Independence War or from the Prohibition by devising an intricate supply chain of moonshine that created NASCAR. Today Charlotte, NC has something else up its sleeve.
If you enjoy adrenaline rushes, or if you just like to scream at the top of your lungs, then there’s something that you should not miss in Charlotte. Maybe you’ve been to Tampa, FL, and got a taste of adrenaline from their Busch Gardens Theme Park and now you are craving more. Think of monsters, think of wild hornets and speed and drops and winds rushing by you as you fall from the highest to the lowest point. That’s the world’s fastest steel roller coaster, which is the Fury 325.
Dates, numbers and records
The construction started on September 29, 2014, and it was finalized on January 30, 2015, with the first test drive taking place on March 4, 2015. But that isn’t where the story of this monster began. In 2012 is when the idea began to form in Charlotte’s City Council. They wanted to build a roller coaster that would be bigger than the already existing roller coaster from Carowinds, known as the Intimidator. But even as they were discussing the immensity of the project, even estimating an approximate cost of $30 million, they didn’t quite imagine where the project would take them. The new roller coaster was supposed to be 70 feet taller than the Intimidator. The end result was another that ensured the Fury 325’s dominance. A dominance that spreads across two states - South Carolina and North Carolina.
When it was finished through a collaboration between Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss roller coaster design company, and Mosley Erecting, a South Carolina company specialized in installations of roller coasters, the ride stood tall at 325 feet, 93 feet taller than the initial height desired. Of course, this wasn’t an accident, the plans just changed along the way.
But let’s see more numbers:
325 feet ride up on a chain lift hill (covered);
325 drop after the first hill;
81 degree angled drop;
95 mph (highest speed reached);
190-foot tall barrel turn;
Passes over the main entrance of the amusement park;
91-degree overbanked horseshoe turn of 157 foot tall - the Hive Dive;
Passes through a tunnel beneath the entrance of the amusement park;
101 feet climb on a left turn;
111 feet climb on a camelback hill;
180-degree turn;
2 more camelback hill;
6,602 feet of track;
3 minutes and 25 seconds according to Carowinds.
When it was opened, Fury 325 had records to break and screams to ignite in its riders. The first record it broke was that of the tallest giga-coaster in the world, which was the conquering Steel Dragon 2000, a roller coaster in Japan, by 6.7 feet. It then shared the first place for the world’s fastest roller coaster with the Steel Dragon 2000 at 95 mph.
Currently, those records have been surpassed and the Fury 325 holds the 6th place for fastest, 5th for tallest and 4th for longest roller coasters in the world.
From records to screams
With the possibility to seat 32 passengers in a train and keeping 3 trains on the tracks, Fury 325 wow-ed riders from day one till today, and chances are it will continue to wow them tomorrow. It flies through the air like an angry hornet from the first hill till the end, similarly like what Gen. Cornwallis described Charlotte back in 1780, "a hornet's nest of rebellion". Quite fitting of a theme of a hornet’s nest for the roller coaster that broke down records in Charlotte and mimics the rage, the flight, the speed, the unpredictability, and courage of the hornet.
From the sudden drop that takes you to speeds of 95 mph to horseshoe and camelback twists and turns. This ride takes you through feelings of out-of-control intense speed if you’re in the first row, or through the amazing sensation that you’re flying throughout the whole ride if you’re seated in the last row, so according to what you prefer, choose accordingly as there are no additional costs to where you sit. One ride won’t be enough so if you’re thinking of relocating, real estate agents in Charlotte, NC will help you find a home close by The Carowinds.
To this day, Fury 325 manages to draw crowds of people anxious for a thrill and curious to see if the Hornet will make them scream. Year after year for four years now, this amazing teal and lime greek roller coaster takes the trophy of the “Best Steel Roller Coaster in the World”.
Conclusion
“For your safety, please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the ride at all times. Seat in an upright seated position facing forward with your back and shoulders against the seat mat. Hold on to the handlebar until the end of the ride. Thank you and enjoy Fury 325!” - That’s what you’ll hear as the Fury 325 takes for its own particular kind of spin. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is to have fun and, as they say, enjoy the ride, as safety stands at the heart of roller coasters.
But seriously now, let us know in the comment section which was the most intense roller coaster ride of your life, where it was and how it was. Was it better than Fury 325 or do you think Fury 325 might surpass it? Like and Share with coaster fans as we’re sure they’d like to know more about this monster.
