Flying Super Saturator
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| Nickelodeon's Flying Super Saturator | |
| Location | Carowinds |
|---|---|
| Park section | Boomerang Bay |
| Type | Steel - Suspended |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | April 1, 2000 |
| Manufacturer | Setpoint USA |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 42.4 ft (12.9 m) |
| Length | 1,087 ft (331 m) |
| Max speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Duration | 1:00 |
| Capacity | 600 riders per hour |
| Cost | $4,000,000 |
| Height restriction | 3 ft 8 in (110 cm) |
| Nickelodeon's Flying Super Saturator at RCDB Pictures of Nickelodeon's Flying Super Saturator at RCDB |
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Flying Super Saturator is a water ride and suspended roller coaster at Carowinds amusement park, which lies on the border of North and South Carolina. Flying Super Saturator was the first roller coaster of its kind, allowing riders to dump 4-gallon payloads of water on those Carowinds patrons who venture underneath the coaster's track. The ride also features numerous means for the riders to get wet as well, including water curtains, geysers and numerous ground-mounted water cannons that can be aimed by park guests at passing riders on the coaster.[1] The coaster itself is located in the Boomerang Bay water park section of Carowinds. As such, it is only open from the end of May until the beginning of September when the waterpark itself is open.
[edit] Awards and reception
Setpoint USA, the company that designed and built Flying Super Saturator, was awarded the World Waterpark Association's industry innovation award for their design and creation of the coaster.[2] The coaster also won an award from Screamscape.com for the "attraction that may not be the biggest of the best, but was made just for the fun of it."[3] Two years after the creation of Flying Super Saturator, Setpoint built a similar water-themed roller coaster called Roller Soaker at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The two rides remain the only suspended water-coasters in the United States.
Although it was unique in many ways, Flying Super Saturator is far from an extreme thrill ride, only reaching speeds of 30 mph. After the addition of the large roller coaster Afterburn (called Top Gun under Paramount branding), The addition of Flying Super Saturator began a several-year-long trend of family-friendly rides that were being built at Carowinds.[4] This trend ended in 2004 with the addition of Nighthawk (called Borg Assimilator under Paramount branding), and signaled a return to more dramatic thrill rides at the park.
[edit] References
- ^ Flying Super Saturator's on Carowinds website
- ^ "Setpoint receives Industry Innovation Award for Flying Super Saturator", PRNewswire, October 23, 2000.
- ^ "Setpoint's Flying Super Saturator voted Most Fun Looking Ride of 2000", PRNewswire, April 6, 2001.
- ^ Smith, Nick. "Carowinds to soar in 2004?", NinerOnline.com, August 8, 2003.
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