Flying Super Saturator
Flying Super Saturator was a water ride and suspended roller coaster at Carowinds amusement park, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It 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][2][3][4]
| Flying Super Saturator | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Carowinds | |
| Location | Carowinds |
| Park section | Boomerang Bay |
| Coordinates | 35.102710°N 80.943053°W |
| Status | Removed |
| Opening date | April 1, 2000 |
| Closing date | 2008 |
| Cost | $4,000,000 |
| Replaced by | Carolina Cobra |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Suspended – Family |
| Manufacturer | Setpoint USA |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 42.4 ft (12.9 m) |
| Length | 1,087 ft (331 m) |
| Speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Capacity | 600 riders per hour |
| Height restriction | 44 in (112 cm) |
| Flying Super Saturator at RCDB Pictures of Flying Super Saturator at RCDB | |
Located in Boomerang Bay, a water park section, the ride was manufactured by Setpoint USA and fabricated by Intermountain Lift, Inc.[5] It was only open during the warmer months of May through September. The roller coaster was removed in 2008.
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.[6] The coaster also won an award from Screamscape for the "attraction that may not be the biggest of the best, but was made just for the fun of it."[7] 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 Roller Soaker was the only one still operating when it closed in 2012.
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 Afterburn in 1999, the addition of Flying Super Saturator began a several-year-long trend of family-friendly rides that were being built at Carowinds.[8] This trend ended in 2004 with the addition of Nighthawk, and signaled a return to more dramatic thrill rides at the park.
References
- "Nickelodeon™ Flying Super Saturator". Carowinds. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- Hudson, Jane Welborn (June 6, 2005). "A pocket guide to summer". The Daily Reflector.
- Pressley, Leigh (2007). Insiders' Guide to Charlotte. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot. pp. 324 pages. ISBN 0-7627-4179-1.
- Urbanowicz, Steven J. (2002). The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the World's Best Coasters. New York: Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2309-3.
- "Amusement". Intermountain Lift, Inc. July 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- "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 (August 8, 2003). "Carowinds to soar in 2004?". NinerOnline.com.