White lightning, the oaken bucket, The wild bull, the meterorite, white lightning, the carolina cyclone, the gold miner, blackbeards revenge, rip roarin' rapids, thunder road, scooby doo, the monorail, the steam train............ Oh my God... you just sent me back in time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart....
Patterson Pyrotechnics You just named all of the rides I remember from my childhood! Do you remember the water Log Flume ride and the Sky Buckets? The sky buckets were a chairlift like they have at ski resorts. My favorite ride was The Oaken Bucket. Everybody stands in a circle in this huge drum. When the ride starts to spin, the centrifugal force pins you against the wall so tight you can hardly move. As you rotate faster, the floor drops and leaves you stuck on the wall.
Thunder Road was demolished in 2015, but White Lightnin' was sold to an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now it's called, "The Golden Loop."
my dad worked as a ride operator there in the 80s, sadly he passed away in 2020 from covid 19. we will always miss him, i still have his uniform from carowinds in the 80s
One of the coolest features of White Lightnin' was its very fast cycle time (roughly 90 seconds from the start of one ride to the start of the next). That meant we could move riders through very quickly, so the line never got long except on the busiest days.
Grit your teeth, bear the load, enjoy your ride on Thunder Road. Riding backwards in the 90's was always the best. Rode it for the last time almost 10 years ago, and almost couldn't walk when I got off
@@kevinowens8282 I miss the Old Carowinds feel. It doesn't seem to have disnct themes anymore . And the attraction rides like Top Gun get painted and renamed which waters down the experience and even if they had to rebuild it Thunder Rode made Carowinds it's like they ripped the heart out. Tragic. I went in 2016 season and it was not the same even with the Fury. I miss the lake and piers, rides over water, the River boat. From Childhood to Adulthood it was a gem until it was sold and went in a new direction...
Kevin Thompson Aww, I love the new entrance. The Plantation House was beautiful but it simply could not accommodate the vast numbers of guests the park was beginning to receive
Wow, a blast from the past!!!! I remember when Carowinds opened! My family would go every year and the Church Youth would go 1 or 2 times a year, also. So much fun. Enjoyed the vintage video!
White lightning was my favorite ride for years! I can remember riding it 43 times in a row one time. Soooo much fun! Thanks for the bringing up old memories!!!
White Lightning was amazing! I rode it 11 times one day! Carolina Cyclone was the first ride my boyfriend (current husband) rode together. Thanks for the memories 😍
Thank you so much for this man. White lightning was one of my favorite childhood memories. One of the freakin scariest rides of my life...even before the tragedy that happened on it
Just looking at White Lighting from across the park … watching the coaster car of riders go up… then backwards was a very ominous sight… I miss you Carowinds of the 80’s
glad you had this video, I asked my kid did she ride White lightning and she did not know what I was talking about .. I have not been to carowinds since early 1990's what good memories .
Most of the kids I know right now think north Carolina is boring but I gotta admit the fact o grew up real close to carowinds was luck i get to go all the time with friends living only a few miles from a amusement park is always something nice
White Lightnin' was relocated to Gold Reef City in South Africa and renamed "Golden Loop." I rode on it three times not a month ago. It really is the funnest damn coaster.
Someone asked about the tragedy at White Lightnin'. It was a shooting at the wave pool on the other side of the ride, where the bridge crosses over. I was working a show at Sound Circus when our stage manager told me that day. Couple guys in a field outside the park shooting targets with semi-automatic rifles or something. Couple rounds carried over into the pool. One teen girl died, another young boy injured. 1987, I think?
It's was a teen girl and a younger girl. The teen died and the other had the bullet lodged in her. It was a stray bullet from an assault rifle several miles away. I was there the weekend before it happened. I remember you had to cross white lightening to get to the wave pool.
malex4321 I was there. The shooting was an accident from a shooting range not far from the park at the time. The girl was three kids ahead of me and just fell. No sound or anything. The lifeguard Becca who helped her later became my supervisor at the waterpark years later when Paramount took over.
I lived in Matthews, North Carolina util I was twelve. We used to go to Carowinds every summer and this was by far my favorite ride. I went to my cousin's wedding down there last week and made a trip to Carowinds. Was very sad to see this ride was no longer there. Fury is pretty damn good though.
I went there for my birthday with some friends on June 19,1989. You could run around and get right back on most rides then, without waiting. Good luck doing that now.
Shelly M White Lightnin' was sold to an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now it's called, "The Golden Loop." Needless to say, they painted it a bright yellow.
That Was Carolina Cyclone Not Vortex,vortex was The parks very First modern B&M Then TG aka afterburn, Noisy coaster in CF,,,,,,,I hear cyclone is on list to Go
Yeah, I remember Thunder Road was the big roller coaster at Carowinds until the Hurler and before Top Gun (assuming that's what it's still called) was the Cyclone. They got one in recent years where you ride lying down head first that's pretty scary - used to be called the Borg Assimilator or something like that. Probably changed that name, too.
Smurf Island no longer exists. The lake has been paved over, and it looks to me like the area that used to be Smurf Island is now underneath the Nighthawk roller coaster. No trace of the island remains.
I really wish i could have ridden white lightning. Mom always tells me these great stories about going on it. So glad thunder road is still there though!
I never got to ride White Lightnin' because I was scared of it as a child, yet I would ride the Cyclone repeatedly. It was something about the backwards loop and lack of over the shoulder restraints.
White Lightening was the first roller coaster I rode! Must've been '85 or '86. I was hoping their be some footage of Smurf Island or Hanna Barbara land, esp. The Flinstones.
that's some classic stuff i don't remember the wild bull or the whirling dervish i never got to ride white lightning because i was too small and when i was big enough it was gone thunder road and the cyclone are still there
Why am I just now stumbling across this? This is incredible footage - you should post this on carowindsconnection. If not, do you mind if I do? You may be the only one to have White Lightnin' POV film. Amazing! Thanks!
epic I rode white lightening & saw a band; think it was nitty gritty; trying to get the details. We waited in line for no less than three hours to ride.
That is soo awesome....I remember those days....but hey I have one question. Do you remember back when there were two sets of tracks that ran side by side and one was the Gold Rusher....but you can still see the tracks where another one ran?? I was only like 6 when both ran but I just wanted to make sure I didnt just imagine it. Thanks for all the old footage...please share more if you have any!
Lightning strikes...........................NOW!! I miss it sooo much!! I rode the Cyclone opening day. It was and still is great! Hated Wild Bull. It made me sick. Just round and round is no good.
I was the crew supervisor on White Lightnin' during its last season at Carowinds, in 1988. There was never any "tragedy" on the ride, at least not while it was at Carowinds.
Do you mind if I use some of your footage of White Lightnin for a video I'm making on Carowinds? I'll give on screen credit and link back to the video. Please let me know, thanks!
Alright for the guy with the cut off shirt and bare midriffs. Ah the lost fashion trends of the 80's. White socks with stripes up to your knees, short shorts with a stripe down each side, cut off blue jean shorts, Def Leppard t-shirts, see through mesh shirts, and guys not ashamed to wear cut off bare midriff shirts. Those were the good old days.
Thank you for uploading this! Would it be ok if I used some of your video for a project about Carowinds' 50th anniversary and credited you? Thanks! -Andrew
Man That MAY Be True But it Doesn't look The same going in highway 49 side,,,,,,But I wonder if Combo passes are Coming Dollywood has them and Its fair
If You believe in Your Heart that Jesus died on the cross and rose and rose again on the third day and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord then you will be saved
Congrats on having the only footage of White Lightnin' on the internet.
Theme Park Crazy!, the Golden loop is now in South Africa gold reef city where I live and its Hella intense, it's taller than it looks in the video
I live right next to Carowinds. I really hate that they renamed intimidator to Thunder Striker
Also, congrats on being at the park with a camera when it was actually working.
White lightning, the oaken bucket, The wild bull, the meterorite, white lightning, the carolina cyclone, the gold miner, blackbeards revenge, rip roarin' rapids, thunder road, scooby doo, the monorail, the steam train............ Oh my God... you just sent me back in time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart....
Patterson Pyrotechnics
You just named all of the rides I remember from my childhood! Do you remember the water Log Flume ride and the Sky Buckets? The sky buckets were a chairlift like they have at ski resorts. My favorite ride was The Oaken Bucket. Everybody stands in a circle in this huge drum. When the ride starts to spin, the centrifugal force pins you against the wall so tight you can hardly move. As you rotate faster, the floor drops and leaves you stuck on the wall.
Thunder Road was demolished in 2015, but White Lightnin' was sold to an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now it's called, "The Golden Loop."
Thunder Road was my favorite
I rode them both as a kid...fuck, I'm old lol
I remember some of the Ride Ops would ask this question, "WHEN DOES LIGHTNING STRIKE? (and the riders would shout NOW!!!!!! Memories!!!!
That was white lighting roller coaster
I never rode White Lightning but I remember it. Am I seeing it right that it only had a lap bar!?
"Put your hands on the handrails cause lightning....strikes...NOW!"
Just told my daughter that!
my dad worked as a ride operator there in the 80s, sadly he passed away in 2020 from covid 19. we will always miss him, i still have his uniform from carowinds in the 80s
One of the coolest features of White Lightnin' was its very fast cycle time (roughly 90 seconds from the start of one ride to the start of the next). That meant we could move riders through very quickly, so the line never got long except on the busiest days.
Grit your teeth, bear the load, enjoy your ride on Thunder Road. Riding backwards in the 90's was always the best. Rode it for the last time almost 10 years ago, and almost couldn't walk when I got off
Burma Shave
Thunder Road was the best!! I went right before they tore it down and haven't been back since. Don't have plans to go back either.
@@kevinowens8282 I miss the Old Carowinds feel. It doesn't seem to have disnct themes anymore . And the attraction rides like Top Gun get painted and renamed which waters down the experience and even if they had to rebuild it Thunder Rode made Carowinds it's like they ripped the heart out. Tragic. I went in 2016 season and it was not the same even with the Fury. I miss the lake and piers, rides over water, the River boat. From Childhood to Adulthood it was a gem until it was sold and went in a new direction...
Hard to believe how far the park has come. Though I've got to say, Carowinds looks like it was a pretty darn good park in the 80s
This is all My ChildHood I miss plantation Square too That New Entrance Is Generic
Kevin Thompson Aww, I love the new entrance. The Plantation House was beautiful but it simply could not accommodate the vast numbers of guests the park was beginning to receive
It was. I had season passes every year through the 80s and I spent many days there. I was there in '73 when it opened as well.
@Grizzly Poota cyclone should be demolished and sold for scrap
@Falcon Arcade Gaming I actually got a neck injury from riding it in my teens.
Wow, a blast from the past!!!! I remember when Carowinds opened! My family would go every year and the Church Youth would go 1 or 2 times a year, also. So much fun. Enjoyed the vintage video!
I had read somewhere that the actual White Lightning was shipped to South Africa, and set up as a new coaster. "Golden.." something.
Loved this video!
Yes, it's now at a park in South Africa called Gold Reef City and is called the Golden Loop. I wish I could visit it.
I would like to find a video of Smurf Island! My fav place as kid there back in the day! :)
White lightning was my favorite ride for years! I can remember riding it 43 times in a row one time. Soooo much fun! Thanks for the bringing up old memories!!!
White Lightning was amazing! I rode it 11 times one day! Carolina Cyclone was the first ride my boyfriend (current husband) rode together. Thanks for the memories 😍
Thank you so much for this man. White lightning was one of my favorite childhood memories. One of the freakin scariest rides of my life...even before the tragedy that happened on it
Just looking at White Lighting from across the park … watching the coaster car of riders go up… then backwards was a very ominous sight… I miss you Carowinds of the 80’s
GOLD! This is the Carowinds that I so fondly remember. Thank you for posting this!
glad you had this video, I asked my kid did she ride White lightning and she did not know what I was talking about .. I have not been to carowinds since early 1990's what good memories .
The music is "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner.
Most of the kids I know right now think north Carolina is boring but I gotta admit the fact o grew up real close to carowinds was luck i get to go all the time with friends living only a few miles from a amusement park is always something nice
White Lightnin' was relocated to Gold Reef City in South Africa and renamed "Golden Loop." I rode on it three times not a month ago. It really is the funnest damn coaster.
Thanks for sharing. Awesome seeing white lightening again. One of my faves as a kid.
this was freaking awesome, grew up with that theme park
Good times, great memories....thanks for sharing!
Someone asked about the tragedy at White Lightnin'. It was a shooting at the wave pool on the other side of the ride, where the bridge crosses over. I was working a show at Sound Circus when our stage manager told me that day. Couple guys in a field outside the park shooting targets with semi-automatic rifles or something. Couple rounds carried over into the pool. One teen girl died, another young boy injured. 1987, I think?
You are absolutely right I remember watching white lightning from the wave pool. I remember hearing about the shooting as a kid.
It's was a teen girl and a younger girl. The teen died and the other had the bullet lodged in her. It was a stray bullet from an assault rifle several miles away. I was there the weekend before it happened. I remember you had to cross white lightening to get to the wave pool.
malex4321 I was there. The shooting was an accident from a shooting range not far from the park at the time. The girl was three kids ahead of me and just fell. No sound or anything. The lifeguard Becca who helped her later became my supervisor at the waterpark years later when Paramount took over.
I remember when that happened. It was hard to go to the wave pool for a while afterwards and not think about it.
I remember that as well. Very sad.
I lived in Matthews, North Carolina util I was twelve. We used to go to Carowinds every summer and this was by far my favorite ride. I went to my cousin's wedding down there last week and made a trip to Carowinds. Was very sad to see this ride was no longer there. Fury is pretty damn good though.
I went there for my birthday with some friends on June 19,1989. You could run around and get right back on most rides then, without waiting. Good luck doing that now.
White lightning was my first roller coaster. Good times 👍
Great footage! I wish they would bring back Wild Bull....
White Lightinin' Strikes......NOW! ;)
Shelly M my dad remembers that
Shelly M
White Lightnin' was sold to an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now it's called, "The Golden Loop." Needless to say, they painted it a bright yellow.
It was actually just: "lightning strikes....now",
@@toddluns1 you are exactly right. I miss it being there.
The first coaster I ever road with an inversion
God i just loved the Wild Bull 😂😂 i would ride that thing over and over Im sure it would make me super dizzy now lol
I remember the white lightning. Was one of the best roller coasters I ever had rode. Very good footage of the vortex and that old Scooby do coaster
I agree, this is very great footage of Carowinds, but Vortex did not exist at Carowinds at this time of this video. It came in 1992. :)
That Was Carolina Cyclone Not Vortex,vortex was The parks very First modern B&M Then TG aka afterburn, Noisy coaster in CF,,,,,,,I hear cyclone is on list to Go
@@kevinthompson6986 Not the cyclone :(
May I use this footage in a video I'm making about the evolution of the world's tallest roller coaster? I will give your channel full credit.
Sure, go ahead.
one year later, verified 200k subs
i remember white lighting very well it was a classic and one of the first of the loopers that i ever rode thanks for the memories
Yeah, I remember Thunder Road was the big roller coaster at Carowinds until the Hurler and before Top Gun (assuming that's what it's still called) was the Cyclone. They got one in recent years where you ride lying down head first that's pretty scary - used to be called the Borg Assimilator or something like that. Probably changed that name, too.
Top gun is now called Afterburn
Smurf Island no longer exists. The lake has been paved over, and it looks to me like the area that used to be Smurf Island is now underneath the Nighthawk roller coaster. No trace of the island remains.
I don't Miss Smurf Island at all
I really wish i could have ridden white lightning. Mom always tells me these great stories about going on it. So glad thunder road is still there though!
"LIGHTNING STRIKES.............. NOW!!!"
White Lightning was king.
Cool! I used to work the popcorn stand in front of White Lightning and still hear my coworkers saying "Lightning strikes... NOW!" Thanks for posting!
I had a season pass every year from 86-92. You could ride this ride over and over without having to get off and go back in line.
That was my reaction when I saw the Cobra a couple of years ago. White Lightnin' was much cooler.
I never got to ride White Lightnin' because I was scared of it as a child, yet I would ride the Cyclone repeatedly. It was something about the backwards loop and lack of over the shoulder restraints.
White Lightening was the first roller coaster I rode! Must've been '85 or '86. I was hoping their be some footage of Smurf Island or Hanna Barbara land, esp. The Flinstones.
Gosh I remember that straight up coaster,, wow
that's some classic stuff i don't remember the wild bull or the whirling dervish i never got to ride white lightning because i was too small and when i was big enough it was gone thunder road and the cyclone are still there
Great video thunder and lightning were awesome rides !!!!!!
SAVE THUNDER ROAD!!!!!
I know this is Weird seeing Thunderroad like This it was There Before There ever was Even A waterpark:(
Why am I just now stumbling across this? This is incredible footage - you should post this on carowindsconnection. If not, do you mind if I do? You may be the only one to have White Lightnin' POV film. Amazing! Thanks!
great job loved it im goin carrowinds in sept when i visit charlotte cheers grant
epic
I rode white lightening & saw a band; think it was nitty gritty; trying to get the details. We waited in line for no less than three hours to ride.
That is soo awesome....I remember those days....but hey I have one question. Do you remember back when there were two sets of tracks that ran side by side and one was the Gold Rusher....but you can still see the tracks where another one ran?? I was only like 6 when both ran but I just wanted to make sure I didnt just imagine it. Thanks for all the old footage...please share more if you have any!
I can see the Thunder Road still had skid brakes back then.
Has to be old if White Lightnin is in the footage. We were there, Stoned off our asses, every summer day but Friday, from 1984-1986...
I AGREE WHITE LIGHTNIN WAS THE BEST RIDE I RODE AT CAROWINDS . CAROWINDS NEEDS TO BRING IT BACK .
No it's ours now.
You can fly to south africa and ride it again xD
Blackwell John me to
It’s in South Africa now
It’s was actually relocated somewhere so you can still ride it...
would you mind if I used this video for my music?
I was not aware of that site .. I'll check it out. But feel free to share.
Lightning strikes...........................NOW!! I miss it sooo much!! I rode the Cyclone opening day. It was and still is great! Hated Wild Bull. It made me sick. Just round and round is no good.
I was the crew supervisor on White Lightnin' during its last season at Carowinds, in 1988. There was never any "tragedy" on the ride, at least not while it was at Carowinds.
The year it opened a whole bunch of people would get stuck on it. I used to stand there and watch people get taken off as they worked on it.
Love it!
What music is it
My God, it's looks like the 80's was ancient history.
Great video. Would've been better without the music. Thanks for posting.
Do you mind if I use some of your footage of White Lightnin for a video I'm making on Carowinds? I'll give on screen credit and link back to the video. Please let me know, thanks!
Sure, I have no objection.
@@rrberry I really appreciate it, thanks!
Alright for the guy with the cut off shirt and bare midriffs. Ah the lost fashion trends of the 80's. White socks with stripes up to your knees, short shorts with a stripe down each side, cut off blue jean shorts, Def Leppard t-shirts, see through mesh shirts, and guys not ashamed to wear cut off bare midriff shirts. Those were the good old days.
nice video! what song did you use?
Cool Park in Charlotte, North Carolina a Cedar Fair Park is Carowinds Amusement Park.
yeah me too by the time i was big enough to ride it white lightning was gone
White Lightning strikes....now!
What happened to smurf village
Prizm2356, they took it down due to Nickolodeon Universe
Could I use footage of this video with credit it is a save thunder road video
WakerProductions Yes, be my guest.
Robert Berry thanks your the man
Cool!
Just told my daughter about that, cool 😎 times
what was this filmed with a potato? I swear I could confuse this with a ww2 newsreel. :p
Lighting strikes NOW!!!!!! OOOPS MALFUNCTION!!!! Maintenence man dream don't think it operated one whole day lol cool when it ran!!
White Lightning was the shit!
White lightning!!!!
Thank you for uploading this! Would it be ok if I used some of your video for a project about Carowinds' 50th anniversary and credited you? Thanks! -Andrew
Sure, go ahead.
@@rrberry Thanks!
what tragedy?
Missed this question; sorry. No, I don't mind, if it still matters...
wowed
So you mean to tell me that the cobra was just downgraded white lightning... that is some booty
La Victoré
Cool video but the music was torturous...I would rather listen to a Yoko Ono record on a 5 hour loop.
save thunder road
dude, they already tore it down. it can't be saved anymore
Man That MAY Be True But it Doesn't look The same going in highway 49 side,,,,,,But I wonder if Combo passes are Coming Dollywood has them and Its fair
If You believe in Your Heart that Jesus died on the cross and rose and rose again on the third day and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord then you will be saved