Fairly Odd Coaster (Carowinds)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Fairly Odd Coaster


caption=
location=Carowinds
section=
type=Wood
type2=
type3=
status=Open
opened=1975
closed=2012
manufacturer=Philadelphia Toboggan Company
designer=John C. Allen
model=144a
track=
lift=
height=40
drop=
length=1356
speed=
inversions=
duration=1:30
angle=
capacity=1250
cost=
acceleration=
gforce=
restriction=40
rcdb_number=82

Fairly Odd Coaster is the name of a wooden roller coaster located at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is named after the Nickelodeon cartoon The Fairly OddParents. Though containing all of the elements of a "full-size" or standard wooden roller coaster, its short drop heights, slower speed, gently curving layout and short track length lead to its mistaken identity as a 'junior roller coaster'.

History

It opened as "Scooby Doo" in 1975, loosely themed to the Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name in the "Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera". Shortly before the park's 1993 season, the name was expanded to "Scooby-Doo's Ghoster Coaster". In 1993, Paramount Parks bought Carowinds' parent company and added areas themed to the Nickelodeon television channel, owned by their parent company Viacom. As part of this, the Hanna-Barbera area was eventually annexed into the "Nickelodeon Central" area, and in 2005, the roller coaster was renamed "Fairly Odd Coaster" in 2005.

As part of the new theming, the wooden superstructure was painted indigo, and the cars repainted to mimic the Fairy Oddparent characters from the show; one train pink and the other green, with the fairies' faces on the front of the cars. To depict these characters as roller coaster trains is accurate to the television show because on screen, the fairies can change their shape at will, though their faces always remain visible on whatever they become.

ignifigance

The coaster is recognized by the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) as an "ACE Coaster Classic". Roller coasters with this designation must be wood, not steel, and meet certain operational and design criteria, including non-ratcheting lap bar restraints, no seat dividers or headrests, and free choice of seating for riders (over being assigned a seat by the operator). [http://www.rcdb.com/ir.htm?category=107 Roller Coaster Database's List of American Coaster Enthusiast "Coaster Classics"]

References

External links

* [http://www.carowinds.com/attractions/detail.cfm?ai_id=25 Carowinds' Fairly Odd Coaster fact page]