Aspiring roller coaster designers should take note. Not only will Carowinds’ roller coaster enthusiast event, Coaster Stock, feature plenty of ERT (Exclusive Ride Time), but the event will also feature a rare opportunity to talk with a roller coaster designer. Recently, the park announced that Bob Mampe from Bolliger & Mabillard will be on-hand to take questions. Here’s the full itinerary:
Coaster Stock Itinerary
8:00a – 9:30a: ERT on Afterburn, Woodstock Gliders, Lucy’s Crabby Cabbie & Flying Ace Aerial Chase
10:00a – 11:00a: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Competition – Session #1
11:30a – 1:00p: Picnic in Plaza 3 and Q&A with Bart Kinzel (VP/General Manager), “Uncle” Jerry Helms (VP of Operations), and Bob Mampe from Bolliger & Mabillard
1:30p – 2:30p: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Competition – Session #2
6:00p – 7:00p: Special Surprise (meet at the Carowinds Plaza Stage)
8:00p – 9:00p: Snoopy Rocks On Ice at the Carowinds Theatre
9:00p – 10:30p: Park Jeopardy, videos and awards ceremony at the Carowinds Theatre
10:30p – midnight: ERT on Intimidator and Nighthawk
Believe it or not, I’ve never attended an enthusiast event like this. I’ve been a loner for the most part when it 
comes to my hobby. I’m kind of used to only being around ‘my people’ virtually. It’d be neat to meet some coaster enthusiasts in person. Plus, night time ERT on Intimidator and Nighthawk, and the opportunity to talk with Bob Mampe would be amazing.
Interview Questions – DRAFT
Question #1. Mr. Mampe, do you know just how amazing your roller coasters are?
Question #2. Do they knight roller coaster designers in Switzerland?
If you’ve read my reviews then you know that I’m a huge B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) fan as their steel roller coasters like Apollo’s Chariot, Montu, & Kumba are my favorite. Carowinds has two B&M-designed 9′s in Intimidator and Afterburn. It might be a little hard for me to keep it together and not completely geek out. Mampe’s name is on the ACE plaque commemorating the original Batman – The Ride as the World’s first inverted roller coaster. So, he must be an integral member of B&M’s staff. Between talking with him and taking that Busch Gardens Coaster Tour last year, my coaster knowledge could be getting quite a boost!
The event will also include a video competition:
You’ve taken the videos, now win the prizes! Submit your favorite homemade Carowinds video. This can be anything Carowinds-related. From those old home movies to a travel report, to your idea for a great Carowinds commercial. The more creative, the better!Carowinds officials will pick the Top 3 videos to be shown at the evening ceremony during Coaster Stock and the audience will vote and have the final say in who wins the top prize.
See the rest of the details for Coaster Stock.
Also, I found an interview from 2004 where Bob Mampe talked with a reporter about Knott’s Berry Farm’s Silver Bullet. Read it here.
What’s Your Take?
Amusement parks across the country hold special events like this. Have you ever attended one? What’d you think? Got any tips for a first-timer? Leave a comment below.
July 5, 2010 at 19:12
I dont think there are many people within the community who arnt B&M fans, looks like a good event, hope you enjoy yourself!
July 6, 2010 at 09:23
I've found on many other sites there are certain people who love INTAMIN and then are quick to trash B&M in comparison. I love em both and they both make great coasters. Can't wait for this report.
July 6, 2010 at 11:59
I've found this kind of crap pretty readily as well. You'd think so called "enthusiasts" would be happy that companies making such good stuff exist, rather than just deciding one of them sucks.
July 6, 2010 at 15:49
Couldn't agree more. Both styles offer the same things but it seems in different measures. Love B&M for airtime, smoothness and restraints. Love Intamin for Intensity and speed. Yet both have the qualities I described just at different levels. It is pretty baffling but I'll just continue to love them both! and vekoma, and arrow, and GCI. lol
July 8, 2010 at 05:56
Sorry to tip the argument, But I hope we'll just be able to agree to disagree on this one. I personaly think Intamin is much, MUCH better than B&M. don't get me wrong, B&M is still 3x better than Arrow & Vekoma, and all-around awsome, but I still like Intamin better. Intamin has an amount of Sup-Bar rides, while B&M has only a handful, But B&M's rides don't Varry. B&M has many great rides, but they're prettey much all alike. Look at all of their Hypercoasters. Intimadator and Nitro are the same except for a 1 foot hieght difference, a small difference in the first turn, and a slightly different helix. Even when they make a terrain coaster they try to keep it as similar to Apallo's Chariot as possible. They don't do it as much whith Florless coasters as well as Inverts But it will prettey much always be the same Drop and Elements, just put in a different order. When it comes to Intamin, Besides For KK&TTD, prettey much no two rides are alike. Ocassionaly a park will buy a copy of a ride, but other than that, They'll differenciate them. Of course this means the ride may sometimes come out horrible, but It also means that it may sometimes be amazing. At the moment, Mitch Hawkers Coaster Poll is being Dominated By Intamin, while Golden ticket's top place is held by Bizzaro. I love B&M, but I Give Intamin the edge.
July 8, 2010 at 09:52
Quil,
That's kind of a hard post to respond to, I've seen you act like a grammar cop on more than one occasion on here, but I feel like my eyes are bleeding right now. That aside, a couple of points I'd like to address.
1. B&M's are just plugged together versions of the same elements.
This is one of those ridiculous things that I've seen a ton of people say over the last little bit, and in my opinion, it holds no water.
Every coaster, every single one, is a train of rolling cars that traverse a set path. Yes, some of them go upside down and some don't, but the number of truly, "unique" elements is so small that there's a dedicated section of this site built to discuss them.
Yes, perhaps Intamin does have more unique elements at its disposal currently, but the real key to look at is the number of unique things B&M has built over a career, not the number of elements that are currently unique.
2. B&M does not innovate.
Again, I'm not sure where this started, but B&M has been one of the most prolifically experimental designers of the modern era of coaster building. From the first inverted coaster, to better takes on the stand up and flying designs, even the floorless dive machines, B&M has experimented just as much as Intamin has, in areas Intamin hasn't touched.
3. B&M rides don't vary
This is just ridiculous.
July 8, 2010 at 17:10
I never said they don't vary at all, but all of there coasters seem to just follow the module of another one. Obviously B&M has reasearched in the past, as well as recently, but they make their coasters very similar with one-another. I never said that Bollinger and Mallibard simply inserted different pieces of track into a design. I never meant anything like that. Real coaster designing isn't like some kid's Roller Coaster Tycoon game (or adults, for many fanatics/enthusiasts enjoy designing their own, me being among one of them). As I said, I'll just have to agree to disagree with most other people on this one, as this is my true opinion. I do not think either of them are bad. I love them both. I just think that B&M is a little repetitive. I'm sorry for acting like a "Grammar Cop" and making a few misspellings in my comment, but I can't help but noticing if someone leaves the 'r' out of 'there'. It's just plain confusing. I have my opinion. It's not ridiculous.
July 8, 2010 at 18:39
Quil, you said all that stuff. To the letter in most scases.
July 8, 2010 at 18:59
Hey guys,
I respect everyone's opinion. I don't work for B&M or Intamin so I do not gain anything whether you like one company more than another. I can understand people who like Intamin more than B&M if their reasoning is they like faster, taller and more intense rides as Intamin does have faster and taller rides. My first trip this year I rode Apollo's Chariot which I thought was very intense. I hadn't rode any Intamin coaster at this point. Since then I rode Volcano, Intimidator305, El Toro, Kingda Ka, Fahrenheit and Stormrunner(sorry to repeat as I've posted this before). So the last trip I've made was back to BGE and after riding Apollo again it did not feel anywhere near as Intense or high as the earlier times I rode it before. Despite all that it is still my favorite coaster and what I feel is the best coaster out there. It feels to me like a modern update of a classic old school coaster which is what makes it so beautiful. So my point is I understand if you like Intamin more and there is nothing wrong with that. I don't understand some of the arguments people make about the layouts but I think Aric eloquently addressed that issue. I also wanted to point out that what is considered by Golden ticket and most enthusiasts to be the best coaster is an Intamin hyper which means that biggest and fastest doesn't equal the best. Sorry to be off topic on the thread!
July 9, 2010 at 03:55
adavis,
would you please explain to me were these "most cases" are, because I only found two areas were i rewrote my comment to the letter, and in both of them I wrote "As I said" before, and those two times I said; "We'll just have to agree to disagree on this point" and "It's simply my opinion"…
July 9, 2010 at 06:59
Post One
But B&M’s rides don’t Varry
Post Two
I never said they don’t vary
Post One
But it will prettey much always be the same Drop and Elements
Post Two
I never said that Bollinger and Mallibard simply inserted different pieces of track
July 6, 2010 at 07:04
I love B&M!!
July 7, 2010 at 04:31
Who doesn't!!
July 8, 2010 at 19:37
wow, sounds cool to me! I've seen a man probably from B&M at the Dive Coaster, Shanghai Happy Valley Park, but he might not be an integral member of B&M’s staff(one of 31).
I'm a huge B&M fan,too.
Do you notice that Diamondback when it goes down the first drop, the track and the support shakes a little? What's the problem?
July 9, 2010 at 17:27
I've never ridden Diamondback, but I'd imagine a little shaking is normal.
July 9, 2010 at 17:34
I added some information about the video competition. They're looking for entries by Monday, the 11th.
Also, I forgot to mention that the special surprise might be clues or a pre-announcement about a new 2011 attraction and/or roller coaster. I don't know any details, but Carowinds used Coaster Stock last year to drop clues about Intimidator.
Anyone heard any good rumors for Carowinds in 2011?
July 22, 2010 at 18:03
I'll be at Coaster Stock this Saturday. Come up and introduce yourself if you're attending. It looks to be a great event and I'll be following up with review, anything from the Q&A with Bob Mampe, and the big announcement. I'll also be twittering throughout the day & night!