The Nighthawk flying coaster and two other attractions are being retired at Carowinds, the latest move by the new Six Flags in closing rides without giving fans advance notice to get one last ride.
In a Wednesday morning blog post, the Charlotte, North Carolina park confirmed rumors that Nighthawk was finished. The other two attractions being shuttered are Drop Tower and Scream Weaver.
“We know that saying goodbye to beloved rides can be difficult, and we appreciate your passion,” Carowinds said in its blog post. “These changes are an important part of our growth and underscore our commitment to elevating the park experience.”
Those changes will include adding a family launch coaster and a raft ride in Camp Snoopy in 2025, the park said, followed by “a record-breaking water ride” in 2026.
Nighthawk was the prototype Flying Dutchman coaster built by Vekoma, a flying coaster model that started riders on their backs instead of suspended from the track like the later flying coasters from Bolliger & Mabillard.
Nighthawk at Carowinds in spring 2024 (Theme Park Tribune)
The coaster first opened in 2000 under the name Stealth at California’s Great America. It was moved to Carowinds in 2004 – back when the park was opened by Paramount – and rechristened as the “Star Trek”-themed Borg Assimilator. After Cedar Fair bought the Paramount parks, it adopted the Nighthawk moniker.
Like other Vekoma Flying Dutchmans, Nighthawk was a divisive coaster, praised for its intensity but criticized for its roughness and slow operations. Its removal will leave Six Flags America’s Batwing as the only remaining old-school Flying Dutchman still operating.
The timing of the announcement is also sure to stir up more resentment among coaster enthusiasts towards the new Six Flags. Fresh off its merger with Cedar Fair, the company has closed a total of four coasters across its parks without giving riders a warning so they could have one last experience.
The most prominent of those sudden closures was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, the tallest coaster in the world at 456 feet.