What will become the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the southeast United States is causing a buzz in the theme park industry.

Standing 325 feet tall and racing at speeds of 95 mph, Fury325 will surpass rides in Orlando and Tampa. Yet, to ride the mega scream machine, you’ll need to visit where the Tar Heel State meets the Palmetto State.

The Carowinds amusement park, straddling the border of North Carolina and South Carolina outside of Charlotte, announced the new ride Thursday morning. The new roller coaster is billed as the world’s tallest and fastest “giga coaster.” A giga coaster is a ride taller than 300 feet. In North America, there are only five roller coasters 300 feet or taller.

“We think Carowinds has a very bright future,” said Richard Zimmerman, the chief operating officer of the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.

The parent company of Carowinds is positioning the park to be the thrill park of the Southern United States. Fury325’s statistics will set the ride apart from anything found at theme parks in Florida or bordering states.

In what is described as a “hornet’s nest of rebellion,” Fury325 will drop riders at an angle of 81 degrees (nine degrees removed from being straight down). The ride will feature a second hill of 195 feet tall. Other elements are built to maintain speed and provide moments of negative gravity.

A massive “horseshoe turn” will bank at a 91-degree angle. Smaller 111-foot-tall and 101-foot-tall hills are designed to give passengers the feeling of weightlessness or “airtime" (a complete listing of elements can be found at the bottom of this page).

The ride was designed using three elements found when an angry hornet takes flight: fire, force and agility.

The National Basketball League team in Charlotte is known as the Hornets.

Construction is already underway. A new toll booth plaza is rising in the Carowinds parking lot, since Fury325 will displace the park’s original entrance and auto entry. The park is located just off Interstate 77.

Fury325 is designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss-based engineering firm who created some of Florida’s most notable scream machines. The Manta flying coaster and the Kraken floorless coaster at SeaWorld are B&M rides. The respected company also designed the looping Kumba at Busch Gardens, along with the inverted Montu and Florida's tallest roller coaster, the 200-foot-tall SheiKra diving coaster.

At the end of the announcement, Carowinds' marketing director invited the audience to return to the park next August for another expansion announcement.

Marketing Director John Taylor said the park will be “making a splash in 2016,” dropping hints an upgraded water park can be expected. Other Cedar Fair parks such as Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and Kings Island north of Cincinnati have added water park enhancements over the past few years.

Taylor continued Carowinds would be “adding exciting new attractions over the next three years,” to food offerings and better infrastructure. “This multi-year investment plan will bring new life to founder Pat Hall’s original vision to this park.”

Carowinds first opened in 1973, a dream of Charlotte developer Earl Patterson Hall. Taft Broadcasting purchased the park in 1975. Later, Paramount Communications took ownership in 1993. During this time, new attractions were themed around Paramount movies and Viacom television programs. In 2006, Cedar Fair, L.P. purchased Carowinds, along with four other Paramount Parks and began investing in larger thrill rides.

Large thrill rides are also headed to Florida.

In June, Developer Joshua Wallack, COO of Mango's Tropical Café, made the announcement for Orlando's "Skyplex."  The shopping and dining complex near the corner of Sand Lake Road and International Drive is expected to be anchored by a 570-foot-tall tower that would have a roller coaster attached to it.

Groundbreaking on what was billed as a "Polercoaster" is slated for second quarter 2015, with the ride and complex opening in late 2016 or early 2017, according to Wallack.  He calls the new Skyplex a "hybrid between of a video arcade and a theme park."
 
"We're looking at the best of both worlds," Wallack said by phone.  "It's a one of a kind everything."

Currently, Wallack and his team are going through the permitting process to build the world's tallest roller coaster. 

"We've approved the track design and layout," Wallack said of the El Loco-style coaster from Utah's S&S Worldwide. 

Just down the street, the framework for the new Orlando Eye sits about 200 feet above the ground.  Construction on the observation wheel designed by Intamin Amusement Rides slowed this summer.  However, the process of installing the spokes of the wheel "will begin soon," according to a spokesperson for Merlin Entertainments, the operator of the Orlando Eye.

The Orlando Eye is still slated for a spring 2015 opening.

Meantime, no 2015 opening date for Fury325 was announced. Traditionally, Carowinds opens in time for Easter each spring.

However, Marketing Director John Taylor concluded that Fury325 would continue Cedar Fair’s promise to deliver a “fresh, new and captivating experience for Carowinds.” The new roller coaster that will cross the North Carolina and South Carolina border several times is part of an already announced plan to invest $50 million at the park.  A new entry area to the park, based on an entry plaza found at Cedar Point, will also be new for 2015 at Carowinds.

“Starting with Fury325, we plan to make Carowinds a destination for thrill seekers to celebrate the Carolinas,” wrote Mike Fehnel, Carowinds vice president and general manager in a statement. “The new ride will build on the heritage of the park, creating new memories and traditions for our loyal fans and future guests from around the world.”

FURY325 ELEMENTS:
Lift Hill:
Riders climb 325 feet, then speed down at an 81 degree angle.

Barrel Turn:
Riders speed into a complete sideways turn standing 190 feet tall.

High Speed S-Curve:
Passengers enter the high speed S-Curve here and are expected to feel g-forces here.

Horseshoe Turn:
This maneuver takes the train into a 180-degree turnaround with high banking, tilting at a 91-degree angle.  The drop from this element is expected to create a weightless sensation.

Underground Dive:
A brief dive into a trentch as the train speeds under a new pedestrian bridge.

High Speed Banked Curve:
Riders climb up a 101-foot-tall hill while tilting at the top.

Camel Back Hill:
Riders swarm into a 111-foot-tall hill creating more craved airtime.

Double Helix Maneuver:
Trains will buzz into an angled spiral section of high banked track and completes a 360-degree turn.

Final Camel Back Hills:
Two camelback hills are expected to create more airtime before hitting the break run.