Ricochet

Ricochet opened in 2002 as Carowinds' entry in the Mack Rides "wild mouse" catalog, a compact coaster style built around sharp, unbanked hairpin turns instead of loops or drops. From the midway it can look like an oversized kiddie ride, which makes the actual experience — a series of flat, high-G turns that whip individual four-passenger cars hard to one side — a genuine surprise for first-time riders.

The layout runs a single small car up a 46-foot lift hill and then straight into its signature hairpins, alternating tight turns with a handful of unbanked hills before a final dip into the brakes. At just over 1,200 feet of track and a modest top speed, Ricochet is more about disorientation than raw thrill, which keeps it accessible to riders who aren't ready for the park's bigger steel coasters.

More than two decades in, Ricochet remains one of the few wild mouse coasters still running in the Carolinas, tucked into the same carnival-midway stretch of the park as Carolina Goldrusher and The Flying Cobras.