Ricochet is a steel Wild Mouse roller coaster at Carowinds, the amusement park straddling the North Carolina and South Carolina line near Charlotte. Built by Mack Rides, it opened on March 23, 2002, in the park’s Carolina Boardwalk area. It is a compact-model Wild Mouse, a smaller, tighter version of the classic mouse-style coaster.
Ricochet does not go for record heights or speeds. It stands about 45.9 feet tall and reaches about 28 mph. Its appeal is the constant sideways motion: sharp hairpin turns that make the small cars feel faster than they are. The park announced the ride on October 23, 2001, as its eleventh roller coaster.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Manufacturer: Mack Rides
- Type: Steel Wild Mouse (compact model)
- Opened: March 23, 2002
- Height: 45.9 ft (14.0 m)
- Top speed: 28 mph (45 km/h)
- Length: 1,214 ft (370 m)
- Inversions: 0
- Ride time: About 1 minute 50 seconds
- Height requirement: 54 inches (137 cm) to ride solo; 44 inches (112 cm) to 53 inches when accompanied
The Ride Experience
After the chain lift hill, the train goes through a series of 180-degree hairpin turns, then a small hill, a sharp turn and the main drop. The cars then cross a pair of bunny hills, and the second one includes an on-ride photo. A final dip leads into the brakes.
Each of the eight cars seats four riders in two rows of two, and the ride is rated at about 1,120 riders per hour. Carowinds lets riders between 44 and 54 inches tall ride when accompanied, so it is a common first coaster for kids who have outgrown the park’s smaller family rides. The lateral, whip-like turns also appeal to adults.
Wild Mouse Design and History
Wild Mouse coasters are known for tight, unbanked turns taken at low speed, which gives a sense of near-misses at the track edges. Ricochet is a compact park model, so its footprint and height suit a smaller space and a family audience.
Carowinds gave the ride a new paint job for the 2014 season, with blue supports and green track. It is still operating and is one of the park’s more modest coasters, sitting alongside much larger rides such as Fury 325.
Explore more: Roller Coasters.
Ricochet Photo Archive: October 2024
These are original ThrillZing photos of Ricochet taken at Carowinds on October 13, 2024, during the SCarowinds season, shot on an iPhone and published as taken. They show the wild mouse’s marquee letters and a car rounding the green hairpin above them. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Ricochet FAQs
Who manufactured Ricochet at Carowinds?
Ricochet was built by Mack Rides, the German manufacturer, as a compact-model Wild Mouse steel coaster.
How tall and fast is Ricochet?
Ricochet is about 45.9 feet tall, reaches a top speed of about 28 mph and has 1,214 feet of track. It has no inversions.
What is the height requirement for Ricochet?
Riders must be at least 54 inches (137 cm) tall to ride alone. Riders from 44 inches (112 cm) up to 54 inches can ride only when accompanied by a rider who meets the 54-inch requirement, per the Carowinds website.
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Photo: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.