Carowinds Review

While in Columbia, SC, I’ve written about roller coasters so much that I had to go to nearby Carowinds and ride a few in real life! And with mask restrictions lifting, and now that I’m fully vaccinated, I feel much more comfortable going to an amusement park again.

Carowinds

Carowinds is a Cedar Fair park in Charlotte, North Carolina. In fact, the park straddles the North Carolina/South Carolina border, as indicated by a cement line running through the middle of the park. I feel like this used to be a more prominent feature than it is now, but I haven’t really visited enough in the past to say.

Overall, it’s not the most beautiful park. It doesn’t have the lush greenery of a Bush Gardens or the theming of Disney or Universal. But it’s maybe a bit nicer than your average Six Flags. The layout is a loose circle with a path through the middle and a water park tacked to the back. And it’s mostly flat, with the hilliest areas being around the Afterburn coaster down into the “crossroads” area. Let’s take a look around!

Celebration Plaza

The entrance to the park was revamped in 2015 with the addition of the Fury 325 coaster, which zooms over and under guests as they enter via a bridge. Once you clear a metal detector, bag check, and ticket scan, you’re in Celebration Plaza, a wide-open area with a stage, food options, and the main park store. There’s also a huge bathroom to the right as you come in. But if I were you, I’d hold it until a little farther in the park – that entrance bathroom is usually mobbed.

A stage here currently hosts REM!X, a high-energy dance party held periodically through the late afternoon until closing. Also in this area is the Carolina Skytower, a slow-moving observation platform that was never open during any of my visits so far.

There are several third-party food options in the park. Celebration Plaza contains a Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, and a Starbucks, plus a Burrito Cafe and a funnel cake stand.

Carousel Park

Heading to the right is Carousel Park, a shady area with a pretty carousel, a scrambler, an Italian restaurant (though I’m not sure it’s open), the Carowinds Theater (currently empty), and the Vortex, a terrible stand-up coaster. And I say that the area is shady, but the scambler and the line for the Vortex are in full sun. There’s also an extra-fee slingshot ride that I expect is more fun to look at than ride.

Thrill Zone

Around the corner to the right is the ubiquitous 50’s diner found in every theme park ever, the Fury 325, the Hurler wooden coaster, and the Drop Tower. I’m not sure what it says that the park’s best and worst coasters pretty much reside side-by-side. I think the Scream Weaver falls in this area too, it’s a decently thrilling flat ride, like a vertical carousel.

Carolina Boardwalk

In general, theming at Carowinds is pretty weak. You can’t really tell one section from another. But they do a slightly better job in the Carolina Boardwalk area, with a small lighthouse and tufts of tall grass. A seafood-themed restaurant (crab fries?) has faux boats stored overhead.

In here, you’ll find the Richochet wild mouse coaster, the charming Carolina Goldrusher, and the twisty Carolina Cyclone. Food includes a sports grill and Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt.

County Fair

County Fair is a haven for flat rides, like the Rock’n’Roller, the Zephyr swings, the Do-Si-Do, and the exciting Electro Spin. Also in here is the Flying Cobras shuttle coaster. Behind is the water park section, but I’ll cover that later.

Blue Ridge Junction

The newest themed area is Blue Ridge Junction with the unique Copperhead Strike coaster that opened in 2019. The only other ride is the Mountain Gliders flat ride. A row of country-style storefronts leads to the path heading through the middle of the park. They look like different buildings, but it might all be the Blue Ridge Country Kitchen. I know I saw a sign for blue ice cream, a popular treat, but I never managed to try any.

Crossroads

At the Crossroads, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill and a large Chickfila are on a hill, while Dodge’ems bumper cars, Southern Star looping ship, and the Yo-Yo swings ride are down in a little valley. There’s a Plants vs. Zombies 3D theater/shooter game down here, but it was never open. On the hill between Boo Blasters and the Chickfila is a gazebo stage where the only other live entertainment in the park is located. I saw a two-girl act singing folks and pop songs a few times but I may have missed other acts.

Up the hill, either by the Yo-Yo or around the front of the Chickfila, is the Afterburn, a fantastic fighter-jet-themed inverted coaster, the track of which covers the hillside.

Camp Snoopy

The left-front corner of the park is taken up with Camp Snoopy, a Peanuts-themed land for kids. And in the entire park, this is the most well-themed! 12 rides just for children, plus a theater and lots of covered seating for parents. Two of those rides are kiddie roller coasters, but neither seemed open during my visits. There’s a big Camp Cookout restaurant and store in here too.

And the rest

There’s a definite gate to Camp Snoopy, but I’m unsure what the area right outside of it is called. Maybe it’s part of Celebration Plaza, but I think it’s more that it just doesn’t matter much anyway.

Right outside of Camp Snoopy is the Kiddy Hawk child-sized suspended coaster. Nearby is an extra-fee Ripcord ride. Across the way is the large Harmony Hall food court, which has an entertainment stage. There’s also a Panda Express nearby.

Intimidator near the front is a fantastic Dale Earnhardt-themed coaster, easily the best in the park before the Fury 325 was built. Then, heading down the path in the middle of the park is Nighthawk, a flying coaster, and Windseeker, a scenic high-swings ride. Then you’re back in Blue Ridge Junction.

Carolina Harbor Water Park

Back between Blue Ridge Junction and County Fair is the Carolina Harbor Water Park, a collection of five slide towers, four kid’s areas, two wave pools, and a lazy river. I confess I didn’t find anything too amazing here, though I enjoyed the three tubes slides on Blackbeard’s Revenge the best.

Of the slides, there is the new Boogie Board Racer, a face-first mat slide right at the entrance. Further back are the Barracuda Blasters, “racing” tube slides, and the shortest (in height) in the park. Blackbeard’s Revenge has three fun tubes slides and three “trapdoor” body slides – meaning, you stand in a capsule and they drop the floor out from under you. (Big NOPE from me!) Hurricane Falls is a large family-style raft ride, and Storm Surge has two body slides and two tube slides, all in complete darkness. They’re also the tallest slides in the park (I think.)

Events

Events at Carowinds include “SCarowinds” during Halloween and Winterfest on weekends through December. In late summer, they host “Grand Carnivale” (held July 17-August 1 in 2021) which is an international festival with food and live entertainment, plus a daily Mardi Gras parade.

I was able to attend Winterfest in 2021, but it rained almost the whole time and was a bit of a bust. Most of the live entertainment was canceled and even some of the food booths had closed for low attendance.

My Experience

I’ll share all my rankings/opinions about the individual rides in a later post. But for some context, I visited Carowinds three times in June. My first visit was on a Wednesday, and I was able to ride all the roller coasters, two of them twice, ride one flat ride, stand in line to upgrade my ticket, and eat one meal and two snacks. And the park was only open from 11-7! I think they are/were restricting how many people could be in the park. Plus, a Wednesday is always going to be a slower day than any weekend. (It’s also always easier to move around solo.)

Even so, it pays to arrive before park opening. I got there at 10:30 and could enter as far as Carousel Park, heading towards Fury 325 – which I was able to ride twice first thing in the morning. I also managed to squeak in Intimidator right under the line at 6:58.

My next visit was on a Friday when I arrived a little later, around 11:30, and was able to ride Kiddy Hawk and all of the flat rides I didn’t get to on my first visit (including Drop Tower, which wasn’t open before), plus additional rides on Fury 325 and Intimidator.

I came back the next day just to do the water park, and even on a Saturday, the lines weren’t so bad first thing in the morning. Then I rode the Windseeker, which hadn’t been open on my previous visits, and a re-ride on the Carolina Goldrusher. I would have stayed to re-ride Afterburn, but the line was long on a Saturday, and I didn’t feel so good, so I left early.

Tickets

Definitely check for tickets online before your visit. At the gate, they cost $70. But online, I got my original Wednesday ticket for $43. Likewise, parking is $20 per car, but I was able to buy it for $16 online when I added it to my ticket.

And a word about ticket upgrades. I know I will also visit other Cedar Fair parks this summer, so I decided to upgrade my Carowinds ticket to a Platinum season pass, which gets me free parking and entrance to all other Cedar Fair parks. Instead of buying the pass upfront for $202, I upgraded my day ticket, which credits me for the value of my ticket, not what I paid for it. So instead of paying the difference between $43 and $202, I paid the difference between $70 and $202, or about $130. I might have been able to credit the day’s parking for an extra $20 off as well, but the guest relations person didn’t know how to do it, and it would have taken a long time to ask, so I didn’t bother.

The gamble to upgrade your ticket inside the park is that it might take a big chunk out of your day. I only waited about 20 minutes in line, but right before I got there, a guest held up the line for a full 45 minutes before they got a second person at the desk to take care of the rest of the line. So that $27 discount might not be worth the park time for you, especially if you’re going to use your pass a ton during the year. I was mainly curious to see if the “discount” worked and ended up getting lucky with the line.

Loose Articles/Lockers

My biggest complaint against Carowinds is how they handle loose articles. There is a bin you can drop your stuff into and collect it after you ride on most coasters. On almost every ride, this creates such a traffic jam of people both retrieving their stuff plus all the new riders trying to put stuff in at the same time. It’s worst on the Carolina Goldrusher for some reason.

But even worse, for two coasters – the Fury 325 and the Copperhead Strike – no loose articles are allowed in line or on the platform, so you have to get a locker. And lockers cost a minimum of $4! You’re forced to buy two hours of time whether you want/need it or not. I just think it’s a crime for them to cost that much. Lockers at the water park cost $20, but you’re usually in and out of them all day. A $4 surcharge to ride Fury 325 won’t keep me from riding it, but I balked at riding Copperhead Strike again just because I didn’t want to pay.

Of course, a real pro, or, you know, a man, doesn’t carry loose articles at all. Maybe one day I can put aside my vanity and wear cargo pants or a fanny pack, but not yet. I’ve had my eye on some hiking leggings that are more durable and have zippered pockets for theme park use, but I haven’t sprung for them yet. Plus, I tend to carry an actual book with me to read in line! I worry about running down my cell phone battery on park days, but I may just have to get over that.

Food

My other gripe is the cost of food. It’s hard to shell out what I normally spend for a week’s worth of groceries on a single mediocre meal. Upcharging at theme parks is nothing new; it just felt so egregious this time. Over $11 for Sweet Frog yogurt that would normally cost $6. I spent $20 on a decent BBQ sandwich at Harmony Hall, but the slaw on the side was inedible. The best meal I had in the whole park was a plate of chicken fingers and fries at Sharkey’s Grille in the water park.

In a way, it was good that the park closed at 7 because I could leave and get a meal at McDonald’s for only $5. There are places (I think) for more leisurely or sit-down dining, which I didn’t try. And they sell a $15 meal add-on to your ticket, which might save some money. I just sort of hate dining plans in general.

Water

A word about water – they hand out free water everywhere they serve food, but the cups are tiny. On my first visit, I started requesting two cups at a time. On my second visit, I brought my own water bottle and refilled it at water fountains. It was much better!

The Carowinds App

The Carowinds App is helpful to store your tickets and reservations (though those are going away now) and possibly help you find where you parked your car, but in-park, it’s almost worthless. The ride wait times are rarely accurate. My rule of thumb was to double whatever the app said. Mine kept saying I was disconnected, even though I was connected to the park wifi the entire time. I also hate that when you change what category of icons to look at – rides vs. dining, for example – it resets the map completely. It’s just not that helpful.

That’s it for now – check back to see my next post ranking all the rides at Carowinds!