Carowinds

[TheOneRJ]

11 minutes ago, allthingsplanes said:

^ Wow.  I am not surprised about the rapids ride, though it does surprise me a little that they're getting rid of it totally vs. improving it.  Makes me think they have something big planned for both plots.

The Dinosaurs Alive thing is not a surprise.  Honestly, once you've gone through once, there's almost no reason to go through again...

Well they didn’t technically rule out a renovation of the rapids. They said that it was “retired” and to “say goodbye”, but when asked if there was a possibility of a reno, all they would say is they “don’t know what will happen in that area”. 

 

[videtur quam contuor]

I was at the Southern Christmas Show at the Merch Mart in 1972 and met Pat Hall, the developer and creator of Carowinds. He was there with Miss South Carolina pimping for his new park. Pat developed the Arrowood Industrial Park then moved a bit further for this Disneyland clone. He was just 50 or 51 then but looked much older (to my young self)

[KJHburg]

the new Spring Hill Suites hotel on the park property on the NC side today.  

 

[KJHburg]

Flying in from H-town today aerials of Carowinds.  

[KJHburg]

More Carowinds news when Copperhead Strike opens later this month Sycamore Brewing will debut their new beer by the same name.

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/carowinds-popular-charlotte-brewery-collaborate-on-new-beer/929449286

[QCxpat]

Today's CBJ - "Carowinds prepares to double launch into 2019 season with new roller coaster, themed area," by Ashley Fahey, 03/21/2019

Excerpts:  "Carowinds ... is debuting Blue Ridge Junction, a 7-acre, mountain-themed area that hearkens back to an earlier version of Blue Ridge Junction that was part of the park years ago.  The centerpiece attraction, Copperhead Strike, is a roller coaster that's meant to evoke a Carolinas history of moonshiners on the lam, racing through the mountains in a getaway car to escape the police.   Also in Blue Ridge Junction, Carowinds has also brought back an updated version of a carriage ride, Mountain Gliders, previously known as Woodstock Gliders." ... "Copperhead Strike is touted as the first double-launch roller coaster in the Carolinas.  The ride's "launch" feature shoots trains from 0 to 42 miles per hour in less than three seconds, followed by several twists, tight turns and five total inversions. The ride's duration is 2 minutes, 24 seconds.  "Copperhead" has a double meaning — the snake, of course, and it's a reference to a copper-clad still for moonshine.  The roller coaster is the park's 14th, following the 2015 debut of gigacoaster Fury 325.

Link:  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/03/21/photoscarowinds-prepares-to-double-launch-into.html?

[CLTProductions]

Rode it today, it was super fun. You go really slow through most of the inversions which actually makes it scarier. Really gives you a falling out of your seat feeling. Solid addition to the park

[KJHburg]

just saw this video on the Carowinds website (which by the way is great)  

 

[KJHburg]

From Morning Buzz of the CBJ  

""In other news, vacation-search website HomeToGo.com has ranked Carowinds at No. 7 among the most affordable theme parks in the nation. Owned by Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment (NYSE: FUN) and situated along the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, Carowinds is the Charlotte region's top tourist attraction. It opened a new roller coaster and themed area this spring.""

https://www.hometogo.com/united-states/amusement-parks/#theme-park-index

[AuLukey]

Taken this morning. Almost doesn’t even look real from above.

 

[tozmervo]

Looks like they're trying to green up the parking lot. Nice.

[TheOneRJ]

14 hours ago, tozmervo said:

Looks like they're trying to green up the parking lot. Nice.

NC law requires new parking lots to have trees, where they stop is the state line. Hopefully they do continue redoing the parking lot, though. 

[teeg]

7 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

NC law requires new parking lots to have trees, where they stop is the state line. Hopefully they do continue redoing the parking lot, though. 

Except for the right side of the bus lot in that photo, pretty sure the rest of the parking lot is in S.C.  

[TheOneRJ]

15 hours ago, teeg said:

Except for the right side of the bus lot in that photo, pretty sure the rest of the parking lot is in S.C.  

It isn’t, which is why there were no trees added on the SC side of the parking lot during the reconfiguration for Intimidator’s construction. 

https://www.ncforestservice.gov/Urban/pdf/treeProtection.pdf

Edited May 16, 2019 by TheOneRJ

[teeg]

9 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

It isn’t, which is why there were no trees added on the SC side of the parking lot during the reconfiguration for Intimidator’s construction. 

https://www.ncforestservice.gov/Urban/pdf/treeProtection.pdf

Just to make sure that we are talking about the same thing, I grabbed this image from the Mecklenburg County Polaris system.  The lower part (under the dashed line triangle) is South Carolina.  Above it, Charlotte / North Carolina.

[go_vertical]

Are annual attendance numbers for the park ever made public? I'm curious to know how well it's doing since Cedar Fair began all the improvements. 

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, go_vertical said:

Are annual attendance numbers for the park ever made public? I'm curious to know how well it's doing since Cedar Fair began all the improvements. 

CBJ reported 2 million in 2017, but that's the only number I can readily find. 

[jtmonk]

On 5/14/2019 at 10:24 PM, TheOneRJ said:

NC law requires new parking lots to have trees, where they stop is the state line. Hopefully they do continue redoing the parking lot, though. 

I don't believe that NC law requires this, all the general statute does is give municipalities and counties the option to require landscaping. 

[TheOneRJ]

What’s up with the park continuing to lose power randomly?

[tozmervo]

32 minutes ago, TheOneRJ said:

What’s up with the park continuing to lose power randomly?

It was built on an ancient Catawba burial ground

[KJHburg]

Springhill Suites by Marriott at Carowinds just barely in NC is coming along good. Today drive by. 

[TheOneRJ]

Carowinds has purchased an additional 7.5 acres near the campground. 

[TheOneRJ]

New for 2020: parking lot expansion!

Edited July 28, 2019 by TheOneRJ

[CLT>]

On 6/6/2019 at 4:06 PM, TheOneRJ said:

What’s up with the park continuing to lose power randomly?

They're a Duke Energy customer, what do you expect?

[UPNoDa]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:24 PM, go_vertical said:

Are annual attendance numbers for the park ever made public? I'm curious to know how well it's doing since Cedar Fair began all the improvements. 

No real numbers for 2019 yet, but this link to Screamscape allows you to see several years back in attendance globally.

http://www.screamscape.com/html/industry_news.htm

Unfortunately, it is broken down by company then region. That being said, Carowinds is owned by Cedar Fair and their attendance (park wide) for 2018 was 25,912.000 up 0.7% from 2017.

I too would like to see a breakdown of all Cedar Fair properties to see what impact (if any) it has on attendance when a new ride is opened at any particular park.