Carowinds Discussion Thread

[coasterfreak101]

Why does everyone keep calling it thunder run? Its thunder road.

 

EDIT: Wow, now you see what not reading the previous page does to my knowledge. Carry on, I was wrong!

 

I almost posted earlier, but then I reread the last three pages about ten times and finally figured out what was going on.

[josephcissell]

Looking forward to finally visiting this park for the first time and checking out Fury on Friday! Anyone know what weekday crowds have been like recently? It seems like in past years this park has usually been pretty quiet until later in the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fury has changed that some.

[FSUFanChris]

It's been pretty mild but this Friday, the park closes at 6:00, FYI.

[josephcissell]

It's been pretty mild but this Friday, the park closes at 6:00, FYI.

 

Yeah, I saw that. Unfortunately this trip is just tacked on to other plans, so that is when I can go, but I'll be there open to close to make the most of it. Thanks for the reply.

[pproteinc]

yea it's due to GradFest for the high school 2015 graduates: www.carowinds.com/celebration-field-trips/gradfest. Season passes are not honored for this event.

[JJLehto]

I'll be going late August, like the 29th or 30th, I'm hoping crowds won't be tooo bad, ideally low enough I won't need a fast pass or anything. Looking forward to this park and Fury 325!

I haven't even looked into any reviews of it because I'm sure people are hating on/shrugging it off but I think it could possibly usurp my #1 spot if it runs fast as it looks. Of course many think I'm nuts already for still having MForce as #1

[markysharky17]

I'll be going late August, like the 29th or 30th, I'm hoping crowds won't be tooo bad, ideally low enough I won't need a fast pass or anything. Looking forward to this park and Fury 325!

I haven't even looked into any reviews of it because I'm sure people are hating on/shrugging it off but I think it could possibly usurp my #1 spot if it runs fast as it looks. Of course many think I'm nuts already for still having MForce as #1

It's amazing. I'm an Intamin freak. El Toro is my number 1 woodie and Skyrush is my number one steel. I went to ride fury with standard coaster expectations and I came off shocked. It twists your body like Maverick and drops like Millennium Force. It's a great ride! Definitely top 5 material!

[JJLehto]

I'll be going late August, like the 29th or 30th, I'm hoping crowds won't be tooo bad, ideally low enough I won't need a fast pass or anything. Looking forward to this park and Fury 325!

I haven't even looked into any reviews of it because I'm sure people are hating on/shrugging it off but I think it could possibly usurp my #1 spot if it runs fast as it looks. Of course many think I'm nuts already for still having MForce as #1

It's amazing. I'm an Intamin freak. El Toro is my number 1 woodie and Skyrush is my number one steel. I went to ride fury with standard coaster expectations and I came off shocked. It twists your body like Maverick and drops like Millennium Force. It's a great ride! Definitely top 5 material!

 

That's what I like to hear!

[Intimidator305]

It twists your body like Maverick and drops like Millennium Force. It's a great ride! Definitely top 5 material!

 

Did we ride the same ride?

 

Anyways, 2016 the park will be "making a big splash" and has an estimated 12-15 million dollars left of their 50 million 3 year investment. Thoughts on what it could be besides the obvious Boomerang Bay/Soak City renovation and additions? Also, what's everyone's opinion on the Thunder Road leaving rumor?

[jarmor]

We really don't know how much they have left or if it was a true 50 million. For instance, according to the below quote, there will be no funds remaining and its not saying the money cedar fair would be investing would be part of a 3 year plan for the total amount...

 

Cedar Fair is looking to establish a large park to push to the 2.5-3 million annual guest range

somewhere in the southeast and their target expansions are going to either be Carowinds or

Kings Dominion. If they were to select Carowinds as their large southeast park, the first phase

would consist of $43.5MM of investment. The first $30MM of that would be in a new 300 foot

tall rollercoaster. For comparison, the Intimidator, which you can see from I-77, is 230 feet.

They would include a $2.5MM water slide, a $7MM food complex and a $4MM ticket booth and

parking field improvements. Much of what you will approach and see as you come to Carowinds

now, would be completely reconfigured and moved out into where some of their parking field

currently is. $33.1MM of this investment will be in Mecklenburg County within the business

investment zone. The other $10.4MM will be in York County. Just as a reminder, Carowinds is

398 acres right now between the land they currently own and is undeveloped plus the land that is

developed as the park. About 220 acres of that is in South Carolina. The remainder is in North

Carolina.

Link

 

The park also got a grant from the surrounding cities and counties. This is what they asked from one city/county...

Councilmember Andy Dulin said lets go over how much this is going to cost us again.

Mr. Zeiler said if approved, the City’s share of a business investment grant is estimated to be

about $327,952 over three years. The City County combined grant is estimated to be $922,467.

The Board of County Commissioners indicated their intent to approve its portion of the BIP last

Tuesday on June 18th.

Link

 

Now, that was just one city/county in the charlotte area. Who knows what type of grant money they received from York/Rockhill. So...we really don't know how much they have left of anything since they used others money to fund the recent additions as well as their own. If I were a betting man, I would say they have more money then we think lol.

[ferk60]

My friend and I are heading down this weekend from MD. First time going to Carowinds and it is all because we both want to ride Fury 325! Plan on driving down Thursday night and enjoying the park Friday and and finishing up what we do not do on Saturday then we will probably drive up to Either Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens and on the way back. Few questions for the board

 

1. Places to eat that are good in the park or around the park. I am a foodie so if there is some place I should not miss I want to know.

2. Anyone been on a Friday? Is the park going to be packed?

3. Any tips from Carowinds experts?

[JJLehto]

Yeah, I'm also curious about any advice for the park, and what crowds may be like on a very late August weekend (only time for me).

Seconded on food tips

[BotanicalStig]

1. The crab fries at chickey's and pete's are awesome, don't bother getting anything else from them. I really liked the burgers at Harmony hall, but the barbecue wasn't very good. Also, the funnel cake place is insane, we went for the cinnamon apple and pecan and loved it.

 

2. Not yet this year. Yesterday was the busiest I've ever seen the park. Friday probably wont be much better. I'm seeing much bigger crowds this year, I'd plan on getting fastlane.

 

3. Don't miss boo blasters (do it at KD too, theirs is themed better) it's a little cheesy but a fun dark ride, also good to escape the heat. There are a few good rides in planet snoopy, too. If you want to park closest to the park, go all the way to the end of the parking lot to the south gate. You wont walk through Fury, but it'll be nice and easy to get to your car.

Edited May 17, 2015 by BotanicalStig

[jarmor]

My friend and I are heading down this weekend from MD. First time going to Carowinds and it is all because we both want to ride Fury 325! Plan on driving down Thursday night and enjoying the park Friday and and finishing up what we do not do on Saturday then we will probably drive up to Either Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens and on the way back. Few questions for the board

 

1. Places to eat that are good in the park or around the park. I am a foodie so if there is some place I should not miss I want to know.

2. Anyone been on a Friday? Is the park going to be packed?

3. Any tips from Carowinds experts?

 

1) Harmony hall has some good selections. I always get the cut to order brisket sandwich. Chickies and Pete has good cheese steaks. Wings has some nice chicken wings. I hear the pizza is pretty good as well.

 

2) Remember, its a holiday weekend. I have been going on fridays this year and the line for fury 325 never ran over 20 minutes and at night it is virtually a walk on. But again...its a holiday weekend.

 

3) I would ride nighthawk first thing as I get there and everything else should be a breeze. Also don't miss the flyers and the Peanuts Pirates. The water park should be open so I would get there as soon as it opens if you are into water parks.

[ferk60]

Thanks for all the great feed back, I love these insiders tips. I have been to the Chickies and Petes at both Cedar Point and Dorney Park and love their sweet potatoes fries! Great strategy tips! Keep them coming. I didn't factor in the holiday weekend. I was hoping all the kids would still be at school! lol

[cwgator]

They will still be in school on Friday. The morning may not be too bad. However the late afternoon and evening may be another story. I wouldn't go near the park personally the rest of the weekend without FL+.

[woolandmammoth]

It is crazy to see this park, or any park, grow so rapidly. Cedar Fair has really been doing a fantastic job with this park. If they keep investing in this park they way they have been, it will be the Cedar Point of the south in no time.

[coasterbill]

3) I would ride nighthawk first thing as I get there and everything else should be a breeze.

 

THIS, I know it's tempting to ride Fury first but unless you have Fastlane Plus you need to ride Nighthawk first.

[WildEagle2014]

My friend and I are heading down this weekend from MD. First time going to Carowinds and it is all because we both want to ride Fury 325! Plan on driving down Thursday night and enjoying the park Friday and and finishing up what we do not do on Saturday then we will probably drive up to Either Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens and on the way back. Few questions for the board

 

1. Places to eat that are good in the park or around the park. I am a foodie so if there is some place I should not miss I want to know.

2. Anyone been on a Friday? Is the park going to be packed?

3. Any tips from Carowinds experts?

 

1. Chickie and Pete's is really great as someone else mentioned. We prefer to take a break during the busiest hour or two of the day and travel down the road to the Cracker Barrel which is located off the Carowind's exit near the interstate. The food there has always been amazing!

 

2. We haven't made it to the park yet this year...but judging from the crowds at Dollywood this season...it is going to be EXTREMELY packed, especially due to it being Memorial Day weekend. I definitely would purchase a fast pass and get there before the park opens to ride Fury 325 and Nighthawk.

 

3. As you might already know...always mark Nighthawk off your list as early in the morning as possible...even though it's nothing special, the loading/unloading process is extremely time consuming and lines can be 1-2 hours even during a weekday. The same is true for Carolina Cobra...one train = long lines.

[kirkgun]

Another (possibly) helpful hint about visiting Carowinds next weekend: Beware of traffic

 

In addition to being a Holiday weekend, there is Nascar here this weekend.

 

I'm not sure how you plan on coming through town (or at what times) but things could get ugly. The construction at the insection of I-85 and the 485 loop on the north side is done (thank goodness). So 85 in that area is much better lately. But, you still cannot get onto 485 Outer (counter clockwise) around the west side of Charlotte at that intersection (it will not open for a few more weeks).

 

Just north of that intersection (through the city of Concord) is the race track. It's the same area as Concord Mills mall.

 

77 Southbound past the center of the city (called Uptown in these pars) can get ugly anyday, at any time. All it takes is just one bad driver... And there will be tons of out-of-towners driving motor-homes and such. And even 85 can still back-up even with the construction done. 485 on the southside of the loop is a disaster at sometime almost every day. There are a couple of lanes closed on 77 southbound right at the Carowinds exit (at least there was yesterday).

 

Anyway, all I can tell you is too look at a map before hand and have some ideas of some alternatives. I am supposing everybody has a smart phone with an map app with live traffic reporting these days, use it. Don't check it 10 minutes before getting close to town and figure everything is clear, keep checking. Don't let navigation on your phone or GPS send you into a jam.

 

have fun and good luck

[pproteinc]

My friend and I are heading down this weekend from MD. First time going to Carowinds and it is all because we both want to ride Fury 325! Plan on driving down Thursday night and enjoying the park Friday and and finishing up what we do not do on Saturday then we will probably drive up to Either Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens and on the way back. Few questions for the board

 

1. Places to eat that are good in the park or around the park. I am a foodie so if there is some place I should not miss I want to know.

2. Anyone been on a Friday? Is the park going to be packed?

3. Any tips from Carowinds experts?

 

Ok here we go I'm an avid season pass holder and i'm at the park pretty much almost every day its open rather to ride enjoy shows or just eat lol

 

1. Chickies and Pete's have some great cheesesteakes and of coarse the crab fries are awesome. Harmony hall have a great selection of food the Italian hot subs and the pizzas are good in the Italian line. The pulled pork add bbq and the made to order brisket with mac and cheese are awesome from the bbq line also the shrimp and grits, the chicken sandwiches and hamburgers and potato swirl fries are great in grill line, if it looks like its been under the lamp for a while you can ask for a freshly made sandwich. If you're vegan there's plenty of salads and fruits to choose from as well. The backery have some great cupcakes too. For something quick to walk around with you have dockside fries in front of the carolina cobra, I propose the Carolina BBQ Fries, which fries topped with pulled pork bbq and cheese or the pimento cheese fries. Their extra long corndogs are great as well. The fish plate is hit or miss. Hit the funnel cake emporium as you leave the park they have so many topping combinations to choose from. Outside the park you have Cracker Barrel, Wendy's, McD's, Bojangles chicken and biscuits and Culver's famous frozen custards and butter burgers.

 

2. Fridays aren't really that bad in the morning due to school however Fridays are also education days so the bus lot is normally packed full of school and youth group buses but still manageable early in the day. After hmmm I'll say 3ish that's when it my get a little more heavy. Now that this weekend is memorial it 's definitely going to be packed that Saturday due to the Joyfest gospel concert with some of the top gospel artist like kirk franklin, mary mary, tamela mann, fred hammond, tye tribett, etc and that Sunday after church which I'll guesstimate after 2pm is when the park normally picks up. Monday will be jam because that's the place to be on Memorial day if you're a charlotte resident. Lines are typically extra long on all rides Memorial Day and during JoyFest. If you get there at opening just go straight to Nighthawk and kill that bird then because if you wait until later over half of your day will be spent standing in that line.

[JJLehto]

3) I would ride nighthawk first thing as I get there and everything else should be a breeze.

 

THIS, I know it's tempting to ride Fury first but unless you have Fastlane Plus you need to ride Nighthawk first.

 

Hmmmmm are re rides possible on Fury without fast lane (while still getting other rides in of course)?

[coasterbill]

Absolutely! Fury chews through the line really fast... Nighthawk on the other hand turns a short line into a 90 minute wait constantly.

 

PS: Save time for Afterburn re-rides too... just throwing that out there.

[JJLehto]

Absolutely! Fury chews through the line really fast... Nighthawk on the other hand turns a short line into a 90 minute wait constantly.

 

PS: Save time for Afterburn re-rides too... just throwing that out there.

 

Of course! Pretty much those two were the ones I hope to get as many as possible, and hit everything else once lol

[UrbanLegend]

I've been planning a trip to Carowinds for the first time ever this summer. It'll likely be in July but I don't have a set date yet.

I was reading up on summer weather in Charlotte and it's not a good prognosis. What's the likelihood on any given day we'd get rained out or stormed out in July?