Carowinds Discussion Thread

[sdcfan88]

Looks like this park will be affected by the hurricane. Hope everyone that lives in the path of the storm is safe.

Yeah things are not trending in a good way for that area, thats for sure. Just recently visited the park for the first time at the end of August and loved it. Hope it is not too severely affected. People need to heed warnings and get out of its path. This could be bad.

 

 

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/CONUS_band.php?sat=G16&band=GEOCOLOR&length=24

[fraroc]

I know that Carowinds survived Hugo, Fran, and Isabel...but I honestly hope that Carowinds pulls through, this could be a bad one. I honestly hope that Carowinds doesn't suffer the same fate as SFNO.

[SharkTums]

I know that Carowinds survived Hugo, Fran, and Isabel...but I honestly hope that Carowinds pulls through, this could be a bad one. I honestly hope that Carowinds doesn't suffer the same fate as SFNO.

 

Carowinds is MUCH farther inland than SFNO was, major flooding and storm surge is not what they need to worry about at all.

[bgtlover]

It will be a major rain event in the areas near Carowinds/Charlotte at most. There will be localized flooding near bodies of water and some streets in lower lying areas. There maybe downed trees from the excess moisture and pop up thunderstorms associated with it. This is going by a live update I just watched from the local NBC affiliate in Charlotte. They don't expect winds to be more than 10-20mph by the time it gets near there.

 

Friday night may or may not happen with SCarowinds, but looks like Saturday & Sunday will be a washout with the park closed unless Florence turns more north.

[coasterbill]

I know that Carowinds survived Hugo, Fran, and Isabel...but I honestly hope that Carowinds pulls through, this could be a bad one. I honestly hope that Carowinds doesn't suffer the same fate as SFNO.

 

Someone buy this dude a map.

[JJLehto]

I know that Carowinds survived Hugo, Fran, and Isabel...but I honestly hope that Carowinds pulls through, this could be a bad one. I honestly hope that Carowinds doesn't suffer the same fate as SFNO.

 

Itll be OK. There may be flooding and such, but Charlotte is very far off the coaster, it wont get the catastrophic winds or surge flooding that decimates the coasts.

 

And thanks for the winter fest info! Yeah weather wasn't a concern but the rides not being open deff are

Good to know, sounds like a nice time but not worth an excursion out there. No problem I'll go next year which is sensible anyway given the new ride

[fraroc]

I know that Carowinds survived Hugo, Fran, and Isabel...but I honestly hope that Carowinds pulls through, this could be a bad one. I honestly hope that Carowinds doesn't suffer the same fate as SFNO.

 

Someone buy this dude a map.

 

 

I know that Carowinds is very far inland, but when we have all these news sources saying that this storm is gonna be "the big one" for the Carolinas, I can't help but feel like Carowinds is kind of vulnerable to some serious damage. I have no doubt that B&M built those big coasters to withstand extreme weather events though. Hell, SFNO's Batman is now operating in SFFT.

 

I just hope for the best and pray for everybody and their families down there.

[sdcfan88]

For those following the storm, it has happened. Landfall was made around 5:40am EST near Surf City, NC. Florence still a CAT1 hurricane. Moving very slowly WNW at 6mph.

 

As for the park, as the storm moves further inland this weekend towards Charlotte, it should maintain Tropical Storm strength with 50-70 mph wind gusts and several inches of rain being likely. They also made this post on social media:

[coasterbill]

The only reasons to close tonight are for storm prep or projected low attendance. It's weird that they wouldn't just announce a closure for the full weekend if they're planning on prepping the place for the storm though. The forecast for tonight is the best of the weekend by far (and the only day where you would actually consider visiting a theme park).

[bgtlover]

Carowinds is closed tomorrow as well as noted on their website.

[coasterbill]

Well I mean... yeah. What took them so long?

[carolinaman]

Fastlane and Frightlane passes are BOGO on Fridays and Sundays for passholders!!!

 

https://www.carowinds.com/play/events/season-passholder-buy-one-get-one-free-fast-lane-or-fright-lane

[LiftThrill]

Might have a chance to spend Oct 12 at Carowinds.

Not super interested in Scarowinds (and I kinda have to leave in the afternoon anyway).

 

Are there any seasonal ride closures or the like that might affect the visit? From queue-times it looks like the park still operates fairly normally during its non-Haunt times in the fall. Any kind of coupon or discount advice is also greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[pproteinc]

^ You’ll be at Scarowinds as the park is only open from 7pm to 12pm. Wait the 12th the park is closed. However, just the rapids ride and the looping ship, Southern Star, are closed for the season and Screamweaver the enterprise is typically closed and used as an overflow ride.

Edited October 2, 2018 by pproteinc

[LiftThrill]

Hang on, is Oct 12 the Friday? I meant Oct 13.

[pproteinc]

Yea the same goes even with the park opening at 10 to 5 day time.

[carowindsman]

We got a jo Jo roll coming along

[LiftThrill]

Looking pretty cool so far. I'm interested to see how it turns out.

 

Yea the same goes even with the park opening at 10 to 5 day time.

 

Good to know, thanks.

[pproteinc]

Link below if anyone cares to frop by the live webcam every now and again.

 

https://pixelcaster.com/live/carowinds/https/cam1.html

[jarmor]

They've installed 12 of 102 pieces in virtually 24 hours. It's not a stretch to see this completed in the next couple weeks if they keep this up . . .

[teacherkim]

My son and I will be making a quick trip down from St Louis the last weekend in October. We will hit Scarowinds on the Fri and Sat night and do the regular park hours during the day on Sat. Will be our first trip to Carowinds but not our first to a Cedar Fair park.

 

We are park traveling veterans but anything we should know about Scarowinds? Or the park in general?

[pproteinc]

Scarowinds is hella packed the last weekends of October. Manage your time wisely. I'd say dont leave after datyime operations. Just chill in the parking lot or walk over to Moe's or the BBQ joint if you're hungry as. You will see that it gets very hectic when the scarowinds crowd start to arrive and park. Traffic is over the top and the parking lot gets full. The park is overcrowded and you will have to choose either to do rides or mazes and you may get to do 2 mazes or two rides in the 5hr time frame as lines are chaotic and very long. Just be there early to get in faster. FASTPASS PLUS WILL BE YOUR FRIEND for rides only and if considering the Frightpass will also be your friends for mazes.

Edited October 8, 2018 by pproteinc

[prozach626]

Two years ago the entrance was grid locked with cars trying to get into the park at about 1030pm... No joke. Everything is packed, but we still managed to do a couple haunted houses. We waited maybe 30 minutes. You just have to be selective and wait until after Scarowinds has been open for a couple hours before waiting for a Haunt. Like every haunt, people go rushing to every haunted house as soon as Scarowinds starts.

 

We left for dinner and got to the park right when Scarowinds opened. We had to wait about 20 minutes to get through the parking entrance. We had to wait another ten minutes to park. We saw someone get contacted by security for slamming beers in their car prior to entering.............. It also took about 20 minutes to get through the entrance. There were several times where we waited 20 minutes to get a beer. The crowds actually made it pretty fun, though. Since the layout is so small there aren't many gaps between the roaming scare actors, scare zones, and haunts.

 

It's not everyday you go to this park. Fast Lane Plus. We were on every ride within a few minutes. It allowed us to take our time and be selective about which haunted houses to hit. If you don't want to go that route, make sure to visit the park during the day. I think crowds were mostly light.

[teacherkim]

Thanks guys! The tip about walking to dinner and leaving the car is welcome for sure. I was kinda wondering about that down time.

 

Prozach you know I am firmly in the get the fastpasses camp if you aren't there on a regular basis. Because we need to fit it in a quick weekend we are just flying down so I'm not going to skimp on fastpasses if I'm already spending money on plane tickets and a rental car. I was able to get two free night at the Hampton Inn near the park with Hilton points, so that helps.

 

I figure with fastlane plus and two night of haunts with the fright lane passes we should get to see everything. Now that I'm hearing tales about the backup to get in we will be sure to allow plenty of time.

[prozach626]

^Nice! With the Fast Lane Plus and Fright Lane combo you're going to be able to ride everything you want as many times as you want. Is this your first trip to Carowinds?