Carowinds is a 400-acre (160Â ha) amusement park, located adjacent to Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park is located on the border of North and South Carolina, with a portion of the park is also located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The park opened on March 31, 1973, at a cost of $70 million. This was the result of a four-year planning period spearheaded by Charlotte businessman Earl Patterson Hall, who was inspired to build the park by a 1956 trip to Disneyland and a dream of bringing the two states closer together. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, who's headquarters are located within the park, Carowinds also features a 27-acre (81,000 m2) water park, Carolina Harbor, which is included with park admission. The park has a Halloween event called SCarowinds and a winter event called WinterFest.
History
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The Carowinds theme park was originally envisioned as a component of a large resort which would include hotels, a shopping center, a golf course, and an NFL stadium. However, attendance at Carowinds was curtailed by the 1973 oil crisis, and plans for the proposed resort were put on hold. Hall and the other stockholders of the Carowinds Corporation continued to operate the theme park through 1974, though sagging attendance and mounting debt forced the company to sell to Taft Broadcasting in early 1975. Ownership had transferred from Family Leisure Centers â€" a joint venture between Taft and Top Value Enterprises) â€" to Kings Entertainment Company, which in turn was acquired by Paramount. The park was purchased by Paramount Communications in 1993 and joined the Paramount Parks family. The park was renamed Paramount's Carowinds in 1993 and later became an asset of Viacom following its acquisition of Paramount in 1994.
The name "Carowinds" was derived from the park's original theme of the history and culture of the Carolinas, and is a portmanteau of "Carolina" and "winds", in reference to the winds that blow across the two states. Carowinds operates seasonally from late March through early December, after the park's Halloween event, "SCarowinds", and the park's Christmas event, "WinterFest".
Sale to Cedar Fair
On January 27, 2006, the Dayton Daily News reported that CBS Corporation (which split from Viacom at the end of 2005) would be selling Paramount's Carowinds and other parks in its Paramount Parks division.
On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company acquired Paramount Parks, including Carowinds.
Although Cedar Fair continued to use the Paramount's Carowinds name through the remainder of the 2006 season, it began to phase out the Paramount name in press releases, the park website, and on signage within the park. In January 2007, a new logo featuring the Cedar Fair icon but lacking the "Paramount" name, was revealed on the park website. The new logo featured the trademark Cedar Fair flags, flying on the letter "I" on the Carowinds name. The other four Paramount-branded parks that Cedar Fair acquired all received similar changes. The "Paramount" name was dropped from all of the parks after the 2006 season.
Cedar Fair era
On August 26, 2013, Cedar Fair announced a $50-million investment plan to expand Carowinds over three years starting in 2014. The expansion will include a $30-million roller coaster, a $2.5-million water slide, a $7-million food complex, and $4 million to improve the park's ticket booths and front areas.
On August 21, 2014 Carowinds announced the addition of Fury 325 for the 2015 season. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride is the fifth-tallest roller coaster in the world, after its debut in the spring of 2015 as another component of the park's previously announced "top-to-bottom" expansion program. A new front entrance, replacing the original North Gate entrance of the park, also opened along with Fury 325 for the 2015 season.
On August 27, 2015, Carowinds announced that the water park known formally as Boomerang Bay would be expanded and renamed Carolina Harbor in 2016. The Australian theme would be removed and replaced with a Carolina harbor theme. The expansion includes a new six-slide complex, a new wave pool, and several new splash areas for kids.
On August 18, 2016, Carowinds announced they would be expanding County Fair with the addition of 4 new rides: Electro-Spin (a mondial top scan), Zephyr(A Zierer Wave Swinger), Rock N Roller(A Mack Rides Music Express), and Do-Si-Do(a HUSS Troika.) Carowinds also announced that Carolina Cobra would be refurbished and renamed "The Flying Cobras". They also announced that the Wings restaurant would receive various upgrades. Carowinds also announced the return of WinterFest, a Christmas event in November and December, that previously operated in 2005.
For the 2018 season, the park's children's area known as Planet Snoopy, will be expanded and converted to Camp Snoopy with the addition of six new children's rides.
Themed areas and attractions
The rides at Carowinds are based loosely around eight themed areas.
Celebration Plaza
Crossroads
Carolina Boardwalk
Carousel Park
County Fair
Thrill Zone
Camp Snoopy
Carolina Harbor
Included in the price of admission to Carowinds is access the 27-acre Carolina Harbor water park. Based on a Coastal Carolina theme, it features 15 rides and attractions. Originally opened as Ocean Island in 1982, the water park has also been known as Riptide Reef (1989â€"1997) WaterWorks (1997â€"2006), and Boomerang Bay (2007â€"2015). On August 27, 2015, Carowinds announced a planned 2016 expansion for the area that will add five additional attractions and result in the name changing to Carolina Harbor.
WinterFest
Beginning during the 2016 season, Carowinds introduced WinterFest, a seasonal holiday event features the park decorated for the Christmas season, a tree lighting, Christmas carolers, homemade crafts, and select rides.
SCarowinds
In 2000, the park introduced SCarowinds; an annual Halloween attraction. SCarowinds is presented on select nights in September and October, as well as the first weekend in November. The park is open with The Great Pumpkin Fest starring Snoopy and rest of the Peanuts gang throughout the day, typically closes at 5:30pm, and reopens as SCarowinds at 7pm with the evil witch and SCarowinds' 1st lady of terror Lilith. The experience includes numerous haunted attractions and incorporates most of the existing park rides into a nightmarish experience. The SCarowinds Halloween Haunt is recommended for ages 13 and up, but any age is permitted for admission.
Paladium
The Paladium is an outdoor amphitheater located at Carowinds. It opened in 1975 and was the Charlotte area's premier outdoor concert venue until the opening of Blockbuster Pavilion, now PNC Music Pavilion, in 1991. Admission to the Paladium is separate from admission to Carowinds. In 1992, the Paladium hosted Chapel Hill's James Taylor. It had Virginia's Dave Matthews Band in '93, UK's Depeche Mode in '94, Athens GA's B-52's in '94, Johnny Cash in '95, Billy Ray Cyrus in '95, Blues Traveler in '96, UK's Duran Duran in 2000, Weird Al Yankovic in '00, Atlanta Christian rapper Lecrae in 2014 (for Rock the Park), and Skillet in 2015.
Fast Lane
Fast Lane is a limited-access line queue system offered for an additional charge at Cedar Fair amusement parks. Visitors can purchase access, which includes a wristband that allows them to bypass standard lines in favor of shorter ones at many of the parks' most popular attractions. Fast Lane Plus is a more expensive, higher-end version that includes several additional attractions.
Carowinds Festival of Music
The annual Carowinds Festival of Music allows music students to play in public performances and receive comments and ratings from nationally recognized adjudicators. Bands, choirs, show choirs, and orchestras can all play for ratings. Plaques and ribbons are awarded for performances which receive ratings of superior and excellent.
Lodging
- Camp Wilderness Lodge: Luxury cabins that offer four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and a great room. In addition, guests will find a kitchenette, dining area, wrap around porch with rocking chairs and an outdoor grill and patio.
- Camp Wilderness Cabins: Two bedroom cabins surrounding a pool, tennis court, and tram stop.
- Camp Wilderness RV Sites: Camp Wilderness features RV, Pop-up and Tent Sites and can accommodate RVs up to 40 feet in length. The paved RV sites feature full hookups with water, sewer and electric.
- SpringHill Suites: On February 13, 2018, Carowinds officially announced that a 130-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott would open in 2019. Construction on the hotel is expected to begin in March 2018. Carowinds will own and operate the hotel, becoming to first Cedar Fair-owned franchised hotel.
Timeline
