Carowinds is a 407-acre (165 

ha) amusement park, located adjacent to Interstate 77

in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although it has an official North Carolina address,
the park is located along the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, with a
portion of the park 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 Entertainment Company,
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 Carowinds 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 –
a joint venture between Taft and Top Value Enterprises) – 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.
Sale to Cedar Fair The name "Carowinds" was obtained 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 December, after the park's
Halloween event, "SCarowinds", and the park's Christmas event, "WinterFest."
Cedar Fair era 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.
Themed areas and attractions On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
acquired Paramount Parks, including Carowinds.
Celebration Plaza 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.
Crossroads On August 26, 2013, Cedar Fair announced a $50-million investment plan
to expand Carowinds over three years starting in 2014. The expansion includes 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.
Carolina Boardwalk 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.
Carousel Park On August 27, 2015, Carowinds announced that the water park,
formerly known 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.
County Fair On August 18, 2016, Carowinds announced the expansion of the County
Fair area, with the addition of 4 new rides: Electro-Spin (a mondial top scan),
Zephyr (Zierer Wave Swinger), Rock N Roller (Mack Rides Music Express), and Do-Si-
Do (HUSS Troika). For the 2017 season, 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.
Thrill Zone For the 2018 season, the park's children's area known as Planet
Snoopy, was expanded and converted to Camp Snoopy with the addition of six new
children's attractions.
Blue Ridge Junction On August 30, 2018, Carowinds announced their biggest
investment in park history for the 2019 season. The signature attraction,
Copperhead Strike, a double-launched roller coaster manufactured by Mack Rides, is
located in the all-new 7-acre "Blue Ridge Junction" area, and became the park's
14th roller coaster. Blue Ridge Junction was constructed in the area formerly
occupied by Whitewater Falls, Sand Dune Lagoon and Thunder Road's former station.
Also included in the investment is the 130-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott,
Carowinds' first on-site hotel, and Blue Ridge Country Kitchen, a new dining
experience.
Camp Snoopy In 2019, Carowinds announced Boogie Board Racer, the longest mat
racing slide in the Southeast would open in Carolina Harbor in 2020. The retirement
of the Rip Roarin' Rapids ride was also announced, along with the closure of the
Dinosaurs Alive! attraction.
Carolina Harbor Carowinds did not open for the 2020 season because of the COVID-19
pandemic in the United States, although it is expected to reopen for the 2021
season. On October 28, 2020, Carowinds announced it would re-open from November 21
through December 20 for Taste of the Seasons, a holiday event featuring food,
shows, rides and more.
WinterFest 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 (1989–1997) WaterWorks (1997–2006), and Boomerang Bay
(2007–2015). On August 27, 2015, Carowinds announced an expansion for the area that
added five additional attractions and resulted in the name changing to Carolina
Harbor.
SCarowinds Carowinds re-introduced WinterFest for the 2017 season. This seasonal
holiday event features the park decorated for the Christmas season, a tree
lighting, Christmas carolers, homemade crafts, a parade, and select rides. The park
previously had Winterfest in 2005 when owned by Paramount.
Paladium In September 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 Great Pumpkin Fest
ends at 5:30 pm, and reopens as SCarowinds at 7 pm with the powerful sorcerer demon
of SCarowinds himself The Overlord. 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.
Fast Lane 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. It lost most of
its major acts to the Uptown Amphitheatre at the NC Music Factory (now the
Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre at AvidxChange Music Factory) when it
opened in 2009, and now hosts mostly Christian bands. Admission to the Paladium is
separate from admission to Carowinds.
Carowinds Festival of Music In 1992, the Paladium hosted Chapel Hill's James
Taylor. Bon Jovi played to a sold-out crowd at the Paladium in 1993 during a stop
on their I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Tour. 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.
Lodging 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.
Timeline 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.
References