Park: Carowinds
Date of visit: August 8, 2009
Park rating: 4/5 – Very Good
I was recently given the opportunity to visit Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have visited this park once before, but I have not been to the park since 2003. I gave the park a 4/5 as I saw a lot of things I liked in this park and my day was very enjoyable.
We arrived at the park around 9:45am, about fifteen minutes before gates opened, and I just imagined standing in hour plus lines all day just because of the heavy flow into the parking lot. We finally got parked and headed to the gates. Our ticket voucher told us to pick up the tickets at the North Gate, but we were able to pick them up at the South Gate without a hassle. We headed into the park and walked straight on to After Burn, then met up with the Patchman.
Most of the lines were short in the morning, with the exception to get into the park and the line of cars to get a parking spot. We were able to walk straight onto AfterBurn, Carolina Cyclone, Carolina Goldrusher, Thunder Road, and Hurler. We rode every coaster except Hey Arnold’s Taxi Chase (it was closed), Nighthawk, and Vortex because we ran out of time.
Employees in this park are very kind and seem to absolutley love their job. Zach (he was a supervisor) at the Fairly Odd Coaster is one employee I really remember. The little boy infront of us began to cry when he got on the ride because he was scared. He talked to him and calmed him down. He talked the child into riding the coaster, but that’s the kind of courtesy I’d want to see if my child was crying on a ride.
Restrooms were very clean, as well as the rest of the park. I did not see anyone sweeping though, but I saw no trash on the ground or overflowing trash cans. After noon, the park got busier and the park was still spotless.
We did not eat in the park this go-round. We had breakfast before coming to the park and we left at 2pm, so we were not hungry. However, we did buy a large soda. I don’t remember the price off the top of my head, but it wasn’t too terribly expensive. (I believe it was $3.50, but don’t quote me!)
Overall, this is a great park and I had a great experience. I would love to go back sometime and ride Vortex. The park wasn’t too crowded in the morning, but became crowded after noon, which was a plus because we were on a tight schedule. Great park, great employees, loads of fun!
I give this park a 4/5.
