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monsoon

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I've never been to Cedar Point (I have a friend that worked there in college though), but I've seen that park on some show like on the Travel Channel or something. They obviously pour beaucoup bucks into that place to ensure that it continues to be a huge draw. This can only be positive for Carowinds. I'm excited for them.

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Here's a chart that I devised showing the parks and years that Cedar Fair acquired them.

Being the coaster NUT that I am, I have been waiting patiently for years for that hyper coaster (over 200') to be built at Carowinds. Although the Paramount Parks have no hyper coasters in any of their parks, many Cedar Fair parks have them and of course Cedar Point, the flagship, has a "giga" coaster (over 300') and a "strata" coaster (over 400')....

It's too soon for me to get my hopes up but this acquisition will hopefully mean big things for the future of Carowinds.

Valleyfair, Shakopee, MN - 1978 acquisition by CF

coasters added since acquisition

Rails (Schwarzkopf Wildcat) -1979

Corkscrew (Arrow steel) - 1980

Excalibur (Arrow steel) - 1989

Wild Thing (Morgan hyper steel) - 1996

Mad Mouse (Arrow) - 1999

Steel Venom (Intamin shuttle launch) - 2003

Dorney Park, Allentown, PA - 1992 acquisition by CF

coasters added since acquisition

Steel Force (Morgan steel) - 1997

Wild Mouse (Mack) - 2000

Woodstock Express (kiddie steel) - 2000

Talon (B&M inverted) - 2001

Hydra the Revenge (B&M floorless) -2005

Worlds of Fun, Kansas City, MO - 1995 acquisition by CF

coasters added since acquisition

Mamba (Morgan hyper steel) - 1998

Boomerang (Vekoma reverse looper) - 2000

Spinning Dragons (Gerstlauer spinning steel) - 2004

Patriot (B&M inverted) - 2006

Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Vista, CA - 1997 acquisition by CF

coasters added since acquisition

Ghost Rider - (CCI wood) - 1998

Xcelerator - (Intamin launch) - 2002

Silver Bullet - (B&M inverted) - 2004

Michigans Adventure, Muskegon, MI - 2001 acquisition by CF

coasters added since acquisition

none

Geauga Lake, Twinsburg, OH - 2004 acquisition by CF

coasters added since acquisition

none

Edited by swampfox43
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  • 1 month later...

Hi all, new here....

Have stumbled accross this board a couple times in my searches for items about Carowinds, looking to see if any new developments are in store for the future. Well noticing that the park had been bought by Cedar Fair excited me, but I just wonder how far it will go. Here are some of my thoughts on the park and where I would like to see the park go in the future:

I have been an ongoing visitor to the park since I was 6 in 1986. I'm a bit younger then a lot of the members that have posted on this board, but have experienced a lot of changes to the park. Ah...Smurf Island... I'm now 26, have established myself in the company that I work with, and plan on sticking around here for a long time. I now live in front of the Wal Mart on S. Tryon and Arrowwood Rd and was finally able to acquire a season pass this year. We have gone to the park religiously weekly, sometimes bi and tri weekly since we have acquired the pass.

I am looking forward to next weekend as I am going with friends to Kings Dominion in Virginia. I am quite excited as I have seen a map for this place and love the similarities between the two parks, and am just amazed by the size of the park and where it can go from there.

So with that said...here are a couple of my current opinions on the park:

Favorite Coaster: Top Gun...I can ride this ride over and over again and love it each time. Just this past thursday, I rode the Front seat for the first time in years and completely forgot how crazy wild that seat can be. I have been more partial to the last seat over the past couple years just due to the faster pull...But as this random tourist said recently...."I bet the view from the front is amazing" I have to agree... its better than staring at the seat in front of you.

We never go to the park now without hitting up TG and Thunderroad first. The second car on the backwards ride recieves the best air time. And the front of the forwards ride is just scary.

I won't touch Drop Zone or the Sky Coaster... Too afraid of suspended heights.

The borg... its eh... well its kind of a good idea... It just has the feeling of power... but the ride itself is a waste. Its too slow, it drags a bit, the line is long, its too short. And its a hand me down....whoopie. I do like the borg theme. But the ride will loose its shine soon. It still has a bit of an oooh ahh factor. On the side note of it stinking... I haven't noticed thisyet... BUT they can at least add some fountains throughout the water to give some flow to the water so it doesn't turn into that green color. Or just get rid of the water.... Though it does have a long history root in the park... its not necessary any longer.

I'm still a fan of the classic rides....in the Carolina Boardwalk. And the Thrill Zone I am loving this year. When are we getting a Sling Shot? :-)

Now that I have the time... I have been going through and picking out things that I think others have mentioned in this board and other boards about "historic" remnants of old rides. I have found the pole at Gold Rush, the Entry at the restaurant in Boardwalk for the Flyiers... I am still a little unsure about hte other shuttle base at the Nickelodeon Center Gift Shop. I love finding this stuff though.

So here is a thought of mine... Something I have actually been toying with myself, though I am not a writer, I do have experience writing training manuals that work and a book like this could be something I could tackle. A few years back, Disney had a book about their anniversary that had Pictures of construction of the park, and history of the park. It was a very nice Coffee Table book... and Carowinds could certainly benefit from one. There is a lot of history in this park and it needs to be shared. I love the website online that has all the pictures and think that a team up with this person could be most beneficial in writing this book.

IMPROVEMENTS.

So now that Cedar Fair has taken over the park... what could this mean for the future? Who knows? Well we won't really know for a while and we also know that there isn't much left for the park as far as Zoning goes. But forget the Zoning Laws. What would we really want to see happen. I know some things that I would like to see happen.

Purchasing of more land and change of Zoning Laws. We need the park to be bigger. There are many places around that need to just be rezoned and some things just need to go. If I offend any business owners in that area I apologize, but everything on the East Bound Side of Carowinds BLVD past I 77 just looks like an eyesore. Lets move the Fireworks Stores down a little, and use some of that land for the park. Maybe even move the actual Camp Ground Site to this side of 77. I know that people like where it is now because of convenience to the park, but I have an answer to that.

So we just opened up the Campground space.

Now lets talk about the parking lot. I love the park. It holds a place in my heart. But lets face it... That POOR POOR parking lot. Heck... I think the Carowinds parking lot alone is the reason that I had problems with my Car Inspection this year:-) The parking lot just needs to be revamped.

Why exactly are all the businesses in the other side of the parking lot accross the way... The Mall, etc. I know they recieve some business from the park... but do they really do that well? They look like they are falling apart like the parking lot is. I'm sorry again.. but these need to go.

Froogle... I love you....but lets move you across the street so your customers don't get stuck in traffic jams when they are trying to leave.

OK so now... We have MORE area for parking.

Curve the road as soon as you come into the park... "Gate" that entry as in add a crap load of trees and fencing around so you have an element of surprise on your way into the park. I take this thought from the old days at MGM before the tower of terror and all you could see was the Mickey Mouse Ears upon entry into the park. It added that element of surprise.

Bring the entry road behind the Wendys and the Gas stations and as far to 77 as legally possible, then drive it back to the back of the parking lot.

Leave the Bus Parking Lot there.

The Hill of Grass that turns into parking lot during Scarowinds and the US Open... Level that out....and match it to the parking areas of the mall.... Take about Half of North Gate Parking Lot level all of this area of the new parking. Near where the bus parking lot is now... Make your Entry Gate into the Parking lot similar to the one that exists now. At this Gate... will also be a local bus hub as well as a hub for the light rail... This will take work from city planners as well.

Bring Back the Monorail.... Or use Portions of Light Rail... that also extend to the "New" Camp Ground Area... This will be used to tolley visitors to the front gate.

Now... Extend the park at the front gate more to the front... making it bigger and giving it a "Main Street" kind of feel of ol.

Here is what else has happened:

Room for Park Expansion in the Campground Area.

Room for Park Expansion at South Gate.

More Roller Coasters could be built.

The borg would need to be moved definitely.

Keep Main Street Divided by NC and SC.

Bring back the train that used to go under the bridge.

Create more themed areas for the parks much like Kings DOminion.

Totally encompass the park by the train.

And the rest is up to your imagination.

I myself am more impartial to have divisions of the park... keeping more to a theme...much like the original concept of the park. But I also like the idea of thrill rides... There must be a way to marry these two ideas that could work very well for us.

And though Cedar Fair loves the branding idea of rides... I myself get tired of them... When was the last time you felt like a Borg was going to assimilate you on that ride? Keep the names true to the rides and IF you go with theme... Go into more details with the theme.

I would really like to see comments about this post... If I need to move it elsewhere or start a new thread, someone help me with where would be the best place to post this as I am new to the board and just saw this thread already in existance.

Enjoy

Chris

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Carowinds needs a hypercoaster. One that could be 250 feet tall, be extremely fast and have that scary first drop. None of the current rides are all that tall and the only real drop is on Thunderroad. They also need to put some sort of train that goes around the whole park and has stations so you can beat the heat and get to your rides faster. Carowinds also should bring back White Lightning.

I also agree with KewlaidKiddd that Top Gun is one awesome coaster.

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  • 1 year later...

This thread is an oldie-but-goodie.

Though not germane to the latest comment, it piggybacks what monsoon said (in 2004, I guess) about Eastern Airlines building the observation tower.

In a cruel twist of irony, in the late-70's, an Eastern crew piloting a DC-9 in bad weather mistook the observation tower for the KCLT control tower and ended up crashing in woods near what is now the police and fire training center off of South Tryon St.

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Carowinds announced that they are going to expand their water park by about 25%, which increases it from 16 acres to 20 acres. The work will be completed by the end of next May.

I still wish we had a waterpark in this area on the caliber of Wet-n-Wild in Greensburro because really, Carowinds hasn't been doing a great job at it, but I guess this helps a little bit... I'm more into waterpark stuff then I am into rollercoasters.

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In a cruel twist of irony, in the late-70's, an Eastern crew piloting a DC-9 in bad weather mistook the observation tower for the KCLT control tower and ended up crashing in woods near what is now the police and fire training center off of South Tryon St.

Actually, in an even crueler twist of irony, the date that it crashed was Sept, 11, 1974.

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^Indeed, I remember when it happened and years later met people from the rescue squad that went to the accident scene. At the time it was the worst plane accident, in terms of deaths, in American history.

Another tidbit. Comedian Stephen Colbert's father and 2 brothers were 3 of the casualties of that plane crash.

I have a book that I bought off ebay several years ago about the crash of this flight. Can't remember the books name (I'm at work), but it tells the whole story of passengers, survivors, etc. I remember hearing the sirens that day at school and wondered what was happening. My next door neighbor was a nurse and she told us some horrible stories.

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^ i believe the name of the book about eastern flight 212 is called "final approach". my father worked for eastern airlines at the time and volunteered to go help out at the site... a very sad situation.

Yes, it was called Final Approach - The Crash of Eastern 212, by William Stockton.

To bring this thread semi-back on topic, just minutes before the crash, the pilot was recorded as pointing out "the new Carowinds theme park" to the co-pilot. It was, if I remember correctly approx 2 minutes after that statement that they crashed.

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  • 1 year later...

I first published Carowinds: The Early Years site back in 1998 and believe it or not, it had quite a following and I thanked everyone from UP and beyond for the kind words. The site had been down for nearly 8 months and I made the promise to get it going again to those who noticed. Well, last week I decided to fix it up and bring it back. I have been updating & tweaking galore and I even bought me a domain! Golly, I never had one of dem domain's before! : :silly: (carowindsearlyyears.com) I finally have it to where it's presentable now and have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it! :blink:

Anyway, I spent today doing a little research in the public library uptown and finally updating the site with some interesting notes and plenty of new (old) photos I've had for years. I just learned today that Carowinds was to have an eight themed area that would celebrate the nuclear and space age but obviously this was never built. They were also originally planned to open in 1972 (they opened in '73). And this was shocking, Pat Hall sold the park to Family Leisure, Inc. in 1975 for LESS THAN HALF of what it cost to build the park 2 years ago (park cost $32 mill, sold it for $14 mill). Sadly, Hall died just 3 years later. Ahhhhh, tt was refreshing to get back into the research mode like I had done so often 10-15 years ago.

So, for those interested, check it out! The link is in my sig (like it use to be, lol). Oh!! I also have a link to my Lakewood Park site at the bottom of the Carowinds page. Lakewood was Charlotte's first true amusement park for those who aren't familiar.

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Very nice. I wish they had held onto those two steam locomotives and that wonderful carousel. These are irreplaceable items and would fit in any modern park today. How can you get rid of working steam locomotives that were built in the 1800s? Boggles the mind. Too bad the owners after Hall did not see or realize this.

I had not see that article about the hotel/business complex in more than 35 years. Nice find on that too.

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I first published Carowinds: The Early Years site back in 1998 and believe it or not, it had quite a following and I thanked everyone from UP and beyond for the kind words. The site had been down for nearly 8 months and I made the promise to get it going again to those who noticed. Well, last week I decided to fix it up and bring it back. I have been updating & tweaking galore and I even bought me a domain! Golly, I never had one of dem domain's before! : :silly: (carowindsearlyyears.com) I finally have it to where it's presentable now and have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it! :blink:

Anyway, I spent today doing a little research in the public library uptown and finally updating the site with some interesting notes and plenty of new (old) photos I've had for years. I just learned today that Carowinds was to have an eight themed area that would celebrate the nuclear and space age but obviously this was never built. They were also originally planned to open in 1972 (they opened in '73). And this was shocking, Pat Hall sold the park to Family Leisure, Inc. in 1975 for LESS THAN HALF of what it cost to build the park 2 years ago (park cost $32 mill, sold it for $14 mill). Sadly, Hall died just 3 years later. Ahhhhh, tt was refreshing to get back into the research mode like I had done so often 10-15 years ago.

So, for those interested, check it out! The link is in my sig (like it use to be, lol). Oh!! I also have a link to my Lakewood Park site at the bottom of the Carowinds page. Lakewood was Charlotte's first true amusement park for those who aren't familiar.

Fantastic Site, I am saddened to learn that the Powder Keg Flume has been dismantled, that was always one of my favorite rides growing up. What is going to replace it, anyone know?

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Aw man, no more powder keg? The water rides, while probably expensive to maintain, are so very popular on hot days in the summer. Thanks for updating the website. My clear memories of the park begin in the late 80's/early 90's. Looking at birds eye aerials, you can really see how Carowinds has lost a lot of its character by just plopping large steel roller coasters throughout the park without regard to how they really look to visitors at ground level. I'd love to see the cable cars or the monorail still there.

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Fantastic Site, I am saddened to learn that the Powder Keg Flume has been dismantled, that was always one of my favorite rides growing up. What is going to replace it, anyone know?

Supposedly something BIG. Word has it a 200ft+ coaster. Knowing Cedar Fair, that's very probable.

Anyone see the uncanny resemblance in the photo below?

3442164753_30a08e561c_o.jpg

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Looking at birds eye aerials, you can really see how Carowinds has lost a lot of its character by just plopping large steel roller coasters throughout the park without regard to how they really look to visitors at ground level. I'd love to see the cable cars or the monorail still there.

I think Carowinds has done pretty well in regards to how they incorporate their newer coasters into the park. Top Gun is great to walk around - it even goes underneath the path. Same with the flying one they built recently at the front of the park. I've been to a few parks around the country and have to say Carowinds probably is the best at fitting a ride into the park. The worst is probably Six Flags Great America near Chicago - they just throw rides on top of existing parking lot and call it a day!

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Swampfox, that's a great site. It brings back lots of memories. I used to go when I was a teenager in the 80's and now take my son. Amazing. Wow, I still can't believe, white lightnin' in South Africa..that's great. Still scaring kids until this day.

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