Carowinds Spring 2018 Photo Update

There’s always a lot going on at Carowinds, it seems. While I had been able to document some of the park’s off-season’s construction process in November and February, I finally got to see the finished product in person when I made my first Carowinds trip of the season this past weekend. Here’s some of what I saw!

Camp Snoopy

My first stop upon arriving at the park was a walk around the newly re-themed Camp Snoopy. As someone in his late twenties with no children, I’ve noted multiple times that I’m definitely not the target demographic for this area. That said, there were a ton of families inside of Camp Snoopy, and I think Carowinds has a winner on their hands.

Both entrances have some great theming, with the south entrance (near Dinosaurs Alive and Chick-Fil-A) featuring the above sign (I thought the Elevation 561 was a nice touch!), and Snoopy and multiple Woodstocks (is that the proper plural?) in a canoe, while the North Entrance (near Harmony Hall) has the Woodstocks holding camp lanterns.

I liked the new Pole Banners in the area, featuring the Peanuts Characters with camp achievements.

Formerly Snoopy’s Snack Shack, Camp Cookout received a new exterior as part of the re-theme.

The rides for Camp Snoopy were packed! I didn’t get photos of all five new rides, but people were loving them.

Another popular area was the new Beagle Scout Acres play area.

With its new name and paint scheme, Wilderness Run was thrilling younger guests. (I personally thought dabbing was done, but the child in the front row proved me wrong.)

There’s now a new Camp Snoopy fountain and seating area on the former location of the Carousel. It does an amazing job opening up the area.

 

I’m a big fan of the new benches and structures around the new fountain.

Even the Peanuts retail store and bathrooms received a Camp Snoopy overlay!

And even though it’s no longer technically in Camp Snoopy, Kiddy Hawk, with its new name and color scheme, was looking great!

Also not located in Planet Snoopy, but close by, was where I stopped for lunch: Harmony Hall. You can’t go wrong with the Brisket and Mac & Cheese. According to our friends over at CPFoodBlog, the sauce served with the barbecue is Chef Kris’ perfected creation, and will be sold in bottles by the park later this year. (Pro Tip: You’re going to want to buy this barbecue sauce when it’s available. It’s delicious.)

Carousel Park

Carowinds’ Carousel has traversed state lines this year after moving from its former location in what’s now Camp Snoopy (South Carolina) into the new Carousel Park (North Carolina.)

With the moving of several game stands, the area has really opened wide up.

The Grand Carousel’s new ride building looks great. Pictures don’t necessarily do it justice. I’ve noted in the past that it looks like the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, which is my hometown. The copper cupola is different, but the roof and columns look very similar.

I know some of the Carousel horses were also refurbished in the off-season, and they were looking great. (I’m not sure if this is one of the horses.)

This advertisement for Carowinds’ new festival, The Great Carolina Fest, was posted on the side of the Carowinds Theater. From my understanding, its an expansion of their popular “Taste of the Carolinas” festival. If it’s anything like that, it looks like I’ll be making a trip back to Carowinds in June for sure!

I think my favorite part of the above video is the ride op counting 10, 9 (Launch), and then counting the rest of the numbers very fast, and then saying “I’m not very good at counting.”

Unapologetic Fury 325 Photo

The weather was beautiful. This roller coaster is beautiful. Everything is beautiful.

The Future…

As theme park fans, we’re always looking ahead to “what’s next” at our favorite parks, and Carowinds is no exception. One piece of the future puzzle at Carowinds has already been announced, and that’s the new 130-Room SpringHill Suites hotel, scheduled to open on the perimeter of the park by Summer 2019.

The ground has been cleared for the site of the new hotel. It will be located between I-77 and Carowinds’ main parking entrance.

But with limited details of other future happenings at Carowinds, it’s best to look at what’s coming from a “10,000 foot view.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t get that high up, so the 262′ tall view from the Carolina Skytower will have to suffice.

There are construction walls up around the area where Whitewater Falls was formerly located. Depending on where else you frequent the internet, there’s plenty of speculation as to what’s going on back there.

Here’s a photo of some of the walled-off area taken from atop the Carolina Skytower. Let the speculation begin!


Carowinds is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in April, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays May 3-20, and begins daily operation on Friday, May 25. For more information, be sure to visit Carowinds’ website, and follow the park on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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