General Carowinds discussion
By Capler
#76057
I wish the park had a couple of big Disney/Universal like attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider man, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Twister....Those are very popular 'chill' attractions, where you do nothing but walk or ride through. No need to make it into a laser shooting game. Some Sea World type shows would be nice as well. Those parks have proven that those type of attractions are still very popular. People flock to Dollywood for the shows. I don't want Carowinds to become one of those parks, but one or two of those attractions would make the park more complete.
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By cwgator
#76060
Sean978 wrote:I'm not a mod on this site by any stretch, but I figured I'd drop this just in case:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3564
(Feel free to delete this if you think it's unnecessary)


This thread was created by a mod. While similar to that thread, this one I think is more focused on a specific need.

It would be nice to have a train again that went around the park (again). It was gone before I came to the park. It could be done, but most likely placed outside the current footprint which would look odd until further expansion around it. I liked the monorail for a breather back in the day, but don't see that making a comeback. Most of those are gone outside of Disney; which truly serves as a mode of transportation (even they need to expand to the other 2 main parks in FL). Only exception I could see to that is if they built a resort as was envisioned in the original planning of the park. Skyrides are also making their way out, though I enjoy the ones at the Busch Gardens parks.
#76061
During the August Fury announcement I was able to introduce myself to Mike Fehnel and as we were walking I asked him what he thought about about Carowinds, living in Charlotte, stuff like that.

He talked about how much he loved this park and followed by saying: "Carowinds needs a good train ride". We were near the front entrance and I explained to him that the service road going under the bridge use to be a train and one of the stations was under the bridge. He truly looked surprised. I believe he was still learning about the parks history, probably more focused on the future obviously. I also told him about the monorail and cable cars and went on to tell him he could see some great photos of it on my early years website when he has time to brush up on the parks early years.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mike. Although I love cable car rides, a train would be much more of a chill ride and probably last longer than a short cable car ride. My #1 preference would have to be a monorail though.
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By Wormy
#76062
As long as this topic stays on topic, it’s specific enough. But yay, yet another wishlist thread. Thanks arby. :lol:

The off-years between Intimidator and Fury were intended to be “family/chill space improvements”, if not entirely successful: the relocation and renovation of the The Grove picnic area, Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular (what happened there?), Dinosaurs Alive, even Windsucker. Add a water park and kiddie expansion and that’s probably all the “chill” we may see anytime soon. Harmony Hall is the best multi-use venue we’ve ever had, and a great place to pull up a rocking chair.

If anyone really wants to relax though, might I suggest the queue in the now seemingly defunct Action Theater queue. It’s pretty quiet back there..
#76063
swampfox43 wrote:During the August Fury announcement I was able to introduce myself to Mike Fehnel and as we were walking I asked him what he thought about about Carowinds, living in Charlotte, stuff like that.

He talked about how much he loved this park and followed by saying: "Carowinds needs a good train ride". We were near the front entrance and I explained to him that the service road going under the bridge use to be a train and one of the stations was under the bridge. He truly looked surprised. I believe he was still learning about the parks history, probably more focused on the future obviously. I also told him about the monorail and cable cars and went on to tell him he could see some great photos of it on my early years website when he has time to brush up on the parks early years.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mike. Although I love cable car rides, a train would be much more of a chill ride and probably last longer than a short cable car ride. My #1 preference would have to be a monorail though.


A monorail can be elevated and go pretty much anywhere over and thru existing attractions! It can have one station like it did it in the past. It works for dollywood with their one station train and it worked for the park in the past. Could even go out to the campgrounds to give guest a peak to see what its all about and possibly book a night or two!
#76065
swampfox43 wrote:During the August Fury announcement I was able to introduce myself to Mike Fehnel and as we were walking I asked him what he thought about about Carowinds, living in Charlotte, stuff like that.

He talked about how much he loved this park and followed by saying: "Carowinds needs a good train ride". We were near the front entrance and I explained to him that the service road going under the bridge use to be a train and one of the stations was under the bridge. He truly looked surprised. I believe he was still learning about the parks history, probably more focused on the future obviously. I also told him about the monorail and cable cars and went on to tell him he could see some great photos of it on my early years website when he has time to brush up on the parks early years.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mike. Although I love cable car rides, a train would be much more of a chill ride and probably last longer than a short cable car ride. My #1 preference would have to be a monorail though.


I don't know if you remember or not, but I'm fairly sure you and I were walking back from the Fury construction site during WWU when Mike again brought up how he wanted to have a ride where guests could just sit and relax. I honestly think he will do something about fixing this "chill ride" problem. The top 8(?) parks in the world are all Disney and they have plenty of slower rides. A good well-rounded experience (and year-long operation) is what brought 18 something-odd-million people to the Magic Kingdom last year. Any sort of improvement to the park (not necessarily and addition) will boost attendance, and I think it's agreed that a slower ride would in fact be an improvement (and I for one also think the front office agrees).
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By FamousAmos
#76067
I would love to see the return of the monorail and have it go throughout the park. I love to see the park from above. (yeah, I know we have skytower, windseeker, and whatnot, but having a monorail would be different, in a way...)
By jeffdavis
#76069
It's ironic that two of our favorite "chill" rides, the monorail and the sternwheeler, were removed to make way for two thrill rides that can be hard on the body and unpleasant for many. I would welcome a monorail, train, or chair lift.
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By cwgator
#76071
^^The monorail wasn't removed for Vortex as they coexisted for 3 seasons. It was removed at the end of the '94 season. The Speedway AKA Carolina Turnpike was replaced by Vortex though so a "chill ride" was still lost.
#76072
While I'd love to see the return of the Monorail, I don't think Carowinds is scenic enough to have one. I'd like to see more landscaping first so we have more than just rides to look at.
By Capler
#76074
tarheel1231 wrote:While I'd love to see the return of the Monorail, I don't think Carowinds is scenic enough to have one. I'd like to see more landscaping first so we have more than just rides to look at.


Thank you tarheel. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the last few posts. Carowinds Monorail was a very uneventful experience when we had it. It cut through the parking lot and the highlight of the ride was when it ran beside the entry road and you could wave at people entering the park. If they could put Dinosaurs Alive out in the woods somewhere and use the monorail to go through it, that would be kind of fun. While at it, they could have a T-Rex attack the train. Oh wait, scratch that, it would be too much like the defunct King Kong attraction at Universal.
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By arby
#76078
Wormy wrote:As long as this topic stays on topic, it’s specific enough. But yay, yet another wishlist thread. Thanks arby.


Welcome. :wink: Yeah, the wishlist thread always ends up with more coasters and thrill rides but seldom does it touch on chill rides so after searching I did try to make sure this specific. I will take back the 'convo' part somewhat because I call Haunted Mansion at Disney a chill ride also. Boo Blasters doesn't count because you are actively involved in shooting things although maybe it should be counted now that half of the targets don't work. :lol:

A train was what I thought of the most although I do like the monorail idea. Perhaps a more current 'monorail' like the Dr. Seuss ride at IOA would be more cost effective.

Windseeker is not a 'chill ride' because of the height restriction. While it also isn't a thrill ride I consider it a flat ride.

I don't think we need a bunch of these, either. I'd like to see just one more to help round out the park.
#76087
Capler wrote:
tarheel1231 wrote:While I'd love to see the return of the Monorail, I don't think Carowinds is scenic enough to have one. I'd like to see more landscaping first so we have more than just rides to look at.


Thank you tarheel. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the last few posts. Carowinds Monorail was a very uneventful experience when we had it. It cut through the parking lot and the highlight of the ride was when it ran beside the entry road and you could wave at people entering the park. If they could put Dinosaurs Alive out in the woods somewhere and use the monorail to go through it, that would be kind of fun. While at it, they could have a T-Rex attack the train. Oh wait, scratch that, it would be too much like the defunct King Kong attraction at Universal.

Have you guys ever been to dollywood? Their train ride is for the most part a ride thru the woods. Even the disney trains dont give much of a scenic ride....
By Edwardo
#76091
Hopefully Mike will get his way and adds a train. That would be really great, and it's totally doable.

I don't think they'll ever add a monorail for the simple reason that building one from scratch is very expensive. Its one of the reasons you don't see Disney adding monorails.

As for Chill rides I'd like to see? I'd like a Splash Battle. They're fun and can be chill. I also would like to see a new take on a classic: the antique (or not so antique) car ride.
#76094
I'd love a "great movie ride" type dark ride. Except instead of movies, do it on the history of the Carolinas. Talk about the Civil wars, the battles, the growth, the beaches, nascar....every "show room" can take you through time on its way to "today". Hire an actor or two to get involved, play roles like the ride at MGM (Ill always call it MGM :lol: ) and it could be a hit! Slow moving, air conditioned, crowd eater. Or make it a boat ride like "living with the land" at EPCOT.....nothing crazy, but fun, and slow! Chill! I love Chill rides! Do it!