[KeepPounding9213]

If the park ever wanted to expand more and add more roller coasters and thrill rides to their already great lineup is their more room to expand or is Carowinds pretty much out of room to expand for more acres. Not talking about the new hotel. Just for new rides & shows possibly in the future where can they expand next if they have room. Unless if they would have to tear down a few of their thrill rides & coasters to replace them with something else if their isn't any more room.

[tarheel1231]

They don’t have to buy land, they have 20+ acres of parking lot that can be reshifted without removing anything, and older, less popular attractions will always be moved or removed to make space.

[yawetag]

Does Scarowinds, winterfest and rumors need a new thread every year?

Personal opinion: Yes. Make a new one for each year.

If someone comes on here and wants to read about 2019 Winterfest information, they open the Winterfest topic. They see posts from a few years ago on the current page, so now they spend some time trying to find the first post dealing with 2019, to make sure their information hasn't already been posted or their question already asked and answered. If you have a "Winterfest 2019" thread, then the same user can click on it and start reading from page 1. They just saved a few minutes of time (and pageviews and database processing and their own personal frustration).

Admins/mods can lock threads once they "expire" (2019 Winterfest can be locked at the new year) and either start a new one immediately, or a few months before the event starts.

And, if the admins/mods are so against new topics being made, they should lock it to the general group here and they (the admins/mods) can make new ones as needed. If you don't see an active topic for your post, it goes in General - if the admins find it relevant for a new topic, they start the topic and move the posts.

[JWitter]

Carowinds is comprised of around 400+/- acres, the park currently only takes up around 180 acres (including the water park), some of the remaining land is used for the dorm, camp wilderness, the new hotel and the parking lot. That being said they have a ton of room for expansion without needing to purchase additional land around the park. The current parking lot takes up around 45 or so acres, and there are an additional 29 or so acres that could be converted into new parking spaces, which would free up around 15-20 acres of additional park space when needed.

[HiveDive]

Carowinds is comprised of around 400+/- acres, the park currently only takes up around 180 acres (including the water park), some of the remaining land is used for the dorm, camp wilderness, the new hotel and the parking lot. That being said they have a ton of room for expansion without needing to purchase additional land around the park. The current parking lot takes up around 45 or so acres, and there are an additional 29 or so acres that could be converted into new parking spaces, which would free up around 15-20 acres of additional park space when needed.

Where are you getting that 180 number from? According to Cedar fair they’ve developed 300 acres...

[uscbandfan]

Regardless of the number, with the addition of the up-front parking spaces currently under construction, suffice it to say that there is PLENTY of parking lot they can chew up in the area of the South Gate for expansion should they wish to do so.

That said... (this has also been posted elsewhere). You can see the boundaries of the two parcels of land in North Carolina currently owned by Carowinds here.

carowindsnc.PNG (1.49MiB)Viewed 14502 times

The egg shaped grassy area to the left is the campground.


In South Carolina, the park property is bounded by Carowinds Blvd, the entrance drive (up to Cabela's), and the interstate.

[JWitter]

Carowinds is comprised of around 400+/- acres, the park currently only takes up around 180 acres (including the water park), some of the remaining land is used for the dorm, camp wilderness, the new hotel and the parking lot. That being said they have a ton of room for expansion without needing to purchase additional land around the park. The current parking lot takes up around 45 or so acres, and there are an additional 29 or so acres that could be converted into new parking spaces, which would free up around 15-20 acres of additional park space when needed.

Where are you getting that 180 number from? According to Cedar fair they’ve developed 300 acres...

I used the area estimation tool on google maps. I'd assume the 300 acres Cedar Fair is referring to includes, the camp area, dorm, parking lots, and access roads? My figure of roughly 180 acres was just within the gated areas of the park/water park.

[JWitter]

Here is a rough idea of land that could be used.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/print?mid=1fZVB5ieaQh7vAKptQJ2UVgAjjnWsi7_I&pagew=1224&pageh=792&llsw=35.097302%2C-80.951174&llne=35.105861%2C-80.930575&cid=mp&cv=5-m2h7QAWlM.en.


*Edit*
Whelp, never mind I can't seem to attach the picture

[KeepPounding9213]

It’s alright I was just curious if they can add more coasters to their lineup if their is space. Maybe a single rail coaster, wing coaster, S&S Freespin even though that seems to be in Six Flags Parks. I just want the park to stay as is. Not tear down something to replace. If their is more room to build more coasters and thrill rides fine if not I understand if they had to get rid of something if it is really aging.

Here is a rough idea of land that could be used.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/print?mid=1fZVB5ieaQh7vAKptQJ2UVgAjjnWsi7_I&pagew=1224&pageh=792&llsw=35.097302%2C-80.951174&llne=35.105861%2C-80.930575&cid=mp&cv=5-m2h7QAWlM.en.


*Edit*
Whelp, never mind I can't seem to attach the picture

[Kineticmind]

The best solution would be to somehow use more parking lot, and then turn the lot inbetween South Gate and Water Gate into a parking garage.

[tarheel1231]

They really don’t even need to build a parking garage. They can expand southwest for the harbor parking lot and farther northeast for the north gate. There’s a lot of space they can use without expanding park boundaries, and in all likelihood, they’ll use the space within park borders first.

[Coasterphreak]

The best solution would be to somehow use more parking lot, and then turn the lot inbetween South Gate and Water Gate into a parking garage.

This will never happen, because parking garages make CS and Fury look like pocket change. Cedar Fair simply doesn't have the budget for that.

[Glitch99]

The best solution would be to somehow use more parking lot, and then turn the lot inbetween South Gate and Water Gate into a parking garage.

This will never happen, because parking garages make CS and Fury look like pocket change. Cedar Fair simply doesn't have the budget for that.

Obviously not definitive, but https://www.fixr.com/costs/build-parking-garage

[Edwardo]

That $8mill would only have about 7-800 spaces at best. Factoring in the paths for cars to get to the spaces and such, that probably realistically takes it to between 5-600.

That’s roughly half the size of the newer parking lot that was built when they renovated the front gate, which isn’t very large.

[Glitch99]

That $8mill would only have about 7-800 spaces at best. Factoring in the paths for cars to get to the spaces and such, that probably realistically takes it to between 5-600.

That’s roughly half the size of the newer parking lot that was built when they renovated the front gate, which isn’t very large.

Right, but even, say, 700 spots is only using a 150-spot footprint. And doubling the number of spots isnt necessarily going to double the cost - $15M might yield closer to 1500 spots (I really dont know, just speculating).

But regardless, my point was only that a parking structure wouldnt make the cost of Fury or CS "look like pocket change". It may or may not be cost-effective parking - I dont think it's necessary regardless of the cost - but it isnt beyond Cedar Fair's financial capabilities to build one, either. Unless we're talking some 10,000 spot monstrosity - that may be a bit outside of their price range .