[jeffsampson]

Visited Carowinds for my second visit to the park, first in 15 years.

In our party were a a pair of 30 somethings and a pair of 40 somethings plus 13 and 4 year old boys. All had visited Kings Dominion in the past, I've visited Kings Dominion many many times having had season passes for a number of years. All have visited Disney parks (east and west coasts) many times as well. So comparisons are naturally made.

Surprisingly, I didn't find myself comparing Carowinds to Kings Dominion as much as I expected. While we all referred to the Woodstock Express as the Scooby Doo roller coaster, any wooden coaster in the kiddy part of a park is going to get that name in my book.

The good:

1. Overall I found the park clean and well maintained.
2. The landscaping was particularly well taken care of, not elaborate or creative, but well well attended to.
3. Only place I noticed rust was in the water park on some of the older slides.
4. even on a crowded day, parking at the south gate was just steps from the entrance.
5. Admission isn't too bad and discounts are easy to find. We paid $33.99 each with online codes.

The bad:

1. The nickel and dimming once you get into the park is frustrating. $1 for 3D glasses for the Boo Blasters, $18 for
2. $18 to rent a locker at the water park
3. the only area of the park with any theming to speak of is Planet Snoopy, and even that is lacking. Theming takes more than creative names for rides. Guests have to feel a delineation between areas of the park. Early in Carowinds days, there was a western section of the park, at least that felt different. Today the entire park feels the same.
4. the ambient music played throughout the park is lacking. Near opening time there is an interesting mix of 80's songs which begins to bring up the energy level of the park. Then a bizarre mix of what sounds like royalty free music and bad covers of R&B and other songs.
5. no restrooms in Planet Snoopy area of the park, really?
6. The park is laid out in a very haphazard manner making finding your way difficult. A map is your only hope. A little sineage guiding you at least to the different sections of the park (see #1) would be helpful.
7. The design of the water park is bizarre, you walk in and half of it is hidden by the changing rooms, gift shop, snack bar.
8. Changing rooms should be about 3 times larger than they are for that size water park.
9. How does a park open less than half the year have rides that are not yet open?
10. I found ride operators wishing guests a "blessed day" a bit surprising. I've never heard this at another theme park anywhere in the country.
11. quality of the live entertainment is not good, at least the one show (arguably one of their main shows), see below.

"Rockin the Decades"
Let me so I don't expect broadway caliber performances from a theme park show, Theme park stage shows are cheesy, that's the way it has to be. They've got to appeal to a very diverse crowd typically very old plus very young, so 50's, 60's, and 70's prevail.

• The show is well produced, well enough arranged but not well performed.
• It's early in the season so perhaps there is a bit of rust and we are talking about college students making a little extra money on their summer breaks but wow are they lacking.
• Made up of 5 couples (if memory serves) there are maybe 2 women and one man performing with any level of energy.
• The quality of the dance, just isn't there. Performers seem to be going through the motions, especially the women. In a theme park show you expect to see about half the women showing some dance experience and one or two of the men (with the rest obviously there for their singing ability), That wasn't even the case here.
• pretty standard theme park show choreograph with a focus on keeping the performers moving at all times. The performers think this is to torture them, no it's to hide their mistakes. If someone gets out of line or does the wrong hand movements at the wrong time, the audience wont have a chance to notice because of the fast pace and constant circulating around the stage.
• arrangements seemed a bit dumbed down. Very little harmony. Performers at this level should be able to handle a 20-30 minute show with a bit of harmony in it, even with limited rehearsal time before the season starts.

Overall we had a great time and left suitably tired. Our next visit will definitely not take 15 years.

[Jay]

Thanks for writing a trip report! It's been a while since we had one that was so in depth.

1. the nickel and dimming once you get into the park is frustrating

This is pretty standard fare for most amusement parks these days, Kings Dominion is no different.

9. How does a park open less than half the year have rides that are not yet open?

What rides weren't open for you? If you visited on a weekday some of the rides may be down since the staff isn't at max capacity. Skytower is currently down because they need a specialized part from Europe, so that one may take a while to get back operating.

4. even on a crowded day, parking at the south gate was just steps from the entrance.

Hope you don't get too attached with the South Gate...

5. no restrooms in Planet Snoopy area of the park, really?

They do have one, right at the front near Harmony Hall and the Snoopy Boutique store-

bathroom.jpg (114.83KiB)Viewed 8270 times

There is also one just outside Planet Snoopy between the entrance for Dinosaurs Alive and Afterburn. But otherwise I agree with you, the bathroom situation in the park is terrible, all of them are too small and outdated, and they could definitely use at least 1-2 more in addition to expanding the ones they have.

Anyway thanks for coming to Carowinds, I have a feeling you'll want to come back next year.

[swampfox43]

[*]the only area of the park with any theming to speak of is Planet Snoopy, and even that is lacking. Theming takes more than creative names for rides. Guests have to feel a delineation between areas of the park. Early in Carowinds days, there was a western section of the park, at least that felt different. Today the entire park feels the same.

I miss the theming of the old days as well. But in Cedar Fairs defense, Carowinds is no longer branded as a theme park, but rather an amusement park.

[LocoDriver]

How is point 10 a bad thing?

[arby]

How is point 10 a bad thing?

I completely agree. I have heard that more in the Carolinas than anywhere else, so consider that Carowinds theming.

As others have mentioned, Carowinds is no longer a theme park. Some say that's good, some say that's bad. I'd prefer more theming but I'm happy the park is continue to grow and thrive. I can think of a lot worse parks that could be my home park.

I do think we'll see more theming under Ouimet.

[jeffsampson]

1. the nickel and dimming once you get into the park is frustrating

This is pretty standard fare for most amusement parks these days, Kings Dominion is no different.

Doesn't make it any less frustrating. I'm most familiar with central Florida theme parks and attractions (Disney, Universal, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center) and don't recall so many hands out once you get into the park. $1 for cardboard glasses to provide a "3-D" experience on Boo Blasters was particularly surprising. Similar rides at Disney supply the glasses.

9. How does a park open less than half the year have rides that are not yet open?

What rides weren't open for you? If you visited on a weekday some of the rides may be down since the staff isn't at max capacity. Skytower is currently down because they need a specialized part from Europe, so that one may take a while to get back operating.

from memory:

1. YoYo
2. White Water Falls (maybe it opened later, it wasn't operating when I passed by several times in the morning though)
3. Carolina Skytower
4. Snoopy’s Junction
5. Bondi Beach (though the other wave pool was open, it was bit surprising to see the first water park attraction you see when you enter the area closed)
6. the new slides: Dorsal Fin Drop and Surfer's Swell were not open yet. Landscaping was going on while we were there.

[*] Harmony Hall is under construction. This looks like it's going to be a very nice addition to the park. Shame it couldn't be completed by opening day or even by the time most schools let out in NC and SC.

5. no restrooms in Planet Snoopy area of the park, really?

They do have one, right at the front near Harmony Hall and the Snoopy Boutique store-

bathroom.jpg

There is also one just outside Planet Snoopy between the entrance for Dinosaurs Alive and Afterburn. But otherwise I agree with you, the bathroom situation in the park is terrible, all of them are too small and outdated, and they could definitely use at least 1-2 more in addition to expanding the ones they have.

These are all on the edge of Planet Snoopy and easily overlooked (see previous comment on the lack of signage). Many families are going to spend the majority of their day in Planet Snoopy, there should be at least one decent size restroom in that area of the park.

If I ran Carowinds, the first thing I'd do was improve the signage. The guest experience, especially first time visitors or those who haven't visited in a long time, would be vastly improved with some better signage guiding them to major rides, areas of the park and entertainment venues. The map is not that easy to read.

[jeffsampson]

How is point 10 a bad thing?

I should have put this under a heading of "surprising" rather than bad. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just surprising. I've never heard this at any other theme park. Not Kings Dominion, not anything in central Florida.

I wonder if Carowinds mgmt would have any opinion on this one way or the other. I'm sure some guests appreciate hearing it, some do not, most probably dont care or even notice it.

[Chris]

Meh. As an open agnostic, it doesn't bother me one bit.

[arby]

1. the nickel and dimming once you get into the park is frustrating

This is pretty standard fare for most amusement parks these days, Kings Dominion is no different.

Doesn't make it any less frustrating. I'm most familiar with central Florida theme parks and attractions (Disney, Universal, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center) and don't recall so many hands out once you get into the park. $1 for cardboard glasses to provide a "3-D" experience on Boo Blasters was particularly surprising. Similar rides at Disney supply the glasses.

I've never quite understood how there can be any comparison between regional parks and major worldwide tourist destinations. Central Florida is in the top two worldwide tourist destinations in the U.S. (I think they passed NYC recently) with over 40 million tourists a year where even the top regional parks only get in the neighborhood of 3 million visitors a year. Additionally those major FL parks are funded by multi-billion dollar companies that generate a large amount of money in other revenues (movies, etc) aside from their parks. The parks are just a great marketing tool to get you to like their companies even more and buy their products.

Sorry, I'm not trying to bash you at all but this is a pet peeve of mine. No cedar fair, six flags, or any other regional park for that matter are even in the same league as anything in Central Florida. I'm not a Disney or Universal fan boy although I continue to go to their parks and love them. It costs me thousands of dollars, though, (in addition to getting there) to visit Universal or Disney for 4-5 days. If Cedar Fair charged that for any of their parks, they would be out of business. When I pay thousands of dollars for Disney, of course they better provide the glasses. In contrast, with what it costs to get into regional parks, it's not a big deal to buy the boo blasters glasses if you want to see it in 3D. A vast majority of their business is locals who might have done it once with the glasses and don't care to do it again so I'd rather they spent the money to expand the park and not to upkeep glasses that people would steal and break.

[Edwardo]

And though I'm a huge fan, let's not forget it costs nearly twice as much to get into the Orlando parks. Plus parking. And while in some cases the quality is better, food is either on par with pricing or even higher if you go to one of the high end places at a Disney or CityWalk restaurant.

And anyone that buys the "3D" glasses at Carowinds (I use that term loosely) in a ride that is already in 3 dimensions without glasses, well...

[jeffsampson]

I've never quite understood how there can be any comparison between regional parks and major worldwide tourist destinations. Central Florida is in the top two worldwide tourist destinations in the U.S. (I think they passed NYC recently) with over 40 million tourists a year where even the top regional parks only get in the neighborhood of 3 million visitors a year. Additionally those major FL parks are funded by multi-billion dollar companies that generate a large amount of money in other revenues (movies, etc) aside from their parks. The parks are just a great marketing tool to get you to like their companies even more and buy their products.

Sorry, I'm not trying to bash you at all but this is a pet peeve of mine. No cedar fair, six flags, or any other regional park for that matter are even in the same league as anything in Central Florida. I'm not a Disney or Universal fan boy although I continue to go to their parks and love them. It costs me thousands of dollars, though, (in addition to getting there) to visit Universal or Disney for 4-5 days. If Cedar Fair charged that for any of their parks, they would be out of business. When I pay thousands of dollars for Disney, of course they better provide the glasses. In contrast, with what it costs to get into regional parks, it's not a big deal to buy the boo blasters glasses if you want to see it in 3D. A vast majority of their business is locals who might have done it once with the glasses and don't care to do it again so I'd rather they spent the money to expand the park and not to upkeep glasses that people would steal and break.

You aren't bashing at all. Six Flags and Cedar Fair are very different companies than Disney.

Both have similar charges for food. Cedar Fair charges a bit less for merchandise. Cedar Fair focuses on low admission charges and makes up the difference inside the park. This is why there is a park employee selling 3D glasses for $1 in the queue for Boo Blasters. It's also why a small locker at the water park is $18 for the day and is how they recover the cost of including water park admission and make a bit of profit.

Admission costs are more than double at Disney parks and adding a water park about triples the price. This is a bit of comparison of apples to oranges because of the multi-day nature of most WDW visits. But I think it's still safe to say that Disney loads its charges into admission rather than add-ons or extra expenses in the parks. A small locker at a Disney water park is $7 a day.

Unfortunately I had to go back to 2009 to compare annual reports of Disney and Cedar Fair because Cedar Fair's website has broken links for 2010-2013.

Cedar Fair parks have a per-capita daily spending of a little over $40 a guest. That's roughly a discounted admission plus lunch. I suspect that is why there is a park employee selling 3D glasses for $1 in the queue for Boo Blasters. It's also why a small locker at the water park is $18 for the day and is how they recover the cost of including water park admission and make a bit of profit along the way.

Disney's per-capita daily spending is over twice Cedar Fair's. That doesn't include resorts where per room spending (per room per night spending on hotel, food and merchandise, just at the resorts). is $223. So point is, Disney has a lot more revenue to work with and invest in the parks. For comparison:

in 2009 Disney invested $793 million across 12 domestic theme/water parks along with shopping and entertainment venues like Downtown Disney, Disney Quest and the Wide World of Sports Complex (couldn't find the numbers broken out to just theme/water parks)

in 2010 Cedar fair invested $69 million across 12 parks.

Disney focuses it's investment on R&D and limits spending on purchasing attractions (though they do do that). Cedar Fair spends most of it's investment on new big roller coasters. Different purses to play with, different ways of doing business. In the end Cedar Fair has more thrill coasters than Disney but each is clearly after different markets.

I have no studies to point to but I'd be willing to wager Cedar Fair pulls nearly all their visitors from within a 2-3 hour drive while Disney clearly pulls people in from all over the globe. A consumer's likelyhood to visit WDW is far more based on their income than their location:

[img=center]http://i.imgur.com/JzCaQsv.jpg[/img]

So Disney and Cedar Fair are very different business resulting in very different parks. So far everything above supports your pet peeve. Unfortunately all of this matters only to the business people and theme park fanatics.

To the family visiting a Cedar Fair park, they are going to compare it to any other park of similar size. The savvy ones might even note that a park like Carowinds is about the same age as the Magic Kingdom. So while comparing theming may not be really all that fair, it's going to happen.

Where the comparisons are fair is in a basic things like cleanliness and basic amenities like restrooms and trashcans.

One thing that many don't realize is that the business of theme parks and resorts has flipped for Disney in recent years. Theme parks used to be funded by feature films and were seen as a bit of a marketing vehicle for them. Today the parks and resorts bring more than double what the studios bring to the bottom line. ESPN brings in more than the parks and studios combined though.

[Jonathan]

One thing that many don't realize is that the business of theme parks and resorts has flipped for Disney in recent years. Theme parks used to be funded by feature films and were seen as a bit of a marketing vehicle for them. Today the parks and resorts bring more than double what the studios bring to the bottom line. ESPN brings in more than the parks and studios combined though.

I was just about to point this out. There has been a lot of speculation over the Star Wars deal that Disney's motivation was more about potential park attractions than the actual films.