[BS1983CLT]

Would love to see everyone's thoughts and predictions of what the next 5-years will bring to Carowinds!

2020: New Waterslide
2021: New GCI Woodie on RRR plot of land
2022: Flat Ride
2023: Antique Cars
2024: RMC Hurler or Raptor or T-Rex from RMC

I do not think you will see a major B&M for a while at Cedar Fair parks... To me, that is perfectly ok!

I think the park will still add 2 coasters a year to its parks but they will be in the range of 10-15 million each, not 25-30 million.

Rides like - Hangtime, RailBlazer, RMC Conversions, GCI or Gravity Group woodies. I would be perfectly ok with a Premier Sky Rocket ll as well!



So what are you 5-year predictions?

[Techedchart1551]

my predictions:

2020: Carolina Harbor new slides/New flat ride
2021: antique cars, boardwalk area redo
2022: announcement for new coaster- crossroads gets a redo, PvZ closes
2023: New coaster is an RMC or GCI
2024: new dark ride in PvZ showbuilding

[Glitch99]

2024: new dark ride in PvZ showbuilding

What do you really expect to be able to do in that building? That building is pretty limited in it's potential uses, it isnt an empty shell offering a blank slate inside.

[Techedchart1551]

well think about it, you could have an omnimover system with a winding layout with plenty of scenes.

[Glitch99]

well think about it, you could have an omnimover system with a winding layout with plenty of scenes.

Think about it, the inside of that building is all stairs. There's minimal space for any layout, no matter how winding you want to make it.

[Techedchart1551]

i thought otherwise, like it seemed like a large storage building, and you could just hollow it out and then put a ride inside it

[BelowThePeak]

Ooh, fun! My ideas might be a bit more wishlist-territory, but I could definitely see the park implementing at least a few of them in the future.

2020: I'm thinking this will be a pretty small year. I'm expecting a Forbidden Frontier type attraction to replace Dinosaurs Alive for the time being. Other than that, I'm hoping that we see some of the bigger rides receive some love (like Intimidator, which could really use a fresh coat of paint). Mostly, this is just a year for the park to focus on aesthetics. I'll also say that Hurler closes at the end of the season.

2021: This year, we'll be seeing a bit of expansion in both the dry park and Carolina Harbor. Crossroads will receive a retheme (and possibly a new flat ride) to tie the area together and make it more interesting. Carolina Harbor will get a smaller-scale slide complex. Construction also begins in the RRR area, but nothing is announced just yet...

2022: RMC Hurler opens this year along with a retheme of Thrill Zone, the last park area that's truly in need of a retheme (Boardwalk is fine as it is). The coaster's layout and theme will differ from Twisted Timbers but offer just as awesome (if not moreso) of a ride.

2023: The park has another big year to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The RRR site becomes an entirely new park area, much like Tarheel's idea in the wishlist thread. Included in this area are several shops/restaurants, a couple of flat rides, extensive theming, and an alternate pathway to Fury and RMC Hurler. Forbidden Frontier closes at the end of the season for construction to begin.

2024: After a big year in 2023, the park has another smaller year. Camp Snoopy will receive a relatively small expansion, extending its reach into part of the old Dinosaurs Alive/Forbidden Frontier area. Other than that, we mainly see some ride refurbishments and repaints where needed. Vortex closes at the end of the season for future expansion.

(and just for fun)

2025: A GCI wooden coaster opens in what's left of the old DA/FF plot, its approximate size being between Invadr and Mystic Timbers. This addition will also expand the size of Blue Ridge Junction, which will now reach from Copperhead Strike all the way to this coaster, encompassing the Boo Blasters area as well. Finally, the South Gate will be revamped to look more modern and improve foot traffic.

[Techedchart1551]

that actually seems quite realistic! good job belowthepeak! I could most definitely agree to a lot of the stuff you said there!

[yawetag]

I don't think we'll see three new coasters (okay 2.5 new coasters) in 6 years. Maybe one more coaster by 2025 (CS is the 2nd), especially with the idea of a new area in RRR.

I'm willing to go with BelowThePeak's ideas, minus the 2025 year. I can also see the retheming of three areas in three years being a stretch, but don't think it's out of the question, especially to get it all ready for 2023.

[Techedchart1551]

i think that GCI will eventually come in either 2023 or 2028

[BelowThePeak]

I don't think we'll see three new coasters (okay 2.5 new coasters) in 6 years. Maybe one more coaster by 2025 (CS is the 2nd), especially with the idea of a new area in RRR.

I'm willing to go with BelowThePeak's ideas, minus the 2025 year. I can also see the retheming of three areas in three years being a stretch, but don't think it's out of the question, especially to get it all ready for 2023.

Yeah, my plan might be a bit aggressive. The park will probably not expand as fast as I'm "predicting," but this plan is under the assumption that Cedar Fair really wants to make Carowinds "the Cedar Point of the South."

With that said, I don't agree that retheming three areas in three years is a stretch, considering the last four years have rethemed and/or created five different areas (Carolina Harbor, County Fair, Camp Snoopy, Carousel Park, and Blue Ridge Junction).

[Techedchart1551]

Maybe every two years they work on an area to retheme?

[mdsmith98]

Here are my predictions:

2020 - Revamp of the crossroads area. That area is an eye sore, and with copperhead strike opening this month, more people will likely be in crossroads than previous years. Possibly an attraction of some form in the RRR area, if the forbidden frontier at CP is somewhat successful. Possible new flat ride, but not counting on it.

2021 - Carolina harbor expansion. The last water park year was 2016, so I expect them to add a slide complex or something small.

2022 - Kind of an off year. Just general touch ups here and there. You could maybe switch this with 2023, but I put 2023 to be what it is because of the 50th season. I know Cedar Fair doesn’t typically do too much for anniversaries, but I put it there anyways.

2023 - GCI in the old Dinosaurs area. That would be a perfect spot for it, and I’m sure they would put the entrance near afterburn. I would also like to see the dead end near Wilderness Run have a path running to behind the Peanuts Trailblazers, that way it isn’t a dead end.

2024 - No idea. Maybe some flat rides, or a revamp of the Carolina boardwalk or thrill zone, even though they don’t need it too badly.

[coasterbruh]

ANOTHER wishlist thread . . .

[tarheel1231]

I'm gonna try to deviate from my usual posting format and actually attempt to predict what I think is coming in the next five years.

Not gonna repeat the usual stuff, since we all know Rapids and Dinosaurs plot's are getting used. I'm also not gonna list my predictions in order by year, since I don't know what the park's concrete long-term plan is. It feels weird to genuinely not know what is coming next year given all the leaks and permits we've seen since 2014.

Okay, so Carolina Harbor hasn't been expanded in four seasons, so I think it's safe to say that something is coming to this plot of land between next year and 2023:

2019-03-02 (1).png (1.03MiB)Viewed 9959 times

The park's not running out of space, and there's going to be about 8 acres freed up within park boundaries pretty soon. With that being said, I think the park is going to take advantage of those areas pretty soon. So I think the next "big" coaster after whatever is going in Dinos/RRR is going to go back here:

Behind Hurler.png (712.74KiB)Viewed 9959 times

There's almost three acres of space back there, and while that's not particularly big, the ride could use some of Hurler's infields. What I'd like to see back there? Dueling RMC Raptors, but I'll save that post for another day

In general, I think we're going to see a rise in live entertainment and indoor attractions. That gives the park more things for non-riders to do, and more ways to escape the heat. Eventually, I think we'll see the parking lot get re-shifted again for more expansion space.

The only coaster I could see being at risk is Vortex. If it's not floorless within the next five years, I think it will be relocated or scrapped. While it's not a maintenance nightmare, it doesn't seem to be too popular or enjoyable, and I could see that plot of land going away for some more family additions to Carousel Park.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that the park is done with the entrance plaza. I'm sure we'll see a few touch-ups here and there, but I don't think they're in a rush to replace every building. Maybe Burrito Cafe goes for something more popular, since it's often closed whenever I visit the park, but I don't think we'll see anymore of a transformation than we've already seen.