- June 21st, 2005, 4:42 pm
#12649
It always amazes me driving up to the park on a July 4th fireworks night and seeing the entrance road, mall parking lot, everywhere you can think of lined with cars.
In years past they've shot the fireworks from behind Hurler, and the best place to see them up-close-and-personal was Thrill Zone. I've been twice in the last 4 years and they were pretty good. They're implying a bigger, better show this year so I imagine it's defintely worth a view. Also, with them doing them on 3 nights instead of just one the crowds may not be as bad on any particular night, with Sunday's being the one that might not be very crowded.
They're definitely involving the Skytower in this year's fireworks, and are suggesting that you can see it well from most locations in the park. This should ease traffic flow inside the park at least, rather than having everyone jammed in a dead-end at Thrill Zone. Probably a good spot would be somewhere besides the front plaza area, as that'll be where most people will go. I'd imagine that this location should make the fireworks even more visible from outside the park as well. Depending on where the fireworks are actually being fired from, look for any rides near them to shut off the lines early enough to close the ride by about 9:45 - this is what they've done for Hurler and Drop Zone in years past. Possible rides that could be affected are BORG, Goldrusher, and Vortex - and of course the skytower itself.
If you do go into the park, one hint that can help you escape the parking lot much quicker is to see if they've opened the "back gate". This is an exit out of Thunder Road's parking lot at the far end of it - drive towards the TR turnaround and you can get out onto Carowinds Blvd. from there IF they have the gate open. They often do on busy days, so probably would on a fireworks night, but therre's no guarantee. Your best bet from there is to head to Highway 49 and get to where you're going from there, as many people will be turning around to get to I-77.
KenB
