[jmdarrall]

I am planning a trip to Carowinds on May 5. I plan on staying from opening to closing. I moved to the South in 2005, and it's my first amusement park trip in quite a few years. Which rides should I definitely hit, and definitely avoid? When can I hit the "big ticket" rides with minimal wait time? When can I expect to get in the gates? (Operating hours should be ten to ten that day) What food stalls should I go to, and which ones should I avoid? What about weather closures?

In terms of coasters, I'll ride just about anything. The only rides I'm really averse to are ones that spin a whole bunch. I apologize if I sound too inquisitive, but I want this experience to be enjoyable. Any advice would be much appreciated.

BTW: If any members are planning to visit, watch out for me! I'll wear a dark blue Florida Atlantic University T-Shirt (my ex's college), khaki shorts (with belt for no DPS, LOL!), a ball cap, and a fanny pack (I wear glasses, and I've found a pack to be quite handy for storage).

[deaconnor]

Definate hits: Top Gun(wait is usually never worse then 15 mins. It may look long but it's usually not long at all)
Borg(Hit this one right when the park opens. It's the most popular)
Phantom Flyers(Usually wait is around 15-20 minutes)
Thunder Road(Backwards:15-45 mins. Frontwards: 15-30 mins.)
Southern Star( Usually a pretty long wait. It's a looping Starship.)
Drop Zone( Don't ride if the wait is more than 15-25 minutes long)
Vortex(Probably should hit right after Borg)
Cyclone(After Vortex)
Hurler(After Cyclone)
Skytower(Relaxing ride with little to no wait.)
White Water Falls(Long wait on a hot day)
River Rapids(usially a 30-120 min wait)
Log Flume(15-45 min. wait)
Super Saturator(15-90 min. wait)
Rocket Power(5-15 min wait)
Gold Rusher(10-30 min wait)
Ricochet(5-30 min. wait)
As of Restaurants:
Outer Hanks is the best restaurant in the park. Also CBS Cafe and Chick-Fil-A are good too.

[TopGunUkno]

I say a must is TOP GUN!!!
If the BORG line is too long...trust me. It's no big deal. The ride isn't all its cracked up to be. (Or maybe i'm still bitter from a month ago...]But just be sure to do TOP GUN and THUNDER ROAD =]

[swampfox43]

Which rides should I definitely hit, and definitely avoid?  When can I hit the "big ticket" rides with minimal wait time?  When can I expect to get in the gates? (Operating hours should be ten to ten that day)  What food stalls should I go to, and which ones should I avoid?  What about weather closures? 

Top Gun is the best coaster in the park IMO. If you park near the south gate (the park has 2 entrances, north & south), then Top Gun will await you almost as soon as you enter the park. Thunder Road is the 2nd best coaster IMO, and is a hop, skip & jump away from Top Gun. For kicks, Ricochet (Wild Mouse) is a hoot, and the parks oldest coaster, Goldrusher (1973), is still quite fun. Flying Saturator is a very unique ride but be careful where you stand if you decide to watch it for a while. A front seat ride on the Hurler wooden coaster will assure you some floating airtime, and the Drop Zone is always a treat for an empty stomach. Don't miss the Carolina Cyclone! This was the world's first 4 inversion coaster and is still quite popular with the crowds 27 years later!

Personally, I detest Borg. Probably the biggest mistake Paramount made. But if you haven't ridden it, be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait. Vortex (stand-up) is still fun but once is usually enough for me.

Phantom Flyers is the parks best flat ride, IMO. Every ride is different. If you are not familiar with how the ride operates, watch it go a few times and see what people do. It's almost as fun to watch.

If you must eat in the park, I've always liked Outer Hanks. Theme park food for the most part is over priced and um, pretty bad. There is a Chick-Fil-A though. Always a good choice for tasty chicken sandwich.

Most of the coasters will operate during a light rain as long as there is no lightning.

Have fun!!

Please follow up with a trip report and let us know how your first visit went. It's always fun to hear opinions of our little park from first timers.

[CoasterDad]

I agree with what everyone else has said. Parking at the South Gate is nice and you can hit several hops on Top Gun once you enter. That would probably be your BEST opportunity to ride the front seat, once or twice. I would then head for Borg, if you must, then Vortex. That eliminates some bad wait times later in the day.

You have the great opportunity of staying late, that is 10pm, in the park this Saturday. This means, probably, some ride throughs on your favorites and probably several more hops on Top Gun. On Top Gun, if you are running by yourself this Saturday, the operators with generally let you slip into an empty seat, thus giving you more rides. We, my girls and I, generally do this on Top Gun and similar B & M's at other parks, i.e., Goliath(SFOG), Montu & Kumba(BGA), Kraken at Sea World, and several northen parks. In the confusion of one group getting off and another getting on, you can slip more rides and I must say my girls are very efficient at the proceedure. You should have plenty of time to ride everything you like, but if you miss Borg, don't cry or feel bad... Superman at SFOG is a whole lot better...

[coasterdude89]

The park at night is amazing....the lights, the sounds, the smells. Borg is fun at night with the lighting effects. Depending on which gate you park at determines the best route.

I love the south gate...amazing views of Top Gun and you park a lot closer to the entrance. If you do this, get as many rides as you can on Top Gun...front and back are a must!

If you park at the North Gate, hit borg first. Lines at first are not bad 10-20 mins if you go straight there...walk fast.....the lines for Borg starts before the park opens, so be prepared. Last year you could not take bags in line with you for Borg, I don't know if you can or can't this year. But I think (and other members can help me with this) that fanny packs are ok, but make sure u take it off and put it in the bin. I enjoy borg a lot, it is a really fun experience (*waits for other member to bash me*) Make sure you do Superman!!! Don't hold on to the harness, stick your arms at and pretend your flying...never hold on, it adds to the experience.

Advice:
*Hurler front seat only. Great airtime plus it is the only seat/car that is smooth. Ride any others and you are in for a painful expereince.

*Thunder Road. Get the middle seat in each car (there are 3 seats per car) It is smooth, any other seat might be a little rough, especially in the back. Front seat is fun. Do forwards & backwards. Hopefully they will race the trains. If they do, then forwards usually wins since it is faster, but backwards is so much more fun, it really seems to take your stomach away more.

*Drop Zone-if you want amazing views of the park, get in the line that is on the inside. Once at the station, go to the far right lane. Follow the arrows to the far side on the front. This will get you amazing views of the park. For views of Charlotte, do the outside line, far left line in the station. For views of the
mountains just do the inner lanes in the station. For added fun, stick your legs ou and hold you hands up. Really a great experience.

*You have to ride the fairly odd coaster in nick central. It is a classic...not as fun since they took out the hump at the brakes and added seat belts. The back seat will is fairly fast and will take your stomach away on the drop/

*Danny Phantom Flyers- my favorite flat ride. Snapping is amazing! Move sail left to go up, move sail right to go down. Just watch the little kids...some of them can do it better than some coaster enthusiasts can. tips: start with sail to left. Once the tub starts going up, move the sail to the right and you will go down. Once you bottom out, quickly move the sail up. Repeat and eventually you will snap=so much fun.

*Rip Roarin rapids-not that great...used to be okay, long, and I mean long wait for a mediocre river raft ride.

I hope this helps, I could go on and on. I hope you will enjoy Carowinds! It is an amazing place. Luckily for you, the high sat is gonna be around 70, so it will be very pleasant.

Have fun and defintely come back with a trip report!

[jmdarrall]

I will definitely hit Top Gun first, since that is almost unanimous. One question, though, how do I reach the South Gate from I-77 South?

EDIT: I will add a trip report.

[swampfox43]

how do I reach the South Gate from I-77 South?

There is only one way into the park, through the main toll gates. You'll see the north gate on the right just as you enter the toll. It's the large building with the columns. That's the front of the park and considered the main entrance.

Once you are through the toll, just meander your way towards the back of the park. Stay on the outer road that encircles the lot and follow your way to Top Gun. Can't miss that as it is right on the edge of the southern end of the park.

There you will find the south gate parking. You can actually go a little past Top Gun towards Thunder Road and see plenty of spaces that people usually don't go to first, and they are pretty close to the south gate entrance.

Look forward to the trip report.

[Footballteen58]

If you must ride Hurler be careful where you sit the ride can be quite painful in some places.

[montumax]

Hurler's best spot is the 2nd or 3rd seat. Front *would* be best but I hate waiting in that line.

[jmdarrall]

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, my trip report is in the Trip Reports section.