Share thoughts, photos, and reviews from visits to Carowinds or any other amusement park
By rollercboy
#22549
Today we took a trip to the South Carolina Sate Fair. This was my first visit to the fair. The grounds were very crowded with limited parking($5). Entering the fair($7) was rather slow due to the metal detectors. The midway was beautifully illuminated with lot's of neon. The ride list includes:

Zamperla Crazy Mouse
(3) Big Wheel
(2) Tilt-A-Whirls
Pharo's Furry
1001 Knacts
Rainbow
Tivoli Scorpian
Twister
Zamperla Skate Board
Matterhorn
Zipper
Power Surge
Ring Of Fire
Orbiter
Polar Express
Yo-Yo
Wave Swinger
Zamperla Swing Tower (Star Flyer rip off)
Cliff Hanger
Alpine Bob
Fire Ball
Feuer Ball
Log Flum
Inverter
Spider
Sizzler
Sky Ride
Sling Shot
Starship 2000
Euro Slide

Tickets were $1 a piece or 22 for $20 and 55 for $50. Each ride was 3 to 4 tickets. The most impressive part was the operators: VERY CLEAN CUT, friendly, and fast. Not to leave out the kids, the children's area was very nice. It was located at the front entrance, away from the midway. I would have to say there were at least 20 to 30 kiddie rides.

Over all, we were very impressed with North American Midway Entertainment. The only thing that was missing was Conklin's Doppel Loop, and Wild Cat.

To view a few photos of the fair, click here
<a href='http://flickr.com/photos/7505501@N02/' target='_blank'>http://flickr.com/photos/7505501@N02/</a>

B & S
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By Jay
#22550
First off let me say.. AMAZING pics. Nighttime ride photography is some of my favorite work, so keep it up.


So what did you ride? Did you do the knockoff Star Flyer? I rode the one at Holiday Park in Germany and I thought it 'looked' a lot worse than it was. When you get down to it its really just a Wave Swinger.. a really )$@(!*% tall Wave Swinger.. but a Wave Swinger nonetheless.
By TheSeaWhippet
#22552
It was VERY busy last night (SAT) with long queues for just about everything. We bought $20 worth of credits and managed to ride:

Crazy Mouse: Despite the crowd, the ride ops cranked people through incredibly fast. They paired us up with another couple and we got NO spinage. You really need to have those cars off-center to revolve.

Swing Tower: This portable Star Flyer knock-off was very impressive. We haven’t done the Euro original but for a fairground ride it was nice. The ride spins on the way up, then it descends half-way down and really speeds up. One more climb to the top of the tower and then its back to the ground. Smoothly operated and more than a little scary if you have the slightest fear of heights.

Sky Ride: A nice way to move back across the busy midway and perfect for aerial photos.

Overall, it was a great fair with LOTS of rides and courteous / efficient ride ops.

B & S
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By bgwfreak
#22561
Sounds like the rides were pretty much exactly as last year except for 1 less Ferris wheel and the addtion of the Zamerla swing thing.

Here's my pics from last year if you want to check them out. <a href='http://travel.webshots.com/album/554787862uxvEeU?vhost=travel' target='_blank'>http://travel.webshots.com/album/554787862...eU?vhost=travel</a>
And the video experience. <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSNwpkE8ctE' target='_blank'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSNwpkE8ctE</a>

Sorry, no night shots. I went during the week during the day to avoid the crowds, which I did.
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By coasterbruh
#22567
Ah...such a pity I live 1.2 miles from the fairgrounds and I have yet to gone. It's just not the same since conklin stop doing it. I mean you actually felt as if you were at a traveling theme park!