[Tawny71]

We went to Carowinds yesterday thinking it would be a ghost town, since it was a Friday during school. Instead, we arrived to find that there was some HUGE school music festival going on. The park was very crowded!

Is there a way to know if there are special events like that going on before we go, so we can plan trips around it?

[Picklesthedrummer]

I do not believe there is a way to know how many school groups will be at Carowinds on a certain day. Fridays like this are either hit or miss. Sometimes the crowds are good, others are full of middle and high schoolers. Hopefully next Friday is not too crowded for my visit.

[coasterfreak]

I went yesterday and it wasn't that bad at all, unless you were in line for Nighthawk. You just have to know when to ride what.

[Tawny71]

I still haven't gotten to ride Nighthawk. That dang line is always a mile long! And it moves at a snail's pace!

So...coasterfreak...how do I learn when to ride what?

[coasterfreak]

Get to the park at least 30 minutes earlier than the park opens and head over to Nighthawk as soon as the gate opens. That's the best way to get a ride.

[arby]

Most Fridays in the spring are school music festivals. I chaperoned one a couple of weeks ago.

Like coasterfreak said, you have to work around the crowds. We were there when the park opened and there was almost no line on Nighthawk or Intimidator so we got right on to both at the beginning. It was the same way at the end of the day. We were able to walk right on Afterburn and Intimidator at the end of the day. We stayed away from them during the peak of the day and rode other rides in the park that didn't have much of a line.

If you go on a Friday like that, you should plan to be there at opening and closing. You'll note that some of the school groups don't get there right at closing and a lot of them leave shortly before park closing.

[intimidator rider]

The school "Music Festival" will be over June 5th is what I heard which means schools wouldn't be coming back this year.