[dabrian]

The one in the front is usually down for "chemical imbalance" that usually will cause it to be down for a bit.

[arby]

I wonder if this is going to be a water feature of some sort?

fury01a.PNG (333.57KiB)Viewed 12924 times

[FamousAmos]

^^No, according to the pdf files, there will be lots of trees there. Also, it looks like that because, mentioned in the pdf files, the paths are raised by about 5 to 8 feet from the ground where the trees will be planted.

[RollerBee]

I hope the trees happen, the green space will make the area feel larger.

[arby]

That will look awesome, too. I like that they have given a lot of thought to this entrance plaza.

[MarkD]

This thread seemed like a place for me to ponder a thought.

With the new parking area coming in front of the park as far as it does, and with the saying that they will be making a big splash for '16, to me that means the parking area beside T.R. will be torn up and a water park expansion put there. Remember there are walkways under T.R.

With that said will the newly configured parking area hold more cars or will it remain the same "if" the parking is eliminated beside T.R. ?

[FamousAmos]

^^You know, I had the exact same thought last week. I think that, yes, we will get a LARGE water park expansion that will lead guests over to the other side of Hurler. I also think that, maybe, the South Gate will be permanently shut down and dismantled for a later planet snoopy and county fair expansion. From there, a new entrance can be added to the water park so as to have two entrances.
Don't forget that the campground is also getting a large expansion and renovation. But that is for another thread in a year or so.

It would be great to see a water park expansion. Then maybe I'll go into that section of the park. It would also be great to get rid of the Dino's (or at least move them elsewhere) and get a County Fair expansion with more Flats and more "night-life". and turn the south gate into an entrance to the water park, should it get expanded which at this point seems very likely.
I'm done.
See you guys next month.

[Edwardo]

I think you mean on the other side of Thunder Road. And in case some of you haven't been following along...it was mentioned here that the park did confirm that the reason the 2014 slides were late opening was because they were doing infrastructure work in that area...which, you know, would be right beside and under Thunder Road.

Likely for the big splash in 2016...

[Jonathan]

I agree, it all makes too much sense. Plus, if the south gate does shut down, that parking area is so far from the main entrance that it's probably impractical to want people to walk all the way from there.

I wouldn't completely rule out the idea of a second entrance for the waterpark though. Kings Island does have one (but their waterpark is really isolated from the rest of the park).

[PatrickMcPherson]

Building on what Jonathan said about the water park entrance- I think It would be more probable to see an entrance to the park, and the wawater park through another somewhat large plaza area we're seeing at Northgate. However, Cedar Fair hasn't done a second entrance in that style, and they've never seemed to debut any feature at Carowrinds that I know of. Nonetheless, a retooling of Southgate and that whole area seems very likely, and it will be exciting to see what is truly to come.

[Tawny71]

I know the GP has been begging for a water park entrance for a while. But is it the most logical solution? Carowinds has operating days from March through November. Boomerang Bay doesn't open until the end of May and is only open till the beginning of September. So, the second entrance would only be able to be used for about half the time the whole park is open. I realize that the summer months are the highest capacity days that need a second entrance, but there are definitely days (spring break, Scarowinds, etc), where a second entrance could be utilized and wouldn't be able to be if it were in the water park.

[FamousAmos]

Which is why I think that the South Gate will be utilized as a second in-park entrance to the water park, and the only entrance into the park as a whole would be the North Gate. Is there ever many cars on an operating day parked next to Thunder Road? I'm sure there are, mainly due to the South Gate, however, would there be any cars parked there if there were no South Gate entrance? I'd think not. Which is why, again, I think that the South Gate will become an in-park entrance to a newly expanded water park for 2016.
Didn't this 3 year expansion start, technically, in 2014 with the addition of Harmony Hall and other infrastructure additions/changes? If so, then these funds will run out after 2016. So this "Big-Splash" will be the last big thing for a little while anyway. Then again, we don't know what Cedar Fair has up their sleeves.They could throw us a curve ball at the end of 2016 and announce another new coaster? or a new Dark ride? or a new area of the park?

But that is for another thread.
Have a great weekend everyone!

[RollerBee]

Planet Snoopy hasn't had a new addition since 2005, Carowinds has said they are going to touch every area of the park. It is past time for Planet Snoopy to see an expansion especially since it has lost 2.5 rides in 10 years. (I count the train as half since half the ride is now gone.)

[jordN1414]

Another interesting thing on Accela:

"Carowinds Office Project
Demo a portion of an existing building and expand the parking"


Link

[RollerBee]

Sounds like they may demo part or all of the Administration building behind the waterpark or maybe the marketing building. Hmm, I wonder if they have more office space then they need. The administration building I believe is from 1972, SwampFox do you know the history of any of the backstage buildings?