- July 6th, 2015, 1:06 pm
#80378
After a multi-year absence from Carowinds, we bought season passes this year
I'm a dad with two kids (12 and 14). Carowinds was my first job-- I loved it! So it still holds a special place in my heart. My wife "tolerates" it.
July 4th-- We had several things going on but I begged my family to squeeze in Carowinds Saturday night. Yes, I knew it was July 4th and we expected big crowds. Our plan was to drop in for a few hours after dinner and watch the fireworks. We scored a prime parking spot in the row directly across from what I call the relief value exit near the front of the park.
Upon arriving, we rode the Skytower and was honestly surprised to see the parking lot was not "full". The park seemed crowded but I really expected to see more cars. I became disgusted while in line at Skytower. The queue bars were close together and we felt a little too close to other guests (Let's just say it didn't smell like the cosmetics counter at Belk!). I was watching the employees work and was actually quite saddened. If anything, I would call them “anti-social.” NOT ONCE did I see them glance at any guest. In fact, I watched in horror as the male employee zipped up his jacket and covered his face and SIT on the bench inside the Skytower as it unloaded. He did this for multiple cycles. Obviously gone are the days when both doors are opened to the cabin and people in line filed in on the right at the same time riders filed out through the left side. For those relatively newbies, I won't recount how an employee used unload the cabin from the back door as new riders went in the front (that procedure was used on "busy" days back in the day). The female employee went for the ride with us and she said something at the beginning of the ride that I couldn't understand. I enjoyed the new spiel recounting some of the history of the park (while it was interesting to me, I thought some of it was written a little too insider baseball for the general public). Upon exiting, I again saw the male employee sitting on the bench with the jacket pulled up and covering his face. I had my phone in my hand and ready to take a picture but it was too dark.
After leaving the ride we walked toward Fury and as we walked past a live performance on the plaza stage, a guest slushied my wife (like on Glee). Of all people (remember, she "tolerates" Carowinds) to get the slushie treatment!!! We did notice a few people dancing in the street to the music of the show. In general, I personally think Carowinds needs more live entertainment (however, I would prefer anything thing other than rap and hip/hop and something a little more family friendly). For the first time in my life I felt “old.”
As the sun was setting, we rode what I’ll always call “The Meteorite.” We tried to enter the exit ramp. I mentally noted there is no big sign to mark the entrance and realized there was no obvious entrance sign at the Skytower either. The ride seemed dark. Don’t I remember a lighting package on it when it was at County Fair??
With the countdown on to fireworks, we chose to stay in the area and went to Fury and turned around after seeing the line.
We then headed over to the Carolina Cyclone and saw that there was no visible line. One of my kids had never been on it. We encountered a short line on the stairs and while waiting to move up to the platform, I started choking. No, it wasn’t the memory of the old steam engine that used to be housed a few yards away, it was four people covered in tattoos smoking cigarettes. I glared at them but they couldn’t see me through their thick haze… or maybe they thought I was admiring the “art” on their bodies.
At the platform an employee was assigning rows. I believe he was the only employee to actually look at us the entire evening. But the poor guy couldn’t get it right… you could tell me was trying. He assigned my two kids to row two, which had four people already in that line. He assigned me to row three which had one person in line. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to ride with her or wait a couple of cycles so that I rode with my kids. When the next train arrived I noticed row one had a single rider so I jumped in the empty seat and left my kids behind. I enjoyed the ride and the memories of riding it when it was new. I worked nearby and we would change out of uniforms and ride Cyclone on our breaks.
After my kids got off, they commented about how slow the load time was. I took special note because one of them said the slow time was nothing compared to what he experienced on the Goldrusher earlier in the season. I was interested at how bothered my kids were because of the total lack of urgency on the part of employees to move people through the lines. I had noticed this theme myself on my couple of previous quick visits. I will monitor this and write more complete thoughts later.
We strolled back to the entrance to get in place for the fireworks. Guests seemed to be in total confusion as to where they should view the fireworks. Many were staking out spots under the
Fury track, but again, they weren’t sure which direction to face.
Thankfully, my Carowinds Connection friends had advised a few days earlier to look toward the toll plaza.
I thought the fireworks were impressive. A few comments now from a man who wears multiple hats (former employee, father, guest, and businessman):
- They now have these big electronic signs at the new entrance, why not flash up— “Fireworks tonight at 10pm. Best viewing at the entrance plaza.
- I kind of liked the food truck idea at the entrance, but I didn’t know what it was for. Maybe if more people had congregated there (earlier) then it would have done more business. I’m not sure hot dogs were the best choice, I would have sold ice cream, frozen lemonade, or even funnel cakes. In other words “fun food” for the people who had gathered to stake their spot.
- What a shame there’s no place inside the park to launch fireworks so they could be visible everywhere. That would have spread the crowds out in the park. Too bad there is no longer a smurf island or central hub in the middle to use as a focal point for fireworks or a nighttime show. How fantastic it would be to have the old river and have an electrical boat parade and laser lights and music coming from Smurf Island?
- Being so far from the fireworks themselves, there was no opportunity for music. I’m not expecting a Disney fireworks show—but they could have played patriotic music.
Ok, now time for my mini rant:
I thought I was so lucky to have gotten that parking spot near the front exit valve. We were in our car within minutes of the end of the fireworks show and the exit valve was blocked off by orange cones! Because this is a mini rant, I will only say we were stuck in traffic for TWO hours after the fireworks. We moved a total of 200-feet in an hour and a half. There were cars in front of us, behind us and to the side. I could see in my mirror that cars were finally allowed to exit from that valve and move (slowly) down the Avenue of the Carolinas while I sat and sat and sat trapped. There was not a word spoken in my car for two hours. My kids didn’t say a word and my wife didn’t say a word. Yes, it was July 4th, but really this was a major problem. When we finally were able to exit through the usual spot, the Avenue of the Carolinas (from the Cabelas) was empty. So obviously more cars could have been funneled out that way using that relief valve near the front of the park.
I don’t know when I’ll get my wife to return.
In the meantime, I will hold more comments about my impressions of modern Carowinds for a few months and then post a “season in review.”
I'm a dad with two kids (12 and 14). Carowinds was my first job-- I loved it! So it still holds a special place in my heart. My wife "tolerates" it.
July 4th-- We had several things going on but I begged my family to squeeze in Carowinds Saturday night. Yes, I knew it was July 4th and we expected big crowds. Our plan was to drop in for a few hours after dinner and watch the fireworks. We scored a prime parking spot in the row directly across from what I call the relief value exit near the front of the park.
Upon arriving, we rode the Skytower and was honestly surprised to see the parking lot was not "full". The park seemed crowded but I really expected to see more cars. I became disgusted while in line at Skytower. The queue bars were close together and we felt a little too close to other guests (Let's just say it didn't smell like the cosmetics counter at Belk!). I was watching the employees work and was actually quite saddened. If anything, I would call them “anti-social.” NOT ONCE did I see them glance at any guest. In fact, I watched in horror as the male employee zipped up his jacket and covered his face and SIT on the bench inside the Skytower as it unloaded. He did this for multiple cycles. Obviously gone are the days when both doors are opened to the cabin and people in line filed in on the right at the same time riders filed out through the left side. For those relatively newbies, I won't recount how an employee used unload the cabin from the back door as new riders went in the front (that procedure was used on "busy" days back in the day). The female employee went for the ride with us and she said something at the beginning of the ride that I couldn't understand. I enjoyed the new spiel recounting some of the history of the park (while it was interesting to me, I thought some of it was written a little too insider baseball for the general public). Upon exiting, I again saw the male employee sitting on the bench with the jacket pulled up and covering his face. I had my phone in my hand and ready to take a picture but it was too dark.
After leaving the ride we walked toward Fury and as we walked past a live performance on the plaza stage, a guest slushied my wife (like on Glee). Of all people (remember, she "tolerates" Carowinds) to get the slushie treatment!!! We did notice a few people dancing in the street to the music of the show. In general, I personally think Carowinds needs more live entertainment (however, I would prefer anything thing other than rap and hip/hop and something a little more family friendly). For the first time in my life I felt “old.”
As the sun was setting, we rode what I’ll always call “The Meteorite.” We tried to enter the exit ramp. I mentally noted there is no big sign to mark the entrance and realized there was no obvious entrance sign at the Skytower either. The ride seemed dark. Don’t I remember a lighting package on it when it was at County Fair??
With the countdown on to fireworks, we chose to stay in the area and went to Fury and turned around after seeing the line.
We then headed over to the Carolina Cyclone and saw that there was no visible line. One of my kids had never been on it. We encountered a short line on the stairs and while waiting to move up to the platform, I started choking. No, it wasn’t the memory of the old steam engine that used to be housed a few yards away, it was four people covered in tattoos smoking cigarettes. I glared at them but they couldn’t see me through their thick haze… or maybe they thought I was admiring the “art” on their bodies.
At the platform an employee was assigning rows. I believe he was the only employee to actually look at us the entire evening. But the poor guy couldn’t get it right… you could tell me was trying. He assigned my two kids to row two, which had four people already in that line. He assigned me to row three which had one person in line. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to ride with her or wait a couple of cycles so that I rode with my kids. When the next train arrived I noticed row one had a single rider so I jumped in the empty seat and left my kids behind. I enjoyed the ride and the memories of riding it when it was new. I worked nearby and we would change out of uniforms and ride Cyclone on our breaks.
After my kids got off, they commented about how slow the load time was. I took special note because one of them said the slow time was nothing compared to what he experienced on the Goldrusher earlier in the season. I was interested at how bothered my kids were because of the total lack of urgency on the part of employees to move people through the lines. I had noticed this theme myself on my couple of previous quick visits. I will monitor this and write more complete thoughts later.
We strolled back to the entrance to get in place for the fireworks. Guests seemed to be in total confusion as to where they should view the fireworks. Many were staking out spots under the
Fury track, but again, they weren’t sure which direction to face.
Thankfully, my Carowinds Connection friends had advised a few days earlier to look toward the toll plaza.
I thought the fireworks were impressive. A few comments now from a man who wears multiple hats (former employee, father, guest, and businessman):
- They now have these big electronic signs at the new entrance, why not flash up— “Fireworks tonight at 10pm. Best viewing at the entrance plaza.
- I kind of liked the food truck idea at the entrance, but I didn’t know what it was for. Maybe if more people had congregated there (earlier) then it would have done more business. I’m not sure hot dogs were the best choice, I would have sold ice cream, frozen lemonade, or even funnel cakes. In other words “fun food” for the people who had gathered to stake their spot.
- What a shame there’s no place inside the park to launch fireworks so they could be visible everywhere. That would have spread the crowds out in the park. Too bad there is no longer a smurf island or central hub in the middle to use as a focal point for fireworks or a nighttime show. How fantastic it would be to have the old river and have an electrical boat parade and laser lights and music coming from Smurf Island?
- Being so far from the fireworks themselves, there was no opportunity for music. I’m not expecting a Disney fireworks show—but they could have played patriotic music.
Ok, now time for my mini rant:
I thought I was so lucky to have gotten that parking spot near the front exit valve. We were in our car within minutes of the end of the fireworks show and the exit valve was blocked off by orange cones! Because this is a mini rant, I will only say we were stuck in traffic for TWO hours after the fireworks. We moved a total of 200-feet in an hour and a half. There were cars in front of us, behind us and to the side. I could see in my mirror that cars were finally allowed to exit from that valve and move (slowly) down the Avenue of the Carolinas while I sat and sat and sat trapped. There was not a word spoken in my car for two hours. My kids didn’t say a word and my wife didn’t say a word. Yes, it was July 4th, but really this was a major problem. When we finally were able to exit through the usual spot, the Avenue of the Carolinas (from the Cabelas) was empty. So obviously more cars could have been funneled out that way using that relief valve near the front of the park.
I don’t know when I’ll get my wife to return.
In the meantime, I will hold more comments about my impressions of modern Carowinds for a few months and then post a “season in review.”
