- November 24th, 2004, 10:08 pm
#9030
I think Carowinds has the potential to become a premiere park but it will take alot more than adding Borg and redoing AS.
Carowinds still "feels" like an amusement park with some decorations. Nothing, except maybe Carolina Boardwalk, makes you feel like you are anywhere else. Even in the Boardwalk section they have the wrong trees for a Carolina's Beach. They should have made the Water Park a Carolina Theme and not the area it is now. I know, the have Goldrusher, Cyclone, Ricosh#& there but what makes more sense? Each area needs to make every sense you have wake up from the smell to the sight.
The coasters are ok and the kids section is good, now even better I hope with the makeover. There are hardly any nostalgic attractions left, there are virtually NO flats and there is defiantly nothing "cutting edge" in our park. We seem to be the hand me down park lately. Why don't we get NEW stuff? We get New to the Carolinas...wahooptidoo!!
There is not enough of anything there to make people want to take the time to spend the entire weekend or more. It is a one day park.
The food through the park is generic at best except for the Country Kitchen and Outer Hanks, but how many times can you eat at those. Oh yea, you can get spaghetti also, almost forgot, my bad. There needs to be a couple great sit down and dine eateries with fresh made, not mass produced, food with plentiful seating and scenery of the park. You could have one on each side of the park elevated a bit or maybe even 2 floors to kind of overlook the park while you eat.
The entrance to the park leaves allot to be desired also. All that gets you excited is seeing a few rides rise above the trees and a view into the Picnic areas and kiddy land. The parking lot is, for a lack of better words, fubar'd. The way the ticket booths are, over to the side, so you have to cross over after buying your tickets is crazy. Why can't it be out front and let us that have our tickets walk around. It is just mass confusion trying to get in if you are not a pass holder.
The bathrooms s^#k. That's right, they S^$K! They stink, the trash cans and toilets are almost always overflowing onto the floor or there aren't towels to dry your hands. Most of them are also too narrow.
The park starts off the year pretty clean but then goes to pot after a while. Will they ever get rid of that dang gum catcher under Hurler? I mean come on, raise it up or have the employees scrape it daily.
Queue lines are terrible. They all look 100 years old. The best Queue line there is for Goldrusher. It is interesting to walk up to that ride and have the wood around you, the trees and the tractor. All the others are like herding cattle.
This won't go for you Carowindsman, as I have watched you, but for the most part the employees could care less about you or being there. All they seem to want is the paycheck and cut up time with their friends. This season alone I have ridden Hurler 5 times and have not had my restraints checked, Thunder Road, 3 times, Top Gun twice, early on a Sunday Morning. I started taking pictures and videos of some of the employees and what they do in case I pop out of a ride someone can get my camera and see why. There was even one instance where my kids and I were there to ride Hurler and believe it or not it took 5 trains for us to get on but the entire time we watched this cat talk on his cell phone and kept waving off the other employees and would give the thumbs up so the train could leave. Never once did he come down from the banister. The nicest employees I've come across are in Wings and Country Kitchen.
So, this is just a small portion of why I think Carowinds has a long, long way to becoming a "Premier" destination. It has the potential but does it have the desire?
P.S. - Carowindsman, what do you mean Top Gun is changing for 2005? New colors? New Name? New "Themeing"? No more Kenny Loggins? What?
