[cwgator]

It has nothing to do with the animals at either park. The exhibits are easily closed off dusk. BGT is no where near downtown Tampa and they can stay open as late as they want. There are noise ordinances however so things like nightly fireworks can only occur certain times of the year. It's been (one of) my home park for over 10 years now. I actually just looked at the calendars for the 2 main school districts in the area and they get out before Memorial Day so it's not that. Perhaps they are just not anticipating huge crowds until mid-June when most families start taking vacations (at either park).

[CCookieMonster]

That's interesting. Well, it's good to know it can always be worse...for us at least. Is it bad to still want midnight or 11?

[uscbandfan]

^^ By "downtown", I meant that it lies within the city limits of Tampa, not that it was among the big buildings.

I was just grasping at some straws.

[Edwardo]

“Perhaps they are just not anticipating huge crowds until mid-June when most families start taking vacations (at either park)”

Bingo. If they anticipated large crowds or people staying late, they’d be open late.

Do you know what average time most people leave a regional theme park? Around 6pm. So parks that don’t have the after 6 attendance to stay open late don’t. That’s why parks offer twilight admissions after 4 or so, to draw more people into the parks to stay a bit later. If there was enough attendance to stay open and make money till midnite, they’d be open.

[tarheel1231]

And if I’m not mistaken, Kings Island is open until 12 during the summer months, and if that’s the park Cedar Fair is trying to make Carowinds emulate, we can expect hours until 12 in the near future.

[tarheel1231]

Sorry for the double post, but I had two new ideas that I wanted to share.

The first is a relatively small wish, extending the Lazy River under the maintenance road towards the newer side of Carolina Harbor. Not only would this improve the quality and capacity of the river, it would also add to the atmosphere when entering through the Harbor Gate.

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The second wish is slightly bigger:

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Cedar Fair has stated that they're looking into adjacent development to their parks, so I think a Go Kart park would be a great addition to Carowinds. I know that Challenge Park failed at Cedar Point and Carowinds took out Grand Prix for Fury, but in both cases, those attractions were taking up valuable land for park expansion. An entirely separate park with visibility from the road could work, and like Springhill Suites, it could attract people who aren't necessarily theme park goers. It could also operate year-round, becoming a revenue stream for the park in the off-season. This would bring Carowinds a step closer to being a multi-day destination with a world-class theme park, a complimentary water park, and an additional attraction that could take up at least half of a day.

As far as the location, I think the southern corner near the entrance from Mike Doty would be great:

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[BelowThePeak]

There's actually a family fun center with Go Karts that's only a few miles away from Carowinds, so I don't see Carowinds adding their own like that.

I like the lazy river idea, but I'd almost rather see another slide complex go in that spot instead. Regardless, I really want to see SOMETHING there. It's a large chunk of land that's not really serving a purpose at the moment.

[tarheel1231]

There's actually a family fun center with Go Karts that's only a few miles away from Carowinds, so I don't see Carowinds adding their own like that.

I like the lazy river idea, but I'd almost rather see another slide complex go in that spot instead. Regardless, I really want to see SOMETHING there. It's a large chunk of land that's not really serving a purpose at the moment.

Go Karts next to the park could still potentially extend the length of visit for guests, as the park could offer deals combining park admission with kart admission. For locals with season passes, it could serve as a way to keep guests on the property during SCarowinds (between 5 and 7), keeping the money in the park. If Cedar Fair is looking into developing complimentary attractions adjacent or near the park, this could be a great way to do it.

As for the lazy river there’s enough land in the center of the water park to feasibly fit both a slide and an extension of Coastal Currents. The walkway by the exit of Hurricane Falls (green raft slide) could serve as an entrance, so you wouldn’t necessarily have to enter in the same spot where the lazy river could potentially go.

[gabed]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t the only way to expand the lazy river be to just scratch it a build a new one? Seems like someone here brought up the fact that the river’s machinery isn’t powerful enough to push anymore water than what is already there.

[chknwing]

Carowinds had Go Karts, they removed them. I doubt you ever see them again.

[cadi40]

I really wish we had something like a Flight of Fear of back lot stunt coaster.

[gabed]

Believe it or not we came incredibly close to actually having KD’s Flight of Fear. The Backlots are okay, I just don’t see anything special about them.

[RRRAPIDS]

Believe it or not we came incredibly close to actually having KD’s Flight of Fear. The Backlots are okay, I just don’t see anything special about them.

I love the indoor sections of the Backlot Stunt Coasters. I would even love something along the lines of Firechaser Express.

[gabed]

Firechaser is the best family coaster ever made so sign me up for one of those

[coasterbruh]

I take it you don't get out much lol . . .