General Carowinds discussion
#98145
^A few keywords/phrases from your post:
I - As in by yourself? I always have my daughter with and sometimes her mother.

Minus the kids rides - Define this, the rides under 54” or most of Planet Snoopy? I always ride Snoopy’s Junction atleast once and still have access to Taxi Chase.

Weekday - I rarely go on weekdays, most of the time it isn’t possible.

Not involving the waterpark - Despite the fact that the waterpark is closed for about half the season now, most of the seasons it isn’t open Carowinds has SCarowinds and Winterfest so those open up attractions that can fill that. Besides waterpark is a must for US when it is open.

Photography - I almost forgot I spend a good couple hours getting photos.
#98146
chknwing wrote:
coasterbruh wrote:I think what would make the park a destination/multi-day park is a mixture of things to keep me busy physically and mentally. One thing I like about Disney parks is a good bit of the things to do doesn't involve actually riding stuff. A nice walk through to kill 15-45 minutes will help. I think the playground area will be a big hit because kids will run around and before you know it, an hour or so has passed.


not sure I understood. why are you looking to kill time in a theme park you just paid to get into?

It's all about pacing myself and taking things in stride. I never want to be on a "100" while im in a park. I like time to relax and chill out. Every now and then a break is good. Be it to sit down and eat, watch a show, or just chill out. It helps extend your time at the park and at the same time, not tire you out.
#98147
I have never gone by myself. What would be the fun in that if you couldn't share it with someone. As to the weekends... I go to ride rides, not stand in line. I will NEVER plan to go to Carowinds (or any other amusement park) on a weekend for that reason. (Scarowinds or Winterfest notwithstanding). And no, I don't run my day at 100 mph. I'm 50... that's for the kids. I am a very casual walker.

I ride every ride in the park except for the "Planet Snoopy" now "Camp Snoopy" items like the balloon chase and the helicopters, etc. Essentially, the only reason for going into that area is to get the obligatory ride on the flyers and "Scooby Doo". Yes, I know it's been a thousand names and is now "Woodstock Express" but will always be "Scooby Doo" to me. (Even though back then there was an extra bunny hill approaching the station.. anyone know why they took that out?)

I digress. If I had a child with me, sure, a few more hours would be spent in Snoopyville but nothing that would require an entire extra day and the cost factor that would go with keeping a family there. Quite frankly, when my daughter was that young, the time in Snoopyville was mostly counter-balanced by less time in places like Thrill Zone. (Nothing breaks a child's spirit more than spending time in a line for a ride they're going to step through and not ride.) And as for the weekend, If I can ride every ride in the park in about 3 hours on a weekday, I feel certain I could get every ride done in 12 hours on a weekend day if I wanted to stand the extra 9 hours in the lines (Unless I didn't do Nighthawk first... that's a day in itself). Personally, I'll skip the 9 hours of standing in lines.

I get it, If you WANTED to take 2 days to do everything, you could. Heck, you could take more than that if you wanted. My point is that RIGHT NOW, there is not enough there for a multi-day excursion unless you split the waterpark and dry park into 2 destinations.
#98148
Theming now, compared to like 5 years ago in the park had definitely been well done. I really have no complaints. I'm sure 2019 additions will almost complete the ride line up as far as having good attractions to be a destination/ multi- day park. In all honesty with the recent additions, the park has perfected what was truly lacking in every department. One thing the park should work on as stated above is more shows. Maybe another stage in the back of the park by Drop Tower. Also they could probably go the Hersheypark route and add a small kids corner( like a cluster of 3 rides) in the back of the park. I know I get it we just received a new kids area, but you want to spread out the offerings. A full service restaurant would be nice as well with some theming. I know it may have sounded like a wishlist , but this is what other parks offer. It's important to keep the people captivated and moved in all areas. With the different events/ festivals as well as Scarowinds & Winterfest, I can honestly say this is the place to be. But many of us tend to get bored because we are use to the park. Also, everything is almost squeezed together with so many short cuts, the park may not seem like there's a lot to offer when there is.
#98150
Carowinds is well on its way to becoming a destination park in my opinion. If the current trend continues with the park attendance steadily increasing along with what seems to be significant yearly expansions Carowinds will be a destination within the next 10 years. Does anyone know how much vacant land Carowinds owns?
#98153
Maybe so but not that much can be used for park expansion unless they come through the parking lot or use the campground.

First pic is the North Carolina plot(s). You can see both the initial plot plus the sliver in the upper right where they bought land for the hotel. There's a lot of land on the other side of the campground unused. (another reason to buy the rectangle of forest next to Fury.)


This next one is what they own in SC (in blue)...
#98157
If they wanted to, there’s plenty of space in the parking lot that they could use. It’ll probably be a long time before the park ever gets to that point, but you could remove most of the spaces from Intimidator’s turnaround to the exit onto Mike Doty, and relocate those spaces behind the land behind the newer section of the lot.

Carowinds has plenty of land to work with within the park already. Dinos Alive will be extinct soon, and they can always readjust existing attractions to fit new ones. If CP and Knott’s haven’t run out of land yet, and a landlocked CGA is getting a major expansion, then Carowinds sure as hell won’t run out of space.
#98158
There is always the option of a parking garage. I don't know many parks, aside from the really major ones, that have a parking garage but one good size one can free up practically the entire parking lot.
#98161
Problem with parking garages is they’re just so expensive. As of 2014 they cost $18,000 per space to build. Universal can do that because they’re Universal.
#98163
gabed wrote:Problem with parking garages is they’re just so expensive. As of 2014 they cost $18,000 per space to build. Universal can do that because they’re Universal.

Yes, on the surface they do have sticker shock but how many times do you replace, repave or repurpose a parking garage? I know people first line of defense is "its expensive" but for me, efficiency trumps sticker price. I mean, roller coasters and attractions as also expensive lol.