Is Carowinds worth going to (Charlotte, Matthews: appointed, amusement parks, hotels)

[trishlee]

Wondering if Carowinds is a good amusement park. We moved from Ohio and used to go to CedarPoint all the time. CedarPoint is known to be one of the best parks and someone told us that we would be so disappointed in Carowinds. Will we be? We don't have little kids. It is just my husband and myself and our 17 and 21 yr old. We were wondering about getting season passes if the park is decent. We also love water parks. Is this one a good one?

[Barkingowl]

I've been to Cedar Point & it blows Carowinds away. But check it out for yourselves & see what you think before getting a season pass.

[SunnyKayak]

I have only been to Kings Dominion Cincinnati and they are very similar parks.
Except Kings has that one killer wooden roller coaster the Grizzly.
This the first time I learn that campgrounds at amuzement parks are a bad idea. lol

Carowinds is more kid oriented. For college age and younger a season pass would be

I am optimistic with the new owners of the park Cedar Fair that they will turn the place around. They are already offering better promos than in the past.
Sunday's and weekdays are the more ideal time to go when they open during the week.
Alot shorter lines.

[cabercro]

Living in Matthews, Carowinds was our big summer hangout in middle school/early high school. Our family always had a season pass. But I think I've been only 2 or 3 times since then.

My dad used to take us on weekday or Sunday evenings. There was usually a discounted rate for going in after 5:00, and honestly, you could do as much in that time span as you could in a full day because you spent so much less time in line. Lots of times, we'd pick a rollercoaster and just stay on it for a hour or two, only occasionally having to get out and go get back in line.

Also, keep an eye on Coke products. A lot of times they have discounts for the park on the packaging (up to $10 off sometimes).

[Carolina_native]

I have a seasons pass. In a couple of weeks, Carowinds will be open all week. I have been once this year and it was on a Saturday. It was really busy and I rode 3 rides the whole day.

But during the summer on weekdays in the past I can all the rides in a matter of hours since lines are alot lower.

I have heard that it is more economic to pay for a seasons pass since a one day pass is almost as much $$. Plus Seasons pass holders get free parking. This year is the first year the admission price has dropped, ever.

The park itself is fun. I have not been to any other park besides Carowinds and Ive been going there my whole life so I cant compare it to other parks.

Go to the Carowinds wikipedia page, its pretty interesting.

[NCyank]

As BarkingOwl stated, Cedar Point beats Carowinds, it is not even a fair comparison. However, that doesn't mean you won't enjoy the park. Why not try it once and see if you like it?

I don't know if the regular tickets are like this, we are given tickets once a year through DH's work, but we can upgrade our ticket to a season pass (pay the difference only) on the day we visit the park.

[InSouthPark]

Well Cedar Point blows away pretty much all amusement parks if you ask me...but having a park 15 minutes from my house is great.

I mean I would never drive 8 hours to Carowinds (like I did for Cedar Point a few years ago) but all and all, Carowinds is a great amenity for the Charlotte area. I have season passes this year so I can take my two year old daughter throughout the summer. The park is clean, the prices are fair, lines are never too bad (except for Night Hawk), and the water park is included.

I mean our Season Pass only cost me like $50 each back in November and we have already taken our daughter once this year and plan to visit 2-3 times a month in the summer. It is well worth our money for our family.

[Svross]

I grew up in Ohio and we had a boat at Cedar Point and season passes to the park every summer. It's very near and dear to my heart as my best childhood memories are of those summers.

Carowinds is now owned by the same company. The rides are fun and I find a LOT of similarities between the two as far as atmosphere . . . but nothing is like CP . . .

Cedar Point is on the Lake surrounded by resorts/hotels and has THE best roller coasters in the World.

I think you will enjoy Carowinds . . nonetheless . . if anything . . it's like a mini-Cedar Point!

[Dakota4791]

There's a big water park, but the rest of it is basically ALL roller coasters. I love roller coasters, but after lunch, there's nothing to do but wait around until you digest your food...there's nothing leisurely. I guess I'm used to Disney World where you have a variety of kinds of rides.

[travlingrlclt]

Carowinds is okay. I'm a native and grew up going there but as I got older and i've been to about 8 other parks all over the U.S, i'd say Carowinds rates the lowest. But it's a local park and it's a decent deal if you get the seasons pass.