I absolutely love scarowinds. I feel like it is less crowded than your average summer day to Carowinds. Get there 20 minutes before it opens. The lines really aren't bad (15 minutes max) and there's so much to do! The weather is much nicer at night so you're not sweltering in the summer eat. They have indoor and outdoor Halloween attractions and haunted houses. They're the perfect level of scary and fun. I tend to leave the park an hour before it closes so I've never had parking issues.