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| - I've long been a fan of amusement parks and grew up spending hot summer days at Six Flags, Dorney Park and Hershey Park in the northeast. Some friends from up there came down for the weekend and we decided to check out Carowinds. I know what to expect from these places...ridiculously high prices for a day of exhilarating thrill rides. Carowinds rides definitely deliver the thrills, but it falls victim to the same issues to plague most amusement parks.
Like the other theme parks out there, it's expensive to visit the place. Admission will cost you $45 (as long as you buy on their website...otherwise its $55 at the gate) unless you are frugal like me and opt to enter the park after 4pm, when the price drops to $25 online/ $30 at the gate. Throw in the $12 parking fee and you're dropping some serious dough before even entering the park. Once inside expect the high prices to continue, as you will be spending a crudload of money on food, drinks and other junk. We decided to eat dinner there and spent $23 on a chicken sandwich, turkey burger, side salad and small drink. Not only is the price high itself, but the quality of the food and service do nothing to warrant the price. It's hard to plan a day at the park without purchasing at least one meal there, so it is a necessary evil. Unfortunately it is a tasteless, inconvenient, rude and expensive evil.
Now on to the park. I will say that Carowinds is one of the cleaner parks I've been to, and the bathrooms tended to be pretty well-maintained as well. The ride operators were slightly more friendly than the other service employees, but I suppose that running a roller coaster is more fun than standing in a booth selling parking tickets.
There is a decent selection of rides, though I did find that there were more higher-end thrill rides than moderate rides. If you like roller coasters than this will be a divine experience for you, as their coaster selection is pretty top-notch. Vortex was the first "standing" coaster I've been on and it was quite a unique experience, and the Intimidator was one of the fastest coasters I've ever been on. Unfortunately the miss' cannot handle the coasters like she used to and there were less rides she could go on than what other similar parks will offer.
Would I go back to Carowinds again? Probably, but definitely not with just my wife and I. If other friends or family came to town at some point and I knew they were into these kinds of rides I'd be willing to shell out the cash to visit again, but I am in no rush to return. The coasters are definitely a lot of fun but the price of admission will stop me from going back any time soon.
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