Carrowinds Amusement Park of the Carolinas Reviews

Great place the lines and management could be a bit better

Bueatiful park, can not wait to hold Pins in the Park there.

Just save for the fast passes if you really are looking to ride the rides. The staff here were awesome and very kind, but an amusement park is.. well, amusing. At least, if in you're interested in people watching Haha. It is interesting that it's right on the border of North and South Carolina!

Awesome place to come with family and lots to do there especially for the kids

Its pretty Good, you can not bring food inside the theme park. Please bring some extra cash, its great for the Little ones.

Wonderful water parks, fun/scary rides. Even rides for kids. Reapply good fun for all. Food/ other items are overpriced though.

Carowinds is a great place to big a Kid it has the entire areas just for kids including new rides every year, Like This year they even added a playground, don t get me wrong if your a teenager or an Adult, You will enjoy everything the park has to offer, one things for sure, it s impossible To visit everything in the park, so I recommend getting a season pass, better year get a Gold Pass, because with a Gold pass you can come and go as much as you want, Parking is Free, Live music in multiple places of the Park, and you get access to Scarowinds and winter fest for FREE, there s also a dining plan and a food plan, This year we got both, normally we just get drink plan and get free refills all year for $30.00 this made allot of sense, there s many hot Days in the summer and having drinks just does it for me, but this year we decided to splurge a little and got 2 food plans $100 each, they say it pays for it self in 4 visits, I was skeptical at first, but later on I knew I made a right decision, food plan allows you to eat every 4hrs and only 2 times per day, turns out each meal is $12.99 so yes $26 buck per day in 4 days more then pays for it self, about the food portion sizes, believe me it s plenty to eat, be prepared to have a lunch box for left overs or a ziplock bag, The Food many is very nice, there s something for everyone, Salads for some, Burgers and Fries, even Veggie burger, I tried it couple time and it tastes great, the French fries are amazing, they are kinda like curly fries but in there own way, I never seen fries anywhere else like this, they come with a cheese dip, which is absolutely amazing, you got to try it, moving on There s very nice Mexican style food, you get colored chips, red white and blue with your choice of chicken or steak quesadilla also moving on there is turkey leg this turkey leg is so much food to eat it comes with your choice of beans or Mac and cheese, there is also barbecue sandwiches steak sandwiches and everything taste so good moving on there is a bread bowl style bowl filled with meatballs it is very interesting and tasty and there s pizza there as well besides all this there s plenty other stuff to choose like yogurts all kinds of drinks. All this is located at country hall so when you did down and eat your food you could listen to all kinds of live music, if you enjoy swimming or water parks and pool with waves there s Carolina Harbor a perfect place to go on water slides and so many other attractions to visit, Child safety vests are available free of charge, if you want more information visit my YouTube channel Agnessa Vlog

Rides for all ages so no worries for large families/groups. Lines can be long but that is typical for any amusement park. Definitely get the fast pass. Saved us a ton of wait time especially for the bigger thrill rides. Food choices are really slim and super expensive. Some of the older rides should really be updated.

Me and my family come here often there is always something going on there other than rides the rides are so fun it is overall a great place

If you like roller coasters this place is a blast! My step-daughter and I had so much fun today it was amazing. Her smiles, fear, laughter, enjoyment made this one of the best days of our 10 year's together. We will be coming back again and again to enjoy this place. We upgraded to season long Gold passes and will continue to do so. Thank you to New Forum for providing your employee's with a family day together, and thank you to Carowinds for not selling out!!! Kudos to you all!

Would be alot more fun if everyone was treated equal. They make sure you suffer in the heat for long periods of time if you can't afford a fastlane pass. When you have a family to take it's hard to pay the extra fees for this. This should be a place where everyone can be equal and have fun. Way to go!

Great water park and rides. Bring your own drinks and snacks; or, consider purchasing the park's meal wristband if you're there for the entire day.

FAVORITE AMUSEMENT PARK OF ALL TIME! We traveled to Cedar Point from West Virginia and it was worth the drive... Our home park is Cedar Points sister park Kings Dominon. But Cedar Point takes the cake. It has the thrill i was seeking and such a beautiful park. There is also a beach right next door. Im super happy the fact tgat tge park is on a island.. Breathtaking!

This is the best experience even for any child teen and even adult

Good theme park. Well maintained and fun rides. Water park is geat. Only negative - food is very pricey.

Great local theme park. Great kids area. Lots of investment in new rides and renovating areas. Tremendous local value with season passes. Awesome coasters, fun water park, lots to do, can get hot and crowded on weekends especially.

Amazing rides, and if you arrive as soon as they open, you can easily ride the main attractions multiple times

We stopped here on our way up north and it was completely worth the money! We bought our tickets and fast passes before we left and got lucky because it was supposed to rain the day we chose. There was almost no one in the park and we rode all the roller coasters so many times! We talked to a couple who are annual pass holders and they said they ve never gotten a fast pass. The lines are not normally long and the crowds are manageable even on the busiest summer day. We didn t need to spend the money on the fast pass but we re from Florida so we re used to much larger crowds at Busch Gardens and Disney, etc. Highly recommend!

Mixed review. The roller coasters were great and really fun. However, the role of three of the roller coasters that we attempted to ride had malfunctioned and we were only allowed eventually to ride one of them and we're not offered any kind of solution to the problem of standing in line for hours at a time. Suggestion : offer some kind of chip or coupons for a one ride only fast track shortcut to the ride to make up for the lost time. Would go a long way in Goodwill and call Carowinds nothing.

Always fun to go here. My daughter is 5 now and we've been coming here since she was 3. Always rides for her in Snoopy Island.

The app is horrible for ride times and finding anything.
The water park had several rides shut down all summer from lack of employees.
Food options are either super expensive or just gross or both. How are you going to charge $8 for a burnt pretzel?
They never opened the South gate so it's over a mile walk (est) from busy parking to gate.
Still upset about so many water rides being closed.

The good: Snoopy land was well designed and rides are fun for the kids. Blue ridge junction was quaint and alcohol was a great addition

A great place to bring your family. The staff at the park are super friendly. Rides for all ages.

Carowinds has improved a lot over the years. Been going since I was about 8 or so. The water park was a nice addition and we love the coasters. Their Scarowinds has also gotten a lot better. If you plan to go 3+ times, the season pass and food plan deals are worth it. My feet got pretty toasted on the concrete areas of the waterpark in the summer so that's really my only negative.

Carowinds is something the Carolinas should be really proud of. Just a great place with some of the best roller coasters on the East Coast.

very amazing place for unwinding but prices of food were expensive.

Family fun night... Great work out make sure you have you Fitbit on

Carowinds is ALWAYS a blast! We ate at the Chic-Fil-a today and it was HOERIBLE! First time I've ever had cold food that sat in the warming window from a Chic-fila ! They only sell the basic sandwich and 8 piece nugget and the guy was very rude! I will not return to that Chikfila.

Great!@! Love it only 25 min. away. I have come about 17 times so far this year. Just getting started. Got the every 4 hrs.x 2 meals a day. Come sometimes to just eat supper and watch the 2 piano players play hits of the 70's 80's ,

Fun, great staff and easy to get to. This place is great for families. A classic landmark for the Upstate/Charlotte area. Rides are super fun... prices are good. Cleans, safe, and enjoyable... what more could you want? Can t wait for this summer!

me and clarissa was dating we break up last year
that was sad pray for us thank you so much that my sister gracie sherouse

Very unorganized! Took over 30 minutes to check in at the gate even previously purchasing tickets online. So much chaos. A lot of the rides kept closing down. The vortex was closed almost all day. We were there for 6 hours and only got to ride 5 coasters. Not a very clean park either. Highly disappointed spending my birthday here and not being able to enjoy. Have been to multiple theme parks but this was by far the worst yet. Will not be returning again!

Rides were amazing. Lines were efficient. Parking was self explanatory and the atmosphere was very beautiful. The food is a tad bit overpriced in my opinion but there are plenty of places to eat nearby for those on a budget. 10/10

Enjoy this place still at my age, and great for family days especially when the kids are out for the summer.

We all had a great time. Crowds were thin, but that was great for us. Some rain, but not enough to spoil the fun.

They claimed it was too cold for some of the kid-friendly roller coasters, but the line was open and they didn't have any signage out. We waited nearly 30 minutes to ride a ride that wasn't even open!! After Carowinds was alerted about all the people waiting, they still didn't send anyone to close the line or communicate with visitors. They should hire more experienced ride attendants and improve customer service in MANY areas of the park.

We love having a season pass here every year. It has definitely went uphill since Cedar Fair bought it. We always have fun.

Great customer service! My car battery died in the parking lot, and security was able to boost my battery and get me rolling in less than 15 minutes from the time of the call.

all i can say is that carowinds is more for locals. don t come if you have to drive over 5 hours or even get a plane. go somewhere bigger. carowinds isn t huge but us carolinians are mighty comfy. it s where the carolinas come together. of course you are welcome here. but don t complain if you re not from the carolinas. all of the people that are complaining must have come on a bad day or something. there s always something else to do at carowinds. and go near halloween for Scarowinds!! just try not to focus to hard on finding cons and look for the pros people. it s not disney. it s not universal. it s also not thousands of dollars

We always have a wonderful time. Most of the staff is very friendly and helpful. The new rides make it more fun for children and parents. We added the meal plan this year and if you have not done it yet, you really should. It's a great deal and plenty of food.

Very, very fun. Of course we got the free meal all day pass, but it was very exciting and surprisingly the lines were short today, maybe because it was Sunday. But all the rides were very fun and amusing, and its a place to bring the whole family 5/5

Had a great time here with the family... lots of fun on the rides and activities and the water park. With family, I recommend coming early so you can hit all the rides without a lot of crowds, then around 2ish go to the water park. We did everything.

Lots of fun for the whole family. There needs to be a better way to identify line/ride entrances and exits, especially when it's dark. When the lines get long and the park is crowded, it can be very difficult to tell where the line starts and ends. We found several times that we walked past the line trying to find where it started, or trying to see what the ride requirements were. It would be nice if there were a better way to identify the entrances and exits when visiting the park in the dark.

Great theme park. Good customer service and many great rides. Furie is the best

Great family fun, especially for roller coaster enthusiasts

Rides are fun but the wait times make it not worth going! Waited over an hour to park, then another hour to enter the park, plus lines for rides, so most of our time was spent waiting! Rode 4 rides in 6 hours due to waiting! There were 6 people in our group so needless to say that was a good bit of money for 4 rides! I also feel like parking should be free and there should be a restroom outside the main gate!

5 Stars for Fun, 2 Stars for Staff
Carowinds is our family's annual July vacay. We go every year for my sons birthday. We LOVE Carowinds. It can be very expensive by the time you buy tickets, drinks, lockers, etc, so always look for promotions and/or coupons. My only wish is that the staff didn't look so miserable. We are there to have a good time and be pumped up for the rides and a lot of the team there are not friendly at all. They need to smile more, be more attentive, and lose the attitudes. We went to get a drink refill at one of the stands and the guy was in such a bad mood, when i asked him if everything was okay he said he had worked two days in a row and was ready for a day off. The park opens at 10 AM this was 11 AM. This is an amusement park, although we are there to ride rides and not make friends it would help if the staff there were more welcoming. Other than the somber faces the park itself is so much fun!

been going there for years, first place I ever threw up at from a ride

Great Amusement Park if you LOVE roller coasters or have young kids. The water park is good, but usually very crowded.

It was great! My family had the best time. Minus the expensive everything!

Great rides, definitely worth the extra $ for the fast pass. Trust me.

Great place, employee's seen like they didn't want to be there.

If you haven't been to Carowinds, you are missing out on life.

Good place to have fun, but in my opinion way too expensive for what you get specially the food/drinks. Every time I'm there I see ALL lil kids crying and getting frustrated maybe not good for lil ones if you ask me

As a kid I lived in Florida and have been to Disney a lot over the years. This place is cheaper, less crowded, and has better rides period. If you live in the area you are a million times better of spending your time and money here. Pro tips eat before you go there are great restaurants right next to the park. Dress light it gets hot in the summer. Buy an annual pass especially if you liked it you can upgrade at guest services and Veterans get a discount.

its a fun place to hang out for the day but
please please please bring your money and comfortable shoes
every thing in this place is richly over priced
8 bucks for a smig of frozen yogurt
and heaven help you if you want toppings
from parking to drinks and food this place is changing a lot
you get to stand in line for free
also for free you get rude staff with i hate you smiles
with free water mist blowing on you in that free line you stand in for what seems like forever
also you get free smells of the last hundred people that had the seat on the ride
i saw no one i repeat no one
wipe of any seat
for all the money you spend in this place can you please provide a quick sanitary wipe of the seats in the ride at least the wait in line would be for something besides a quick ride providing the sanitary seat will also help with the rash you could get if you have sensitive skin like me
thanks

Eh, really sorta disappointed in this place. It has to be the worst run off the cedar fair parks we've visited this far. Entrance listed gates open, website listed gates open times but gates were closed and not opening for another hour plus, very poorly run. Rides are okay, nothing spectacular. There's much better cedar fair parks!

A beautiful place to have fun with the family and friends

We enjoy Carowinds quite a bit! Winterfest and Scarowinds are one of our favorites.

Things I am not crazy about. Not a lot of options for those of us with food sensitivities and allergies, but they will quickly send you an email to use for food allergy exceptions on bringing your own. When they close rides and water slides, due to being understaffed, they close those that smaller children can ride first. I understand that these rides are less popular, but when you have spent the money to go and your kids are disappointed, it doesn't make for a fun time!

All that said, for the most part, it runs smoothly and we have a blast! We have season passes for the 2019 year, and look very forward to using them a ton!

Excellent rides and attractions. My family and I had a great time. One bit of advice though, if you can get the fast lane tickets you don't have to wait in the long lines to get on the rides. However, these tickets cost more.

Super fun rides, lines too long. Not scary as scarrowinds used to be.

So many amazing coasters, great variety, drink stations everywhere!!

This amusement park is an excellent place to have a fun family adventure for the day, the prices are good and the rides are amazing the lines outside of the summer time hot spot are fast and short, a bunch of rides year-round to ride and have fun on, also they do a Halloween event every year where they spice up the rides.

On Sunday May 19th 2019 my family and I took our first trip to Carolina Harbor. I checked the parks hours 11-8pm I was pleasantly surprised because in seasons past they always closed at 5 p.m.The calendar also stated they we're open through the week! This is great!
I expected to to be packed and it was. What I didn't expect was for the bag check line to be so long it reached halfway to the South gate and for the management to only have one check station open. One. Then after waiting at least half an hour to get through bag check. So then we get into the park and they had half of the water slides closed, lazy river was closed, the pirate water playground was closed. So therefore the ones that were open the lines were so ridiculously long that we just didn't bother.
I asked a lifeguard why this was she said they were understaffed and hopefully in the summer that will change. I also mentioned how nice it was that the water park was going to be open later and during the week. Her reply was "Yeah, we are not our website is messed up." Really? Wow.
So the only thing we could do is swim in the wave pool..
Carowinds never fails to disappoint. I say this because I have had a Gold Season Pass for years now. And every year they say they will improve but it never seems to happen.

We were at carowinds yesterday and my mom got very sick from heat exhaustion. She was throwing up and felt so bad she couldn't walk . We tried to get a wheelchair so we could get her out of the heat and in the motel but wouldn't let us get one unless we rented it which was $27.
That's ridiculous. Heat exhaustion is very serious and was not taken serious at all!

This park is really cool, though certain operating times and restrictions make it hard to enjoy rides without extreme wait times.

I really like it it was very fun oh and this one employee was great they we're about to close the ride but they were doing one last time and she let me in her name was De'osha I would do 5 stars but we had a funnel cake problem.

Lots of fun! Just make sure to bring your whole paycheck.