Paramount's Carowinds

I have been to several amusement parks and this was the worst ever- the place is poorly maintained, graffiti and trash all over the place, It looks like you are in the getto, customers service is horrible, and management was even worse. Over half the rideswere closed & not enough staff to operate the park. The food was stale & very expensive. I would not recommend this place to anyone

The place is filthy and so badly maintained it is scary to think of riding some of those rides. My 7 year old child suddenly "grew" 2 inches when they measured her at the gate so we had to pay full adult fare for her. HOWEVER.....she was too short for half the rides she wanted to go on. Many of the rides, games, shows, vendors were closed. This place looks like it is on its last leg.

We waited over an hour to ride the roaring rapids (or whatever the official name is ) ride. It was completely lame. We only got a few drops of water on us, which turned out to be good as the water had an AWFUL stinch. For the amount we paid, there were just not that many "thrill" rides. If you go, I would recommend packing a cooler lunch and eating outside the park. The price of food and drinks are ridiculous inside the park. For my hubby and I to have a coke each was $8.

I went along with my sister, niece (13) and nephew (9). Though previous reviewers complained about rude staff, I found quite the opposite. EVERY staff person I encountered was pleasant and accommodating. Though never a fan of swimming in public pools, the water "appeared" clean and I wished for the best as we eased the hot weather there. I recommend that parents with multi-aged children split up b/c there is a lot to do for the younger ones while the older ones probably want to do the more adult rides.....though this does take away from the family feel. This worked quite well for our visit. We went on a Tuesday and the lines for the large coasters were very reasonable and cool. The food is fairly expensive, but if you ask and food vendor, they will provide you with a small cup of cool water. The restrooms were a bit stinky b/c of a sweaty day but were fairly clean and stocked. The changing rooms and showers were private at the water park, though the floors could use some regular maintenance as I hate seeing wads of hair. Otherwise, the day was fun and honestly, for the amount of time you can spend and all that is available, the cost is comparable to any other theme park. I went as a teen 20 years ago and enjoyed it then as well as now!

Clean, Nice Shady spots with seating in most areas, Options for all ages! Food and drink located often so you were never far from refreshment! Music Way Tooooooo Loud especially in children's park!!! We had to yell to be heard even when seated next to each other. This is a safety concern for kids as they would never hear you if you yelled for them to stop! I lost my voice trying to communicate with our children! Also we could not hear what the operators were saying...especially the boat ride for little ones. We could see her lips moving but could not hear what she was saying! Water park needs more shade!

We went on 4-17-09, a group of seven from ages 5-40. We live in the area and go about every other year. Many of the rides have been refurbished (new cushions and restraints) and repainted. It's nice to see that the park is being maintained and updated by the Cedar Fair company (it's no longer a Paramount park, that's why the rides have changed names). The employees were very friendly and attentive. Every ride had someone with the height check "stick" in their hand as you walked up to or thru the gate. We were a little surprised to see people trying to take kids on rides that they obviously were not tall enough for and then relieved to see them turned away by ride operators who were on top of the situation. Tip: it was an embarassing moment for some children who couldn't ride because they weren't tall enough, please try to know before you go what the height requirements are for each ride. The rides are often operated by teenagers and they ALL seemed well trained and comitted to doing an excellent job. Some of the rides were slow to load (Carolina Goldrusher, Carolina Cobra) but most things moved at a good pace (Afterburn, Vortx, Hurler). We all love to ride and there are plenty of rides for each category: under 44", 44"-53" and 54" and up. The park was clean and I saw employees picking up trash and cleaning eatery areas more than once during our visit. The food is average - as it is in most theme parks, but a highlight of our day was the ICEE Mix Up bar near Thunder Road that offers 12 flavors of ICEEs! Wow! Overall a fun and easy way to spend a day. Another tip, buy your tickets on line from the Carowinds web site and get a $10 discount per adult ticket; and they've changed it so your on line ticket is good any day the park is open - it used to be that it was valid only on one specific day.

I bought season passes for me and my daughter last year. It's over an 1 1/2 drive but worth it. If you plan to go more than once, you may want to purchase season passes. It's a good value if you're going to visit multiple times. The food is pricey, so I recommend bringing a cooler for drinks and lunch (if you don't mind the long walk back to the car). Also, there is a Wendys nearby. Anytime the lines were too long, we would go hang out at the water park. Overall, lines moved pretty smoothly, you just have to have patience. One more thing, I don't ever remember the park being filthy.

i had a blast in the nick. central place for the kids, and the water park, too.

the roller coasters and everything!! it was my first amusement park ive ever been too!!

well i love going to carowinds but they need to stop renameing all the rides its hard to keep up with all the new names! i would say if u need something for a vacation carowinds is the place.