Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina

A visit to Carowinds can start at the parking plaza across the road, or at the adjacent hotel. Staying at the Carowinds adjacent hotel eliminates travel time in an unfamiliar city. This hotel, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, sits at 1000 Coasterview Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina, just steps from all 407 acres (165 ha) of the park.

SpringHill Suites has a flat, marked, and paved walkway from the front entrance to the North Carolina/South Carolina entrance at Carowinds. The parking plaza is on the left and the walkway begins right outside the hotel portico. This two-star hotel is clean and modern-looking with 130 suites. There is a seasonal pool and full buffet breakfast.

The walk from the hotel takes about ten minutes and the view is great. Left to right: the Intimidator coaster, Windseeker, and the Carolina Skytower. The world’s tallest and fastest giga coaster, Fury 325, is toward the right. The peak height is 325 feet (99.25 m) and this ride lasts for 3.25 minutes.

The sun sets over the Carowinds Christmas tree at quarter till 5 pm at the North Carolina/South Carolina entrance. Carowinds sits in two cities and states: Charlotte, North Carolina, and Fort Mill, South Carolina. The park address is 14523 Carowinds Boulevard in Charlotte. The park business office is also on the North Carolina side.

The gate opened at 4:45 pm on Friday, December 16, 2022. WinterFest usually begins the day after Thanksgiving and is open weekend evenings. Now it will be open daily 5 pm until 10 pm through New Years Eve, when it will remain open until 12:30 am on New Years Day. The Security lines here moved quickly.

Welcome to Celebration Plaza. North Carolina is to the right and South Carolina is to the left of the double blue line. The park hasn’t fully opened yet, so now is a great time to visit Starbucks or find a Christmas bauble or an Ugly Holiday Sweater. Behind the Christmas tree is the Carolina Skytower.

Holiday Hall, called Harmony Hall during the regular season, has opened for dinner. This is a good first stop at WinterFest. There are many dining, seating, and entertainment choices here. There is a Cash-to-Card kiosk here as the park is cashless. This kiosk, unlike those at the front gate, is protected from the elements.

Holiday Hall has entree options for both single-meal diners and those with meal plans: Italian with cheese or pepperoni pizza, BBQ, Red Rooster Grill, and Fresh Bowl Station. The inset shows beef brisket on an optional bun with macaroni-and-cheese as a side. Mashed potatoes was one of the other side dish offerings.

“Sparkle City Swing Machine” was pretty good winter-tainment and they performed all of the Christmas favorites. (The sound man for the group sat just behind the camera and the bass-line may have been pumped in.) This group has five shows most evenings. A Victorian-themed singing group performs outside.

The Intimidator roller coaster sits behind the festive Harmony Hall. Adjacent is the Patio with adult beverages and more Christmas entertainers, plus Camp Snoopy, Panda Express chow mein, and Sugar Plum’s gourmet hot cocoa. There is a grand photo spot for kids with the Prince and Princess of WinterFest.

Camp Snoopy transformed into Charlie Brown’s Christmas Town. (Snow Flake Lake ice skating is here as well.) Most of the rides here are operational, and there are the usual amenities such as the Family Care center and Lost Kids. Sally Brown’s Christmas Crafts is over past a bridge and not really in this area.

Charlie Brown’s Tree Lot is a Christmas-y activity in Camp Snoopy. There are elves about who will help kids decorate a Christmas tree. There are boxes of ornaments to take to a tree for decoration. Decorated trees also make for a cute family photo op, while rocking chairs are placed around for folks to sit and take it all in.

Sugar Plum’s Hot Cocoa is located near Charlie Brown’s Christmas Town and Holiday Hall. These are more expensive cocoas than those in the reusable cups as they have whipped cream and other deluxe toppings. This cocoa has cinnamon-y snickerdoodle fudge; chocolate dipped marshmallow is another optional topping.

Cinnabon is everywhere and certainly not unique to Carowinds or even WinterFest, but a hot, gooey cinnamon roll on a chilly December night is the best thing ever. Cinnabon is located in Celebration Plaza by the Celebration Stage. Season pass holders get a ten percent discount on food and merchandise.

This almost life-sized Christmas Nativity scene is in the Blue Ridge Country Christmas section of the park. Close to the illuminated Windseeker, this crèche is in a quiet spot. (Live animals were not observed in the park this year.) This exhibit could have been built out more with nuanced lighting and softly playing music.

The Hanukkah display is also near Windseeker. Like the Creche, this display could be better, perhaps with stylized gold coins and the Dreidel song. “Hanukkah” means “dedication” in Hebrew, and celebrates an ancient victory over the Greco-Syrians and the miracle of the lamp oil. Hanukkah is called “the Festival of Lights.”

The decorated and illuminated Windseeker is a great visual landmark for Carowinds. Windseeker is located in Blue Ridge Country Christmas and can be easily seen all over the park. This ride is closed for the season and so is the nearby Boo Blasters. The adjacent London Towne zone is a fun, Black Christmas walk-through.

The Zephyr ride in Blue Ridge is a classic chair-swing ride. The daytime view from the ride is amazing, and the nighttime view of the ride itself is impressive. The minimum ride height is 48 inches (121.92 cm). Nearby rides include the Copperhead Strike coaster, plus the Do-Si-Do and the Electro-Spin spinning fair rides.

The Mountain Gliders family ride is located in the Blue Ridge zone. Mountain Gliders is a fun ride. Carriages suspended from steel cables are spun from a center axis and reach a height of 28 feet (8.53 m). Carriages sit one or two people and the riders can move the large front paddle to control their attitude and altitude.

This a quiet spot at WinterFest; there is no charge to sit here and there are hot cocoa stations nearby. The designated VIP station and the igloos can run $30 or more; this gas-powered fireplace creates a lot of warmth but does not block the winds. Temperatures ran from 52 F (11 C) to 40 F (4 C) during the evening.

The Carolina Skytower was renamed the North Pole for WinterFest. Igloo rentals are also available here, for $199 plus taxes, which offer privacy, comfy seating, and the shelter from the wind. For a ride, Skytower offers excellent respite from the elements, plus an amazing full-circle view of the park at 262 feet (80 m).

The Skytower cabin rotates slowly at the top and has air conditioning for the summer. Riders must be 46 inches tall (117 cm) to ride without a supervising companion; handheld infants are indeed allowed. This ride is unique in that it permits photography. The Nighthawk coaster, Ripcord, and Windseeker are visible here.

Celebration Plaza and the State Line entrance are illuminated for WinterFest. (The North Gate is to the right of the image.) Starbucks coffee and Cinnabon cinnamon buns are on the left and right in the front of the image. Visitors entering the State Line entrance and the North Gate entrance go under the Fury 325 coaster.

The riders in the Skytower cabin do not wear seatbelts during the operation of the ride. This is a great place to see and photograph the Charlotte skyline about 16 miles (26 km) to the northeast. For guests needing special accommodations, service animals are indeed permitted to ride this wheelchair-accessible attraction.

Seatbelts are definitely worn on this ride. The Rock ’N’ Roller circular ride is located in the County Fair section of the park. Like the Mountain Gliders, this ride can be found at Cedar Point as well. The CP ride is the Matterhorn with a Swiss mountain theme. This ride is a lot more exciting as the ride operator acts like a 1950’s disc jockey with a wild doo-wop vibe.

Singing Santas is high-energy Christmas entertainment at the Plaza stage, and there is plenty of other entertainment to see by walking around. Four Drummers Drumming and a brass group perform in several locations. Ebeneezer Scrooge and his business partner Jacob Marley can be found wandering the park as well.

Chickie & Pete’s is a sit-down restaurant in the Carolina Boardwalk zone of the park. The Carolina Harbor Waterpark is closed for the season, but this area still has a beach vibe. Chickie & Pete’s is a good place to get in out of the elements, and food from other stands can be brought in. Football is on all of the TV’s here.

Shown are two cheese-steak and crab fries baskets. The crab fries have an Old Bay-style seasoning and were hot and fresh. Meals obtained with a meal-deal may differ from what is pictured on the menu. When purchasing a la carte, the sandwiches (no peppers or onions) are full size, and the fries have cheese sauce. The drink dispenser at C&P’s did not work, and there was no ketchup on the tables.

Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen is at the North Pole Outpost in the back of Carowinds Theater. This is a fun place to decorate large shortbread cookies with butter creme frosting and sprinkles. This is a popular and there is an additional charge of $22.00. The kitchen is often full but cookie-makers can come back later in the evening.

The North Pole Post Office is another fun Christmas activity for kids of all ages and is located in Celebration Plaza (7 on the WinterFest map). The costumed elves inside the Post Office are merry helpers and hand out candy canes to all those who write their letter. A right jolly elf will post-mark any letter to Santa when asked.

Candy Cane’s Sugar Shack captures the spirit of the season with festive treats, songs, and a log fire. The offerings at this stand include a s’mores kit, pull-a-part bread, deep friend corn bread with ice cream, and hot cocoa. Hot cocoa is trucked to the food stands in giant dispensers, but is always hot and tasty.

This fire pit is part of the Christmas spirit, which is located near the entrance to Fury 325 and Snowbird Diner. The s’mores kit is $9.99 plus tax, and it makes two s’mores. Each kit has one regular-sized Hershey bar, two full-size graham crackers, and four marshmallows that can be placed on the roasting sticks.

The Yule Logs are a musical duo singing Christmas songs at Candy Cane’s Sugar Shack. These two gals sing both traditional and popular tunes. All of the standards are there: “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” the Jackson Five version, and the Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling.” And yes, that is a baritone saxophone.

The WinterFest Wonderland Parade starts at 9 pm at the Zephyr in the Blue Ridge zone. The parade has show stops near the Rock ‘n’ Roller and then at Candy Cane’s Sugar Shack. The parade then heads toward the North Pole Post Office for its last stop at Celebration Plaza. It takes 35 minutes for the parade to reach this point.

This is the moment everyone’s been waiting for . . . St. Nicholas himself has arrived at Celebration Plaza! He’s setting off to deliver Christmas presents with all of his reindeer. Enthusiastic elves and winter sprites help him along the way, and prepare the parade exit by the Sugar Plum Sweets shop near Snow Flake Lake.

Santa’s parade has ended and now it’s time to go home. There are kiosks to the left and Christmas bauble shops to the right of the state line. Next year, 2023, is Carowinds’ golden anniversary, with reimagined rides, food, and games. This new zone called Aeronautica Landing for the Wright Brothers first flight in Kitty Hawk in 1903.

Carowinds has just closed for the evening. Most Cedar Fair parks will close for the year when the bells toll 1 am on New Year’s Day, but not Carowinds. Carowinds will be open year around at this point, starting with weekends in January 2023. Kings Island reopens for weekends on April 15th, and Cedar Point opens on May 6th.

Carowinds has a nationally-branded adjacent hotel. Parks like Kings Island have campgrounds, lodges, cabins and the like, but hotels are an exit or two away. A Homewood Suites hotel is fifteen minutes from Canada’s Wonderland. Cedar Point, however, has its own beachfront Breakers Hotel. California’s Great America also has an adjacent Marriott with a Hyatt Regency across the street.

This hotel has a lot to recommend it, like its modern West Elm decor that makes good use of space in the guest rooms. There is a sundry corner for guests, and the lobby is decorated for Christmas. Staff was helpful and friendly. The buffet has many, many choices, but come early as the food goes really fast on weekends around 9 am. Guest should be sure to request housekeeping.

One last look at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott lobby before departure caps the end of a relaxing stay. The hotel pool will open this summer. This property is easy to get to from the highway and on foot from the park, though there are no adjacent restaurants. This is the best hotel at which to stay, however, due to price, quality, and convenience.

Carowinds has posted a map of the park at its website for the regular season, but after much online searching, no such map was found for WinterFest. This map was posted inside the park near Candy Cane Lane on a billboard. There are maps from Christmases past posted online by visitors, but park offerings change each year.