In 1969, Charlotte businessman E. Pat Hall announced his intention to build a 73-acre park straddling the North and South Carolina border. Hall envisioned Carowinds as a walk through the history and culture
of both Carolinas. After an expenditure of $27 million, the park opened in March, 1973. The state line passed right through the middle of the main courtyard and was marked by plaques engraved with the names of the 146 counties that make up the Carolinas.
(Unfortunately, Paramount replaced these with bricks listing movie titles.)
The park was renamed Paramount's Carowinds after it was purchased by Paramount in 1993. The park's name reverted back to Carowinds when all five Paramount parks were purchased by Cedar Fair, Limited in 2007. After Six Flags merged with Cedar Fair in 2004,
the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation's corporate headquarters moved to Charlotte and is just five miles from the park.
Three coasters have been built here since my last visit: Carowinds opened Fury 325 in 2015, a 325-foot-tall Hyper-Coaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard. The ride has
been on the top of several lists of the best roller coasters, so I am looking forward to returning so I can ride and photograph it. In 2019, Copperhead Strike, a Mack Rides launch coaster
with five inversions was added to the park's portfolio of coasters. Snoopy's Racing Railway, a Family Launch Coaster from ART Engineering opened in 2025. See the pictures below for details about
the four coasters that have left the park:
