We kicked off our Charlotte weekend at the favorite Cedar Fair Park – Carowinds! Aaron had been here a couple of years ago while on a business trip, but this was my first time to see the park that he talks about often!
When Aaron and I do amusement park days we have a specific way we plan our meals. It always starts with a big breakfast to fill us up and get us through the first half of the day, a just-as-big lunch/dinner in the middle of the afternoon and dessert after the park closes. So like usual we started off the day with a big breakfast at a Southern favorite, Cracker Barrel.
Aaron stuck with his typical pancakes and bacon, skipping the eggs, while I went big with the Old Timer’s Breakfast. This reminded me of breakfast at my Mimi’s house with scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, hash brown casserole, grits, and biscuits with gravy. Have you ever heard of a more southern breakfast than this? I knocked it out except for the grits because I prefer those paired with seafood.
After stuffing ourselves with breakfast we headed over to the park about 2 hours before they opened. Aaron has major strategies when it comes to theme parks and part of that is being one of the first in line to enter the parking lot. There were surprisingly a large number of cars waiting there given how early we arrived.
Now the absolute coolest thing about Carowinds is that it actually stretches between both North and South Carolina. I had never been to either so I crossed off states #31 & #32 with this trip. There are a couple of picture spots at the front of the park where you can stand right on the line that divides the two Carolinas.
Like I said, Aaron has a strategy when it comes to theme parks and it doesn’t end with our arrival time. He had already planned out which rides to hit in which order. He had a goal of riding the top 5 roller coasters at the park before we left for our second big meal of the day. So off we went to Intimidator. It’s a simple out-and-back coaster with lots of airtime (my favorite coaster element). It’s themed after the late Dale Earnhardt, one of the most well respected NASCAR drivers off all time. I believe his racing nickname was “The Intimidator” so the theming fits.
We raced over to Copperhead Strike after that. A double launch coaster with a slow (very slow!) barrel roll to start out the ride. It’s made by Mack Rides which is my favorite coaster developer. I wanted to love this coaster so much, but in the end it made me incredibly motion sick. I blame the loops.
We rode Afterburn, another of the top 5, and previously themed to fit the Top Gun movie. By this point I was too motion sick to take any pictures of this one or anything else for quite a bit. While we waited for me to gain back my equilibrium, we ventured over to a Cedar Fair favorite, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. A (funny?) scary dark ride with laser guns and targets for some friendly competition.
And I would like to document a first! I beat Aaron in a shooting game, which never ever happens. I’m pretty sure he has tried to let me win in the past, and I even lost those times. So this was a historical moment for our relationship. The score card at the end of the ride said I was a “Master Blaster” – no big deal!
I decided to give my body a break and found some shade to relax under while Aaron knocked out some rides that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. It’s important to note when visiting any Cedar Fair theme park that you can get a free cup of ice water at any food station, which they have on every corner. Drink water while you are there!
Before heading out for lunch-dinner, we got in line for ride 4 out of the top 5, Fury 325! This coaster opened up back in 2015, but it’s still all the rage in the coaster community. As it’s name says, it stands 325 feet tall and is the tallest and fastest giga coaster in the world, taking you to speeds of up to 95mph. I don’t even what to see what the picture of me looked like on the ride. The ride starts off with a 325 feet climb and dropping you down the first hill at an 81 degree angle. It was insane and I now understand why it’s the rollercoaster Aaron mentions often.
We headed out for lunch to our favorite, Chuy’s. We luckily have been able to find one in most parts of the US and it’s always our go-to because we can fill up on chips & salsa (and their creamy jalapeño ranch) while splitting an order of chicken fajitas. I could probably eat Chuy’s everyday of the week and not get sick of it, but that wouldn’t be very healthy for me, would it?
We headed back to the park for the rest of the evening where we knocked out a good chunk of the other must-rides. Unfortunately, a size-able portion of the park closed early for their July 4th fireworks show. We hung around for a little while to see them, but since they started at 8:45PM and the sun hadn’t quite set, they were difficult to see in the bright sky and a bit disappointing.
As soon as we realized the fireworks weren’t anything special, we headed out before the rest of the park to beat traffic and find some dessert. We were so excited to discover that Charlotte has a few Rita’s Ice locations. These are not very common in Texas and we have to go if we find one when on a trip. If you’ve never had a gelati, layers of Italian ice and custard, then promise me you’ll find one and try it! In the spirit of Independence Day I went with Blue Raspberry and vanilla custard. The colors are patriotic right?
This wrapped up our Carowinds day perfectly. In case you’re now wanting to plan a trip here, I’ll make you aware that there is a water park located inside of the theme park too! We spent some of the next day there. Being a water park and that we were having fun and spending time together I didn’t get any pictures and it wouldn’t make for a very interesting blog post. I’d encourage you to bring your swimsuit and spend a couple of hours here during the hot summer months! It was a great way to spend The Fourth of July and we look forward to going back!
Question of the Day:
How did you spend July 4th? Comment below!
Traveling by Nature 