Hallie and I met up with Kelly and Travis after Hallie and I got off Thunder Road. We then headed back to our car to eat lunch. We thought we might go from there to the water side of the park (Boomerang Bay) but decided there were a few more coasters to be ridden before that. So we left our swimwear in the car and went back into the park.
Our first order of business was to cool off! It was now after 1 PM and the low overcast skies had now given way to hot sun. Thinking we could cool off at Rip Roarin’ Rapids, we reached the ride entrance only to find out it would be an hour wait. I smirked at this, as this has been the case with Rip Roarin’ Rapids since the first summer it opened. Some things never change. Rather than waste an hour for this ride, we split up again. This time Hallie would take Kelly on Thunder Road while I went with Travis to ride the “helicopters,” also known as Woodstock’s Whirly Birds.
The Whirly Birds is a short monorail line above the Planet Snoopy area. It isn’t a bad ride but it took seemingly forever to make it through the line. Once Travis and I got to the front of the line, a pushy 2-year-old girl with no parent in sight decided to try to claim our helicopter. I promptly redirected her and Travis and I hopped on the copter seat. We then spent the next 5 minutes making a lazy loop around the area, during which Travis grinned the whole time. It may be his favorite ride.
Once we’d done our helicopter circuit I checked in with Kelly who’d survived her first Thunder Road ride and agreed it rocked. She and Hallie had been waiting for another round of bumper cars and would hold us a spot if we could get there soon enough. Kelly suggested I get in another coaster while the kids did the bumper cars, so I took her up on that. I dropped Travis off with them and hit the line for the Nighthawk ride, which sits where the old “Smurf Island” used to be in the middle of the park.
I should’ve known when I saw the line stretching out from Nighthawk that I was in for a long wait. Instead, I patiently waited with the others, thankful for the netted shade above me and the breeze that the passing Nighthawk car would kick up. A young couple asked me where a certain coaster was located and I admitted I was back in the park after a long absence and hadn’t heard of that one. When I mentioned the Carolina Cyclone and White Lightning, the younger man said “oh yeah, my dad used to ride those.” Boy, did that make me feel old! We agreed to ride together on the ride as the signs said it would be four to a car and I was alone.
An hour had passed before we reached the gate. We secured all loose items, strapped in, and prepared for the ride to start. Unlike other coasters, riders ride the Nighthawk in a mostly-horizontal position, either straight up or straight down. It was quite a thrill coming off the first twist and being flung down towards the earth with nothing holding me in but a shoulder harness! I really had to trust the equipment, which is something I don’t normally think about on coasters – maybe I just take that for granted on others. It was a wild ride, though, with sky and earth switching places multiple times. I’m glad I rode it this time but I wouldn’t invest an hour’s wait on it again.
By the time I got done with Nighthawk, Kelly had taken the kids back to Flying Ace (or “Ace Lacewing,” as Kelly jokingly calls it). She thought she’d get both kids on it but only Hallie wanted to ride it again. That became the first solo coaster Hallie ever rode. I’d told Kelly while I was in the Nighthawk line not to wait for me after Flying Ace, so she took the kids back to the car and got the swimwear. I met them in the Boomerang Bay area.
Boomerang Bay was a popular place that day. Thousands of people were enjoying these water attractions. We changed in the changing room, balked at the $10 locker rentals, and shoehorned ourselves onto an unguarded deck chair. I stayed with our bag while Kelly took the kids into the crowded and dirty wave pool, what used to be known as Ocean Isle during my day. Soon we traded and I went in the pool with the kids. The kids had fun swimming but I couldn’t wait to get out of the pool. It was just too crowded and chaotic.
We thought about putting our bag in a locker but still couldn’t stomach the high fee. I decided to take the bag back to the car but opted to return with it and sit the rest of the water rides out. Kelly and the kids spent time at the water garden area and eventually we met up again. Kelly then took the kids on the “lazy river” ride twice while I hung out on a lounge chair. Once they were done with that we changed again and decided to leave the park.
I remembered one picture I wanted to take, of one of the skycar stations in the park. It was now a restaurant but clearly had the reinforced supports still visible. I told Kelly I would meet her back at the car in 15 minutes and headed around the park again to find the building that was in the “Carolina Boardwalk” area. Picture in hand, I returned to the car and we began the drive home.
Did my return to Carowinds live up to expectations? Absolutely! We all got our money’s worth and had a good time. It was fun walking the paths that I walked 25 years ago. While the park has changed since that time, so have I.
I think we’ve both aged nicely.