My Trip to Carowinds in Charlotte, NC

A couple months ago, when I found myself trying to plan some type of bachelorette party for my sister-in-law, Amy, one idea I had really stood out above the rest. Neither Amy nor myself (or any of our closest friends) are drinkers, and no one would be interested in going "clubbing" or hiring a stripper either. I thought of a couple of other options, but finally decided that taking a day trip to Carowinds would be the most fun. I began to plan out everything, contact friends, and then the day we'd been waiting for (August 4th) was finally here.

Carowinds opens at 10:00 AM and is about an hour and a half away from Greensboro, where we live. So I got Amy's fiance to bring her over around 8:30 that morning, and we all surprised her, and off we went! We had a few pit stops to make along the way, but we ended-up getting to the park around 11:00 that morning. Fortunately, since I had a seasons pass to the park, we did not have to pay anything to park. However, if I didn't have a pass, we would've had to pay $10 just to park! I think that's kind of high just to park, but one good thing about it is that the price for parking is the same, no matter what kind of vehicle you're in. If you're a church group in a large van, that wouldn't be a bad price. On the other hand, if you're the only person in your car, it may take you by surprise that you have to pay that much, plus regular park admission.

After we parked the car, we were ready for a day of fun in the sun. Those in our group who did not already have a pass to the park had to pay $39.95 for park admission. Sometimes, however, Carowinds offers various types of discounts. For instance, if you work for certain companies, you can either obtain coupons from work or some companies will even give employees a "code" to type in, if you wish to purchase your tickets ahead of time online (www2.cedarfair.com/carowinds). Regardless of whether or not you are able to get the discount online, I highly recommend purchasing your tickets ahead of time. It's very easy to do so from the Carowinds website, and it saves you (and everyone else in your group) lots of time once you get to the park. Hey, that saves you from one line you'll have to wait in, right?