Purveyors of the amusement-park business would say, “Mission accomplished.” I say, “Not a bad day’s worth of entertainment.” Paramount’s Carowinds quite literally straddles the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. The Hollywood-themed park boasts more than 105 acres filled by 60 rides and a 13-acre water park. As a first-time visitor, I was pleasantly surprised by how clean the park was — including the bathrooms — and appreciated the friendliness of the staff, mostly teenagers with, I’m sure, better things to do than coo at my kids. And here’s a special shout-out to the young artist who kept a smile as he suffered through drawing my daughter’s caricature, even though she refused to flash him her baby blues or look up from her sippy cup as my son wailed for candy in the background. It was a great time, but let’s be honest, visiting theme parks with tots in tow makes for a very long day. Here are some suggestions: RidesThe age of my children limited us to staying mostly in the park’s Nickelodeon Central area, but we were far from bored. In fact, if you have small children, prepare a speech now to give to your husband as he whines about not getting to ride all the coasters right away, and instead prepare him to plan on spending much of the day among Blue, Dora and SpongeBob. Surprisingly, my children could ride quite a few attractions. The catch we discovered is that on most rides children are required to have a chaperone, and on some rides, each child must each have his own chaperone. Meaning, if you’re a single mom of two children, who each require chaperones, you’re out of luck. If this is you, it would be wise to bring a friend to the park (chaperones must be at least 16 years old and meet the ride’s requirements) so everyone can ride. Each of the children’s rides had different height and chaperone restrictions. To cut down on confusion in lines, Caro-winds has added a height-check station near the ticket booths where children can be measured once and given a color-coded wristband to indicate their heights. Those who miss the booth can still have their height checked the old-fashioned way at each ride. Dora the Explorer’s Azul Adventure: One of the park’s new rides, this is a four-minute train ride where visitors listen to one of Dora’s adventures. It was slow and made me a little sleepy, but my kids screamed until we rode it again and again and again. We were able to ride together with one chaperone. Nick Jr. Jets: Rotating space rockets made for the tiniest of visitors. But my son, Jack, was reluctant to ride without me, so he never made it to take off. Tommy’s Take Off: Miniature bi-planes allow riders to control their up and down motion via joy sticks. Backyardigans Swing-a-long: A miniature version of giant, individual swings. My son was old enough to ride but backed out at the last minute, probably because he was required to ride alone. At age 2, that’s asking a lot. Hey Arnold’s Taxi Chase: A miniature, 15-foot-high roller coaster with cars resembling taxi cabs and a police car. Little Bill’s Cruisers: Also a new addition to the park this season. Children glide in mini-speedboats, and one chaperone is required per child. Phantom Flyers: Another new ride. Children enter interactive phantom vehicles and swoop up and down and side to side, just like ghost-fighting superhero Danny Phantom. Fairly Odd Coaster: A wooden roller coaster that spins riders through five turns and two levels. The Wild Thornberrys River Adventure: We obviously couldn’t ride this, and in the cool spring air, I don’t think I really wanted to. It took a truly brave soul to test these waters, with a 44-foot-tall waterfall at the end. Instead, we stood on the sidelines and watched other people get soaked. The Flying Dutchman’s Revenge: The last of the four new rides. Visitors navigate rotating mini-pirate ships as they ride up and down Bikini Bottom. Rocket Power: Air Time: At some parks, these rides are dressed up as ships or magic carpets, but this giant platform swings back and forth until it finally turns a full 360 degrees. Those on board get their thrills from the resulting controlled free fall of 33 feet per second. Rugrats Runaway Reptar: A kids’ coaster with skilift-style seats suspended below the coaster track. LazyTown Sporticopters: All three of us fit nicely into these mock helicopters that cruised slowly above Nick Central. A relaxing break from the wild rides below. Nick-O-Round: Who doesn’t love a carousel? This was also another ride on which I could accompany both my children. TV Road Trip: Cruise the strip in electric, ’50s-style Cadillacs and Corvettes on a 1,200-foot track, but only if you have one chaperone per child. Boots Balloon Race: These colorful “hot-air balloons” were a little under the weather the day we visited but would normally spin visitors around as they moved up and down. FoodNickelodeon Central has some lovely sit-down restaurants that feature kid-friendly meals and air conditioning. However, my kids weren’t exactly that patient.
So much for perfect. That corn dog, each of the chicken fingers and every one of those perfectly star-shaped tater tots, ended up on the ground. After quickly contemplating whether passersby would understand if I picked them up, brushed them off and gobbled them myself, I decided to give up and move on. If you’re looking for a more relaxing meal, head to NickToons Cafe, which features roasted turkey and ham sandwiches, burgers, pizza, salads and desserts. Also, at the Outpost Canteen, diners can feast on fried chicken wings, shrimp, seasoned fries, nachos and foot-long hot dogs, with prices ranging from $2.89 to $7.49. DrinksTrust me, $6.99 is not too much to pay for one of those giant, plastic, lidded souvenir cups. It will save you the cost of a major meltdown. When we arrived, we bought the cheaper, normal-sized drink in a paper cup. They come with no lids or straws. The clerk patiently explained to me that lids are bad for the environment. I learned quickly that not having lids is bad — very bad — for Momma’s blood pressure. With the open cup snuggly nestled into the cup holder of my stroller, we headed over the beautiful cobblestone lane ahead of us. Splish, splash, splish, splash went the Coke, all over the stroller, the bag of clean diapers and my hands. I moved the cup around in the stroller. I covered it with napkins. I tried carrying it while I maneuvered my stroller and two children. I contemplated ripping the cobblestones from the ground. Nothing worked. Buy the big drink, or bring your own cup. It’s that simple.
BathroomsGranted, it was the first day, and the crowds were probably thin compared with those that come barreling through on a typical Saturday in July, but the bathrooms were oh-so-clean. By far, one of my favorite places in Nick Central was the baby-care center — a tiny, two-room house that had a spacious diaper-changing area, two rocking chairs for nursing moms and two bathrooms specially made for kids with shortened toilets, sinks and drinking fountains. The problem is, there was only two of everything. When the heat of summer hits, the line for this place may be longer than the lines for rides in the waterpark. Be prepared to lug the baby bag around. Strollers must remain outside. Some of the women’s bathrooms in the park have baby-changing tables and the water park has a family changing area, but even with the lines, the best offering of space and privacy is still probably the baby-care center in Nick Central. ShoppingIf you’re a Dora fan, this is your mecca. The Nickelodeon Store has been expanded for 2005, and — let’s be honest — this is where we spent a whole heck of a lot of time.
Any mother of a toddler or small child can tell you Dora
is big. And the collection of Dora items in the Nick
Store is even bigger.
The store also has just about every other character that appears on Nickelodeon each afternoon, including those that can be found in no other store. When we entered, my son zeroed in on a shelf of Oswald (the octopus) dolls and didn’t stop screaming until not only Oswald was headed home with us, but also his sidekick dog, Weenie, and best friend, Henry (the penguin). I can’t say I was too upset. The threesome’s price tag was barely $18 — a lot less than I paid on eBay last year for a Blues Clues doll that was no longer carried by any toy store. (By the way, the same Blues Clues doll was sold at the Nick Store. Sigh.)
EntertainmentNew this year at Carowinds is Nick Live, an interactive family game show that includes not only trivia, but also — what else? — slime. My kids, however, could have spent all day with the park’s celebrities: Blue, Dora, SpongeBob and Little Bill. They hugged my toddlers, danced with them and were oh-so-patient as my son relentlessly tailed them through the park.
Contact Allison Perkins at 373-7157 or
aperkins@news-record.com. |
