50 Years of Family Fun at Carowinds - Part 1: The Taft Broadcasting Years (1975-1992)

On March 31, 1973, Carowinds opened its gates to guests for the first time. Debuting with 17 rides, the park celebrated the history of the Carolinas across seven themed lands that straddled the state line.

What you may not realize is that when the Carowinds first opened, there was not a dedicated “land” in the park that was specifically targeted toward children. Sure, there were attractions that families could enjoy together like the Hillbilly Jalopies or Carolina Sternwheeler, but it wasn’t until 1975 when children had an area of the park “just for them.”

In celebrating 50 years of Family Fun at Carowinds, we wanted to take a deep dive down the rabbit hole of the park’s kids-centric land, which has varied in size and scope over the years. For the sake of a timeline, we’re going to break this deep dive into three parts over the next few weeks: The Taft Broadcasting years, The Paramount Parks years, and The Cedar Fair years.

Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera

Following the 1974 season, Carowinds was sold to Family Leisure Centers, Inc., a joint venture between Taft Broadcasting and the Kroger Company. While Family Leisure Centers also owned Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, a crown jewel of their portfolio was Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc, which created a number of iconic cartoons including Yogi Bear, the Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo.

When Carowinds opened for their third operating season in 1975, a new land had been added to the park map as a way to boost guest attendance under new ownership – the Happy World of Hanna-Barbera. Not only would park guests get to meet their favorite cartoon characters from the small-screen in person, but with $2 million in enhancements between the 1974 and 1975 seasons, they would be able to experience six new rides inspired by Hanna-Barbera characters as well.

The Hanna-Barbera land was home to the park’s second (and first wooden) roller coaster, simply named (at the time!) Scooby Doo. Still entertaining guests to this day as Woodstock Express, Scooby Doo featured more than 1,300’ of wooden track and takes guests at speeds up to 30mph.

In addition to Scooby-Doo, Taft Broadcasting added multiple “kid-friendly” flat rides including Dastardly & Muttley's Flying Machines, Space Kidettes, Wheely & The Chopper Bunch Mini-Motorcycles, the Jr. Skytower, Jr. Enterprise, and “Wacky Wheels” in 1975.

The park’s miniature ShortLine Railroad, formerly the connector between the Country Crossroads and the Frontier Outpost areas, also had its station moved to this area between the 1975-1976 season, paving the way for the legendary Thunder Road.

Wandering around the land were countless Hanna-Barbera creations including George Jetson, Jabberjaw, Scooby-Doo, Captain Caveman, Huckleberry Hound, Snorkey, and Yogi Bear. According to an article in The Observer, the costumes cost about $2,000 each to produce, with the costume heads, made up of a wire frame, fiberglass, foam, and fur with a hard hat glued inside, weighing in at an average of 20 pounds!

A 1978 Charlotte Observer Feature on Wallace Clapp, Who Supervised the Hanna-Barbera Characters at Carowinds

While the park would go on to add roller coasters to other areas of the park (Thunder Road and White Lightnin’) in consecutive years in 1976 and 1977, at its core, Carowinds was beginning to establish itself as a family destination. A 1977 headline in the Charlotte Observer noted that Carowinds was “Pulling Out of the ‘New Thrill Ride’ War.”

“You just can’t add a monster thrill ride ever year,” then-General Manager Lou Hooper told The Observer. “We’re moving away from the idea of being an amusement park to being a total family entertainment center.”

Several years later, Hooper’s word held true when the Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera added two more attractions, Dino’s Derby, and the Carrousel in 1979. With a storied history of its own, the Carrousel was the 67th carousel manufactured out of 87 ever made by legendary manufacturers Philadelphia Toboggan Company and dated back to 1923. That year, the park also featured a “Land of Happiness” show, starring the Hanna-Barbera characters.

It wouldn’t be until 1987 when the Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera would see its next major changes. As part of a $1 Million and 4.8-acre expansion, the park added three new rides during its 15th season: Bamm Bamm’s Boat Float, a mini-rapids style ride themed to the Flintstones’ son, Boo Boo’s Balloon race, after Yogi Bear’s pint-sized sidekick, and Elroy’s Skychase, named for the youngest member of The Jetsons. Several rides received new names, including the F-80 Gliders becoming Judy’s Jetliner, Short Line becoming the Flintstones Express and the Jr. Skytower renamed Scrappy’s Skytower.

In addition, the park added an infant care center to the Happy Land of Hanna Barbera, along with a new show: The Hanna-Barbera Playhouse, meant to give the park’s younger guests the chance to perform on stage.

“We’re excited about the Hanna-Barbera playhouse,” Claire B. Lang, the park’s public relations manager told The Observer in 1987. “We put together a backyard circus last year during Kidfest (a week of special events). Children were costumed and played lions and other animals and had a great tie. We’re working with Bill Carpenter on a new show that will stimulate imaginations!”

“We have long-range plans to make the park grow in all areas,” said Lang, “This year, we’re catering to families, especially if they travel. They want to take the little ones with them, and they want the little ones to participate!”

Into the early 1990’s, Carowinds’ Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera would continue to thrill younger park guests. It wouldn’t be until several years until Paramount purchased the park from Taft Broadcasting when the land would see it’s next major changes…

To Be Continued