State Line Designs: Aeronautica Landing Game Zone 

Aeronautica Landing, which opened to guests on April 7, 2023, offers families and thrill-seekers an immersive experience celebrating the Carolinas' rich history of invention, exploration, and aviation. The Aeronautica Landing Game Zone, at the heart of this themed area, has quickly become a hub of excitement with its array of aviation-inspired games, each designed to challenge and entertain guests of all ages. 

Recognized as a finalist for Best Midway Game Display by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), the global association for the attractions industry, the Game Zone exemplifies Carowinds' dedication to creating memorable experiences. Games like Balloon Busters, where aviators test their aim under pressure, offer unique fun. Strength is tested at Holding Pattern, accuracy at Hydro Plane Rally, and understanding of physics at Air Shot, making the thrill of flight accessible to all. 

The fleeting thrills of each game are set within the remarkable story of Aeronautica Landing, and these games bring the lofty concepts of flight down to earth. 

Balloon Busters

Aviators work under pressure at Balloon Busters to aim their projectile and pop balloons.

Holding Pattern

Holding Pattern is a feat of strength and bravery, where aviators can showcase their stamina and determination to stay off the ground.

Hydro Plane Rally

Hydro Plane Rally demands accuracy from its aviators if they are to land the big prize.

Air Shot

Air Shot displays trajectory and altitude, where aviators can explore how gravity and wind resistance affect flight motion. 

Flight Rewards

Flight rewards programs have long dominated the skies, and the Aeronautica Landing Game Zone is no exception. Aviators are encouraged to play each game within the zone and collect stamps on their passports to 'earn their wings' and receive an Aeronautica Landing pin not available for purchase. 

Behind the Design

The design of these games, including their color, lighting, graphics, signage, props, and space, was meticulously crafted to elevate the experience offered in Carowinds' new land and develop its themes. 

Color

Each game employs a visually distinct appearance and color scheme, creating a unique and enticing call to action. Though the games in this zone were constructed simultaneously, their special color schemes and design language suggest chronological progress, as if each game sprung up in a different era.

Balloon Busters' warm pastels evoke the era of Jules Verne, a time when man was conveyed through the air exclusively via hot air balloon. The hand-painted hangar containing the Holding Pattern reflects the era of early flight when inventiveness and bravery brought man to the skies. Hydro Plane Rally and its sky-blue color and wood grain show the age of airborne expansion and diversification. Finally, the sleek metals of Air Shot and its bold primary colors give a visualization of might, where records are made to be broken, and no frontier is around for long.    

Light

Each Aeronautica Landing Game Zone tenant is geared up for wholesome fun, day or night. Like moths to a flame, each game uses diegetic and non-diegetic lighting to catch the eye of aviators exploring Carowinds' rethemed area. Whether the lighting takes the form of period overhead lamps shedding warm amber light (as around Holding Pattern) or understated, stark white lights mounted on themed truss frames (as on Air Shot), these spaces are illuminated to highlight the area and complement the kinetic LED packages on nearby rides.

What's classic is honored, and what's novel is showcased. Hydro Plane Rally and its archetypal water blasters treat guests to the textbook fiberglass panels whose backlit presence provides a diffused glow over the face of each aviator competing for the win. Holding Pattern is presented before an oversized, backlit backdrop that creates a first-class experience worthy of capturing with one-of-a-kind photos and videos to share with friends and family after an aviator's Aeronautica Landing adventure is complete.    

Graphics, Signage and Props

The Aeronautica Landing Game Zone is populated by bespoke set pieces, props, and signage to create multidimensional touchpoints that reinforce the lofty themes of the new land. Each identifying sign invokes that game's respective era of flight within the land: Victorian ornamentation for Balloon Blasters, quasi-militaristic, hand-painted lettering along the hangar housing Holding Pattern, enduring style for Hydro Plane Rally's arch and banner, and contemporary, clean edges and competitive checkered fields for Air Shot. As with all midway games at Carowinds, the games of Aeronautica Landing are identified by the recognizable motif of distinct, shield-shaped signs. These signs lay out the challenge of each game and are customized to each game's visual identity.

From the larger-than-life dart protruding from the Balloon Busters marquee to the true-to-life windsocks adorning Air Shot's towers and the functional, vintage hangar doors framing Hydro Plane Rally, when aviators walk through Aeronautica Landing Game Zone, they are transported to a place outside of a single point in time and yet unified in spirit. Each game played brings aviators to a new air-based adventure, replete with tactile elements to complete the experience: the cool steel grab bar of Holding Pattern, the weathered, faux leather texture of Balloon Buster's projectiles, the familiar goosebumps of Air Shot's basketballs, and the vintage handheld blasters of Hydro Plane Rally.

Space

The Aeronautica Landing Game Zone is nestled into the heart of Carowinds, adjacent to three of the land's six rides and the land's centerpiece icon. These games maintain energy flow through the land as visually striking; kinetic rides punctuate Aeronautica Landing. Aviators are drawn into the land with colorful planes overhead and painted runways underfoot and are led to the first cluster of rides and their visually intriguing motion paths. The Game Zone within Aeronautica Landing bridges this introduction with the promise of novel challenges and invites aviators deeper into the land to discover more of the story. These games are presented quickly but are laid through the path with the organic intent that suggests a lived-in, perfectly imperfect process through which each game joins the collection from a different era and has a unique story to tell.

Aeronautica Landing and its industry-recognized game zone join the more than a half-century legacy of family FUN at Carowinds. Aeronautica Landing was inspired by the spirit of adventure and innovation that made world history in the Carolinas, the same spirit that has grown Charlotte, North Carolina, into an invaluable air transportation hub and continues to inspire nearby aerospace firms to reach for the stars. Aeronautica Landing Game Zone is not just a collection of games; it's a celebration of the journey of flight, a tribute to the adventurers of the past, and an invitation to the explorers of the present. As Carowinds continues to inspire and entertain families, Aeronautica Landing stands as a testament to the enduring allure of the skies. Join us to hone your skills, test your luck, and perhaps, just for a moment, feel the joy of flight.

Add All Season Games to your season pass and enjoy this portfolio of midway games each time you visit the park.