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| Carowinds Winterfest Live Entertainment © Katrena |
Carowinds, an amusement park on the North Carolina and South Carolina border located off interstate 77 began offering limited evening November and December hours in which visitors can enjoy holiday lights, entertainment, activities, and a parade. In 2019, visitors could either pay an entry fee or enter with a season pass. Some season pass holders could also have a limited number of guests to enter with them at a discounted rate. Carowinds charges $20 for parking unless you have a season pass with parking included.
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| Rides at Carowinds Winterfest © Katrena |
Those who are only interested in riding coasters or other rides would do well to check the Carowinds web site before deciding to visit Winterfest. Many rides like Fury 325 and the Intimidator were not open; however, Copperhead Strike, Afterburn, fair-type rides, and many of the rides for small children were open. Winterfest was crowded both times we visited. With few larger rides running, the lines were long, sometimes longer than an hour wait, which is a consideration when the park is only open for a few evening hours.
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| Holiday Lights at Carowinds Winterfest - View from Carolina Skytower © Katrena |
We thought the holiday lights were nicely done at Winterfest. Some lighted areas were themed, such as Candy Cane Lane and Celebration Plaza. One of my favorite ways of enjoying the lights was to ride the Carolina Skytower and see the motley array of festive colors from above. That ride will hold a large number of people, so even if there are lots of people standing in line, you probably won't have to wait a terribly long time before getting to ride.
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| Holiday Music at Carowinds Winterfest © Katrena |
Live entertainment abounded at Winterfest. One indoor show, Charlie Brown's Christmas Spectacular, included singers and dancers who interacted with several Peanuts characters. My family enjoyed the show. Most of the other entertainers appeared in various outdoor areas throughout the park. A wide variety of styles from bluegrass, jazz, brass, drumming, and more were offered at various times throughout the park. We got a schedule of events but only planned around the Charlie Brown show. As we walked around, we had the opportunity to enjoy several musical numbers that were nicely done in that particular genre.
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| Fun Winter Activities for the Family in NC and SC © Katrena |
Many employees were dressed in costume and offered photo opportunities for the shutterbugs in the crowd. Examples of other activities included a large tic-tac-toe area, a place to write a card for someone in the military, line dancing, and a Christmas tree lot with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree nestled in the middle. For an extra fee, visitors could go ice skating, ride Ripcord or Slingshot, decorate cookies, hang out in an "igloo," play several carnival-type games, or go for a horse-drawn carriage ride.
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| Fun Things to do over Winter Break © Katrena |
Winterfest offers a parade near the end of the evening, but my crew opted to exit before the parade to avoid a long wait to get out of the parking lot. We saw a few of the floats near the south gate as we were leaving and it looked like the parade would have been fun to watch.
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| Fair Rides at Carowinds Winterfest © Katrena |
Overall, my family enjoyed Winterfest. The lights and entertainment were festive and fun. I would recommend a season pass that includes free parking, especially if you wanted to go to Carowinds several times in a year.
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| Charlie Brown Christmas Tree at Carowinds Winterfest © Katrena |
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