Carowinds to remain closed until next year due to coronavirus concerns
Carowinds will stay closed for the rest of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials with the amusement park said Tuesday.
Pat Jones, Carowinds vice president and general manager, expressed disappointment over having to remain closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but said “the safety of our guests and associates is always our top priority.”
Jones said the prime summer season is ending, and state and local officials have yet to say when a park opening is possible. Likewise, Carowinds has not indicated when it could consider reopening next year.
Carowinds, which has been closed during the COVID-19 government stay-at-home orders, was tentatively scheduled to reopen July 27, North Carolina Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said in June.
The 400-acre amusement park sits on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina. It has more than 60 rides, shows and attractions, including 14 roller coasters and Carolina Harbor, a 26-acre water park.
Jones said park officials “have done our due diligence” in coming up with a comprehensive safety plan aligned with industry and public health standards. But “continued uncertainty” in the region over COVID-19 led to the decision to keep the park closed, Jones said.
Carowinds is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. of Sandusky, Ohio.
‘This one really hurts’
York County Council Chairman Michael Johnson called the news “devastating” for county tourism and jobs.
“This one really hurts,” Johnson said Tuesday afternoon. “Carowinds is our largest tourist destination in York County. It provides thousands of full-time and seasonal jobs for adults and young people.”
York County has a hospitality tax that is used for events and other activities, and Carowinds is the largest revenue producer of county hospitality tax money, Johnson said.
Johnson, like so many York County and Mecklenburg County residents over the years, worked at Carowinds while a student.
“A summer without Carowinds does not seem like summer at all,” Johnson said.
The closure represents a “huge economic impact” on the people of York County and the county’s ability to promote tourism, York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said.
“This is a huge blow to York County,” he said. “Coronavirus has hit us in a big way, and this shows the seriousness of this pandemic.”
Reopening plans
When Carowinds finally does reopen, Jones said, new attractions will greet visitors, including water slide racing.
Boogie Board Racer will be the longest mat racing slide in the Southeast when it opens next summer at the Carolina Harbor water park, Jones said.
A Grand Carnivale nighttime international festival and street party also is expected to launch next year.
The festival will celebrate global culture, highlighted by a Spectacle of Color parade with costumed street performers and “extravagantly decorated and brightly lit” floats, according to a Carowinds social media post Tuesday.
Carowinds has been a Carolinas family entertainment fixture since 1973.
The park claims two of the tallest steel roller coasters in North America, including the 325-foot-tall Fury 325, according to its website. Its 14 roller coasters rank Carowinds fifth in the world for most roller coasters in one park.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 4:48 PM.