In our first feature, ThrillNetwork editor, Wes, gives us a look at his home park Carowinds, as well as the place he calls home, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Besides being home to Paramount’s Carowinds, Charlotte is also home to big banking, big racing and a few other surprises for those willing to explore the Queen City of the South.

Paramount’s Carowinds was the brainchild of Charlotte businessman E. Pat Hall. In 1969 Hall announced construction of a 73-acre theme park that would straddle the North and South Carolina lines. At the time the park would be larger than Disneyland, Six Flags Astroworld and Six Flags Over Georgia.

The park officially opened to the public March 31, 1973. Original plans included such amenities as an on-site hotel. The monorail that used to run in the park until the early 1990’s was planned to provide hotel guests with transportation into the park, much like Disney does today at their Orlando parks. Today there is a small mall located in the general area where the hotel was planned.

The park features a unique front entry of a beautiful plantation style house. Unlike its two sister-parks, Kings Island and Kings Dominion, this park does not feature a large replica of the Eiffel Tower.

The park has changed hands several times beginning in 1975 when Family Leisure Centers Inc. comprised of a partnership of Taft Broadcasting and Top Value Enterprises bought the park for $16 million. Since that time the park has changed hands, including most recently when Viacom sold the park along with all the Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair.

Like many parks of its era Paramount’s Carowinds has seen many rides come and go. At one time the park had two full-scale trains that took guests around the park. After the removal of one train and track it ended up relocated at Michael Jackson’s Never Land Ranch. The park also at one time featured a unique dark ride called Black Beards Revenge. The ride while mild compared to today’s thrills offered an optical illusion-style “ride” where the passengers sat on a bench and the room spun around to create the illusion of motion on the high seas.

In its early days the park’s different areas or lands of the park were themed around the history of the Carolinas. From the days of Black Beard the pirate, to the British Colonial days, the park had a unique lineup of areas to explore.

Today the park offers a great lineup of rides, shows and entertainment. Many of them themed around Paramount and Nickelodeon film titles and characters. The park may not have the biggest or fastest coasters on the planet, but they do have excellent operations resulting in the major roller coasters running two trains, even with the lightest of crowds.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the park’s coasters and rides:
Top Gun: The Jet Coaster - Built in 1999 by Bolliger and Mabillard, this inverted coaster was one of the biggest investments ever by the park. The ride features a vertical loop, immelman, zero-g roll, a great batwing that dives under the park’s back entrance midway and finally a flat spin (corkscrew). Do you feel the need for speed?

BORG Assimilator – This Vekoma flying coaster started life as Stealth at sister-park Paramount’s Great America in Northern California. In 2003, the park dismantled the ride and sent it to Paramount’s Carowinds. The park overhauled the two trains and by mid-season 2004 had a reliable two-train operation from this coaster, despite all the problems its sister-park had with Stealth. In 2005 the park installed magnetic brakes on the coaster and much improved the rides brake run experience.

Carolina Cyclone – Many overlook this Arrow double looping/double corkscrew coaster built in 1980 but most do not know that when it was built it was one of the first coasters in the world to ever have four inversions. The coaster features great air in the back seat on the first drop. With two loops and two corkscrews and an upward helix, Carolina Cyclone may be small but it is a fun coaster.

Thunder Road – Curtis D. Summers designed a wooden classic. It is the only coaster in North America to cross two state lines. This racing wooden coaster opened in 1976 to rave reviews. It celebrated its 30th birthday this year with a 30 cycle marathon and even cake!

Hurler – Way! No way! Back in 1994, Hurler debuted at Paramount’s Carowinds as part of a new area called Wayne’s World, themed after the Paramount film of the same name. A front-row ride on this International Coasters Inc. coaster is one of the best rides in the park.

Vortex – All the way back in 1992 a brand new company called Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) was making waves and the newly acquired and re-branded Paramount’s Carowinds received one of the first stand up B&M coasters in the world. The layout is simple compared to later models, with only one loop and a corkscrew but many would argue that the stand up genre is best taken in small doses anyway.

Danny Phantom’s Phantom Flyers – Much to the shock of longtime fans of Paramount’s Kings Island that park removed the much beloved Flying Eagles and shipped them off to Carowinds for the 2005 season. These Bisch-Rocco flying skooters have quickly become a favorite of enthusiasts and families alike

The park also offers several water rides including Rip Roarin’ Rapids (rapids ride), White Water Falls (splash boat ride) and the Wild Thornberry’s River Adventure (log flume) as well as one of the few inverted water coasters ever built (Flying Super Saturator).

In 2006, Boomerang Bay got an overhaul to the existing water park Water Works (included with your park admission). The water park offers many slides, wave pool and other ways to get you wet on a hot Carolina day.

The park has some classic flat rides including a scrambler, enterprise, bumper cars, a 1923 Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, a falling star (or rainbow) ride as well as several other classic flat rides.

Paramount’s Carowinds is located approximately 10 miles south of downtown Charlotte, NC.

Parks within a half-day drive from Charlotte include: Wet n’ Wild Emerald Point (NC) (water park) one hour North. Wet n' Wild Emerald Point features tons of water-themed attractions, including this years new attraction "Dragon's Den", a toilet-bowl type ride.

The soon to reopen Ghost Town in the Sky (NC) within two hours West of Charlotte, features two coasters all situated on a mountain top in beautiful Maggie Valley, NC.

Dollywood (TN) about four hours West features the current #1 wooden coaster in the world Thunderhead. Next April, on Friday the 13th their new coaster Mystery Mine will debut.

Six Flags over Georgia (GA) about four hours South features new for this year Goliath. A giant among coasters, this B&M hyper coaster is a great ride. The parks features other great rides like Deja Vu, Superman: Ultimate Flight and Acrophobia.

The various Myrtle Beach parks (SC) like the soon to be defunct Myrtle Beach Pavilion are about three and a half hours South East. Pavilion features three coasters and a host of classic flats, including an antique carousel. Swamp Fox is a classic wooden coaster and is located less than a mile from Myrtle Beach Pavilion at Family Kingdom amusement park.

Paramount’s Kings Dominion (VA) about five hours North and in my opinion features the best lineup of coasters in the former Paramount Parks chain. Some of my favorites include: Grizzly, Volcano: The Blast Coaster and Flight of Fear, a Premier launched-coaster that blasts riders off into near-complete darkness.

Lastly Busch Gardens Europe (VA) is 6 hours North. Voted one of the most beautiful parks in the world for many years, this park is worth a visit. The park has great food, shows and of course coasters! Apollo's Chariot and Alpengeist are two more amazing creations from the folks at B&M. Next year the park will debut their 3rd B&M coaster Griffon. Standing 205 ft tall, this vertical drop coaster is sure to take your breath away.

Charlotte is located in the middle of the state and is close to both the mountains and the coast. A two and a half hour trip will get you to the mountains, while a three and a half hour drive will take you to the South Carolina coast.

Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the United States. New York is currently the only city ahead of Charlotte.

Many people know of Charlotte for NASCAR racing. Lowe’s Motor Speedway is located 10 miles north of downtown and is convenient to I-85 and I-485.

For the shoppers among you, Charlotte doesn’t leave you empty handed. Located near Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord Mills, a mile long single-level mall with outlets and mall favorites alike. The mall also includes a NASCAR SpeedPark where you can take the wheel at one of their many go kart tracks.

SouthPark mall is located five miles South of downtown and offers high-end stores such as Nordstrom and the soon to open Neiman Marcus. For those with a sweet tooth don’t miss Charlotte’s Cheesecake Factory located at SouthPark Mall.

Carolina Place mall may be more your speed if you are looking for your typical mall stores such as Sears, JCPenney, Macys and Dillard’s. The mall is located eight miles south of downtown on I-485 and is located only a few miles from Paramount’s Carowinds.

If your taste buds are calling after a day at a park you will find Charlotte to be a diverse melting-pot of restaurants. Just within several-miles drive of the park you can find Cajun cuisine, Mexican, American, Italian and Southern style cooking.

The Cajun Queen is a local favorite, located in Pineville, NC only a 10 minute drive from the park (take Carowinds Blvd towards I-77, left on Hwy 51. Continue into downtown Pineville; turn right in front of the police department). Whether or not you like it mild or wild you will find something to please your taste buds at the Cajun Queen.

If you want a more upscale experience many restaurants including The Capital Grille (seen in the Jack Black film Shallow Hal) and Morton’s Steak House are located in downtown Charlotte.

If you’re looking for professional sports look no further than Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. Charlotte is home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. Raleigh is a quick two and a half hour drive from Charlotte and is home to the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes (NHL).

After a long day at the park, maybe you’d rather just relax. Charlotte offers hotels from the luxurious to the affordable. The Ballantyne Resort offers more than just a place to spend the night. The resort features a complete spa, golf course and many other amenities. The resort is located 10-15 minutes from the park on I-485 East.

If you’re looking for something convenient to upscale shopping, Hyatt Charlotte at South Park is your ticket. The hotel is located within walking distance of the South Park mall. The hotel also offers its own golf course, indoor pool, sauna and fitness center (if you didn’t get enough exercise at the park).

Charlotte is one of the fastest growing cities in America and offers many activities, attractions, historical sites and other things to do and see. For more information be sure to check out these links:

• Carowinds
• Charlotte visitors information
• Concord Mills Mall
• SouthPark Mall
• Carolina Place Mall
• Ballantyne Resort
• Hyatt Charlotte SouthPark

Also check out ThrillNetwork's Spotlight on Six Flags Over Georgia.