Charlotte, NC - Carowinds or Great Wolf Lodge?

[bas71873]

I posted this on the Families board and then realized it's probably better here:


Looking at mid to late August (would be more mid if we decide on Carowinds because the park closes during the week when the NC kiddos return to school...at least looking at the online calendar). FWIW, we've never been to GWL?


The plan would be to either arrive at Great Wolf early afternoon and spend the day at the water park, spend the nite and then leave by noonish the following day on our way to Atlanta OR should we not get to Charlotte later in the day, stay at a regular hotel and just plan to spend the next full day at Carowinds? I know this really isn't comparing apples to apples, but we are a theme park family, we all love roller coasters, usually get season's passes to both Busch Gardens W'burg and Kings Dominion here in Richmond (we live in between), and it looks as if Carowinds is very similar to KD (same owner).

 

[Angelhalo]

I would definitely go with Carowinds. It is a theme park AND a water park all with one ticket price!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I would definitely go with Carowinds. It is a theme park AND a water park all with one ticket price!

I believe most would agree with this answer.

 

[SC Minnie]

I would definitely go with Carowinds. It is a theme park AND a water park all with one ticket price!

I agree. The water park will still be open in late August. They usually shut it down after Labor Day.

 

[Miniefan]

Never been to either, but I now live in Williamsburg, Va, and I have stopped by Great Wolfe to check it out. It looks fairly nice but coming from Fl I just don't know about an indoor water park. We have been enjoying Busch Gardens for the past couple of months. We've never been to Kings Dominion but I would like to, some people at my dh's job said it wasn't very good anymore and overcrowded by rowdy people most of the time. What is your opinion of that park?

 

[bas71873]

Never been to either, but I now live in Williamsburg, Va, and I have stopped by Great Wolfe to check it out. It looks fairly nice but coming from Fl I just don't know about an indoor water park. We have been enjoying Busch Gardens for the past couple of months. We've never been to Kings Dominion but I would like to, some people at my dh's job said it wasn't very good anymore and overcrowded by rowdy people most of the time. What is your opinion of that park?

We are headed to GWF W'burg at the end of the month for just a little overnight getaway. I'm excited.

We love Busch Gardens and Water Country.

KD is definately different. It's not near as pretty nor as "kept up" as BG, but, they have a few more coasters than BG and that's what my DD likes. I have never really found it to be all that crowded, but we avoid weekends during the summer and I'm sure that helps some. There is not NEARLY as much shade at KD, nor really any shows, but, it's nice that the water park is inside KD. I'm only about 25 minutes from KD (about 50 from Busch), so in the summer, DD and I will hop over to KD, sometimes JUST for the water park, and then we might hit a coaster or two on the way out. It's fun, but definately a very different experience than Busch.

 

[Diegosmom]

I can not comment on Carowinds as I have never been but just got back from Great Wolf Lodge last night so figured I would comment on that.

We arrived Monday (memorial day) at around 2. Checked in and she said our room was not available. As we were chit chatting and I was giving her my phone number so she could call when a room was ready she found a room. So we were able to go right up to our room. Got in our suits and hit the park.

It was myself, my husband, my mom and dad and our 4 year old son.

He loved everything, the kittie area, the tree house (with slides) the wave pool, the outdoor pool. He was too short to try any of the bigger slides (I think there are 3 big slides). Hubby and I went on one and it was scary...lol so older kids would love it.

We spent a few hours then went back to the room. My son passed out watching TV (he never naps). And we ended up ordering to go from Olive Garden (very quick 15 min so we called and drove there and it was ready) but there are plenty of places to eat around there and you have a table in your room so that was nice and DS could watch TV or whatever.
NExt day we checked out went to the bass pro shop and got lunch/late breakfast at dennys then came back to the hotel and played in the park till 5:30. The locker room was very nice to shower and change.
We didnt really get food there but hubby got chilli nachos and they were not very good. It was chilli from a can and cheese and nothing else and that and a soda was almost $7. Then on the way out I got a big sugar cookie (1.99) mom got a cookie bar (3.99 I think) DH got a big cupcake (3.99) and I picked up a carmel apple with resses (6.99 I think). My cookie and moms were awesome but I had a bit of DS cupcake and it was old (I dont think they cook them there) and we havent tried the apple yet. They have a Dunkin Donuts in the hotel and while the coffee price seemed them same a dozen donuts was $10. So eat offsite of bring food for your room (pretty decent size fridge) and microwave in all rooms.
Our room had 2 Queen beds and a sleeper sofa. Well the Queen beds were OK (normal hotel beds, def not 4 or 5 star hotel) but the sleeper was horrible. Our DS4 slept on it and liked it (a different experience) I layed on it with him and thought I would die. Head part went down, bar was sticking up in the middle and you could feel every spring. If I had to sleep there I would have taken mattress off and slept on the floor. It was that horrible.
We didnt play but there was a lot of kids playing MagiQuest and it looked pretty fun. And the wand was $30 and there was kids there that were there all week and were still playing.
We will be going back as it was a lot of fun. And with a discount code 5 of us stayed and played for $190 (tax and fees included) if it was only 4 of us it would have been 150).

 

[MomofKatie]

Carowinds. The waterpark area is nice- not huge, but a nice little lazy river, 2 wave pools, and several fun slides. The theme park itself is OK- if you like roller coasters and don't care too much about other stuff, it's pretty good. The kids area is fun, and there is a dark Scooby Doo ride that is reminiscent of a very simplistic version of Buzz Lightyear.

GWL is expensive for what you get.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Carrowinds, but only because I can't stand GWL.

 

[disney_mommy]

Never been to either, but I now live in Williamsburg, Va, and I have stopped by Great Wolfe to check it out. It looks fairly nice but coming from Fl I just don't know about an indoor water park. We have been enjoying Busch Gardens for the past couple of months. We've never been to Kings Dominion but I would like to, some people at my dh's job said it wasn't very good anymore and overcrowded by rowdy people most of the time. What is your opinion of that park?

My family loves Great Wolf Lodge. My 60ish dad sits on a chair near the wave pool, or on the room's balcony and reads. My 60-ish mom and I either do the slides, the lazy river or the spa, and my 12yo son loves the water park, the arcade and the MagiQuest game.

The water park is huge, there's a ton to do. I highly recommend it.

 

[MrsPete]

Having been to both, I think I'm qualified to give a comparison:

Carowinds is a second-rate type of theme park. It is nothing like Busch Gardens Williamsburg -- it's more like a Six Flags. I've never been to King's Dominion, so I can't make a comparison to that park. Yes, Carowinds has a variety of roller coasters, but the place is a little run-down and dirty (even smelly in some areas). The water park is the best part of Carowinds. It's large and has a good variety of water fun items. Expect no shade. The food is awful, but you can leave the park and find a good selection of fast-food nearby. You'll find several cheap hotels within a mile or two as well. I think Carowinds stays open all week long 'til Labor Day, but you should verify that. Depending upon your timing, consider Twilight Tickets (I think they're good for something like 5:00 - 10:00 pm), which are a pretty good deal. Also, look into whether they're having a concert -- that makes a difference in the crowd.

The Great Wolf Lodge is only about a year old, and it is very nice. Obviously, you get a smaller selection of attractions, but everything's in excellent condition. They have an outdoor pool and a large indoor water park. Your 7-year old will love Magi-Quest, though it isn't as good as the full-fledged version at Myrtle Beach. The food at Great Wolf is good, though not cheap. Just off the property you'll find a wide variety of food (ranging from fast food to sit-down). Also, the Great Wolf is less than a mile from Lowe's Motor Speedway and Concord Mills Outlet Mall. The Speedway offers some interesting family activities on summer evenings (i.e., school bus races), and the mall is huge. Check to see if there's a race going on -- I don't think there'll be one in late August; that'll make prices go sky-high.

Both of these are very expensive for what they offer and not particularly a good value for the dollar.

 

[tar heel]

In the summer, I would definitely go with Carowinds where you can do a water park AND a theme park. Cedar Fair has spiffed up the place quite a bit and tightened standards across the board.

Carowinds always closes on weekdays when school starts.

 

[Angelhalo]

Just an FYI to anyone who hasn't been there in a while, Carowinds has new owners and it is MUCH better than it used to be. It's certainly no WDW but I don't know that I would call it "second rate" It is actually a really nice park now

 

[phorsenuf]

I would definitely go with Carowinds. It is a theme park AND a water park all with one ticket price!

Plus you can have one foot in North Carolina and one in South Carolina.

 

[Angelhalo]

Plus you can have one foot in North Carolina and one in South Carolina.

hahaha very true!