[2] It was constructed at a cost of $70 million following a four-year planning period led by Charlotte businessman Earl Patterson Hall.

Carowinds was announced on October 10, 1969, and originally planned on being a large resort which would include a theme park, hotels, a shopping center, a golf course, and an NFL stadium.

After numerous construction delays due to weather, the park eventually opened on March 31, 1973, under the ownership of the Carowinds Corporation, a consortium of local investors headed by Hall.

The first season brought in over 1.2 million visitors, but attendance at Carowinds was curtailed by the 1973 oil crisis, and plans for the proposed resort were put on hold.

Taft Broadcasting brought new life to the park with its Hanna-Barbera characters and several rides aimed to appeal to younger guests.

In 1982, Ocean Island opens as a separately ticketed attraction between Thunder Road and the White Lightnin' roller coasters.

The complex also featured other standard water park amenities including picnic and sunbathing areas, shower and changing facilities, a snack bar, game room, raft rentals and a gift shop.

In 1989, Ocean Island is renamed to RipTide Reef and expanded to over 6 acres on the land previously occupied by White Lightnin'.

The following year, the Paladium becomes a stand-alone concert facility- separate from the theme park with an expanded seating capacity of 13,000 after a $4 million renovation.

In 1994, Wayne's World, a new three acre themed area that re-creates the Hollywood set popularized in the Paramount motion picture of the same name, is added to the northwestern corner of the park with the Hurler roller coaster as its centerpiece.

In 1997, to celebrate the park's 25th anniversary, RipTide Reef is expanded into WaterWorks, doubling its size to include 12 acres at a cost of $7.5 million.

The expansion adds three new attractions: Taxi Jam, Chopper Chase and Road Rally and increases the size of the area by 3.5 acres.

In 2000, The Nickelodeon Flying Super Saturator takes riders along a 1,087-foot suspended track while dodging a gauntlet of gushing geysers and rain curtains and was the first of its kind roller coaster in the world.

After the success of Woodstock's Air Rail at sister park Kings Island, Paramount decided to build a clone at Carowinds in 2003 as part of the Happy Land of Hanna Barbera's transition into Nickelodeon Central.

In 2004, Nighthawk (then known as Stealth) was relocated from California's Great America and opened as BORG Assimilator in the location previously home to Smurf Island.

All references to Paramount-owned movies were removed immediately, with the exception of Nickelodeon Central, as Cedar Fair did not own the rights to use Paramount property.

In January 2007, a new logo was unveiled featuring the trademark Cedar Fair flag on the letter I in the Carowinds name, removing Paramount altogether.

The following year, Carolina Cobra was also relocated from Geauga Lake in the spot formerly home to the Flying Super Saturator and includes new trains.

Vortex received a new red and white color scheme, new picnic shelters were constructed in the Plaza Pavilion area, Thunder Road and Hurler had portions of their tracks reconstructed, and new seat walls, newly planted shade trees, and additional greenery was planted all around the park.

In 2015, Fury 325, the fifth-tallest roller coaster in the world, opened as another component of the park's previously announced "top-to-bottom" expansion program.

The expansion included a new six-slide complex, a new wave pool located on land formerly home to Thunder Road, and several new splash areas for kids.

Blue Ridge Junction was constructed in the area formerly occupied by WhiteWater Falls, Sand Dune Lagoon and Thunder Road's former station.

[15] The event featured food, live shows, and other holiday activities throughout the park, as well as a select number of amusement rides.

[19] As part of the new Aeronautica Landing area of the park, Air Racers, The Airwalker, Gear Spin, Gyro Force, Hover and Dodge, and Wind Star were announced as their replacements for the 2023 season.

[21] The park also celebrated their 50th anniversary with limited time entertainment offerings, unique food and beverage, and vintage merchandise.

Aeronautica Landing, the centerpiece of Carowinds' 50th anniversary celebration, pays tribute to the Carolinas' spirit of invention and the history of flight.

On August 27, 2015, Carowinds announced an expansion for the area that added five additional attractions and resulted in the name changing to Carolina Harbor.

It had Virginia's Dave Matthews Band in '93, UK's Depeche Mode with Stabbing Westward in '94, Athens GA's B-52's in '94, Billy Ray Cyrus in '95, Blues Traveler in '96, Coolio in '96, UK's Duran Duran in 2000, Weird Al Yankovic in '00, Smash Mouth in '00, Sugar Ray in '00, and 311 in '04.

Fast Lane is a limited-access line queue system offered for an additional charge at legacy Cedar Fair amusement parks.

Visitors can purchase a wristband that allows them to bypass standard lines in favor of shorter ones at many of the parks' most popular attractions.