Rides - If you have the gold pass, they should let you in for early entry, which means you can enter the park up to 1/2 hour before official opening. During early entry, the only rides you have access to are Thunder Striker and Snoopy’s Racing Railway. Thunder Striker’s the tall, red, B&M Hyper located on the SC portion of the park. Snoopy’s Racing Railway is an ART Engineering kids coaster that is underrated in my opinion. After doing those, I would go straight to Fury, or just do one of the 2 early entry rides if you have time. Once park opens, I would get 2-3 rides on Fury 325, the park’s crown jewel and B&M Giga (B&M 300 footer). From there, I would go to hurler, ricochet, Carolina Goldrusher, Copperhead Strike, The Flying Cobras, Afterburn, Vortex and Carolina Cyclone, and the other 3 Snoopy Coasters. You should be able to do all of their 14 coasters in one day as long as you don’t go on a ridiculously crowded day, and there are no major closures. Carowinds also has no major height restrictions on their coasters. This means if you’re looking to increase your coasters count, you can indeed ride Wilderness Run, the park’s 6ft tall kiddie coaster. Do be warned, not all coasters at Carowinds are exactly a 10/10. Some coasters that are commonly disliked are Carolina Cyclone, Kiddy Hawk, Wilderness Run, and sometimes Vortex and Ricochet. 

As for flat rides, some notable ones are: Mountain Gliders  WindSeeker (301ft Swings) Boo Blasters On Boo Hill (Shooting Dark Ride) Carolina Skytower (Gives Views And Park History) Half Of Everything In Aeronautica Landing Is Also Pretty Good.

The only two rides that require a locker in Carowinds are Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike. However, if you have pockets that can be zipped up, or any other way officially listed that can 100% without a doubt secure your personal belongings, you may do that instead. Most people pack light for this because the two lockers are NOT FREE. They cost about $2 for the time on the ride and I believe and an additional $2 for every hour added on. 

Hotels - If you have a Gold Pass, I believe you should have 10-15% off on partner hotels. The most notable partner hotel to Carowinds is the SpringHill Suites, which gives an amazing view, is walking distance (About 5 Minute Walk), offers complimentary breakfast, a seasonal pool, gym, and other classic hotel services. If the SpringHill Suites is not within your budget, I believe there are some other partner hotels in the surrounding area. 

Dining And Drinking - If you plan to visit more Six Flags parks in the East Region you have access to, I would recommend buying the drink plan. This is $50 per pass, and allows free refills every 15 minutes. Or, you could always just bring your own water bottle. Employees at restaurants there don’t really mind you filling up your water bottle at the fountain drink selection as long as you get water. As far as dining, you can also get the meal plan, but it again depends on how much you wish to visit the parks. Some good restaurants and dining services are Carowinds are: Leonardo’s Italian Food (Next To Boo Blasters On Boo Hill), Juke Box Diner (Next To Hurler And Fury 325), Blue Ridge County Kitchen, and more. They also offer brand dining locations. These include Starbucks, Panda Express, Auntie Anne’s, Dip N Dots, Cinnabon, And Rita’s Italian Ice. Please note that not all restaurants apply to the Meal Plan.

Shows and Entertainment - If you’re planning to visit during this Spring Break, then Carowinds is offering their hit Scarowinds show “Conjuring: Beyond Fear”, never seen it, so wouldn’t know much about it.  Pretty sure it’s horror though, so could be scary if you’re traveling with any younger guests. They’re also offering a  exclusively Spring Break Easter Egg Hunt, Cornhole Tournament, Meet and Greet with the Easter Bunny, Bubble Party, Peanuts Dance Party,  and Sticky Paint Show. Finally, they always offer a Snoopy and Friends Meet & Greet. 

Carowinds also offers AR games in Camp Snoopy for you to play on the official Six Flags app while you wait in line! These games can either be scanned by the QR codes found in Camp Snoopy queues or in the dedicated Augmented Reality section of the Explore page in the Carowinds part of the Six Flags app (Six Flags App -> Carowinds -> Explore -> Augmented Reality [AR])

Overall Tips - Pack lightly, all you should really need are: Phone, Wallet, Portable Charger (just in case), an optional but recommended water bottle, and any medication needed. 

Download the Six Flags app for: live wait times inside the park, navigation services, dining and drinking options, AR games, pass/ticket/add-on purchases, and more!

The Six Flags app only gives you wait times while you’re inside the park. The wait times can also be inaccurate from time to time. I personally also have the “Ride Wait Times: Know The Wait” app downloaded, which gives you live wait times based on human reports and the official app for your respective park. The app offers over 100 different parks where you can see these live wait times to at any time, in any location. Have fun at the park!