Amusement Park News

North Carolina's Carowinds is well underway at making the largest investment in new family attractions the park has made to date, with construction on new family attractions already begun. As if also true at other parks formerly owned by Cedar Fair, and now a part of Six Flags, expansion and changes are afoot.

At Carowinds the changes are focused on expanding the child-friendly Camp Snoopy theme just as Knott's Berry Farm, Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland have done before them. The direction of this expansion is to make the kids' area more appealing toward families rather than just to the youngest park visitors.

With that in mind, two new attractions will make their debut in 2025 in Carowoods' Camp Snoopy: a family-friendly steel launch coaster called Snoopy's Racing Railway, from ART Engineering; and a boat ride, Charlie Brown's River Raft Blast, from Mack Rides.

The coaster will be the park's 15th; its design is similar to that of the Snoopy's Racing Railway ride that opened as a parkgoer favorite at Canada's Wonderland theme park last year.



According to Carowinds vice president and general manager Manny Gonzalez, "We're excited to introduce the latest adventures in Camp Snoopy in 2025…our re-imagined Camp Snoopy will allow families to ride and play together, immersing them in a summer camp experience with the Peanuts gang.” He predicts that the new rides will reshape the Camp Snoopy area into “a destination for creating family memories" rather than just a ride area for younger kids.

Snoopy's Racing Railway is a multi-launch coaster which offers a completely different storyline than its Canadian counterpart.  Carowinds communications director Courtney C. McGarry Webber explains that here, the theme is based on a necessarily swift food delivery. “Guests can join Snoopy as he races to deliver root beer and pizza to Camp Snoopy's Mess Hall, where Woodstock and his yellow bird buddies are causing quite a ruckus.”

The coaster will reach speeds up to 31 miles per hour as it circles the track. It has a height requirement of 36 inches for riders, and the train seats 14 people.  It traverses a track length of 804-feet and will take two laps.  



According to Georg Behringer, owner and CEO of ART engineering, Carowinds Snoopy coaster ride will feature the same track layout as Canada's Wonderland, however the support structure of the ride was specially adapted to fit the Carowinds site footprint.  Along with the involving elements of the ride itself, waiting guests and riders will also get to interact, both when the train pulls into the station, and when the train receives a boost for its second turn around the track.

The ride isn't just for the smallest park guests: Behringer is impressed and surprised by the age range of riders, noting that it is made up of everyone from “from small kids to the grandparents and coaster enthusiasts…to people who are usually afraid of coaster rides.” And he finds that everyone loves the experience. Snoopy's Racing Railway is the third family coaster located in the Camp Snoopy area.

While the new coaster is not unique only to Carowinds, Charlie Brown's River Raft Blast is entirely new, unlike any concept at other Camp Snoopy areas in other theme parks. This interactive ride also makes a first for the theme park – it's first water ride. Until now, water attractions were only to be found at Carowinds sister water park, Carolina Harbor. The boat ride will offer four and a half minutes of water blasting fun both from land and on the water.  



Charlie Brown's River Raft Blast will float seven boats, from which riders can blast water as much as 33-feet to soak both other boats and their riders or those watching the ride along the walkway around it. As to those watchers, they won't be mere unsuspecting onlookers. Instead, they too will be equipped with water blasters allowing them to return the dousing.

Mack Rides marketing spokesperson Maximillian Roser describes the interactive experience as “a huge water battle between those…riding and…watching.”

The exciting – and wet – rafting spans over 415-feet in length. Five of the boats will carry eight riders; two are also wheelchair accessible and will seat 7 riders.

The new attraction is viewed not just as interactive and exciting but also as a “refreshing way for guests to cool off during the hot Carolina summers,” according to Carowinds' Webber. She adds that the ride will bring a “much-needed water element” to the park, and one that will enhance the guest experience at Camp Snoopy overall.

Along with these two new rides, the Camp Snoopy expansion includes new splash play zones for kids to enjoy cooling off in while parents get a shady rest break; and a new Camp Store Meet and Greet Experience. The meet and greet will be set in a themed, newly remodeled camp store environment. Among the characters appearing from the renowned Charlie Brown world will of course be Snoopy himself.

Webber notes that the remodeled themed Camp Store will offer a comfortably air-conditioned space suited for photo ops as well as interactions between guests and beloved Peanuts characters. The environment will also make an excellent respite from North Carolina's summer heat, providing a welcome experience for visiting families as well as for the costumed character actors at the park themselves.