It’s hard planning a family fun day any time of the year especially when your family has grown so much and everyone is having to travel to get there.
The planning started once my husband picked a Saturday that he didn’t have to work. Once we had set a date, I had to send the message out. Together we have four grown kids (2 are married & 2 are dating) and three grandkids so planning to have them all there together was not an easy task by far. By the end, there was still one of my daughter-in-laws that couldn’t come and my youngest son’s girlfriend had to work. I hated that they were going to miss out but it was the only Saturday that my husband would have off before Halloween.
We had bought all the tickets at a discount online so everyone was going to meet at our house that morning. Of course, two of my sons were running late but they managed to get there safely which is really all that mattered. We gave out the tickets and off we went in three separate vehicles to our family fun day at Carowinds.
The park opened at 10 am but it was after 11 am before we arrived. As soon as we got through the ticket gate, my husband wanted to go ahead and buy tickets for Scarowinds. This was a smart move by my husband for two reasons: One is that the customer service office wasn’t extremely busy at that time and two is that you could get a big discount by showing them your regular ticket.
Once we got all that done, everyone decided to go in groups and my group included me, my husband and my three grandkids. I had already planned on being on kid patrol because I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my grandkids. First thing we did is go get everyone fed so nobody was hangry. Word of caution for the 5 of us to eat at the park was over $90 so I suggest doing a picnic outside the park for lunch. Lesson learned.
Carowinds had plenty of activities like picking a pumpkin to take home, playing at the playground and meeting the peanut characters in Camp Snoopy. We also took them on some of the kid friendly rides like the train, the horse carousel and the sky tower.
Throughout the day we would see the others and they would tell us how much fun they were having and the rides they had rode. Everyone was having a great time and I truly enjoyed spending time with them! The park closed at 5 pm to get ready to open back up at 7 pm for Scarowinds. We all met back at the front gate to say our goodbyes because only me, my husband, my granddaughter, my step-daughter and her boyfriend were staying for Scarowinds.
We walked back to our vehicle and decided we were not going to leave but we were going to find a closer parking spot. This was another smart move made by husband for two reasons: One is that we found a parking spot real close to the front gate and two was that if we had left the park then we would’ve had to pay another $20 for parking. The down-side is that we didn’t think to bring any food or drinks with us while we waited for the park to reopen. Another lesson learned.
Once the park reopened, there were all types of scary shows, characters and haunted houses to visit.
Since me and husband was with the grandkids all day, we decided to ride at least one of the roller coasters which was pretty fun. Then we decided to check out one of the haunted houses and I have to say that I was pretty disappointed. I have been to Scarowinds before and this time was nothing like before. The stage was set for a great haunted house and it had plenty of potential but the actors did nothing to even try to scare you. I don’t know if they were trying to push too many people through too fast or if they just had inexperienced actors but we decided not to try anymore of the haunted houses because the lines were so long.
One of the best shows offered was the drum show below:
We only stayed a couple of hours into Scarowinds because my granddaughter really didn’t like all the scary stuff. It was still a great day and I was happy to have had most of our family gathered in one spot. I learned a couple of valuable lessons for next time we decide to go to Carowinds and I got some exercise in (walked over 7 miles) so it was a win-win situation. If you decide to try it out next year, make sure you remember my lessons learned before you go!
If you have a story or comment about Carowinds or Scarowinds, use the comment box below because I would love to hear from you! Sign up to get my weekly emails so that you never miss a post and as always have a blessed day!
Happy Halloween 2018!
