Carowinds conducts safety preps for upcoming season
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO-TV) It’s a place many in the Carolinas go for fun and thrills. Getting a park like Carowinds ready for the season not only takes a lot of man hours and hard work, it also takes a strong commitment to make sure park goers have a safe experience.
The train cars that take thrill seekers along the Vortex are making their way back to the track after an extensive annual maintenance check during the park’s off season.
“Every single bolt is specifically specced. So, we have to check all of those things,” said Director of Maintenance and Construction Vinny Kuzan. “We have to change all of those things depending on the life cycle of the different parts of the ride. So, it’s a long process.”
Maintenance crews repeat that process for the park’s 14 roller coasters, and they do it in roughly two months – January and February.
“Safety is the most important thing we do here. We preach it every day,” Kuzan added.
Every day maintenance crews at Carowinds take the steps of each roller coaster, walking to the top and back to the other side, making sure there are no problems with the track.
“This particular roller coaster requires almost three man hours per day to inspect it to be ready for one operating day,” Mechanical Maintenance Engineer Shawn Hopkins told ABC Columbia’s Kelly Coakley about the Vortex.
Depending on track lengths, some Carowinds coasters require a six-hour check.
According to Hopkins, in addition to crews inspecting rides daily, each ride is monitored by three computer systems.
“In the computer system, there are redundancies to back up,” explained Hopkins. “Any time one of those systems doesn’t report an equal finding, we call that a discrepancy in the system and the ride will come to a stop.”
Carowinds boasts entertaining a million visitors a summer, and those who literally keep the rides on track, off this assurance, “I promise your children are just as important as my own when it comes to our rides. So safety is our absolutely number one priority,” said Hopkins.
“I’ve got four kids myself, right. I want that same comfort when someone comes to ride, safety is the most important thing to us,” Kuzan agreed. “And I will ride any one of these rides with my kids.”
When Carowinds opens for the season Saturday, March 14, 2026, visitors will notice some changes to the queues, or lines, for the food and beverage stands. Maintenance and construction teams have been working to make the flow more efficient.
A little later this year, Carowinds is expected to announce a new ride that park goers will be able to enjoy in 2027. Learn more about Carowinds.
