Aeronautica Landing
www.parkworld-online.com
Taking flight
T
he state of North Carolina has long been known as ‘first in flight’ in honour of the Wright brothers successfully flying the first aeroplane in 1903. 120 years later, Carowinds leaned into that history as
inspiration to develop Aeronautica Landing. When discussing the all-new themed area of the park, Ryan Allen, director
of live entertainment for Carowinds, pointed out that 2023 is the park’s 50th anniversary and therefore provided the perfect launch point for an all-new area of the park. “This year gave us an incredible opportunity,” he said. “You could call it
serendipitous. While anniversaries traditionally celebrate how you started and how you are today, we saw our 50th anniversary as the chance to focus on our next 50 years of entertaining families. You could say our ideas took flight.” Fly they did. “Chuck Myers, our senior vice president of planning and
development, told us we were not going to build just to build,” Allen continued. “That allowed the team to fully create a theme and storyline for Aeronautica Landing.” “We wanted to add an anchor area to our park,” echoed Manny
Gonzalez, vice president and general manager of Carowinds. “Our goal was to exceed our guests’ expectations with a full and immersive experience. Flight, flying, and aeronautical themes are strong in our state; they were the perfect concepts for us to build upon.” Aeronautica Landing emerged in the park’s existing Crossroads area.
Described as a quiet, plain area of the park, it was home to four flat rides: the Yo-Yo, Dodg’em, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 3Z Arena, and Southern Star. Early teaser messaging from the park in 2022 hinted that something new related to flying would fully replace them. “We wanted Aeronautica Landing to be a placemaking piece for our guests,” continued Allen. “It was about more than just adding new rides. We
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thought and planned holistically, from the overall theme itself, to including shade and seating, to adding dining options, to offering variety for all ages in the family.” Birds flying over Aeronautica Landing enjoy a special bird’s-eye view, as
from above, the entire area is laid out to look like a bird in flight. At ground level, as guests enter the new section of the park from others, they find themselves on walkways painted to mimic runways and airport taxiways. Eagle-eyed and attentive guests will also note - and enjoy - the bright yellow signage placed throughout the land that resembles airport runway markers. Examples include R4-CR (Racer), PL-4Y (Play), R1-D3 (Ride), and AL-23 (Aeronautica Landing, 2023). Carowinds has added four new rides to Aeronautica Landing from
Zamperla’s extensive collection. In addition, the existing Dodg’ems bumper cars received a facelift, complete with new theming and brand-new hovercraft style cars. Along with its new theme, Dodg’ems evolved into Hover & Dodge. The
classic ride has been transformed into a futuristic version, where each car looks like a hovercraft. The new storyline and ride voiceover says the hover cars are prone to a ‘malfunction’ that causes them to bump into each other. The result is a classic attraction with Back to the Future II vibes. The 50 brand-new bumper cars are accompanied with updated lighting and sound to further enhance the futuristic theme. “Carowinds is the first park within Cedar Fair to employ AI technology at
a ride. The futuristic look and feel of the Aeronautica provided the perfect opportunity for us to try it, and hopefully, open the door for our other parks,” Allen shared. “It gives us a consistent voice. It also allows us to get feedback from our guests. Do they notice? Does it sound warm and sincere? Does it sound real? Where else can we start to utilise this technology? It’s all about moving forward.”
MAY 2023
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