When fall comes along, a number of things come with it such as: pumpkin spice lattes, scarfs, riding boots, colorful leaves, and of course Halloween. If you live anywhere near Charlotte, North Carolina, you have probably heard of the them park Carowinds, and if you have heard of Carowinds, then I am sure you have heard of Scarowinds. Every year around this time Carowinds turns into Scarowinds, and this year I was brave enough to actually go. Here are 13 things I learned.
1. I scare very easily.
I knew this going into the night. I hate scary things, but for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to go because I love rollercoasters. After my friend and I entered the park, I was immediately freaked out about being scared. I knew that there would be people dressed up in costumes and it would be dark, but for some reason I thought that it would not be that scary. Boy was I wrong.
2. Everything is scarier in the dark.
For some reason when I went into the evening, it did not cross my mind how much scarier the rides would be in the dark. I thought about walking around, and the people dressed up being paid to scare you, but the rides, which they do not make any scarier on purpose, some how seemed so much scarier.
3. If you want to survive make friends with the people in costumes.
If you talk to the people trying to scare you they are really nice, and sometimes they will even walk you through the scare zones without having other people scare you.
4. People will come up and scare you no matter what/where you are.
Even though I made friends with some of the people in costumes that does not mean you are completely safe. You could just be trying to walk to the restroom and someone could jump out of the trashcan and scare you.
5. People (especially middle school and high school boys) will scream no matter what and try to scare you.
Along with the people being paid to scare you, there are teenage boys that will scream for no reason to try to scare the people they are with and make them think a person in a costume is right behind them
6. There are "No Boo" necklaces.
You can pay $8 and get a light up necklace with pumpkins on it that will protect you from being scared. I wish I had gotten one.
7. You can stand in two states at once.
This was not scary, but it was really cool. There is a line throughout the whole park where you can have one foot in North Carolina and one foot in South Carolina.
8. Get a map.
Even if you have been to Carowinds a million times, it is really hard to navigate your way through the park in the dark, and you do not want to waste your time being lost when you could use that time going on rides or being scared to death.
9. The lines are ridiculous, so try to get a Fastpass.
Scarowinds is really popular, so the lines are crazy. Even though they are expensive, Fastpasses are the best way to go or else you spend all your time waiting in lines.
10. You are forced to walk through the scare zone to get to some rides.
You may go into the night thinking you can avoid all the scare zones, but let me tell you that is not true. You are forced to walk through scare zones to get to the best rides.
11. Even people who do not get scared will get scared.
My friend who loves scary things freaked out more than I did by the end of the night. She would hide behind me, and run away when we were scared.
12. It gets so cold.
As the sun drops, so does the temperature, so bundle up! It gets really cold, and nothing is fun when your fingers turn blue and you are shivering.
13. I will be going back again.
I was scared to death, but it was so fun. I already cannot wait for next year.
If you live close, or want to take a pretty easy drive, I highly recommend it. It is only around for one more week, so make the most of it. Happy Halloween!
