Carowinds Announces Retirement of Nighthawk, Two Flat Rides

In a blog post earlier today, Carowinds announced the retirement and closure of three of the park’s attractions: Nighthawk, Drop Tower, and ScreamWeaver. With none of the attractions currently operating for WinterFest, it means these rides have already given their final rides at Carowinds.

“As we look toward the future, we have to make some tough decisions. To move forward and evolve sometimes we must step away from some attractions from our past,” Carowinds said.

Perhaps the most important news to coaster enthusiasts is the closure of Nighthawk, which has operated at the park since 2004. One of three “Flying Dutchman” coasters ever manufactured by Vekoma, the coaster was originally located at California’s Great America from 2000-2003, where it was known as Stealth. During the final years of Paramount’s ownership of Carowinds, the coaster was known as BORG Assimilator, themed to the Star Trek franchise, and featured a black and green paint scheme.

With its closure, the lone remaining “Flying Dutchman” model is Batwing, located at Six Flags America. (Firehawk at Kings Island closed in 2018 after arriving at the park from Geauga Lake in 2007.)

In addition to Nighthawk’s closure, Carowinds will also be retiring Drop Tower and Scream Weaver.

Formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, during the park’s Paramount years, Drop Tower originally opened at Carowinds in 1996, and was one of five Intamin drop towers of the same name that opened at Paramount-owned Parks between 1996 and 2003. At 160′ tall, the Carowinds version is the shortest of the five.

Scream Weaver’s history at Carowinds began in 1979, when the Schwarzkopf “Enterprise” opened in the original “County Fair” section of the park as Meteorite. In 1993, the attraction was relocated to what is now known as the “Thrill Zone” of Carowinds, and renamed Scream Weaver.

“We know that saying goodbye to beloved rides can be difficult, and we appreciate your passion. These changes are an important part of our growth and underscore our commitment to elevating the park experience. We’re excited about the future, and we can’t wait to begin this journey with you at Carowinds,” the park concluded in the blog.

To editorialize a bit, as someone who frequently visits Carowinds, I don’t necessarily view any of these three attractions’ retirements as a major loss. If you wanted to ride Nighthawk, your options were to rope-drop it, or wait in a long line, made longer by the fact that the sometimes two but often just one-24 passenger trains had a low hourly capacity due to longer than typical loading and unloading procedures. It was also definitely a rougher ride in its later years, and one that I rode maybe once in the past few years.

With Drop Tower, there are models now that are much taller and thrilling, and while it was fun to watch, it wasn’t the most exciting ride to ride. As for Scream Weaver, I never rode it. While it’s slightly frustrating to lose a classic Schwarzkopf flat ride, a 45-year old attraction from a long-shuttered manufacturer is probably very difficult to maintain in a modern era.

While no “new” plans were announced as part of the ride retirements – though Carowinds is adding a new family roller coaster and water ride in 2025, and a “record breaking water ride” in 2026 – it does free up a few plots of land inside Carowinds for future ride development. What do you think will replace these three Carowinds rides? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Tags: carowindsdrop towernighthawkrides closedscream weaver