Woodstock Express is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...

located at

Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park located adjacent to Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, with a portion of the park located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. However, it has an of ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

that was formerly named after the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

cartoon

The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him w ...

. Though containing all of the elements of a "full-size" or standard wooden roller coaster, its short drop heights, slower speed, gently curving layout and short track length lead to its mistaken identity as a 'junior roller coaster'.

History

It opened as "Scooby Doo" in 1975, loosely themed to the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

cartoon of the same name in the ''Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera''. Shortly before the park's 1993 season, the name was expanded to "Scooby-Doo's Ghoster Coaster". In 1993,

Paramount Parks Paramount Parks was the operator of Paramount's Kings Island, Paramount's Kings Dominion, Paramount's Great America, Paramount's Carowinds, and Paramount Canada's Wonderland, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. National Amuseme ...

bought Carowinds' parent company and added areas themed to the Nickelodeon television channel, owned by their parent company

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

. As part of this, the Hanna-Barbera area was eventually annexed into the ''Nickelodeon Central'' area, and in 2005, the roller coaster was renamed "Fairly Odd Coaster" in 2005. As part of the new theming, the wooden superstructure was painted indigo, and the cars repainted to mimic the Fairy Oddparents characters from the show; one train pink and the other green, with the fairies' faces on the front of the cars. To depict these characters as roller coaster trains is accurate to the television show because on screen, the fairies can change their shape at will, though their faces always remain visible on whatever they become. The coaster was renamed Woodstock Express in 2010 when the area was rethemed as

Planet Snoopy Planet Snoopy is a ''Peanuts'' themed area for children at several Cedar Fair amusement parks. Locations Current Planet Snoopy at Kings Island was awarded the "Best Kids Area" Golden Ticket Awards from 2001–2018 by ''Amusement Today''. It was ...

. In 2015, Woodstock Express was repainted periwinkle with yellow side-rails.

Layout

Woodstock Express ascends the

chain lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

and then travels through a series of

camelback hill This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...

s and slightly banked turns.

Significance

Woodstock Express was recognized by the

American Coaster Enthusiasts American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization focusing on the enjoyment, knowledge, and preservation of roller coasters as well as recognition of some as architectural and engineering landmarks. Dues-paying members receive the ...

(ACE) as an "

ACE Coaster Classic American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization focusing on the enjoyment, knowledge, and preservation of roller coasters as well as recognition of some as architectural and engineering landmarks. Dues-paying members receive the ...

" but that status has since been rescinded as a result of recent changes to the coaster. Roller coasters with this designation must be wood, not

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, and meet certain operational and design criteria, including non-ratcheting lap bar restraints, no seat dividers or headrests, and free choice of seating for riders (over being assigned a seat by the operator).

References

External links

Official ''Woodstock Express'' page
{{PCW Coasters Roller coasters in South Carolina Roller coasters operated by Cedar Fair Carowinds Peanuts in amusement parks 1975 establishments in South Carolina