New Light Show and Military Tribute Highlight Memorial Day Weekend at Carowinds

Holiday festivities include the debut of Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular and a tribute to our troops

News provided by

May 18, 2011, 09:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- From soaking in the sun, a show that will delight your senses, and special savings for members of our armed forces, Carowinds, the home of Intimidator®, the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in the Southeast has something for everyone this Memorial Day weekend.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110518/CL03004 )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110330/CL73314LOGO )

Carowinds kicks off its Memorial Day weekend festivities on Saturday night, May 28, with the debut of Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular, a new nighttime walk-through light and sound experience featuring Snoopy and the PEANUTS™ gang. Using almost 60 miles of low-energy, high-efficiency LED light strands (627,482 lights to be exact), this immersive light and sound spectacular can be viewed from Country Fair through the entrance of Planet Snoopy.

This incredible new "green" show was created for Carowinds by world-renowned lighting designer Andrew Strain, the creator of award-winning light displays in California, New York and London. Strain says the experience he designed for the "thrill capital of the Southeast" is unparalleled to any other light show in the region.

"I was able to go crazy," said Strain. "It's a show for families, so I had a lot of freedom to use as much color and movement as I could, and I had a blast doing it. I created a light show the whole family can walk through and enjoy--something which adds to the overall park experience."

The festivities continue May 29 & 30 as the park salutes the brave men and women of the armed forces. With a valid ID, Carowinds will offer free admission to any active and retired U.S. military personnel on the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend as a part of its Military Appreciation Days program.

Highlighting the day's activities on Sunday, May 29, is the colorful "Celebrate America" fireworks show. Watch as the skies over Carowinds come alive with color during this special patriotic tribute at 10:00pm.

And finally, don't forget your swimsuit as Memorial Day weekend marks the start of splash-tacular fun at Carowinds! Boomerang Bay™, the 20-acre Australian themed water park, included with the price of admission, opens for the season on Saturday, May 28. With two wave pools, a 1,000 foot long lazy river, 11 exhilarating water slides and three interactive family activity areas, Boomerang Bay™ has plenty of ways for guests to cool off or soak up the sun all summer long!

For more information on all of our Memorial Day activities, including pricing and hours for both Carowinds and Boomerang Bay™, please visit www.carowinds.com.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN) is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio. The Company, which owns and operates 11 amusement parks, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels, is one of the largest regional amusement park operators in the world. Its parks are located in Ohio, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, California under a management contract. Cedar Fair's flagship park, Cedar Point, has been consistently voted the "Best Amusement Park in the World" in a prestigious annual poll conducted by Amusement Today newspaper.