Carwardine Colony

Carwardine Colony is the flagship park of the Carwardine Parks chain. It is the largest park in the Carwardine Parks chain. It is located in Newport News, Virginia.

Design and construction
During the 1973 oil crisis, real estate agent Christopher R. Carwardine had read an article about a family who were angered that they had to take a 2-hour drive to Lakeside Amusement Park in and continually refuel along the way, which inspired Christopher to feel he could develop his own theme park. In 1975, Christopher registered "Carwardine Colony" as a trademark, and used it for the name of his real estate company (Carwardine Colony Real Estate Inc.) for a few years to keep the trademark while he planned his amusement park.

After a few years of being unable to find a good site in the area, Christopher purchased a disused landfill in  known locally as the "Trash Heap from Hell". Over a 2-year period, the land was cleared & re-developed to create the Carwardine Colony amusement park. The park was mostly financed from Christopher's real estate earnings; as well as insurance money Christopher's police officer brother Jason A. Carwardine received from the when his police cruiser was involved in a head-on collision with a suspect's truck during a police chase.

Christopher, his wife Hiroko, and Christopher's college buddy Marv Simpleton helped with constructing the park. Christopher personally spent 12 hours a day, every day to reassemble The Flying Turns, a vintage bobsled coaster that formerly operated in Georgia and Ohio, in it's new location at the park, and Marv spent several days and nights assembling the Carwardine Mines mine train coaster, which was built by Arrow Development, while also working on the theming for the attraction.

In early 1979, several plans changed, a railroad idea was added with the addition of two 3-foot (914 mm) narrow-gauge locomotives from Mexico, inspired by the. The railroad would follow the same layout of the Skyway, but located under it towards the outer circle.

In mid-1979, the Carwardines and Simpleton were joined by Dean Joe Fawkes, a successful showman active on the East Coast's state and county fair circuit. As new roller coasters and rides began to be added, the three parties began to hire more and more workers to get the park finished. The, the and  also invested in Carwardine Colony Real Estate Inc. as they had interest in the under-construction theme park as well. An US$15 million advertising campaign produced by the Atlantis Advertising Corporation of was plotted.

Opening
Carwardine Colony, with it's final construction cost estimated at US$121 million, was officially opened on May 25, 1980 by the of the time,  (a rarity for many U.S. theme parks) along with Christopher R. Carwardine and Dean Joe Fawkes. At the time, the park employed 230 employees and operated from Monday to Saturday, with the park being closed on Sundays for maintenance work. Carwardine Colony was described as "Newport News' answer to Disneyland" by the media due to it's ambitions. Reportedly, fellow Virginia theme parks and  were so interested in what their competition was building that staffers from the aforementioned parks would visit the park in disguise to scope it out. It was notable at the time for being one of the very few theme parks in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States where a single admission fee covered unlimited turns on all of the rides and attractions. This admission fee was $10.99 for an adult and $5.00 for a child. The park welcomed 730 guests on it's first day of operation. Within the first four months of operation, Carwardine Colony attracted 340,000 guests and was predicted to be the biggest tourist attraction in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States by the mid-1980s.

and teamed up with Carwardine Colony,  and  to produce the Carwardine Colony Album in 1981.

1980s
In 1981, nothing new was added, and the only changes were fixes of problems that were on opening day,

The first major post-opening addition came in 1982 with the Classic Cyclone, a wooden coaster made to resemble the Coney Island Cyclone, it originally came with two buzz bar trains.

In 1983, The Space Capsule was removed from the park due to high maintenance, this was the first ride to be removed from the park.

1984 was a big year for Carwardine Colony, as the Carwardine Hotel, the official hotel of Carwardine Colony, and the Newport News Amphitheater, a large outdoor amphitheater frequented by major acts, both opened; in addition, similar to what McDonald's was giving out at the time, Olympic raffles were handed out, in which if America won a gold medal to all raffle holders, a free day to Carwardine Colony was given, this saw the park's attendance soar. Also in 1984, a projection tunnel was added to the end of Flying Turns with CGI effects, the same footage would be used on the ride until the park's Silver Jubilee event in 2005, in which newer CGI developed by Blur Studio was added to the ride. The older CGI returned for the 40th anniversary in 2020.

In 1985, Lasso was built at the park as the park's first suspended coaster and Virginia's second suspended coaster after The Big Bad Wolf, unlike The Big Bad Wolf, which is low to the ground, Lasso is more along the lines of Vortex at Canada's Wonderland or Flight Deck at Kings Island due to the fact it stays higher off the ground and focuses more on diving turns instead of flat turns, mainly to differentiate it from The Big Bad Wolf, this was one of the 1985 "Fear Duo", the other being Fear Fall, an Intamin 1st Generation Freefall, the first of it's kind in the state, both rides opened on May 1st, 1985 to an event that was broadcasted on several TV stations across Virginia, several cable channels to broadcast it through out the United States, and a day later (May 2nd), a free VHS of the event was given to passholders.

1986 was a rather smaller year, only adding a Broadway stage, due to the fact Carwardine was focusing more on their other parks than Carwardine Colony (besides the Kids Show). Also, in 1986, the park was now open on Sundays, to keep it in line with it's sister parks. Also in 1986, The Carwardine Colony Kids Show, hosted by Christopher R. Carwardine and with an audience of kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic United States, debuted on, and was produced at the studios in. The series then moved to in 1989 (along with a move from the CBN studios to the Hamptons Mediaplex in, and then later to a purpose-built studio (Carwardine Studios Poquoson Annex) in ) and again to  in 2011.

In 1987, the Care Bears were added along with Skylab, a Huss Skylab (similar to an Enterprise), with a rather notable marketing campaign for what's essentially a portable ride, with the tagline "It's Gonna Make You Sick!" being popular among Virginia, with several bootleg shirts being produced with the tagline next to an image of the Skylab at Storytown USA.

In 1988, the "Colony Triple Threat" came into action with three rides opening, first was Pool Sharks, which opened up in March, the second was Carwardine River Rapids, which opened up in April as the first river rapids ride to have a heated water system, making it able to operate year round, and finally, in May, Vortex opened up as "The South's First Pipeline Coaster" and gained 5 hour lines due to it's uniqueness, manufacturered by TOGO of Japan, this coaster was considered a "Hybrid Coaster" on brochures and later, the website instead of a "Sit-Down Coaster", "Standup Coaster", "Suspended Coaster" or "Inverted Coaster".

In 1989, Cosmic Avenger opened, but more major was the opening of the Colony Coast waterpark.

1990s
For the 1990 season, Carwardine gained the rights to the Simpsons characters for 10 years, it was extended for 5 years and 1 year twice before being sold to Universal Studios, it also announced it's rights to the Mario characters with a new dark ride, they also celebrated it's 10th anniversary with several major events, in that year, City Jet was relocated from Kid's World and added in, in addition, Phoenix Twister was added and lots of other stuff.

In 1991, TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha) America opened their offices in Carwardine Studios, so Carwardine wouldn't have to pay to export several stages of animation for their video queue shows, although inking and painting was still done in Japan. Also, in 1991, the futuristic buildings of the 1980-built section of Time Machine were repainted with pastel colors.

In 1992, The Defects was filmed there, although, nothing new was added in 1992 due to focusing more on other parks, 1992 also saw the launch of the Carwardine Colony newsgroup, which was sold to a fan in 2000 to focus on Carwardine Forums.

In 1993, a kiddie expansion and a refurbishment to the Super Mario World dark ride were done, but the most notable has to be Nitro Rush, "The South's First Hyper Coaster", which was also the first hyper to use Arrow's prototype supports previously used on Drachen Fire and later used on Tennessee Tornado.

In 1994, the trim brakes from City Jet were removed to increase the intensity of the ride.

In 1995, American Arrow, a coaster bought from Germany, was added.

In 1996, Hurricane Fran hit Carwardine Colony and damaged several wooden structures, most notable a rather huge chunk of Classic Cyclone, causing it to be closed for the rest of the season while Custom Coasters International retracks the broken parts of the coasters, estimated to be around 35% of the coaster.

In 1997, Beach Blast was added to the park, along with The MarioKart Experience.

In 1998, Chaos was added to the park. Also, that year was the final season for the railroad.

In 1999, Monstar was added to the park, Monstar has been in the works since around 1996 in order to become the tallest coaster in the world, although it would be beaten by Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Tower of Terror at Dreamworld, however, it still opened as the tallest complete-circuit coaster, and had several marketing campaigns.

2000s
In 2000, nothing really happened, as Carwardine was focusing on other parks.

In 2001, Blaster was added to the park.

In 2002, the Super Mario World ride was updated once again.

In 2003, PBS Kids Neighborhood replaced Kids Kountry.

In 2004, Twin Spiral was installed.

In 2005, Two new studios were added to Carwardine Studios.

In 2006, Chaos and Skylab closed forever, Chaos due to maintenance and Skylab due to age.

In 2007, PBS Kids Neighborhood got renamed back to Kids Kountry and Zero G-Force opened to the public.

In 2008, Carwardine Colony was featured alongside Carwardine's Great America, Six Flags Kings Dominion and in Virginia Tourism Corporation ads featuring the slogan "".

In 2009, minor park improvements were made.

2010s
On Labor Day 2010, Launchpads and Calypso closed for relocation.

In 2011, the park got a new logo, the logo was first shown in February 2011, and during March of 2011, it was starting to be put on trash cans, refillable cups and souvenirs, the changes were complete by August 2011.

In 2012, Zyclone opened.

2020s
In October 2021, Carwardine Colony announced that a new area, two brand new coasters and 4 new rides would open sometime in 2022, giving it the record of 24 coasters in one park. It was confirmed that the area bordering Kids Kountry and Mine Shaft that contains Redwall: Escape from Malkariss and Redwall: Slagar's Challenge would be split into a new area - Redwall Abbey - with the addition of a new coaster, Jess' Wall Crawl.

Areas

 * Entrance
 * Coney Island (based on Coney Island in New York City)
 * Kids Kountry (renamed PBS Kids Neighborhood from 2003-2007, name changed back to Kids Kountry in 2007)
 * Mine Shaft
 * Time Machine

Roller coasters

 * American Arrow (1995; a Schwarzkopf Family Looping Coaster; had originally operated under Oscar Bruch on the German fair circuit as Skyline from 1986-1994, originally going to be moved to PBS Kids Neighborhood, before a Premier Rides variant was built) [Coney Island] {Q-X}
 * Carwardine Mines (1980; An Arrow Dynamics mine train roller coaster, original Arrow ride op control panel replaced with a Huss-TechEruo TE-1000 layout back in 2001) [Mine Shaft] {Q-X}
 * City Jet (1990; A Schwarzkopf CityJet/Jet 400 roller coaster; relocated from, trim brakes removed in 1994, repainted in 1998, repainted a second time and renamed Bionic Bunny Blast! from 2003-2007 during the PBS Kids Neighborhood era) [Kids Kountry] {Q-X}
 * Classic Cyclone (1982; A PTC wooden roller coaster; Formerly known as "Cyclone" [1982-1991], damaged by a hurricane in 1996, track rebuilt by CCI after said hurricane and given a transfer track to allow 3 trains, the coaster has 3 trains, 1 "buzz bar" train, 1 "orange restraint" train and 1 GCI Millennium Flyer which replaced one of the original two Buzz Bar trains, only two trains can run at once) [Coney Island] {Q-X}
 * Cyberchase: Hack Attack (1999; a PAX Cobra-1, formerly "King Cobra" from 1999-2003) [Kids Kountry] {Q-X}
 * Double Dash Dueler (2004; a Premier Rides Launched Coaster themed to Mario Kart: Double Dash) [Coney Island] {Q-X}
 * Flash Forward (1980; A Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop coaster, was given new trains from the closed Looper at Six Flags Copenhagen in 2001 and replacement parts from Huss-TechEruo in 2015 after several instances of downtime throughout the years, given new trains by Gerstlauer in June 2019) [Time Machine] {Q-X}
 * The Flying Turns (1980; A John Miller Flying Turns bobsled coaster; formerly operated at Rose Park (1972-1977) and (1930-1969); gained an ACE Landmark Award in 2003, often closes for the season a month before the park does) [Coney Island] {Q-X}
 * Garfield's Feline Fury (1990; A Mack Rides Powered Coaster, originally known as Rocket Train [1990-1996] and Elmo's Imagination Train [2002-2007]) [Kids Kountry] {Q-X}
 * Jess' Wall Crawl (2022; a RES Roller Ball coaster) [Mine Shaft] {Q-X}
 * Jr. Cyclone (1998; An Allan Herschell kiddie coaster, relocated from ) [Kids Kountry] {Q-X}
 * Ladybug Tivoli (1980; A Zierer Medium Tivoli coaster) [Kids Kountry] {No Q-X}
 * Lasso (1985; An Arrow Dynamics suspended swing roller coaster, originally painted Orange/White, before being painted Silver/Gold in 1995, and then being repainted Orange/Black in 2007) [Mine Shaft] {Q-X}
 * Monstar (1999; A Morgan hyper coaster, it is 277 feet tall) [Coney Island] {Q-X P}
 * Nightmare: The Scream Machine (2016; An indoor Gerstlauer bobsled coaster, a variation of the 450 model, with changes including the addition of two transfer tracks, allowing up to eight cars instead of the original six) [Mine Shaft] {Q-X}
 * Nitro Rush (1993; A 210-foot tall Arrow Dynamics looping roller coaster, built as kind of a hybrid between Drachen Fire and Magnum XL-200, part of it retracked by Morgan in 2003) [Coney Island] {Q-X P}
 * Rainbow Brite's Star Chase (2003; a Vekoma Junior Flying Dutchman) [Coney Island] {Q-X}
 * Randomizer (2022; a Vekoma launched coaster with several different layouts voted on by the riders) [Coney Island] {Q-X P}
 * Redwall: Escape from Malkariss (2003; A Bolliger & Mabillard flying roller coaster, was the tallest and fastest flying roller coaster at the time it opened; damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, track rebuilt by MSC Incorporated following said hurricane; was originally part of Kids Kountry (then PBS Kids Neighborhood) before being annexed into Mine Shaft along with the former Ponyland's footprint) [Mine Shaft] {Q-X}
 * Sagwa's Rickshaw Run (2003; A Premier Rides Steel Coaster deliberately designed with a similar layout to it's Schwarzkopf Family Looping Coaster counterparts at Omaha Luna Park and Alabama's Backyard) [Kids Kountry] {Q-X}
 * Toboggan (1980; a Chance Toboggan, previously operated in a Olympia, Washington-based traveling carnival and at Wiener Prater in Austria, had a 72 inch maximum height requirement until the trains were replaced with more spacious ones made in-house in 1994) [Coney Island] {Q-X}
 * Twin Spiral (2004; An Intamin Impulse coaster; clone of Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, but with a different color scheme) [Time Machine] {Q-X}
 * Zero G-Force (2007; A 320-foot tall Intamin Accelerator coaster with an inverted top hat element, has a similar layout to Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, a net was added below the inverted top hat in 2008 to catch vomit) [Time Machine] {Q-X P}
 * Zyclone (2012; a Zamperla Mega Twister Coaster, the world's longest spinning coaster) [Time Machine] {Q-X}

Flat rides

 * Carousel (1980; originally played calopy music from Capital Records, in 2000, they were replaced with Carwardine's regular stock music tracks) [Coney Island] {No Q-X}
 * Carwardine Mover (1980; a one station WedWay PeopleMover across Carwardine Colony, rerouted in 1999 and 2003 for Monstar and Sagwa respectively, this is one of the few attractions Carwardine owns to use technology based off of Disney's) [Entrance] {Q-X}
 * Carwardine River Rapids (1988; Intamin River Rapids ride) [Coney Island] {Q-X P}
 * Cosmic Avenger (1989; A Zamperla Telecombat ride) [Time Machine]
 * Dropsanity (2021; S&S Spin Shot) [Coney Island] {Q-X P}
 * Enterprise (1980; a HUSS Enterprise) [Time Machine]
 * Himalaya (1980) [Coney Island]
 * Logging Rampage (1980; An Arrow Log Flume, slightly re-routed for Redwall in 2003) [Mine Shaft]
 * Mega Man ZX Double Strike (2007; A Zamperla Hawk 48 ride) [Time Machine] {Q-X P}
 * Monster (1980; An Eyerly Monster ride) [Mine Shaft]
 * Phoenix Twister (1990; A Huss Condor ride) [Mine Shaft]
 * Pirate (1980; A Huss Pirate Ship ride) [Time Machine]
 * Pool Sharks (1988; A teacups style ride themed to billiard balls) [Coney Island]
 * Redwall: Slagar's Challenge (2003; a S&S Space Shot 3-Tower Combo Complex, once held the record for the world's tallest drop tower) [Kids Kountry]
 * Sky Tower (1980; A Huss Sky Tower ride) [Entrance]
 * Sky Whirl (1980; A Waagner-Biro/Intamin Sky Whirl dual triple ferris wheel ride, only remaining Sky Whirl in the United States)
 * Springfield Swings (2022; A Funtime Starflyer, tallest Starflyer at 550ft in the air)
 * Square Loop Sky Ride (1980; A Von Roll round trip VR-101 with 4 stations, retracked by Doppelmayr in 2012) [Entrance, Mine Shaft, Time Machine & Coney Island]
 * Super Mario World (1990; A dark ride themed to the "Super Mario" video games, refurbished in 1993 for Super Mario World, 1995 for Yoshi's Island, 1996 for Super Mario 64, 2002 for Super Mario Sunshine, 2007 for Super Mario Galaxy and 2017 for Super Mario Odyssey) [Mine Shaft]
 * Surf's Up! (2007; A Zamperla Disk'O ride with a surfing theme) [Coney Island]
 * The MarioKart Experience (1997; A go-kart track located under Monstar) [Coney Island]
 * Twister (1980; Mack Swing-Bob ride) [Coney Island]
 * Wipeout (1982; A Chance Rides Trabant ride) [Mine Shaft]

Kiddie rides
All of the park's kiddie rides are located in Kids Kountry. Kids Kountry saw two updates, first one in 1993, again in 2003 when it became PBS Kids Neighborhood, once again in 2007 to remove the PBS Kids licenses, and once again in 2015.


 * Baja Buggies (2015; A Zamperla Jump Around ride with dune buggies)
 * Blast Off! (2015; A Zamperla Jumpin' Tower 16 ride)
 * Convoy (2003; A Zamperla Convoy ride, formerly known as "Oscar's Sloppy Jalopies" [2003-2007])
 * Care Bear-y Go Round (1980; A small carousel themed to the Care Bears, Formerly known as "Kids Kountry Carousel" [1980-1986]; was the only non-PBS Kids attraction during the PBS Kids Neighborhood era)
 * Circus Twist (2019, a Nanfang Crazy Circus)
 * Fire Chief (1993; A Zamperla Crazy Bus ride themed to a fire truck, formerly known as "Barney's Fire Department" [2003-2007])
 * Mini Motorcade (1980; A Hampton Rides kiddie umbrella ride with motorcycles and jeeps)
 * Mini Twister (1980; A kiddie Himalaya ride, formerly known as "Darren's Mine Cart Challenge" [2003-2007])
 * Rocket Ships (1980; A Hampton Rides Sky Fighters ride, formerly themed to Dragons and known as "Zak & Wheezie's Dragon Flyers" [2003-2007])
 * Roundabout (1980; A Mangles Kiddie Whip ride, formerly known as "Bert's Pigeon Race" [2003-2007])
 * Ship Ahoy! (1993; A Sartori Mini Pirate Ship ride)
 * Sky High (1993; A Zamperla Mini Enterprise ride with helicopters and robots)
 * Teacups (2015; A Zamperla Mini Teacups ride)

Playground Kountry
Built in 1993 to make a central hub for Kids Kountry. Known as "PBS Kids Backyard" from 2003-2007.


 * Dome Climber (1993)
 * Merry-go-Roundabout (1993)
 * Monkey Bars (1993)
 * Sandpit (1993)

Restaurants and food stands

 * Beachcombers (A quick service food stand) [Colony Coast]
 * Carvel Ice Cream [Coney Ialnd]
 * Carwardine Cafe (A cafeteria style restaurant) [Entrance]
 * Coney Island Hot Dog Hut [Coney Island]
 * Kids Kountry Snack Shack [Kids Kountry]
 * McDonald's (Based on the late 1950s take-out design) [Time Machine]
 * Subway [Entrance]
 * Starbucks [Entrance]
 * Pizza Hut Express [Entrance]

Gift shops and game stands

 * Coastal Cove Treasures [Colony Coast]
 * Kids Kountry Trading Post [Kids Kountry]
 * Main Street Merchants [Entrance]
 * Nickelodeon Emporium [Coney Island]
 * Redwall Shop [Mine Shaft]
 * Time Machine Arcade [Time Machine]

Live shows & meet-and-greets

 *  [Coney Island] (Added 2001)
 * Broadway's Summer Home [Coney Island] (Added 1986; venue for "summer productions" of Broadway musicals)
 * Busytown Theater [Kids Kountry] (Added 1990; animatronic versions of Huckle & Sally Cat, Lowly Worm, Lynnie Raccoon, Hilda Hippo, and Bananas Gorilla entertain guests; the showtapes were originally voiced by Carwardine staff until 1995 when they were re-recorded by the cast of The Busy World of Richard Scarry)
 * Newport News Amphitheater [technically Entrance] (Added 1984)
 * Skyrotechnics [Coney Island]
 * Care Bears Meet-and-Greet [Kids Kountry] (Added 1987)
 * Redwall Meet-and-Greet [Mine Shaft] (Added 2004; Matthias, Cornflower and Mattimeo mingle with guests)
 * The Rock-afire Explosion [Coney Island] (Added 1991)
 * Rock-afire Meet-and-Greet [Coney Island]

Colony Coast (water park)
Carwardine Colony/Colony Coast Gallery

Colony Coast was added to the park in 1989. It is located near the park and can be accessed via a bridge from the main park. It is extra charge. Colony Coast received a slight makeover in 2007 with a new restroom/changing room building, a new cabana area, and new attractions. In 2018, it became free for all Gold Passholders or higher.


 * Bumper (1989; A ProSlide MultiBump, formerly known as "Max Track")
 * Catapult (2007; A ProSlide Rocket "Carwardine Parks Layout-001", 2nd of the 5 with the layout)
 * Hurricane Halfpipe (2007; A halfpipe water slide)
 * Hurricane Hill (1990; 8 New Wave Products Tube Slides)
 * Hurricane Allison (An open tube slide with enclosed sections) [Pink Tubes]
 * Hurricane Barry (An open tube slide) [Yellow Tubes]
 * Hurricane Chantal (An entirely enclosed slide that's transparent, transparent sections fabricated by WhiteWater West) [Orange Tubes]
 * Hurricane Dean (An entirely enclosed slide with lights) [Green Tubes]
 * Hurricane Gabrielle (An entirely dark enclosed slide with an open drop) [Blue Tubes]
 * Hurricane Hugo (An entirely enclosed slight completely in the dark) [Purple Tubes]
 * Hurricane Iris (An enclosed slide with an open drop) [Brown Tubes]
 * Hurricane Karen (An enclosed slide with open sections) [Red Tubes]
 * Freefall (1989; A ProSlide Freefall, formerly known as "Fast Track")
 * Kids Pond (1989; A Fred Langford Kids Slide Complex)
 * King Cobra (2013; a Polin King Cobra slide)
 * Luge Cruise (1989; A Fred Langford Mat Slide)
 * Mastodon Mountain (2007; A ProSlide Mammoth slide)
 * Nickelodeon Slime Geyser Beach (2007; A WhiteWater West kiddie slide complex, located next to the Slime Geyser relocated from Nickelodeon Studios Orlando)
 * Quad Sliders (1989; A Fred Langford Tube Slide Complex, Several clones of the complex came up, including 'Cuda Falls, TBA and a mirrored version at New Roseland Park) [White, Alternate Yellow, Alternate White and Alternate Green Tube Designs respectively]
 * Splashin' Rapids (2007; A lazy river)
 * Tidal Wave Pool (1989; A wave pool)
 * Tornado (2007; A ProSlide Tornado, repainted in 2017)
 * Turbo Twister (2007; Two ProSlide TurboTwisters, due to the rotting structure thanks to several hurricanes, age, lack of maintenance and the fact ProSlide doesn't support that model of TurboTwisters anymore, it turned from transparent to dark with a few light patches, the track was entirely replaced by ProSlide, the ride was now made opaque with a few lights, the entrance and exit were heavily tweaked and even some of the supports were redone.)

Carwardine Studios
Carwardine Studios is an indoor/outdoor filming studio using for filming live-action commercials for both Carwardine properties and other companies, as well as being used for various TV shows & movies filmed in the Newport News area as well as music videos & commercials for other clients. The studios opened March of 1990. It was expanded with 2 more studios in 1997, another 2 studios in 2001, and another 2 studios in 2005. An effects stage and backlot were added in 2003, the first production to use the effects stage was Kids for Character TV, which also filmed in Studio 4.

The most iconic film shot at the studios was the critical & commercial success The Defects (nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Visual Effects), the second most popular was Mickey Mouse, while that film was mostly filmed at Carwardine Studios, with location shoots also occurring in other locations in the Hampton Roads area.

The facility is equipped with high-end HDTV facilities, equipment, and a backlot.

This is considered the biggest studio in "Virginiawood".

Studio 1 (Indoor, 200ft high)

 * Super Mario World ride ad (1990)
 * TMS America Offices (1991-present)
 * The Ride Op (1997, for the dorm scenes)

Studio 2 (Outdoor)

 * Donkey Kong Country ad (1994)
 * Mickey Mouse (1995, movie - )

Studio 3 (Hybrid, indoor section 100ft high)

 * Storage area (1990-present)
 * The Defects (1992, movie - Universal Pictures)
 * Nitro Rush ad (1993)
 * Waterpark Expansion announcement trailer (2006)

Studio 4 (Indoor, 150ft high) [ADDED 1997]

 * Kids for Character TV (2003 TV special)

Studio 6 (Indoor, 125ft high) [ADDED 2001]
CAMERAS: RED Dragon 5K


 * Toon Jukebox videos for "Star Trekkin'", "CAN CAN WORLD", "Girl U Want (Devo)", "Happy Children", "Whirly Girl", "Watch Us Work It", "Danger Zone (VERSION II)", "S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)", "Shake It Up (VERSION II)", "Zoolook", "That Greasy Kids Stuff", and "Butterfly" (filmed 2019; released 2020)

Effects Stage (Indoor, 188ft high) [ADDED 2003]

 * Kids for Character TV (2003 TV special)
 * Toon Jukebox videos for "Star Trekkin'", "CAN CAN WORLD", "Girl U Want (Devo)", "Happy Children", "Whirly Girl", "Watch Us Work It", "Danger Zone (VERSION II)", "S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain)", "Shake It Up (VERSION II)", "Zoolook", "That Greasy Kids Stuff", and "Butterfly" (filmed 2019; released 2020)

Roller coasters

 * Blaster (2001-2010; A Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang coaster, relocated to Whalom Park as "Launchpads" in 2011; replaced with Zyclone) [Time Machine]
 * Count Coasterula (1999-2015; A Vekoma Bat Flyer family roller coaster; replaced with a Kids Kountry expansion; relocated to The World of Redwall as "Lord Cayvear's Patrol") [Time Machine]
 * Super Cyclone (1992-2012; A RCCA wooden roller coaster; scrapped for spare parts for the other wooden coasters at Carwardine's parks) [Coney Island]
 * Vortex (1988-2003; A TOGO Ultra Twister pipeline roller coaster; Replaced with Twin Spiral; relocated to Brilliance Port as "Tornado" in 2004) [Time Machine]

Flat rides

 * Carwardine Railroad (1980-1998; all locomotives relocated to Billings' Wild Kingdom and Tokyo Carwardine Colony)
 * Calypso (1980-2010; A Mack Calypso ride, relocated to Darien Lake as "Sidewinder", replaced with a part of Zyclone's queue line)
 * Chaos (1998-2006; A Chance Chaos ride, it had various mechanical issues and was scrapped, replaced with Mega Man ZX Double Strike)
 * Beach Beast (1997-2019; A Huss Top Spin ride, Replaced with more cabanas and a restroom building, while mostly thrown into the scrapyard, one seat was chainsawed apart from the rest and resides in the Carwardine Studios) [Coney Island]
 * Fear Fall (1985-1999; An Intamin 1st generation Free Fall ride, relocated to New Roseland Park as "Mine Shaft") [Mine Shaft]
 * Kirby's Daring Dash (1995-2000; An Intamin Flight Trainer ride, demolished and replaced with Blaster) [Time Machine]
 * Shot Tower (1988-2002; a drop tower made in-house, considered the "grand-daddy" of modern drop towers, was sponsored by All Sport sports drink in its final years, replaced by Redwall: Slagar's Challenge)
 * Skylab (1987-2006; A Huss Sky Lab ride, replaced with Surf's Up!) [Coney Island]
 * Space Capsule (1980- 1983; An Eyerly Roll-O-Plane ride, first ride to be removed from the park, was on the German fair circuit for a time, now at a park in Iran)
 * VR Troopers: Virtual Reality Adventure (1995-2002; A 4D motion simulator ride with VR Troopers; Replaced with Time Machine Arcade) [Time Machine]

Kiddie rides

 * Buggies (1980-1992; A Traver Kiddie Tumble Bug ride, replaced with Sky High)
 * Roadsters (1980-1992; A carousel style kiddie ride with 1960s style sports cars, replaced with Fire Chief)
 * Tiny Tilt (1980-1997; A teacups style kiddie umbrella ride with a tilting platform, replaced with Chaos, relocated to Kid's World)
 * Kiddie Swings (1980-1992; A kiddie Wave Swinger ride, replaced with Ship Ahoy!)

Other

 * Ponyland (2003-2007; a mini zoo & "discovery farm" based off the theme park seen in the Arthur episode "D.W. Goes to Washington", replaced with part of Redwall: Escape from Malkariss' queue line when part of Kids Kountry (formerly PBS Kids Neighborhood) became part of Mine Shaft along with Redwall: Escape from Malkariss, new homes were secured for all the ponies) [PBS Kids Neighborhood]

Incidents

 * On May 18, 2001, the back of the train on King Cobra derailed during the final half of the ride cycle. 3 riders were injured and airlifted to area hospitals. Causes included poor translation of the manual from Russian to English and the replacement of wheels in the back car. King Cobra re-opened for the 2002 season after some modifications, then was re-themed as Cyberchase: Hack Attack for the 2003 season.
 * During the 2010 Carwarween event, two people died:
 * On October 5, during a Carwarween concert at the Newport News Amphitheater sponsored by, Ari Wilson, the former lead singer and guitarist of the glam metal band Bronze-Age, died of a heart attack after performing duties as a sound engineer for 5-Starz.
 * On October 23, scare actor Thomas Brooks, a native, committed suicide by jumping off a cell phone tower in the employees' parking lot. Brooks was reported to have been distressed after he feared he had seriously injured a young girl earlier that night while she was in one of the scare zones.

Trivia

 * The park has a building height limit of 550 ft, one of the few parks with a height limit taller than 500ft.
 * With 22 coasters, Carwardine Colony holds the world record for most roller coasters in an amusement park, beating out Six Flags Magic Mountain's 20 and Cedar Point's 17.
 * The projection tunnel added at the end of Flying Turns for Carwardine Colony in 1984 is the first ever use of CGI for a regional theme park chain.
 * According to a 2012 interview with the animators, the CGI took 5 months to complete.
 * Welcome to the PBS Kids Neighborhood was the name of the TV broadcast of the opening day celebrations for the Kids Kountry area when it was renamed PBS Kids Neighborhood.
 * There is a bowling alley located below the Sky Whirl attraction, in a similar fashion to the basketball court inside the Matterhorn, it is accessible by employees only and was installed because Chris Carwardine was an avid bowler, and often took up bowling when he wasn't focusing on his company.

Easter Eggs

 * The words "Friends don't let friends use "friends don't let friends" sentences" are written on one of the emergency exit doors for Studio 6 of Carwardine Studios. This phrase had been coined by Christopher R. Carwardine to mock an employee at Carwardine Colony who made a T-shirt reading "Friends don't let friends visit Disneyland."
 * The original sign for "Chaos" can be seen at Colony Coast as part of the theming for Hurricane Hill.