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.

History
See Carwardine Colony/History

Areas

 * Entrance (the "Main Street" of the park, themed to a typical American small town's downtown area)
 * Coney Island (based on Coney Island in New York City)
 * Kids Kountry (kids land; renamed PBS Kids Neighborhood from 2003-2007, name changed back to Kids Kountry in 2007)
 * Mine Shaft (themed to a stereotypical 19th century mineshaft)
 * Time Machine (themed to decades of the past and the future that may be)
 * Redwall Abbey (themed to the Redwall franchise)

Kiddie rides
All but one of the park's kiddie rides are located in Kids Kountry (Redwall Abbey has the Dibbuns Carousel). Kids Kountry saw two updates, first one in 1993 to add a central hub, again in 2003 when it became PBS Kids Neighborhood, once again in 2007 to remove the PBS Kids licenses, and once again in 2015 to modernize the area.
 * Baja Buggies (2015; A Zamperla Jump Around ride with dune buggies)
 * Blast Off! (2015; A Zamperla Jumpin' Tower 16 ride)
 * Bluey's Road Trip (2003; A Zamperla Convoy ride, formerly known as "Oscar's Sloppy Jalopies" [2003-2007] and "Convoy" [2007-2021], currently sponsored by Tropicana Kids juice drinks)
 * Care Bears’ Care-ousel (1980; A 28-Foot Fabricon carousel themed to the Care Bears, formerly known as "Kids Kountry Karousel" [1980-1986]; was the only non-PBS Kids attraction during the PBS Kids Neighborhood era; when the ride was initially rethemed from a license-free theme to a Care Bears theme in 1986, half of the 18 horses were swapped out for bears, which used a custom mold resembling a Dentzel-style bear (looking quite similar to the one used by Barrango/MSC), albeit with each bear being painted in vibrant colors to resemble a Care Bear in their color scheme (this wouldn't apply to later usage of the bear mold on non-Care Bears-themed carousels from Fabricon); the chariot was also swapped out for one that was more aligned with the Care Bears theme the carousel received; the horses not swapped out also received new paint jobs of more vibrant colors to better blend in with the bears, with the lead horse receiving a color scheme resembling that of the then-new Care Bears character Noble Heart Horse (with the bear in the same section as said horse complimentarily having a color scheme resembling that of True Heart Bear))
 * Dibbun Carousel (2022; a Zamperla kiddie carousel themed to Redwall: Dibbun Days)
 * Fire Chief (1997; A Zamperla Crazy Bus ride themed to a fire truck, formerly known as "Barney's Fire Department" [2003-2007])
 * Happy Swing (2015; A Zamperla Happy Swing ride)
 * Kids Kountry Swingaround (2003; A Zamperla Lolli Swing ride, formerly known as "PBS Kids Swingaround" [2003-2007])
 * Mini Motorcade (1980; A Hampton Rides kiddie umbrella ride with motorcycles and jeeps, formerly known as "BJ's Rockin' Road Race" [2003-2007])
 * 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 planes, formerly known as "Noddy Airways" [2003-2007])
 * Teacups (2015; A Zamperla Midi Tea Party ride)

Playground Kountry
Built in 1993 to make a central hub for Kids Kountry. Known as "PBS Kids Backyard" from 2003-2007. Has been sponsored by Crayola since the 2010 season. PlayTech made all of the equipment, with the exception of the Tree Climber, which was made by RipBang Studios.


 * Dome Climber (1993; A large dome kids can climb)
 * Kountry Swingers (1993; A swing set)
 * Kountry Towers (1993; A large structure with 12 slides perching off of it)
 * Merry-Go-Roundabout (1993; A playground style person-operated merry-go-round)
 * Monkey Bars (1993; Some monkey bars)
 * Sandpit (1993; an oversized sandbox, currently uses colored sand)
 * Splash Pad (2003; a small zero-depth water play area with water fountains and jets, only operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day)
 * Tree Climber (2003; a small play structure designed to look like a tree, is the same model used in the former PBS Kids Neighborhood sections of some The Mills malls)

Nick Central
A play area in Coney Island that opened on April 9th, 2022. This area, unlike many others of it's kind, is included with park admission.


 * Dora's Treehouse (2022; An RCI Adventure Trail)
 * Fairly Odd Zip Line (2022; An RCI Sky Rail)
 * Flying Dutchman's Ropes Course (2022; An RCI Sky Trail Voyager with three paths - "Davy Jones", "Soul Seeker" and "Ghastly Walk")
 * Loud House Maze (2022; An RCI Amaze'n Maze)
 * Rock Bottom Cliffhanger Climb (2022; An RCI Clip 'n Climb)
 * Rugrats Mini Ropes Course (2022; An RCI Sky Tykes)

Restaurants and food stands

 * Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon (originally just Cinnabon before Auntie Anne’s opened in 2011; located next to Carvel; the restaurant opened before Carvel’s owners happened to buy Cinnabon) [Coney Island]
 * Beachcombers (A quick service food stand) [Colony Coast]
 * Carwardine Cafe (A cafeteria style restaurant) [Entrance]
 * Carwardine Ice Cream Shop [Entrance]
 * Carwardine Shaved Ice (serves Tropical Sno shaved ice) [Entrance]
 * Carvel Ice Cream [Coney Island]
 * Club Carwardine (An exclusive club) [Coney Island]
 * Coastal Chiller (a stand that primarily serves cold beverages) [Colony Coast]
 * Coney Island Hot Dog Hut [Coney Island]
 * Coney Island Sweet Shoppe [Coney Island]
 * Dining Miner [Mine Shaft]
 * Dippin' Dots [multiple stands throughout park]
 * Dippin' Dots/Doc Popcorn [Coney Island]
 * NOTE: The Subway in the Entrance has a Dippin’ Dots stand connected to it; the Time Machine Dippin’ Dots stand (formerly Snack Station) is Dine-In and offers more than the park’s other Dippin’ Dots stands; like the Carwardine Ice Cream Shop, several larger stands sell bottled beverages and pre-packaged frozen novelties, alongside flavors of 40 Below Joe, The Fruity Whey, and Island Rox (all from Curt Jones, the man responsible for the invention of Dippin’ Dots).
 * Dunkin’ Donuts (Based on the original 1950s style design) [Time Machine]
 * ICEE Mix It Up [multiple stations throughout park]
 * Insomnia Cookies [Entrance]
 * Kids Kountry Snack Shack [Kids Kountry]
 * KFC [Mine Shaft]
 * Krispy Kreme [Entrance]
 * Marv and Bernie's Southern BBQ Pit [Entrance]
 * McDonald's (Based on the late 1950s take-out design) [Time Machine]
 * Mister Brooklyn's (a dine-in eatery) [Coney Island]
 * Mossflower Woods Tavern [Redwall Abbey] (Table service restaurant serving recreations of food and drink mentioned or depicted in the Redwall franchise, along with normal family restaurant fare)
 * Pepsi Refreshment Station (featuring the Cornelius IDC Pro) [Entrance]
 * Pizza Hut [Entrance]
 * Slush Puppie [multiple stations throughout park]
 * Starbucks [Entrance]
 * Subway [Entrance]
 * Sweet Frog [Kids Kountry]
 * Taco Bell (Based on the original 1960s design, includes a fire pit like the earlier locations did, and is adorned with a vintage Taco Bell street sign that was previously sited at a remodeled location in California) [Time Machine]
 * Tiki Express (a stand serving numerous grilled foods) [Colony Coast]
 * Vending Machines [scattered in groups throughout park with at least three selling drinks and at least two selling chips/snacks/candy/snack cakes]

Gift shops and game stands

 * Bluey Shop [Entrance]
 * Coastal Cove Treasures [Colony Coast]
 * Hallmark Gold Crown [Entrance]
 * Kids Kountry Trading Post [Kids Kountry]
 * Main Street Merchants [Entrance]
 * Nick Arcade Experience [Kids Kountry]
 * Nickelodeon Emporium [Coney Island]
 * /Ol' Time Fascination Parlor/ [Coney Island]
 * Rainbow Brite Shop [Coney Island]
 * Redwall Abbey Trading Post [Redwall Abbey]
 * Time Machine Arcade [Time Machine]
 * Wonder Wharf Games [Coney Island]
 * WWE Shop [Entrance]

Live shows & meet-and-greets

 *  [Coney Island] (Added 2001)
 * Bluey Meet-and-Greet [Kids Kountry] (Added 2022)
 * Bratz: Showtime! [Kids Kountry] (Added 2004)
 * Broadway's Summer Home [Coney Island] (Added 1986; venue for "summer productions" of Broadway musicals, currently sponsored by SiriusXM's On Broadway)
 * Busytown Theater [Kids Kountry] (Added 1990; animatronic versions of Huckle & Sally Cat, Lowly Worm, Lynnie Raccoon, Mr. Fixit, 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)
 * Care Bears Meet-and-Greet [Kids Kountry] (Added 1987)
 * Carwardine Fun Crew [Perform throughout the park] (Began 1993)
 * Carwardine Horns (a small brass band with some New Orleans flavor) [perform throughout the park]
 * Carwardine Kids [Perform throughout the park] (Began 1981)
 * Carwardine Quartet (a barbershop quartet) [Perform throughout the park]
 * Carwardine Youth (members are generally older than the Carwardine Kids, yet also younger than the Carwardine Fun Crew, so technically they mainly consist of teens/young adults) [Perform throughout the park] (Began 1995)
 * Coney Theatre [Coney Island]
 * Horse Riding Area & Stables [back of the park] (Added 1983 after Chris decided to take up horse riding, is home to some of Alex and Wayne Carwardine II's horses and the horses Chris owned at the time of his death)
 * Kids Kountry Center Stage [Kids Kountry]
 * Newport News Amphitheater [technically Entrance] (Added 1984)
 * Skyrotechnics [Coney Island]
 * Redwall Meet-and-Greet [Redwall Abbey] (Added 2004; Matthias, Cornflower and Mattimeo mingle with guests)
 * The Moonrockers [Time Machine] (Added 1994)
 * The Rock-afire Explosion [Coney Island] (Added 1990; originally sponsored by Goodyear from 1990 until 1996, sponsored by General Electric since 1997 and co-sponsored by Starry since 2023, with yearly maintenance by Creative Engineering, Inc. and on-site maintenance by Steven Di Bello)
 * Rock-afire Meet-and-Greet [Coney Island] (Added 1991)
 * Special Events Arena [Back of the park] (Added 1986; has been used for things like WWE house shows, Carwarween mazes and TV show & video game preview events)
 * Thomas & Friends in 4-D: Bubbling Boilers [Coney Island] (Added 2018; 4D motion simulator ride, sponsored by Amtrak)
 * Time Machine Theater [Time Machine]

Other

 * Museum of Fun [Coney Island] (Added 2002; features artifacts of Carwardine Parks' past (mainly old signs, walkarounds and even parts from rides), plus stuff from the licenses – including a layout featuring models used in the filming of the "model seasons" of Thomas & Friends, a diorama of Latikuu Redwall figures and K'Nex models of Monstar and Nitro Rush)
 * Vacation Rental Homes [rental homes; back of the park near the employee parking lot]
 * Mario Bros' House (Built 2010)
 * SpongeBob's Pineapple (Built 2010)
 * Smitty's Super Service Station (Built 2010)
 * Ash Ketchum's House (Built 2022)
 * Heeler Family House (Built 2022)

Colony Coast (water park)

 * Carwardine Colony/Colony Coast
 * Carwardine Colony/Colony Coast Gallery

Carwardine Studios

 * Carwardine Studios
 * Carwardine Studios/Stuff in Storage

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 due to increased roughness along with major wear and tear since Hurricane Floyd damaged the ride in 1999, as well as for spare parts for the other wooden coasters at Carwardine's parks, replaced with a bunch of upcharge carnival-style games) [Coney Island]
 * Vortex (1988-2003; A TOGO Ultra Twister pipeline roller coaster; Sponsored by Pepsi from 1988 to 1995; Replaced with Twin Spiral; relocated to Brilliance Port as "Tornado" in 2004) [Time Machine]

Flat rides

 * 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 lasercut apart from the rest and resides in the Carwardine Studios) [Coney Island]
 * Carwardine Railroad (1980-1998; a railroad system, track scrapped, four locomotives kept for the Super Railroad, the rest relocated to Billings' Wild Kingdom and Tokyo Carwardine Colony) [Entrance, Coney Island, Mine Shaft, Time Machine]
 * Calypso (1980-2010; A Mack Calypso ride, relocated to Darien Lake as "Sidewinder", replaced with a part of Zyclone's queue line) [Time Machine]
 * Chaos (1998-2006; A Chance Chaos ride, it had various mechanical issues and was scrapped, replaced with Mega Man ZX Double Strike) [Time Machine]
 * Fear Fall (1985-1999; An Intamin 1st generation Free Fall ride, relocated to New Roseland Park as "Mine Shaft") [Mine Shaft]
 * Hank Hill's Propane Mobiles (1980-2003; An Arrow Antique Car ride, formerly known as "Antique Cars" [1980-1997], vehicles relocated to Opryland to make way for Double Dash Dueler, track scrapped) [Coney Island]
 * Kirby's Daring Dash (1995-2000; An Intamin Flight Trainer ride, demolished and replaced with Blaster) [Time Machine]
 * Rotorium (1980-1996; A Chance Rotor relocated from AstroWorld, women wearing skirts were disallowed from riding the attraction due to the nature of the ride, the floor's dropping was disabled in 1991 and the ride was fully demolished after the 1996 season, replaced by Beach Beast) [Coney Island]
 * 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, demolished and replaced by Redwall: Slagar's Challenge) [Mine Shaft]
 * Skylab (1987-2006; A Huss Sky Lab ride, scrapped and 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) [Time Machine]
 * VR Troopers: Virtual Reality Adventure (1995-2002; A 4D motion simulator ride with VR Troopers; the vehicles were sold off and the building was replaced with Time Machine Arcade) [Time Machine]

Kiddie rides

 * Buggies (1980-1992; A Traver Kiddie Tumble Bug ride, relocated from a travelling midway, scrapped and replaced with Sky High)
 * Kiddie Scrambler (1980-2014; An Eli kiddie Scrambler ride, scrapped and replaced with Baja Buggies)
 * Kiddie Swings (1980-1992; A Sartori Mini Wave Swinger ride, scrapped and replaced with Ship Ahoy!)
 * Little Sailors (1980-2014; A Theel kiddie roundabout ride with boats, sold to a small family park in Texas, replaced with Teacups)
 * Roadsters (1980-1992; A carousel style kiddie ride with 1960s style sports cars, sold to a British showman and is now at a park in Estonia, 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)

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, the ponies were moved to the Horse Riding Area & Stables or to Chris' own stables, with part of the structures from the stables being reused as a "building" for the queue line) [PBS Kids Neighborhood]

Incidents
See List of incidents at Carwardine parks

Trivia

 * The park has a building height limit of 550 feet, one of the few parks with a height limit taller than 500 feet.
 * In 2021, Carwardine Colony got the Golden Ticket Award for Best Park, breaking Europa-Park's long-running winning streak.
 * With 22 coasters, Carwardine Colony holds the US 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 (though it has occasionally been opened to the public for events such as PBA Tour events, guest birthdays and Open Houses) and was installed because Chris Carwardine was an avid bowler, and often took up bowling when he wasn't focusing on his company.
 * The idea of a drop tower perched on Zero G Force had previously been tried, but it was cancelled. Since the idea was resumed, the park now has two drop towers.
 * There were plans to convert Ponyland into a Horseland-themed attraction, however due to creative differences between DiC and Carwardine over how the concept would be applied to the area, it was instead chosen to remove Ponyland altogether.
 * Another cancelled DiC/Carwardine concept was a Bolliger & Mabillard Floorless coaster to replace Toboggan and Skylab themed to Inspector Gadget, but due to DiC's financial problems at the time, the idea was scrapped, and Toboggan was kept, while Skylab would last a few more seasons.
 * The park uses a fleet of Volkswagen 181 (a model known as the Thing in the US) vehicles as employee and maintenance crew transport. 10 of them are gas-powered and 5 are equipped with TDI diesel engines to aid towing capability in case of things such a parade float breakdown.
 * A rumored second gate was rumored to come in 2025 or 2026, but these rumors were debunked.
 * Early concepts showed Chaos was originally going to be StarFox themed.
 * Early concepts show that PBS Kids Neighborhood was going to be split into three themed areas - one themed to Nintendo, one themed to multiple licenses and one themed to Bratz. However, due to various issues (including Carwardine's financial state at the time, MGA's legal issues with Mattel over the ownership of Bratz and Nintendo not wanting the Rare and/or Xbox-themed attractions to be "too close" to the Nintendo-themed attractions), Kids Kountry was brought back instead.
 * The McDonald's in Time Machine is one of the few to serve Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola, the others being at several other Pepsi-selling Carwardine parks, in airports, and formerly at the Mall of America.
 * The park was nicknamed "DMC" (Disneyland for the Middle Class) and "ECS" (Energy Crisis Solution) during early development, until Chris decided just to use his Carwardine Colony trademark for the park.
 * The park has a few promotional vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz G-Class done up to resemble the Heeler family's SUV from Bluey and a modified Subaru Baja referred to as the Patchymobile.
 * Ever since Sweet Frog opened in 2013, costume characters of the chain's two mascots, Scoop and Cookie, have been seen at the park (mainly in Kids Kountry near the location of the chain they represent).

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.

Owned & Operated by Carwardine Parks

 * Carwardine Hotel by the Colony (closest hotel, located right across from park, opened 1980)
 * Carwardine Funtown Inn & Suites Newport News (second closest hotel, located next to Carwardine Mills; opened 2001)

Official Carwardine Colony Partner Hotels

 * Holiday Inn Newport News - Carwardine Colony (approximately 0.4 miles away; opened 2011)
 * Staybridge Suites Newport News - Carwardine Colony (this and the above hotel are located next to each other, with this being the farther of the two hotels; also opened 2011)

Other Hotels

 * Knights Inn (opened 2001)
 * La Quinta Inn and Suites (opened 2000)
 * Comfort Inn and Suites (opened 2002)
 * Clarion Hotel & Suites (opened 2002)
 * DoubleTree (opened 2009; replacing a Holiday Inn (which wasn’t an official partner hotel, particularly since official Carwardine Partner Hotels weren’t common until after the current Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites opened in 2011))
 * Hampton Inn (opened 2005)
 * Red Roof Inn (opened 2003)
 * Motel 6 (opened 2004)
 * Sonesta Select (opened in early 2021, replacing a Courtyard by Marriott that opened in 2008 and replaced a Howard Johnson hotel; the adjacent Howard Johnson's Restaurant remained as it was owned by a separate franchisee and wasn't included in either sale)
 * Rodeway Inn & Suites (opened in 1987)
 * Days Inn (opened in 2001)