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Andy Griffith's Mayberry U.S.A. is an American theme park and zoo complex located on unincorporated land in Warren County, North Carolina with a Soul City mailing address, around 49.2 miles (47 minutes) away from Durham. Opened in 1993, it is owned by Carwardine Parks, and is themed after Mayberry, North Carolina from The Andy Griffith Show. The show's star, Andy Griffith, gave his blessing for the theme park and was the theme park's spokesperson up until his 2012 death. Other people who have promoted Mayberry U.S.A. include Andy Griffith's co-star Ron Howard and YouTube celebrity Taras Kulakov. TV pitchman Billy Mays also promoted the park up until his death as well. Andy Griffith's Mayberry U.S.A. has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1995.

Theme park[]

Downtown Mayberry[]

Downtown Mayberry re-creates much of the center of Mayberry, including Andy's home at 322 Maple Road, and has a downtown district featuring gift shops, recreations of Mayberry businesses, and a selection of restaurants including a McDonald's and the Mayberry Automat.

Mayberry Fairgrounds[]

The Mayberry Fairgrounds is home to shows & more. It is also home to the Mayberry Arcade, featuring coin-op amusements such as arcade games, kiddie rides & skill games along with food & drink vending machines.

Mayberry Kids Land[]

Mayberry Kids Land (formerly known as PBS Kids Neighborhood from 2003 to 2007) contains Ballistic and Redwall: Escape from Malkariss, along with several other rides.

The section opened as the PBS Kids Neighborhood in 2003, with rides themed after most of the PBS Kids and American Public Television Kids series airing at the time. After the PBS Kids license expired in 2007, it was rethemed.

The Fishing Hole[]

The water park area, opened in 1999. It was known as "The Fishing Hole presented by PBS Kids" from 2003 to 2007, and was treated as an extension of PBS Kids Neighborhood (now Mayberry Kids Land) during that time.

The main attraction is it's swimming hole, Myers Lake, a man-made lake replicating Franklin Lake in Franklin Canyon Park, which was used as Myers Lake for The Andy Griffith Show. An extension of Myers Lake forms part of the otter enclosure of The Zoo at Andy Griffith's Mayberry U.S.A., which contains various species of otter.

Mayberry Park[]

Mayberry Park is where most of the coasters and thrill rides are.

Rides[]

Roller coasters[]

Due to Andy Griffith's strict height limits of going above the building line of the Mayberry recreations, coasters and rides don't exceed 100 ft.

Name Opening Year Sub-Area Notes
Ballistic 2004 Mayberry Kids Land A Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster; formerly known as "DW's Crazy Bus" [2004-2007].
Bart Simpson's Wild Skater Coaster 2022 Mayberry Kids Land A Vekoma Roller Skater coaster, relocated from Holy Land Park.
The Big Woosh 2006 Mayberry Park A Bolliger & Mabillard Floorless Coaster.
Blitz 2011 Mayberry Park An Intamin Blitz Coaster, last coaster Andy Griffith lived to see.
Cannon Launch 1993 Mayberry Park A TOGO Ultra Twister pipeline coaster; currently operates with a Huss-TechEruo TE-8500 control system.
Flying Rockets 2014 Mayberry Kids Land A modified [lowered to 100 ft.] Premier Rides Sky Rocket II coaster.
Gomer-Coaster 1993 Mayberry Park A S.D.C. Galaxi coaster that formerly toured with Strates Shows, permanent footers were added in 1994, ride-op panel replaced with a new Huss-TechEruo TE-1111 controller in 2002.
Kiddie Koaster 2018 Mayberry Kids Land A BAMECO Kids' Coaster.
Mayberry Mine Carts 1993 Mayberry Park An Allan Herschell Company Wild Mouse coaster (Mad Mouse Model) relocated from Billings' Wild Kingdom in Montana; given an ACE Landmark Award in 2004.
Redwall: Escape from Malkariss 2003 Mayberry Kids Land A modified [lowered to 100 ft.] Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster.
Roller Soaker 2014 The Fishing Hole A Setpoint USA Suspended coaster, relocated from Hersheypark where it operated from 2002-2012, appeared at FairCon 2013 during the land clearing process.
Sagwa's Rickshaw Run 1993 Mayberry Kids Land A BHS/Schwarzkopf Family Looping Coaster; formerly known as "Opie's Kiddie Coaster" [1993-2003].
The Secret of NIMH: The Ride 2002 Mayberry Park A Zierer Steel Coaster, cloned under the same name at AstroWorld, Omaha Luna Park, and Henlopen Playland and as Impulse at Knoebels Amusement Resort.

Flat rides[]

  • Caterpillar (1993; a Harry Traver Caterpillar flat ride that operates with the original canopy; relocated from Billings' Wild Kingdom in Montana) [Mayberry Park]
  • Gomer's Garden Swings (1993; a Huss-TechEruo Wave Swinger ride) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Mayberry Balloon Race (1995; a Zamperla Balloon Race ride relocated from Philly's Drive-In Theater Park) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Mayberry Carousel (1993; a Morgan MFG carousel ride) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Mayberry Ferris Wheel (1993; a 100-foot tall Chance Rides Ferris Wheel ride) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Mayberry Hang-Gliding Tours (1999; a Huss-TechEruo Cliffhanger ride) [Mayberry Park]
  • Scrambler (1993; an Eli Scrambler ride) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Telecombat (1993; a Zamperla Telecombat ride) [Mayberry Kids Land]
  • Top Spin (2001; a Mondial Top Spin ride) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • The Waltzer (1993; a Waltzer flat ride imported from the United Kingdom) [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Wiggly Funhouse (2016; a Omnimover Dark ride themed after The Wiggles) [Mayberry Kids Land]
  • Zzoom (2018; A Zamperla NebulaZ ride) [Mayberry Kids Land]

Kiddie rides[]

All kiddie rides located in Mayberry Kids Land.

  • Circus Parade (1993; A Huss-TechEruo Kiddie Go-Round ride)
  • Flying Turtles (1993; A Zamperla Mini Jet ride with turtles)
  • Frog Hopper (1993; An S&S Frog Hopper ride)
  • Kiddie Hang-Gliders (2003; A Zamperla Kite Flyer ride)
  • Little Wheel (1993; A Zamperla Mini Ferris Wheel ride)
  • Old Timer (1993; A Zamperla Rio Grande train ride)

Water rides[]

All water rides located in The Fishing Hole.

  • Castaway Cove (2003; a WhiteWater West RainFortress water play structure with slides, fountains, and a tipping bucket; formerly known as "PBS Kids Castaway Cove" [2003-2007])
  • Dongwa's Splash Attack (2003; a WhiteWater West inline raft waterslide intended for use with street clothes)
  • Log Ahoy! (1999; a Hopkins Rides Shoot the Chute boat ride) [The Fishing Hole]
  • Mayhem Canyon (2003; an Intamin river rapids ride, in 2009 it received the boats from the defunct Canyon River Rapids at Hersheypark)
  • Rim Runner (2015; a Arrow Dynamics Shoot the Chute boat ride; relocated from the Adventuredome in Las Vegas; appeared at FairCon 2014 during the land clearing process, supports added by WhiteWater West due to the original ride being on a fake canyon)

Simulator rides[]

At the Mayberry Cinema in Downtown Mayberry and the Mayberry Drive-In at the Mayberry Fairgrounds.

The Mayberry Cinema has the traditional indoor 4D theater, while the Drive-In is outdoor except for the 4D theater boxes that are shaped like cars.

  • Bluey's 4D Adventure (added 2024) [Theater 3 - Mayberry Cinema]
  • Dora & Diego's 4D Adventure (added 2019) [Theater 1 - Mayberry Drive-In]
  • The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure (added 2018) [Theater 4 - Mayberry Cinema]
  • ReBoot: The Ride (added 2000) [Theater 2 - Mayberry Drive-In]
  • SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D (added 2008) [Theater 1 - Mayberry Cinema, formerly in both Theaters 1 & 2]
  • Thomas & Friends in 4-D: Bubbling Boilers (added 2017) [Theater 2 - Mayberry Cinema, formerly Theater 2 & Theater 4]

Live shows[]

Andy Griffith Live Shows[]

Other Live Shows[]

Zoo[]

The zoo is generally open simultaneously with the theme park, and zoo entrance is included with the standard ticket price. As of 2019, the zoo has over 1,000 animals, several of which are endangered and some being extinct in the wild. The Zoo at Andy Griffith's Mayberry U.S.A. is split up into different areas and walkthroughs.

The Mayberry Zoo Railroad takes riders around various animal enclosures at the zoo.

Sea Lion Cove contains the park's sea lions while Reptile Range features an assortment of reptiles, amphibians, and invertabrates.

The Butterfly Garden (a seasonal exhibit) features numerous different kinds of butterflies, among other beneficial insects such as ladybugs and honeybees (with a large observation hive for the latter), plus a wide range of flowers.

The Kings of the Jungle area is home to enclosures for ten western lowland gorillas, five Asian black bears, four Sumatran tigers, six African lions, three jaguars, spotted hyenas, fossa, Carpathian lynx, and binturong.

Andy's Safari houses animals such as Grévy's zebra, sitatunga antelope, ostrich, dorcas gazelle, Nile lechwe, cape fox, dwarf mongoose, southern ground hornbill, Kirk's dik-dik, reticulated giraffes, okapi, black rhinoceros, crested porcupine, meerkats, warthogs, scimitar horned oryx, common eland, Eastern bongos, and Ankole cattle.

The Jungle features spider monkeys, howler monkeys, vervet monkeys, red-handed tamarins, golden-headed lion tamarins, Geoffroy marmosets, yellow and olive baboons, mandrills, orangutans, chimpanzees, gibbons, common brown lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Aloatran gentle lemur, capybara, South American tapir, black-cheeked lovebird, parakeets, macaws, grey parrots, toucans, flamingos, Indian peafowl, giant wood rail, agouti and three-banded armadillo.

The Forest features white-tailed deer, cougars, coyotes, Virginia opossums, red foxes, wolfdogs, and Eastern wolves.

The Squirrels' Nest features fox squirrels and eastern gray squirrels.

The Plains features American bison, pronghorn, Manitoban elk, black-footed ferrets, prairie dogs, swift foxes, Great Plains wolves, mountain plovers, and greater sage grouse.

Otter Cove at Myers Lake contains North American river otters, Asian small-clawed otters, sea otters, marine otters, and giant otters.

The Silverwing Experience, themed after the Silverwing franchise (mainly after the TV series version), contains silver-haired bats (aka Silverwings), eastern red bats (aka Brightwings), fruit bats, and grey-headed flying foxes.

Watership Down (themed after the Watership Down franchise) features snowshoe hares, European hares, Japanese hares, Holland Lop rabbits, British Giant rabbits, and swamp rabbits, along with the only Hainan hares known to be in captivity.

Restaurants[]

  • Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Bojangles [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Dairy Queen/Orange Julius [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Dippin’ Dots [multiple stands throughout park]
    • Dippin' Dots/Doc Popcorn [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Insomnia Cookies [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Krispy Kreme [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Mayberry Automat (The sole remaining automat restaurant in North Carolina) [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Mayberry Creamery [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Mayberry Park Snack Bar [Mayberry Park]
  • Mayberry School Cafeteria (serving school lunch staples such as pizza, along with regional school lunch foods from around the U.S. & Canada) [Downtown Mayberry]
  • McDonald's [Downtown Mayberry]
  • Pizza Hut Express [Mayberry Kids Land]
  • Pollo Campero [Mayberry Fairgrounds]
  • Subway [Downtown Mayberry]

Former rides & attractions[]

Roller coasters[]

  • Corkscrew (1993-2005; An Arrow Dynamics Corkscrew, last Corkscrew clone ever made, demolished for The Big Woosh, trains sent to Rose Park)

Flat rides[]

Simulator rides[]

  • Pirates 4-D (2005-2023; Was located at Theater 3 - Mayberry Cinema, formerly all theaters; overtime, the show decreased in theater count, by 2017, it only was in theater 3; was removed due to low profit and attendance numbers and replaced with Bluey's 4D Adventure)

Trivia[]

  • Rides are not allowed to exceed 100 feet in height, per Griffith's request.
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