Carowinds Bids Farewell to Nighthawk Coaster and Two Flat Rides

Carowinds has officially announced the retirement of Nighthawk and two flat rides: Drop Tower and Scream Weaver. The announcement was made on Carowinds’ Airtime Blog on December 18th.

Nighthawk is a Vekoma Flying Coaster that operated at the park from March 20, 2004, until its retirement this year. Before being relocated to Carowinds, the coaster operated as “Stealth” at California’s Great America from April 1, 2000, through September 2, 2003. From 2004 to 2007, the Flying Coaster operated under the “BORG Assimilator” name and featured a Star Trek theme.

Drop Tower

Drop Tower is a 174-foot tall Intamin Giant Drop that operated from March 30, 1996, until its retirement this year. The drop tower was one of five built at Six Flags parks (then Paramount Parks) in North America that opened as “Drop Zone: Stunt Tower,” themed to the 1994 Paramount Pictures action movie Drop Zone. Starting in 2008, the ride was named “Drop Tower: Scream Zone.”

Scream Weaver (Photo credit: Carowinds)

Scream Weaver is a Schwarzkopf Enterprise spinning flat ride that operated from March 24, 1979, until its retirement this year. The classic ride opened as “Meteorite” in 1979 before being relocated in 1993 to Carowinds’ Thrill Zone area and renamed to Scream Weaver.

Six Flags and Carowinds previously announced that the park will open new attractions in 2025 and 2026. In 2025, Camp Snoopy will be updated with two new attractions, including a family coaster and raft ride. In 2026, Carowinds will open a “record-breaking water ride.”