Transit type straddle-beam Monorail Ended operation August 1994 Average speed 29 km/h Number of lines 1 | Daily ridership 7,000 System length 2 mi (3.22 km) Locale Carowinds Began operation June 2, 1973 | |
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The Carowinds Monorail was a monorail at the Carowinds amusement park in both Charlotte, North Carolina and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Opening on June 2, 1973, it existed solely for entertainment, not transportation, as it had only one station. The ride would close in August 1994, and be relocated to the Vidafel Mayan Palace resort in Acapulco.
History
The Carowinds Monorail was built by Universal Mobility Incorporated and opened on June 2, 1973, with both Governor of North Carolina James Holshouser and Governor of South Carolina John C. West present for the inaugural ride. The 2-mile (3.2 km) ride traveled at an average speed of 18 miles per hour (29 km/h) and took 10 minutes and 14 seconds to complete. Originally, the monorail was to have connected the park with a hotel that was never built. The attraction would reach a peak of 500,000 riders in 1982, only to fall in subsequent years resulting in its closure in August 1994. At the time of its closure, the monorail had a daily ridership of 7,000. Its deconstruction would commence in November 1994 and be complete by December. The deconstructed monorail was then shipped to Acapulco, Mexico, by way of barge and reassembled in 1995 at the Vidafel Mayan Palace resort.