FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Carowinds is celebrating its 50th anniversary in style by unwrapping a gift for park guests.

The new Aeronautica Landing opened for a preview Thursday morning, before opening to the general public on Friday. The ribbon was cut on the new three-acre themed area of the theme park by the first Carowinds guest from when the park opened 50 years ago.

There are five new rides within Aeronautica Landing, with a sixth being “reimagined”. Everything is themed around aviation, from the rides to walking paths designed like runways, straight down to a new restaurant that is designed like a luxury airport lounger offering high-end food, beer and mixed drinks.

Ground was broken on the enhancement in August of last year. Crews worked nearly around the clock to get the new themed section complete for the Spring launch. A unique element during construction is that Carowinds is now open year-round.

“We put a lot of time and energy into the pre-planning so every piece of this was well thought out so we can turn that pretty quickly. We had a short window, we don’t want to keep our guests waiting too long. So it all goes into our planning and pre-production process so as soon we can break ground it is just non-stop after that point,” said Assitant General Manager, Brian Odering.

Aeronautica Landing replaces the “Country Crossroads County Fair” park section, which was added to the park in 1979.

The following is an overview of the new rides in Aeronautica Landing:

Airwalker
-Number of vehicles: 1
-Number of seats: 24
-Capacity: 600 passengers per hour

Hover and Dodge
-Number of vehicles: 60
-Number of seats: 120 (2 per vehicle)

Air Racers
-Number of vehicles: 6
-Number of seats: 24 (4 per vehicle)
-Number of arms: 6
-Capacity: 480 passengers per hour

Gear Spin
-Number of vehicles: 8
-Number of seats: 32 (4 per vehicle)
-Number of arms: 4
-Capacity: 360 passengers per hour