Carowinds will give season passholders and members a free bring-a-friend ticket during its September 25-27 appreciation weekend, alongside early access to three rides and a set of food, retail and game discounts. The offer gives passholders a defined three-day window to use benefits before the park moves deeper into its limited fall operating schedule.

The park’s official event page says passholders and members may enter 30 minutes before the public opening for early ride time on Fury 325, Thunder Striker and Carolina Skytower. Carowinds also lists $5 off eligible food-and-beverage purchases of at least $25, a 15% discount on fried Oreos, and a buy-one-get-one offer for Sling Shot.

Several additional rewards appear on Carowinds’ separate Perks & Play page. Those include a free Carowinds mug during the weekend, 20% off a retail purchase of $50 or more, buy-one-get-one gameplay and doubled lodging discounts of up to 30%. The park says monthly rewards are normally loaded to passholders who hold an active pass on the first day of the month; guests who buy after that date may not receive every reward. Because individual offers can change, visitors should check their account or the Six Flags app before traveling.

The free guest ticket attached to appreciation weekend is separate from the renewal incentive displayed on the park’s 2027 season-pass page. That page advertises another free bring-a-friend ticket for renewals completed by November 1. It also lists current advertised prices of $79 for a Silver Pass, $99 for a Gold Pass and $249 for a Prestige Pass, plus processing fees of up to $9.99 and applicable taxes. Benefits vary materially: Silver is limited to Carowinds through Labor Day 2027, Gold includes all East Coast Six Flags parks for 2026 and 2027, and Prestige includes all Six Flags properties in North America.

Visitors should treat September 25-27 as a passholder promotion layered onto the normal park day, not as blanket admission for any guest. The passholder or member should confirm that the complimentary ticket is visible and valid before arriving, then verify the day’s opening time because the early-access period begins 30 minutes before that posted opening.

For live operating information, visitors can check TAQ’s North Carolina park dashboard. Recent Carowinds reporting and future statewide updates are collected on the North Carolina theme-parks page.