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Park Queue TimesPQT

Adventureland
vs
Carowinds

On a typical day Carowinds queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 29 at Adventureland, a difference of roughly 16 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now

01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Adventureland and Carowinds compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyAdventurelandUnited StatesCarowindsUnited States
Average wait per ride 29 min13 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 636 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Phoenix36 minFury 32529 min
Shortest typical queue Storm Chaser18 minCharlie Brown’s River Raft Blast5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is runningNot recorded66%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Adventureland and Carowinds compared on live queue times
Right nowAdventurelandUnited StatesCarowindsUnited States
Average wait right now --
Rides open --
Opening hours today --
Longest queue --
Shortest queue --

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

Verdict, on a typical day On a typical day Carowinds queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 29 at Adventureland, a difference of roughly 16 minutes on every queue you join.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Adventureland if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 29 minutes a ride here against 13 at Carowinds - for what Adventureland has that Carowinds does not
  • Phoenix is on your list - it is Adventureland's longest typical queue at about 36 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Adventureland's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Carowinds if…

  • You want shorter queues: Carowinds averages 13 minutes a ride against 29 at Adventureland
  • You want more to do: 36 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Adventureland
  • Fury 325 is on your list - it is Carowinds's longest typical queue at about 29 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Carowinds's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Adventureland

Adventureland in Altoona, just outside Des Moines, has been open since 1974 and is Iowa's largest amusement park. Monster is the steel coaster with the beyond-vertical drop, Outlaw and Tornado are the wooden coasters, and Phoenix, Storm Chaser and Draken Falls add more variety, with a large section of family rides. In the autumn it runs Halloween haunts on select dates.

Summer weekends and the weeks around the Fourth of July are the busiest. Weekdays early and late in the season are usually much quieter. Check the live queue times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a good day.

Adventureland live queue times

Carowinds

Carowinds sits directly on the North Carolina / South Carolina state line in Charlotte and is best known for Fury 325 - one of the world's tallest and fastest full-circuit roller coasters at 325 feet. The rest of the line-up is strong too: Copperhead Strike, Intimidator, Afterburn inverted coaster, and the newer Top Gun: The Jet Coaster. A separate Carolina Harbor water park operates in the summer.

Carowinds' peak crowds come during US summer school holidays, Scarowinds (Halloween), and Charlotte-area weekend visits. Weekdays in May, September and October are much quieter. Check live queue times for Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike first thing on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date for shorter waits across the coaster line-up.

Carowinds live queue times

05 · Questions

Adventureland or Carowinds?

Which is better, Adventureland or Carowinds?

If you are judging on queues, Carowinds: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 29 at Adventureland, roughly 16 minutes back on every queue you join. Adventureland has 6 rides with recorded waits against 36 at Carowinds.

Which has shorter queues, Adventureland or Carowinds?

Carowinds, by about 16 minutes a ride. On a typical day Carowinds averages 13 minutes against 29 at Adventureland. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Adventureland best time to visit and Carowinds best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Adventureland and Carowinds in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United States, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Adventureland and Carowinds for the full ride lists.

Is Adventureland bigger than Carowinds?

By rides we track waits for, Carowinds is the bigger day out: 36 rides against 6. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Carowinds is the quicker park.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Carowinds calendar