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Park Queue TimesPQT

Carowinds
vs
Disneyland Park

On a typical day Carowinds queues less: about 11 minutes a ride against 18 at Disneyland Park, a difference of roughly 7 minutes on every queue you join.

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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.

Carowinds and Disneyland Park compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCarowindsUnited StatesDisneyland ParkUnited States
Average wait per ride 11 min (best of the two)18 min
Rides with recorded waits 38 (best of the two)34
Longest typical queue Kiddy Hawk32 minStar Wars: Rise of the Resistance43 min
Shortest typical queue Camp Bus4 minDavy Crockett's Explorer Canoes5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running70%89% (best of the two)

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.

Carowinds and Disneyland Park compared on live queue times
Right nowCarowindsUnited StatesDisneyland ParkUnited 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 11 minutes a ride against 18 at Disneyland Park, a difference of roughly 7 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 Carowinds if…

  • You want shorter queues: Carowinds averages 11 minutes a ride against 18 at Disneyland Park
  • You want more to do: 38 rides here have recorded wait data against 34 at Disneyland Park
  • Kiddy Hawk is on your list - it is Carowinds's longest typical queue at about 32 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Carowinds's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Disneyland Park if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 18 minutes a ride here against 11 at Carowinds - for what Disneyland Park has that Carowinds does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Disneyland Park's rides run 89% of opening hours against 70% at Carowinds
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is on your list - it is Disneyland Park's longest typical queue at about 43 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Disneyland Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

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

Disneyland Park

Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California is the original Disney park, opened in 1955 and still built around the hub-and-spoke layout every later castle park copied. It is compact by Disney standards, which means a lot of classic rides in a small space: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and the Matterhorn Bobsleds are all within a few minutes' walk of each other. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge added Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure took over the old Splash Mountain flume.

Because locals visit on annual passes as well as tourists, weekends and school holidays fill the park quickly and queue times at the headline rides can pass an hour by late morning. Check the live wait times before you set off and use the crowd calendar to find the quieter weekdays.

Disneyland Park live queue times

05 · Questions

Carowinds or Disneyland Park?

Which is better, Carowinds or Disneyland Park?

If you are judging on queues, Carowinds: it averages about 11 minutes a ride on a typical day against 18 at Disneyland Park, roughly 7 minutes back on every queue you join. Carowinds has 38 rides with recorded waits against 34 at Disneyland Park. Disneyland Park also runs its rides more reliably - 89% of opening hours against 70%.

Which has shorter queues, Carowinds or Disneyland Park?

Carowinds, by about 7 minutes a ride. On a typical day Carowinds averages 11 minutes against 18 at Disneyland Park. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Carowinds best time to visit and Disneyland Park best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Carowinds and Disneyland Park 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 Carowinds and Disneyland Park for the full ride lists.

Is Carowinds bigger than Disneyland Park?

By rides we track waits for, Carowinds is the bigger day out: 38 rides against 34. 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 calendarDisneyland Park calendarCompare other parks