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Park Queue TimesPQT

Carowinds
vs
Dollywood

Carowinds and Dollywood queue about the same on a typical day - 11 minutes against 11 minutes across 37 and 31 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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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 Dollywood compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCarowindsUnited StatesDollywoodUnited States
Average wait per ride 11 min11 min
Rides with recorded waits 37 (best of the two)31
Longest typical queue Kiddy Hawk24 minNightFlight Expedition63 min
Shortest typical queue Gyro Force4 minVillage Carousel5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running89%92% (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 Dollywood compared on live queue times
Right nowCarowindsUnited StatesDollywoodUnited 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 Carowinds and Dollywood queue about the same on a typical day - 11 minutes against 11 minutes across 37 and 31 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 11 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 37 rides here have recorded wait data against 31 at Dollywood
  • Kiddy Hawk is on your list - it is Carowinds's longest typical queue at about 24 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Carowinds's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Dollywood if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 11 minutes a ride
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Dollywood's rides run 92% of opening hours against 89% at Carowinds
  • NightFlight Expedition is on your list - it is Dollywood's longest typical queue at about 63 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Dollywood'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

Dollywood

Dollywood is Dolly Parton's theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, tucked into the Smoky Mountain foothills. It's a large park with a strong coaster line-up: Lightning Rod (a wooden-launched coaster, since converted to a steel track), Wild Eagle (the first wing coaster in the USA), Thunderhead (a GCI wooden coaster), and Mystery Mine. Southern-style food, craftsmen and live country music are integral to the park's character.

Dollywood's season runs March to early January, with peak crowds during the Smoky Mountain Christmas event and US summer school holidays. Weekdays in spring and autumn stay far calmer. Check live queue times for Lightning Rod and Wild Eagle on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date - the mountain weather also affects ride availability day to day.

Dollywood live queue times

05 · Questions

Carowinds or Dollywood?

Which is better, Carowinds or Dollywood?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 11 minutes a ride on a typical day. Carowinds has 37 rides with recorded waits against 31 at Dollywood. Dollywood also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 89%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Carowinds or Dollywood?

They are level. Carowinds averages 11 minutes a ride on a typical day and Dollywood averages 11 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Carowinds best time to visit and Dollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Carowinds and Dollywood 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 Dollywood for the full ride lists.

Is Carowinds bigger than Dollywood?

By rides we track waits for, Carowinds is the bigger day out: 37 rides against 31. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours.

Then pick
the quiet day.

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

Carowinds calendarDollywood calendarCompare other parks