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Carowinds
vs
Hollywood Studios

On a typical day Carowinds queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 41 at Hollywood Studios, a difference of roughly 33 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 Hollywood Studios compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCarowindsUnited StatesHollywood StudiosUnited States
Average wait per ride 8 min (best of the two)41 min
Rides with recorded waits 36 (best of the two)9
Longest typical queue Fury 32521 minSlinky Dog Dash66 min
Shortest typical queue Woodstock Whirlybirds3 minStar Tours – The Adventures Continue8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is runningNot recorded97%

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 Hollywood Studios compared on live queue times
Right nowCarowindsUnited StatesHollywood StudiosUnited 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 8 minutes a ride against 41 at Hollywood Studios, a difference of roughly 33 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 8 minutes a ride against 41 at Hollywood Studios
  • You want more to do: 36 rides here have recorded wait data against 9 at Hollywood Studios
  • Fury 325 is on your list - it is Carowinds's longest typical queue at about 21 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Carowinds's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Hollywood Studios if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 41 minutes a ride here against 8 at Carowinds - for what Hollywood Studios has that Carowinds does not
  • Slinky Dog Dash is on your list - it is Hollywood Studios's longest typical queue at about 66 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Hollywood Studios'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

Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios is the movie-themed park at Walt Disney World, opened in 1989. Its major attractions are some of Disney's most technically ambitious rides: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Tower of Terror, and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land are the two most popular themed lands.

Hollywood Studios often posts the longest queue times of any Disney park, with Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash routinely over 90 minutes. US school holidays and special events drive the biggest crowds. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head for Rise of the Resistance first. Use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date for your visit.

Hollywood Studios live queue times

05 · Questions

Carowinds or Hollywood Studios?

Which is better, Carowinds or Hollywood Studios?

If you are judging on queues, Carowinds: it averages about 8 minutes a ride on a typical day against 41 at Hollywood Studios, roughly 33 minutes back on every queue you join. Carowinds has 36 rides with recorded waits against 9 at Hollywood Studios.

Which has shorter queues, Carowinds or Hollywood Studios?

Carowinds, by about 33 minutes a ride. On a typical day Carowinds averages 8 minutes against 41 at Hollywood Studios. 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 Hollywood Studios best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Carowinds and Hollywood Studios 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 Hollywood Studios for the full ride lists.

Is Carowinds bigger than Hollywood Studios?

By rides we track waits for, Carowinds is the bigger day out: 36 rides against 9. 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 calendarHollywood Studios calendarCompare other parks
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