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Carowinds
vs
Kings Dominion

On a typical day Carowinds queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 13 at Kings Dominion, a difference of roughly 5 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 Kings Dominion compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCarowindsUnited StatesKings DominionUnited States
Average wait per ride 8 min (best of the two)13 min
Rides with recorded waits 36 (best of the two)25
Longest typical queue Fury 32521 minTumbili25 min
Shortest typical queue Woodstock Whirlybirds3 minCarousel4 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is runningNot recorded90%

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 Kings Dominion compared on live queue times
Right nowCarowindsUnited StatesKings DominionUnited 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 13 at Kings Dominion, a difference of roughly 5 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 13 at Kings Dominion
  • You want more to do: 36 rides here have recorded wait data against 25 at Kings Dominion
  • 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 Kings Dominion if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 13 minutes a ride here against 8 at Carowinds - for what Kings Dominion has that Carowinds does not
  • Tumbili is on your list - it is Kings Dominion's longest typical queue at about 25 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Kings Dominion'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

Kings Dominion

Kings Dominion sits in Doswell, Virginia, about 25 minutes north of Richmond. The park has one of the strongest regional coaster line-ups on the US East Coast: Intimidator 305 (a 305-foot giga coaster), Twisted Timbers (a Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid), Apple Zapple, Dominator (a 215-foot floorless coaster), and Racer 75. A Soak City water park is included with admission during summer.

Virginia summer school breaks, weekend visits from the DC / Richmond area, and the Halloween Haunt drive Kings Dominion's busiest periods. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for Intimidator 305 and Twisted Timbers first thing on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits.

Kings Dominion live queue times

05 · Questions

Carowinds or Kings Dominion?

Which is better, Carowinds or Kings Dominion?

If you are judging on queues, Carowinds: it averages about 8 minutes a ride on a typical day against 13 at Kings Dominion, roughly 5 minutes back on every queue you join. Carowinds has 36 rides with recorded waits against 25 at Kings Dominion.

Which has shorter queues, Carowinds or Kings Dominion?

Carowinds, by about 5 minutes a ride. On a typical day Carowinds averages 8 minutes against 13 at Kings Dominion. 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 Kings Dominion best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Carowinds and Kings Dominion 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 Kings Dominion for the full ride lists.

Is Carowinds bigger than Kings Dominion?

By rides we track waits for, Carowinds is the bigger day out: 36 rides against 25. 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 calendarKings Dominion calendarCompare other parks
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