Vortex wait times
Vortex at Carowinds averages 9 minutes. It is shortest at 3pm and worst at 5pm. It has run 80% of the park's opening hours recently.
Vortex queue times, day by day
Vortex over recent weeks
Typical waits from this ride's own recorded readings
Vortex has averaged about 9 minutes of queue across its recorded readings, peaking around 14 minutes, with the longest queues near 5pm, and the shortest near 3pm. Pick a date below to see that day minute by minute.
Vortex queue times by hour
Average wait by hour
Across the last 28 days · minutes
Vortex peaks at 10pm with 15 minutes, and is at its shortest at 11am with 1. Riding it at the right hour saves 14 minutes on a single ride.
Best time to ride Vortex
Best time to ride
Vortex averages 1 minutes at 11am against 15 at the 10pm peak - 14 minutes for turning up at the right hour. The longest queue it has ever held is 45 minutes.
Vortex by day of the week
Average wait by day
7 days with a recorded queue
- Wed0m
- Fri16m
- Sat12m
- Sun4m
Wednesday is the quietest day for Vortex, at 0 minutes against 16 on Friday.
Does Vortex break down?
Uptime and closures
82% of opening hours · 7 days recorded
↓ decliningRunning 82% of the minutes Carowinds was open, across the last 7 recorded days.
Last 7 days uptime
- 98%
- 70%
- 99%
- 91%
- 99%
- 0%
- 99%
Vortex ran 82% of Carowinds's opening hours across 7 recorded days, and is declining. It ran without a recorded stop on Saturday 10 Oct.
Longest Vortex queues on record
Peaks in the last 14 days
Every one a real date · tap through to that day
- 1Friday 9 Oct45m
- 2Saturday 26 Sept20m
- 3Saturday 3 Oct10m
- 4Friday 2 Oct6m
- 5Sunday 27 Sept5m
- 6Sunday 4 Oct5m
The worst queue recorded for Vortex was 45 minutes on Friday 9 Oct.
Vortex through the year
All-time average by month
From this ride's own recorded readings · minutes
Queue times are the figures Carowinds publishes for this ride, recorded every few minutes through the park's own opening hours. The hourly pattern is this ride's own last 28 days; the day-by-day rail is its last 14 days. Uptime is the share of the park's operating minutes the ride was running.
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About Vortex
Vortex is one of 38 rides tracked at Carowinds, 18th longest of 38 by usual wait. It queues about 9 minutes on a typical day, shorter than the 11-minute park average.
Vortex has averaged about 9 minutes of wait over recent weeks, and is typically busiest around 5pm and quietest around 3pm. Over the last two weeks it has been open around 80% of the park's operating hours. It's typically quietest on Sundays and busiest on Fridays.
Frequently asked
What's the current wait time for Vortex?
The live wait time for Vortex at Carowinds is shown at the top of this page and refreshed directly from the park's own ride system. Check live Vortex wait times.
Is Vortex open right now?
The live status badge at the top of this page shows whether Vortex is open or closed right now - it updates automatically from Carowinds's own ride system. Over the last couple of weeks, Vortex has been open around 80% of Carowinds's operating hours. You can also see the live status of every ride at Carowinds.
What's the best time of day to ride Vortex?
Based on historical wait time data, Vortex is typically quietest around 3pm. For most rides the queue is shortest in the first hour after the park opens and the last hour before it closes, with midday through mid-afternoon the busiest window.
What is the best day to ride Vortex?
Vortex is usually quietest on Sundays, and busiest on Fridays based on recent weeks - visit on a Sunday for shorter waits.
How long is the line for Vortex usually?
Over recent weeks, Vortex has averaged about 9 minutes, with lines usually longest around 5pm. Wait times usually build through the morning, peak from midday to mid-afternoon, then ease off before close. Weekends and school holidays run noticeably longer than quiet weekdays. This page shows today's live wait time, the day's average, hourly breakdowns and the full history of peak lines for Vortex at Carowinds.
Is Vortex often closed or broken down?
Over the last two weeks, Vortex has been running about 80% of the time. We track Vortex's uptime and downtime automatically - see the "Reliability" and "Downtime History" panels on this page for its full record over the last 30 days, including any current closures and how long they've lasted.
Where can I find Vortex at Carowinds?
Vortex is at Carowinds - see the park map and full ride list for its exact location. The Carowinds page also shows which rides nearby have the shortest lines right now.
Can I get wait time alerts for Vortex?
Yes - create a free alert and we'll notify you when Vortex's wait time drops below your chosen threshold (for example, "tell me when Vortex is under 20 minutes"). Great for timing your sprint from across the park.