Theme Park Wait Times / Carowinds / Afterburn
Afterburn Wait Times
Roller Coaster · 54" minimum height · Carowinds
Afterburn is not operating today.
Live wait, plus a model forecast by day and hour for Afterburn at Carowinds, built on 6,160 measured readings.
Best time to ride Afterburn
On a typical Saturday, Afterburn runs about 7 min at rope drop, peaks near 16 min around 8 PM, and eases to 14 min by close. Across the week, Saturday is the worst day (about 16 min at its midday peak) and Sunday the calmest (about 11 min). Use the day and time controls above to check any day of the week.
Averaging 10 min, this is the #16 longest line of 47 tracked rides at Carowinds (park average 9 min). The longest is Snoopy's Racing Railway at 30 min.
Typical Afterburn wait by day
| Day | Rope Drop | Midday Peak | Late Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 5 min | 11 min 8 PM | 9 min |
| Friday | 5 min | 14 min 8 PM | 10 min |
| Saturday · busiest | 7 min | 16 min 8 PM | 14 min |
Afterburn average wait by month
| Month | Avg Wait | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 12.3 min | 5,505 |
| July 2026 | 14.3 min | 16,085 |
| August 2026 | 22.1 min | 22,533 |
| September 2026 | 9.9 min | 6,160 |
Afterburn wait time FAQ
▾When is Afterburn shortest?
Afterburn is shortest at rope drop (about 7 min) and in the final hour of the night (about 14 min). Midday is the worst window, peaking near 16 min around 8 PM.
▾Which day is Afterburn busiest?
Saturday runs the longest lines, peaking around 16 min midday, while Sunday is the calmest at about 11 min. Use the day and time slider above to check any day.
▾What is the wait for Afterburn right now?
Afterburn isn't reporting a live wait right now. The park may be closed. This page updates automatically when lines go live.
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Reliability, measured
How often this ride was actually running, not how long the line was.
Across 973 hours that Carowinds was open, Afterburn was running 92.19% of the time, with 80 separate interruptions. That ranks #13 for availability out of 58 tracked rides at Carowinds, where the typical ride runs 97.18% of operating hours.
Measured 2026-05-23 to 2026-09-30 from ride status polled about every minute. Scheduled refurbishment is recorded separately and is not counted as an outage. How we measure
Based on 6,160 measured readings, updated continuously · How we measure
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