Theme Park Wait Times / Carowinds / Vortex
Vortex Wait Times
Vortex is not operating today.
Live wait, plus a model forecast by day and hour for Vortex at Carowinds, built on 25,192 measured readings.
Best time to ride Vortex
On a typical Monday, Vortex runs about 4 min at rope drop, peaks near 9 min around 1 PM, and eases to 6 min by close. Across the week, Saturday is the worst day (about 35 min at its midday peak) and Tuesday the calmest (about 5 min). Use the day and time controls above to check any day of the week.
Averaging 11 min, this is the #11 longest line of 49 tracked rides at Carowinds (park average 7 min). The longest is Fury 325 at 24 min.
Typical Vortex wait by day
| Day | Rope Drop | Midday Peak | Late Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 3 min | 18 min 7 PM | 6 min |
| Monday | 4 min | 9 min 1 PM | 6 min |
| Tuesday | 4 min | 5 min 1 PM | 4 min |
| Wednesday | 2 min | 6 min 6 PM | 6 min |
| Thursday | 0 min | 9 min 4 PM | 8 min |
| Friday | 1 min | 14 min 4 PM | 6 min |
| Saturday · busiest | 4 min | 35 min 2 PM | 15 min |
Vortex average wait by month
| Month | Avg Wait | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 8 min | 7,073 |
| July 2026 | 8 min | 15,198 |
| August 2026 | 10.7 min | 15,827 |
Vortex wait time FAQ
▾When is Vortex shortest?
Vortex is shortest at rope drop (about 4 min) and in the final hour of the night (about 6 min). Midday is the worst window, peaking near 9 min around 1 PM.
▾Which day is Vortex busiest?
Saturday runs the longest lines, peaking around 35 min midday, while Tuesday is the calmest at about 5 min. Use the day and time slider above to check any day.
▾What is the wait for Vortex right now?
Vortex isn't reporting a live wait right now. The park may be closed. This page updates automatically when lines go live.
Other rides at Carowinds
Plan your Carowinds visit
Reliability, measured
How often this ride was actually running, not how long the line was.
Across 843 hours that Carowinds was open, Vortex was running 95.31% of the time, with 48 separate interruptions. That ranks #20 for availability out of 57 tracked rides at Carowinds, where the typical ride runs 97.08% of operating hours.
Measured 2026-05-23 to 2026-08-15 from ride status polled about every minute. Scheduled refurbishment is recorded separately and is not counted as an outage. How we measure
Based on 25,192 measured readings, updated continuously · How we measure
See every ride at Carowinds
Thoosie