Love 2 Travel With Kids: Carowinds Planet Snoopy Rides – How to Get the Most Out of the Day

Tips for Visiting Carowinds with a Family © Katrena

Looking for tips for shorter wait times at Carowinds? These travel tips may help you to enjoy more ride time and less waiting.

The amusement park is generally less crowded on weekdays. Holidays, weekends, and special events tend to draw higher numbers. Arriving at Carowinds as the gate opens leaves one with an opportunity to ride significantly more rides. Choosing rides early that tend to have notoriously long wait times will give you the opportunity to skip those as the crowds increase while you enjoy the rides with faster moving lines later in the day.

View of Intimidator and Planet Snoopy from Carolina Skytower © Katrena

If you've never been to Carowinds, it helps to visit the official web site and study the map before visiting the park. The amusement park looks sort of like a big circle that lies on the North Carolina and South Carolina border with the front gate at one end and the water park at the opposite end. Those who are unfamiliar with the park can easily get turned around and end up wandering for quite a while to find a desired ride. While looking at the web site, determine which rides look most appealing to the kids and try to ride those early in the day.

How to Avoid Long Lines at Carowinds © Katrena

Get the children's height measured just inside the front gate on the left. Maps are also located in that area. If lots of people are waiting for height bands, grab a map and get the kids' height measured in the Baby Care Center behind the carousel in Planet Snoopy. If you are traveling with older and younger kids, you might consider having one adult hit the larger rides with the older children while another adult heads to Planet Snoopy with the smaller children.

Tips for Visiting Carowinds with the Kids © Katrena

If you have small kids, you will probably spend most of your day in Planet Snoopy, which is located on the SC side on the left after entering the front gate. The Intimidator Roller Coaster runs beside Planet Snoopy. If a child in your party is shorter than 46 inches, ride choices outside of Planet Snoopy and the water park are limited to:

Carolina Skytower (nice view and easy place to meet others in the group)
The Scrambler (be careful if anyone in the group tends to get sick on spinning rides)
Boo Blasters (smaller kids and some older ones may be scared on this one)

Rides for Small Kids at Carowinds © Katrena

Any ride involving small kids will take extra time due to seat belt checks. Some rides that allow only small kids may need to be stopped if a child is doing something unsafe or is starting to panic. Some kids might enjoy the shows, the food, or cooling off in the water park when Boomerang Bay is open.

Fun Rides for the Whole Family at Carowinds © Katrena

Rides to hit early in Planet Snoopy are:

Flying Ace Aerial Chase (this is to the right as you enter Planet Snoopy - fun coaster for the taller kids)
Woodstock Gliders (fun ride that even the adults may like - requires some skill to swing high on this one)
Woodstock's Whirlybirds (slow load time as each helicopter is small and the ride gets hot later in the day)
Snoopy's Yacht Club (this ride tends to get hot later in the day due to no shade)
Flying Ace Balloon Race (beware of this ride if you tend to develop motion sickness but this is another one that tends to have a higher thrill factor and is pretty popular)

Roller Coaster for Children at Carowinds © Katrena

The two roller coasters inside Planet Snoopy (Lucy's Crabby Cabbie and Woodstock Express, formerly known as the Fairly Oddcoaster or the Scooby Doo roller coaster) tend to load fairly quickly. Adults ride with the smaller kids, so the ride is less likely to be stopped once it is cleared to start. Smaller children that like roller coasters will probably enjoy these, and it is a good idea to ride these early if there is even a hint of rain or possible thunderstorms later in the day.

Fun Things to do in North Carolina © H.W.

Rides in Planet Snoopy that tend to have moderate wait times are:

Gr8 Sk8 (for taller kids, nice view - probably not one to hit right after eating lunch)
Peanuts Pirates (fun if you have several in your group and are riding in adjacent ships)
Charlie Brown's Windup (tiny swings that spin...if all of the kids are sitting in the seats)
Snoopy's Space Race (bring ear plugs if all the kids find the buzzer)
Snoopy vs. Red Baron (show younger ones what to do in order to get the plane to rise when loading)

Rides in Planet Snoopy that tend to have shorter wait times are:

Character Carousel (avoid inner horses if your child wishes to go up and down - loads large numbers at a time and the whole family can ride)
Snoopy's Junction (fun music - good choice if everyone has a full stomach, not much to see on the ride but loads fairly large numbers and the whole family can ride together)