It’s not uncommon these days to see familiar chain restaurants inside theme parks such Starbucks. However, at Carowinds Theme Park you’ll actually find a Panda Express and it’s one of the best and most popular quick service restaurants in the park. Panda Express Panda Express is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in American style Chinese cuisine. It has over 2,400 locations and is probably best known for its orange chicken dish. At Carowinds you’ll sometimes find that one of the longest lines in the park is for Panda Express because it offers large portions of good food at a reasonable price.

The Panda Express at Carowinds is located near Camp Snoopy and across from the Kiddy Hawk roller coaster. It looks like a standalone Panda Express location, but has a slightly abbreviated menu than the regular stores, but most of your favorites are offered included some of the limited time or special options. You’ll also have the same bowl, plate and bigger plate options that are essentially a side with either one, two or three servings of an entree. If you’re with another person or group and don’t mind sharing, the bigger plates are going to be your best value. They’re just $1-$2 more than a bowl or plate and you’ll get a lot more food. For just under $40 with our season pass discount we got two bigger plates (~$20 each) which was more than enough to feed our hungry group of 3 with leftovers. The orange chicken and sesame chicken we had was just like the regular store version and tasted great.

Panda Express at Carowinds Theme Park is one of the best quick service restaurants in the industry. There have been some rumors and worries as to if Panda Express and Six Flags would continue their relationship after the merger (as Panda Express was predominantly at the legacy Cedar Fair locations while Johnny Rockets was at the legacy Six Flags parks), but for 2026 everything appears status quo. If you’re at Carowinds and looking for a great tasting lunch that you can potentially share as a group, Panda Express is a great choice.