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Park Queue TimesPQT

Adventureland
vs
Universal Studios Hollywood

Side-by-side queue times, ride counts and opening hours for Adventureland and Universal Studios Hollywood, with a straight recommendation.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Adventureland and Universal Studios Hollywood compared on live queue times
Right nowAdventurelandUnited StatesUniversal Studios HollywoodUnited States
Average wait right now --
Rides open --
Opening hours today --
Longest queue --
Shortest queue --

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Adventureland if…

  • You want Adventureland's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Universal Studios Hollywood if…

  • Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is on your list - it is Universal Studios Hollywood's longest typical queue at about 91 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Universal Studios Hollywood's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Adventureland

Adventureland in Altoona, just outside Des Moines, has been open since 1974 and is Iowa's largest amusement park. Monster is the steel coaster with the beyond-vertical drop, Outlaw and Tornado are the wooden coasters, and Phoenix, Storm Chaser and Draken Falls add more variety, with a large section of family rides. In the autumn it runs Halloween haunts on select dates.

Summer weekends and the weeks around the Fourth of July are the busiest. Weekdays early and late in the season are usually much quieter. Check the live queue times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a good day.

Adventureland live queue times

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood sits in Universal City, California, combining a working film studio with a full theme park. The famous Studio Tour trams run through real backlots, while the park's themed rides include Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World – The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, and the newer Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge in Super Nintendo World.

LA and Southern California visitor patterns keep Universal Hollywood busy much of the year, with US summer school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas driving the peak. Mid-January and early September are the quietest periods. Check live queue times before committing to long waits, and use our crowd calendar to pick a weekday outside California school breaks for shorter lines.

Universal Studios Hollywood live queue times

05 · Questions

Adventureland or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Which is better, Adventureland or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Neither is better across the board - it depends whether you are optimising for shorter queues or for the rides you actually want. This page puts live queue times, ride counts and opening hours side by side so you can judge on your own priorities.

Which has shorter queues, Adventureland or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Queues change hour by hour. The typical figures above are the fair answer for planning; the live table answers today. Mid-week visits outside school holidays give the shortest queues at either park. See Adventureland best time to visit and Universal Studios Hollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Adventureland and Universal Studios Hollywood in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United States, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Adventureland and Universal Studios Hollywood for the full ride lists.

Is Adventureland bigger than Universal Studios Hollywood?

Park size is less useful than how many rides you can actually get on in a day - that comes down to queue times and opening hours. The comparison above shows ride counts and wait times for both.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.