Animal Kingdom
vs
Kings Dominion

On a typical day Kings Dominion queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 19 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now Compare other parks

01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Animal Kingdom and Kings Dominion compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Animal KingdomUnited States	Kings DominionUnited States
Average wait per ride	32 min	13 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	6	25 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Avatar Flight of Passage58 min	Tumbili25 min
Shortest typical queue	Wildlife Express Train7 min	Carousel4 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	92% (best of the two)	90%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

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.

Animal Kingdom and Kings Dominion compared on live queue times
Right now	Animal KingdomUnited States	Kings DominionUnited 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.

Verdict, on a typical day On a typical day Kings Dominion queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 19 minutes on every queue you join.

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 Animal Kingdom if…

You will accept a longer queue - 32 minutes a ride here against 13 at Kings Dominion - for what Animal Kingdom has that Kings Dominion does not
Avatar Flight of Passage is on your list - it is Animal Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 58 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Animal Kingdom's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Kings Dominion if…

You want shorter queues: Kings Dominion averages 13 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom
You want more to do: 25 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Animal Kingdom
Tumbili is on your list - it is Kings Dominion's longest typical queue at about 25 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Kings Dominion's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom blends a full theme park with a working zoo. The park sits at Walt Disney World and is the largest of the four by area. Signature attractions include Avatar Flight of Passage, Na'vi River Journey, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and the Festival of the Lion King show. Pandora – The World of Avatar regularly posts the longest wait times in the park.

Animal Kingdom is usually less crowded than Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, but Avatar Flight of Passage still routinely exceeds 60-minute queue times. Early mornings are best for the safaris when animals are most active. Check live wait times on arrival and head to Pandora first. Use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date outside US school holidays for a more relaxed visit.

Animal Kingdom live queue times

Kings Dominion

Kings Dominion sits in Doswell, Virginia, about 25 minutes north of Richmond. The park has one of the strongest regional coaster line-ups on the US East Coast: Intimidator 305 (a 305-foot giga coaster), Twisted Timbers (a Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid), Apple Zapple, Dominator (a 215-foot floorless coaster), and Racer 75. A Soak City water park is included with admission during summer.

Virginia summer school breaks, weekend visits from the DC / Richmond area, and the Halloween Haunt drive Kings Dominion's busiest periods. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for Intimidator 305 and Twisted Timbers first thing on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits.

Kings Dominion live queue times

05 · Questions

Animal Kingdom or Kings Dominion?

Which is better, Animal Kingdom or Kings Dominion?

If you are judging on queues, Kings Dominion: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Animal Kingdom, roughly 19 minutes back on every queue you join. Animal Kingdom has 6 rides with recorded waits against 25 at Kings Dominion. Animal Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 90%.

Which has shorter queues, Animal Kingdom or Kings Dominion?

Kings Dominion, by about 19 minutes a ride. On a typical day Kings Dominion averages 13 minutes against 32 at Animal Kingdom. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Animal Kingdom best time to visit and Kings Dominion best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Animal Kingdom and Kings Dominion 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 Animal Kingdom and Kings Dominion for the full ride lists.

Is Animal Kingdom bigger than Kings Dominion?

By rides we track waits for, Kings Dominion is the bigger day out: 25 rides against 6. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Kings Dominion is the quicker park.

Then pick
the quiet day.

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

Animal Kingdom calendar Kings Dominion calendar Compare other parks