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Park Queue TimesPQT

Animal Kingdom
vs
Kings Island

On a typical day Animal Kingdom queues less: about 26 minutes a ride against 29 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 3 minutes on every queue you join.

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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 Island compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyAnimal KingdomUnited StatesKings IslandUnited States
Average wait per ride 26 min (best of the two)29 min
Rides with recorded waits 624 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Avatar Flight of Passage44 minFlight of Fear54 min
Shortest typical queue Wildlife Express Train7 minThe Racer (Red)12 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running91% (best of the two)86%

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 Island compared on live queue times
Right nowAnimal KingdomUnited StatesKings IslandUnited 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 Animal Kingdom queues less: about 26 minutes a ride against 29 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 3 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 want shorter queues: Animal Kingdom averages 26 minutes a ride against 29 at Kings Island
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Animal Kingdom's rides run 91% of opening hours against 86% at Kings Island
  • Avatar Flight of Passage is on your list - it is Animal Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 44 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 Island if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 29 minutes a ride here against 26 at Animal Kingdom - for what Kings Island has that Animal Kingdom does not
  • You want more to do: 24 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Animal Kingdom
  • Flight of Fear is on your list - it is Kings Island's longest typical queue at about 54 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Kings Island'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 Island

Kings Island is a huge theme park in Mason, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. It's one of the Cedar Fair (now Six Flags) parks and runs a strong coaster line-up: The Beast (the world's longest wooden coaster, opened 1979), Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Orion (a giga coaster), Banshee (the world's longest inverted coaster), and Racer. A full water park operates on the same site during summer.

The Ohio summer school break and Halloween Haunt event drive Kings Island's busiest periods, with weekend queue times on Orion and The Beast often exceeding 90 minutes. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit if you want to ride everything in a day.

Kings Island live queue times

05 · Questions

Animal Kingdom or Kings Island?

Which is better, Animal Kingdom or Kings Island?

If you are judging on queues, Animal Kingdom: it averages about 26 minutes a ride on a typical day against 29 at Kings Island, roughly 3 minutes back on every queue you join. Animal Kingdom has 6 rides with recorded waits against 24 at Kings Island. Animal Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 86%.

Which has shorter queues, Animal Kingdom or Kings Island?

Animal Kingdom, by about 3 minutes a ride. On a typical day Animal Kingdom averages 26 minutes against 29 at Kings Island. 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 Island best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Animal Kingdom bigger than Kings Island?

By rides we track waits for, Kings Island is the bigger day out: 24 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 Animal Kingdom 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 calendarKings Island calendarCompare other parks