Animal Kingdom
vs
Six Flags Darien Lake

On a typical day Six Flags Darien Lake queues less: about 22 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 10 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 Six Flags Darien Lake compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Animal KingdomUnited States	Six Flags Darien LakeUnited States
Average wait per ride	32 min	22 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	6	13 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Avatar Flight of Passage58 min	Brain Drain51 min
Shortest typical queue	Wildlife Express Train7 min	Boomerang8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	92% (best of the two)	67%

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 Six Flags Darien Lake compared on live queue times
Right now	Animal KingdomUnited States	Six Flags Darien LakeUnited 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 Six Flags Darien Lake queues less: about 22 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 10 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 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake - for what Animal Kingdom has that Six Flags Darien Lake does not
You would rather not find rides shut: Animal Kingdom's rides run 92% of opening hours against 67% at Six Flags Darien Lake
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 Six Flags Darien Lake if…

You want shorter queues: Six Flags Darien Lake averages 22 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom
You want more to do: 13 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Animal Kingdom
Brain Drain is on your list - it is Six Flags Darien Lake's longest typical queue at about 51 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Darien Lake'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

Six Flags Darien Lake

Six Flags Darien Lake sits in Darien Center, New York, between Buffalo and Rochester. The coaster line-up includes Ride of Steel (a 208-foot hyper coaster from Intamin), Tantrum (a 98-foot Eurofighter), Motocoaster launched coaster, Predator wooden coaster, and the classic Viper stand-up. A Hurricane Harbor water park and a camping resort operate on the same property.

Western New York school holidays, US summer weekends and the Fright Fest event drive Darien Lake's peak crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October stay dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Ride of Steel and Tantrum on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - many rides run near walk-on levels on quieter mornings.

Six Flags Darien Lake live queue times

05 · Questions

Animal Kingdom or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Which is better, Animal Kingdom or Six Flags Darien Lake?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Darien Lake: it averages about 22 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Animal Kingdom, roughly 10 minutes back on every queue you join. Animal Kingdom has 6 rides with recorded waits against 13 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Animal Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 67%.

Which has shorter queues, Animal Kingdom or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Six Flags Darien Lake, by about 10 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Darien Lake averages 22 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 Six Flags Darien Lake best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Animal Kingdom and Six Flags Darien Lake 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 Six Flags Darien Lake for the full ride lists.

Is Animal Kingdom bigger than Six Flags Darien Lake?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Darien Lake is the bigger day out: 13 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 Six Flags Darien Lake 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 Six Flags Darien Lake calendar Compare other parks