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Animal Kingdom
vs
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Animal Kingdom and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom queue about the same on a typical day - 26 minutes against 25 minutes across 6 and 17 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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 Discovery Kingdom compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyAnimal KingdomUnited StatesSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited States
Average wait per ride 26 min25 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 617 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Avatar Flight of Passage44 minBATMAN: The Ride45 min
Shortest typical queue Wildlife Express Train7 minWave Swinger5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running91% (best of the two)84%

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 Discovery Kingdom compared on live queue times
Right nowAnimal KingdomUnited StatesSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited 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 Animal Kingdom and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom queue about the same on a typical day - 26 minutes against 25 minutes across 6 and 17 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 26 minutes a ride
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Animal Kingdom's rides run 91% of opening hours against 84% at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
  • 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 25 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 17 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Animal Kingdom
  • BATMAN: The Ride is on your list - it is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 45 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Discovery Kingdom'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 Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sits in Vallejo, California, on San Francisco Bay's northern edge. The park combines a theme park with a marine-animal section, running coasters like Medusa (the West Coast's first floorless), Kong (an inverted coaster), Superman: Ultimate Flight, Joker 4-D Free Fly Coaster, and the newer DC Stunt Coaster. Dolphin, sea lion and bird shows run throughout the day.

Bay Area weekend visits, California school holidays, and the Fright Fest event drive Discovery Kingdom's peak crowds. Weekdays in April, September and October are dramatically quieter, with queue times on most rides staying short. Check live wait times for Medusa and Superman on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits. The bayside setting makes for pleasant walking even on quieter days.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom live queue times

05 · Questions

Animal Kingdom or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

Which is better, Animal Kingdom or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 25 minutes a ride on a typical day. Animal Kingdom has 6 rides with recorded waits against 17 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Animal Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 84%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Animal Kingdom or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

They are level. Animal Kingdom averages 26 minutes a ride on a typical day and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom averages 25 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Animal Kingdom best time to visit and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Animal Kingdom bigger than Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the bigger day out: 17 rides against 6. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours.

Then pick
the quiet day.

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