Animal Kingdom
vs
Universal Studios Florida Park

On a typical day Universal Studios Florida Park queues less: about 23 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 9 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 Universal Studios Florida Park compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Animal KingdomUnited States	Universal Studios Florida ParkUnited States
Average wait per ride	32 min	23 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	6	15 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Avatar Flight of Passage58 min	Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™42 min
Shortest typical queue	Wildlife Express Train7 min	Ollivanders™ Experience in Diagon Alley™5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	92% (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 Universal Studios Florida Park compared on live queue times
Right now	Animal KingdomUnited States	Universal Studios Florida ParkUnited 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 Universal Studios Florida Park queues less: about 23 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom, a difference of roughly 9 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 23 at Universal Studios Florida Park - for what Animal Kingdom has that Universal Studios Florida Park does not
You would rather not find rides shut: Animal Kingdom's rides run 92% of opening hours against 84% at Universal Studios Florida Park
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 Universal Studios Florida Park if…

You want shorter queues: Universal Studios Florida Park averages 23 minutes a ride against 32 at Animal Kingdom
You want more to do: 15 rides here have recorded wait data against 6 at Animal Kingdom
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™ is on your list - it is Universal Studios Florida Park's longest typical queue at about 42 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Studios Florida Park'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

Universal Studios Florida Park

Universal Studios Florida is one of two major parks at the Universal Orlando Resort, themed around film and TV. Highlights include Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Revenge of the Mummy, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Fast and Furious, and Transformers: The Ride. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley connects to Universal's Islands of Adventure via the Hogwarts Express.

Universal Studios Florida is busy year-round, with peak crowds during US school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights, and the Christmas season. Mid-January and early September are the quietest periods. Check live wait times across both parks on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date - the extensive Wizarding World areas regularly top 60-minute queues.

Universal Studios Florida Park live queue times

05 · Questions

Animal Kingdom or Universal Studios Florida Park?

Which is better, Animal Kingdom or Universal Studios Florida Park?

If you are judging on queues, Universal Studios Florida Park: it averages about 23 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Animal Kingdom, roughly 9 minutes back on every queue you join. Animal Kingdom has 6 rides with recorded waits against 15 at Universal Studios Florida Park. Animal Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 84%.

Which has shorter queues, Animal Kingdom or Universal Studios Florida Park?

Universal Studios Florida Park, by about 9 minutes a ride. On a typical day Universal Studios Florida Park averages 23 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 Universal Studios Florida Park best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Animal Kingdom and Universal Studios Florida Park 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 Universal Studios Florida Park for the full ride lists.

Is Animal Kingdom bigger than Universal Studios Florida Park?

By rides we track waits for, Universal Studios Florida Park is the bigger day out: 15 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 Universal Studios Florida Park 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 Universal Studios Florida Park calendar Compare other parks