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Park Queue TimesPQT

Busch Gardens Tampa
vs
Hersheypark

On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 10 minutes a ride against 14 at Hersheypark, a difference of roughly 4 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.

Busch Gardens Tampa and Hersheypark compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyBusch Gardens TampaUnited StatesHersheyparkUnited States
Average wait per ride 10 min (best of the two)14 min
Rides with recorded waits 1850 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Anaconda: Fear Has No Escape 15 minLaff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 min
Shortest typical queue Gwazi Gliders 5 minJolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running74% (best of the two)60%

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.

Busch Gardens Tampa and Hersheypark compared on live queue times
Right nowBusch Gardens TampaUnited StatesHersheyparkUnited 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 Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 10 minutes a ride against 14 at Hersheypark, a difference of roughly 4 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 Busch Gardens Tampa if…

  • You want shorter queues: Busch Gardens Tampa averages 10 minutes a ride against 14 at Hersheypark
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Busch Gardens Tampa's rides run 74% of opening hours against 60% at Hersheypark
  • Anaconda: Fear Has No Escape is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Tampa's longest typical queue at about 15 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Busch Gardens Tampa's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Hersheypark if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 14 minutes a ride here against 10 at Busch Gardens Tampa - for what Hersheypark has that Busch Gardens Tampa does not
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Busch Gardens Tampa
  • Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster is on your list - it is Hersheypark's longest typical queue at about 48 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Hersheypark's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Busch Gardens Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay combines a full theme park with a 300-acre zoo, making it one of the largest combined attractions in the US. The coaster line-up is exceptional: Iron Gwazi (one of the world's top-rated roller coasters), SheiKra (a 200-foot dive coaster), Kumba, Montu (an inverted coaster), Cobra's Curse spinning coaster, and the classic Python. African animal exhibits include rhinos, giraffes and tigers.

Florida summer heat drives queue times into early mornings, while Howl-O-Scream, Christmas Town and US school holidays are the busiest periods. Weekdays in September, October and January stay dramatically calmer. Check live wait times for Iron Gwazi and SheiKra the moment you arrive, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for marathon coaster days.

Busch Gardens Tampa live queue times

Hersheypark

Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania was founded in 1906 as a leisure park for Milton Hershey's chocolate factory workers and has grown into one of the best coaster parks in the United States. It runs more than a dozen roller coasters: Skyrush and the racing wooden Lightning Racer, the launched Storm Runner and Fahrenheit, the classic Comet, the newer Candymonium and Wildcat's Revenge, and the Great Bear inverted coaster. The Boardwalk water park is included with admission.

The park is busiest on summer weekends and during Hersheypark in the Dark in October, and because it closes several rides early on some days, the schedule matters as much as the crowds. Check the live wait times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a weekday when the big coasters run with short queues.

Hersheypark live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Tampa or Hersheypark?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Tampa or Hersheypark?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Tampa: it averages about 10 minutes a ride on a typical day against 14 at Hersheypark, roughly 4 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Tampa has 18 rides with recorded waits against 50 at Hersheypark. Busch Gardens Tampa also runs its rides more reliably - 74% of opening hours against 60%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Tampa or Hersheypark?

Busch Gardens Tampa, by about 4 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa averages 10 minutes against 14 at Hersheypark. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Busch Gardens Tampa best time to visit and Hersheypark best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Tampa and Hersheypark 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 Busch Gardens Tampa and Hersheypark for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Tampa bigger than Hersheypark?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 18. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Busch Gardens Tampa 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.

Busch Gardens Tampa calendarHersheypark calendarCompare other parks