Busch Gardens Tampa
vs
Six Flags Over Texas

On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa queues less: about 11 minutes a ride against 18 at Six Flags Over Texas, a difference of roughly 7 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.

Busch Gardens Tampa and Six Flags Over Texas compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Busch Gardens TampaUnited States	Six Flags Over TexasUnited States
Average wait per ride	11 min (best of the two)	18 min
Rides with recorded waits	11	20 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Congo River Rapids18 min	MR. FREEZE37 min
Shortest typical queue	Air Grover5 min	Judge Roy Scream5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	73%	76% (best of the two)

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 Six Flags Over Texas compared on live queue times
Right now	Busch Gardens TampaUnited States	Six Flags Over TexasUnited 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 11 minutes a ride against 18 at Six Flags Over Texas, a difference of roughly 7 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 11 minutes a ride against 18 at Six Flags Over Texas
Congo River Rapids is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Tampa's longest typical queue at about 18 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 Six Flags Over Texas if…

You will accept a longer queue - 18 minutes a ride here against 11 at Busch Gardens Tampa - for what Six Flags Over Texas has that Busch Gardens Tampa does not
You want more to do: 20 rides here have recorded wait data against 11 at Busch Gardens Tampa
You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Over Texas's rides run 76% of opening hours against 73% at Busch Gardens Tampa
MR. FREEZE is on your list - it is Six Flags Over Texas's longest typical queue at about 37 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Over Texas'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

Six Flags Over Texas

Six Flags Over Texas is the original Six Flags park, opened in 1961 in Arlington - the location that gave the whole chain its name. The coaster line-up includes New Texas Giant (a record-setting Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid), Titan (a 255-foot hyper coaster), Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast, Judge Roy Scream, Shock Wave, and the classic Runaway Mine Train.

Texas school holidays, the extremely popular Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park events drive most of Six Flags Over Texas's peak crowds. Summer heat can push queue times up as guests seek the shadier rides and water attractions. Check live wait times for New Texas Giant and Titan on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a cooler, lower-crowd midweek date.

Six Flags Over Texas live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Tampa or Six Flags Over Texas?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Tampa or Six Flags Over Texas?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Tampa: it averages about 11 minutes a ride on a typical day against 18 at Six Flags Over Texas, roughly 7 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Tampa has 11 rides with recorded waits against 20 at Six Flags Over Texas. Six Flags Over Texas also runs its rides more reliably - 76% of opening hours against 73%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Tampa or Six Flags Over Texas?

Busch Gardens Tampa, by about 7 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Tampa averages 11 minutes against 18 at Six Flags Over Texas. 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 Six Flags Over Texas best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Tampa and Six Flags Over Texas 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 Six Flags Over Texas for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Tampa bigger than Six Flags Over Texas?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Over Texas is the bigger day out: 20 rides against 11. 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 calendar Six Flags Over Texas calendar Compare other parks