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Park Queue TimesPQT

Busch Gardens Williamsburg
vs
Six Flags Darien Lake

On a typical day Six Flags Darien Lake queues less: about 17 minutes a ride against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, 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 Williamsburg and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyBusch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited StatesSix Flags Darien LakeUnited States
Average wait per ride 21 min17 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 910 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Le Scoot80 minTantrum26 min
Shortest typical queue The Battering Ram7 minRipCurl Racer5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running99% (best of the two)70%

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 Williamsburg and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on live queue times
Right nowBusch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited StatesSix 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 17 minutes a ride against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, 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 Williamsburg if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 21 minutes a ride here against 17 at Six Flags Darien Lake - for what Busch Gardens Williamsburg has that Six Flags Darien Lake does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Busch Gardens Williamsburg's rides run 99% of opening hours against 70% at Six Flags Darien Lake
  • Le Scoot is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Williamsburg's longest typical queue at about 80 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Busch Gardens Williamsburg'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 17 minutes a ride against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
  • You want more to do: 10 rides here have recorded wait data against 9 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
  • Tantrum is on your list - it is Six Flags Darien Lake's longest typical queue at about 26 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.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is consistently rated one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world, winning "Most Beautiful Park" industry awards year after year. Set across European-themed villages in Virginia, it runs a top-tier coaster line-up: Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon (a dive coaster), Verbolten, InvadR, and the newer Pantheon - one of the world's fastest multi-launch coasters.

Virginia school holidays, the Howl-O-Scream Halloween event and the famous Christmas Town event drive Busch Gardens Williamsburg's biggest crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Pantheon and Alpengeist first thing on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date - the park's wooded setting keeps temperatures pleasant.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg 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

Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Six Flags Darien Lake?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Darien Lake: it averages about 17 minutes a ride on a typical day against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, roughly 4 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has 9 rides with recorded waits against 10 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also runs its rides more reliably - 99% of opening hours against 70%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Six Flags Darien Lake, by about 4 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Darien Lake averages 17 minutes against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Busch Gardens Williamsburg best time to visit and Six Flags Darien Lake best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg 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 Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Six Flags Darien Lake for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Williamsburg bigger than Six Flags Darien Lake?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Darien Lake is the bigger day out: 10 rides against 9. 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.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg calendarCompare other parks