Busch Gardens Williamsburg
vs
Universal Islands Of Adventure

On a typical day Busch Gardens Williamsburg queues less: about 21 minutes a ride against 25 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, a difference of roughly 4 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 Williamsburg and Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Busch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride	21 min (best of the two)	25 min
Rides with recorded waits	10	18 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Alpengeist60 min	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™68 min
Shortest typical queue	The Battering Ram7 min	Storm Force Accelatron®6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	91% (best of the two)	89%

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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on live queue times
Right now	Busch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited 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 Williamsburg queues less: about 21 minutes a ride against 25 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, 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 want shorter queues: Busch Gardens Williamsburg averages 21 minutes a ride against 25 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
Alpengeist is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Williamsburg's longest typical queue at about 60 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure if…

You will accept a longer queue - 25 minutes a ride here against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - for what Universal Islands Of Adventure has that Busch Gardens Williamsburg does not
You want more to do: 18 rides here have recorded wait data against 10 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ is on your list - it is Universal Islands Of Adventure's longest typical queue at about 68 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Islands Of Adventure'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

Universal Islands Of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is widely regarded as one of the best theme parks in the world. Its line-up blends record-breaking coasters with detailed themed lands: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Pteranodon Flyers, and the classic Jurassic Park River Adventure. The Wizarding World's Hogsmeade is the park's most iconic area.

Like its sister Studios park, Islands of Adventure stays busy year-round, with Hagrid's and VelociCoaster consistently posting the longest queues. Peak periods are US school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head to Hagrid's first. Use our crowd calendar to pick the quietest possible date for your trip.

Universal Islands Of Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg: it averages about 21 minutes a ride on a typical day against 25 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, roughly 4 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has 10 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 89%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by about 4 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Williamsburg averages 21 minutes against 25 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Universal Islands Of Adventure 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Williamsburg bigger than Universal Islands Of Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Universal Islands Of Adventure is the bigger day out: 18 rides against 10. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Busch Gardens Williamsburg 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 calendar Universal Islands Of Adventure calendar Compare other parks