Busch Gardens Williamsburg
vs
Universal Studios Hollywood

On a typical day Busch Gardens Williamsburg queues less: about 21 minutes a ride against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood, a difference of roughly 15 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 Studios Hollywood compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Busch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited States	Universal Studios HollywoodUnited States
Average wait per ride	21 min (best of the two)	36 min
Rides with recorded waits	10	15 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Alpengeist60 min	Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge88 min
Shortest typical queue	The Battering Ram7 min	Bowser Jr. Challenge5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	91% (best of the two)	80%

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 Studios Hollywood compared on live queue times
Right now	Busch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited States	Universal Studios HollywoodUnited 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 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood, a difference of roughly 15 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 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood
You would rather not find rides shut: Busch Gardens Williamsburg's rides run 91% of opening hours against 80% at Universal Studios Hollywood
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 Studios Hollywood if…

You will accept a longer queue - 36 minutes a ride here against 21 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - for what Universal Studios Hollywood has that Busch Gardens Williamsburg does not
You want more to do: 15 rides here have recorded wait data against 10 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge is on your list - it is Universal Studios Hollywood's longest typical queue at about 88 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Studios Hollywood'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 Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood sits in Universal City, California, combining a working film studio with a full theme park. The famous Studio Tour trams run through real backlots, while the park's themed rides include Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World – The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, and the newer Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge in Super Nintendo World.

LA and Southern California visitor patterns keep Universal Hollywood busy much of the year, with US summer school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas driving the peak. Mid-January and early September are the quietest periods. Check live queue times before committing to long waits, and use our crowd calendar to pick a weekday outside California school breaks for shorter lines.

Universal Studios Hollywood live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Universal Studios Hollywood?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg: it averages about 21 minutes a ride on a typical day against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood, roughly 15 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has 10 rides with recorded waits against 15 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 80%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by about 15 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Williamsburg averages 21 minutes against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood. 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 Studios Hollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Universal Studios Hollywood 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 Studios Hollywood for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Williamsburg bigger than Universal Studios Hollywood?

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