Skip to main content
Park Queue TimesPQT

Californias Great America
vs
Epcot

On a typical day Californias Great America queues less: about 29 minutes a ride against 35 at Epcot, a difference of roughly 6 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now

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.

Californias Great America and Epcot compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesEpcotUnited States
Average wait per ride 29 min (best of the two)35 min
Rides with recorded waits 13 (best of the two)11
Longest typical queue RailBlazer64 minGuardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind82 min
Shortest typical queue Whitewater Falls5 minGran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros9 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running85%94% (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.

Californias Great America and Epcot compared on live queue times
Right nowCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesEpcotUnited 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 Californias Great America queues less: about 29 minutes a ride against 35 at Epcot, a difference of roughly 6 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 Californias Great America if…

  • You want shorter queues: Californias Great America averages 29 minutes a ride against 35 at Epcot
  • You want more to do: 13 rides here have recorded wait data against 11 at Epcot
  • RailBlazer is on your list - it is Californias Great America's longest typical queue at about 64 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Californias Great America's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Epcot if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 35 minutes a ride here against 29 at Californias Great America - for what Epcot has that Californias Great America does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Epcot's rides run 94% of opening hours against 85% at Californias Great America
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is on your list - it is Epcot's longest typical queue at about 82 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Epcot's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Californias Great America

California's Great America sits in Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. It's a mid-sized park with a solid coaster line-up: Gold Striker (a highly-rated GCI wooden coaster), RailBlazer (a single-rail raptor coaster), Flight Deck inverted coaster, and The Demon. A Boomerang Bay water park operates on the same site in the summer.

Bay Area locals keep Great America steady year-round, with US school holidays and the WinterFest event driving the biggest crowds. Weekdays in April, May and September are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Gold Striker and RailBlazer on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter day - the park has been undergoing ownership and site changes that can affect operating patterns.

Californias Great America live queue times

Epcot

EPCOT sits at the centre of Walt Disney World, split between Future World (with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Soarin', and Frozen Ever After) and the World Showcase - eleven pavilions themed around countries including Japan, Germany, France, and the UK. Flower & Garden, Food & Wine and Festival of the Holidays events run through much of the year.

EPCOT's biggest crowd drivers are its festivals rather than just ride popularity. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind consistently posts the longest wait times in the park. Check live queue times on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date outside the peak festival weekends - the World Showcase pavilions can take a full afternoon to properly explore.

Epcot live queue times

05 · Questions

Californias Great America or Epcot?

Which is better, Californias Great America or Epcot?

If you are judging on queues, Californias Great America: it averages about 29 minutes a ride on a typical day against 35 at Epcot, roughly 6 minutes back on every queue you join. Californias Great America has 13 rides with recorded waits against 11 at Epcot. Epcot also runs its rides more reliably - 94% of opening hours against 85%.

Which has shorter queues, Californias Great America or Epcot?

Californias Great America, by about 6 minutes a ride. On a typical day Californias Great America averages 29 minutes against 35 at Epcot. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Californias Great America best time to visit and Epcot best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Californias Great America and Epcot 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 Californias Great America and Epcot for the full ride lists.

Is Californias Great America bigger than Epcot?

By rides we track waits for, Californias Great America is the bigger day out: 13 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 Californias Great America 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.

Californias Great America calendarEpcot calendar