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Park Queue TimesPQT

Californias Great America
vs
Hersheypark

On a typical day Hersheypark queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 32 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 18 minutes on every queue you join.

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 Hersheypark compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesHersheyparkUnited States
Average wait per ride 32 min14 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 1150 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Tiki Twirl61 minLaff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 min
Shortest typical queue Demon10 minJolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is runningNot recorded60%

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 Hersheypark compared on live queue times
Right nowCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesHersheyparkUnited 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 Hersheypark queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 32 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 18 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 will accept a longer queue - 32 minutes a ride here against 14 at Hersheypark - for what Californias Great America has that Hersheypark does not
  • Tiki Twirl is on your list - it is Californias Great America's longest typical queue at about 61 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 Hersheypark if…

  • You want shorter queues: Hersheypark averages 14 minutes a ride against 32 at Californias Great America
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 11 at Californias Great America
  • Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster is on your list - it is Hersheypark's longest typical queue at about 48 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Hersheypark'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

Hersheypark

Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania was founded in 1906 as a leisure park for Milton Hershey's chocolate factory workers and has grown into one of the best coaster parks in the United States. It runs more than a dozen roller coasters: Skyrush and the racing wooden Lightning Racer, the launched Storm Runner and Fahrenheit, the classic Comet, the newer Candymonium and Wildcat's Revenge, and the Great Bear inverted coaster. The Boardwalk water park is included with admission.

The park is busiest on summer weekends and during Hersheypark in the Dark in October, and because it closes several rides early on some days, the schedule matters as much as the crowds. Check the live wait times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a weekday when the big coasters run with short queues.

Hersheypark live queue times

05 · Questions

Californias Great America or Hersheypark?

Which is better, Californias Great America or Hersheypark?

If you are judging on queues, Hersheypark: it averages about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Californias Great America, roughly 18 minutes back on every queue you join. Californias Great America has 11 rides with recorded waits against 50 at Hersheypark.

Which has shorter queues, Californias Great America or Hersheypark?

Hersheypark, by about 18 minutes a ride. On a typical day Hersheypark averages 14 minutes against 32 at Californias Great America. 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 Hersheypark best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Californias Great America bigger than Hersheypark?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 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 Hersheypark 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.