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Park Queue TimesPQT

Californias Great America
vs
Hollywood Studios

On a typical day Hollywood Studios queues less: about 35 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 5 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right nowCompare 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.

Californias Great America and Hollywood Studios compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesHollywood StudiosUnited States
Average wait per ride 40 min35 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 12 (best of the two)9
Longest typical queue RailBlazer83 minSlinky Dog Dash62 min
Shortest typical queue Whitewater Falls16 minStar Tours – The Adventures Continue6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running89%91% (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 Hollywood Studios compared on live queue times
Right nowCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesHollywood StudiosUnited 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 Hollywood Studios queues less: about 35 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 5 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 - 40 minutes a ride here against 35 at Hollywood Studios - for what Californias Great America has that Hollywood Studios does not
  • You want more to do: 12 rides here have recorded wait data against 9 at Hollywood Studios
  • RailBlazer is on your list - it is Californias Great America's longest typical queue at about 83 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 Hollywood Studios if…

  • You want shorter queues: Hollywood Studios averages 35 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America
  • Slinky Dog Dash is on your list - it is Hollywood Studios's longest typical queue at about 62 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Hollywood Studios'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

Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios is the movie-themed park at Walt Disney World, opened in 1989. Its major attractions are some of Disney's most technically ambitious rides: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Tower of Terror, and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land are the two most popular themed lands.

Hollywood Studios often posts the longest queue times of any Disney park, with Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash routinely over 90 minutes. US school holidays and special events drive the biggest crowds. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head for Rise of the Resistance first. Use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date for your visit.

Hollywood Studios live queue times

05 · Questions

Californias Great America or Hollywood Studios?

Which is better, Californias Great America or Hollywood Studios?

If you are judging on queues, Hollywood Studios: it averages about 35 minutes a ride on a typical day against 40 at Californias Great America, roughly 5 minutes back on every queue you join. Californias Great America has 12 rides with recorded waits against 9 at Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 89%.

Which has shorter queues, Californias Great America or Hollywood Studios?

Hollywood Studios, by about 5 minutes a ride. On a typical day Hollywood Studios averages 35 minutes against 40 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 Hollywood Studios best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Californias Great America bigger than Hollywood Studios?

By rides we track waits for, Californias Great America is the bigger day out: 12 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 Hollywood Studios 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 calendarHollywood Studios calendarCompare other parks