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Park Queue TimesPQT

Californias Great America
vs
Kennywood

On a typical day Kennywood queues less: about 34 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 6 minutes on every queue you join.

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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 Kennywood compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesKennywoodUnited States
Average wait per ride 40 min34 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 1212
Longest typical queue RailBlazer83 minExterminator70 min
Shortest typical queue Whitewater Falls16 minAero 36013 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running89%95% (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 Kennywood compared on live queue times
Right nowCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesKennywoodUnited 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 Kennywood queues less: about 34 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America, 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 will accept a longer queue - 40 minutes a ride here against 34 at Kennywood - for what Californias Great America has that Kennywood does not
  • 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 Kennywood if…

  • You want shorter queues: Kennywood averages 34 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Kennywood's rides run 95% of opening hours against 89% at Californias Great America
  • Exterminator is on your list - it is Kennywood's longest typical queue at about 70 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Kennywood'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

Kennywood

Kennywood is a historic traditional amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. It has been running since 1898 and is a US National Historic Landmark - home to three classic wooden coasters (Thunderbolt, Jack Rabbit, Racer) alongside modern additions like Phantom's Revenge (a steel coaster known for a near-400 ft second drop) and Steel Curtain (part of a Steelers-themed area).

Kennywood's season runs roughly May to October, with peak crowds concentrated on summer weekends, July 4th, and during the Phantom Fright Nights event. Weekdays in June and September stay noticeably calmer. Check live queue times before committing to Phantom's Revenge or Steel Curtain, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter day if you want plenty of re-rides.

Kennywood live queue times

05 · Questions

Californias Great America or Kennywood?

Which is better, Californias Great America or Kennywood?

If you are judging on queues, Kennywood: it averages about 34 minutes a ride on a typical day against 40 at Californias Great America, roughly 6 minutes back on every queue you join. Californias Great America has 12 rides with recorded waits against 12 at Kennywood. Kennywood also runs its rides more reliably - 95% of opening hours against 89%.

Which has shorter queues, Californias Great America or Kennywood?

Kennywood, by about 6 minutes a ride. On a typical day Kennywood averages 34 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 Kennywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Californias Great America bigger than Kennywood?

They track the same number of rides here - 12 each. Acreage matters less than how many of those you can actually get on in a day, which comes down to queues and opening hours, and there Kennywood is ahead.

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 calendarKennywood calendarCompare other parks