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Park Queue TimesPQT

Californias Great America
vs
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

On a typical day Six Flags Discovery Kingdom queues less: about 25 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 15 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited States
Average wait per ride 40 min25 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 1217 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue RailBlazer83 minBATMAN: The Ride45 min
Shortest typical queue Whitewater Falls16 minWave Swinger5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running89% (best of the two)84%

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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom compared on live queue times
Right nowCalifornias Great AmericaUnited StatesSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom queues less: about 25 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America, 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 Californias Great America if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 40 minutes a ride here against 25 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - for what Californias Great America has that Six Flags Discovery Kingdom does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Californias Great America's rides run 89% of opening hours against 84% at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
  • 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom if…

  • You want shorter queues: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom averages 25 minutes a ride against 40 at Californias Great America
  • You want more to do: 17 rides here have recorded wait data against 12 at Californias Great America
  • BATMAN: The Ride is on your list - it is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 45 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Discovery Kingdom'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

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sits in Vallejo, California, on San Francisco Bay's northern edge. The park combines a theme park with a marine-animal section, running coasters like Medusa (the West Coast's first floorless), Kong (an inverted coaster), Superman: Ultimate Flight, Joker 4-D Free Fly Coaster, and the newer DC Stunt Coaster. Dolphin, sea lion and bird shows run throughout the day.

Bay Area weekend visits, California school holidays, and the Fright Fest event drive Discovery Kingdom's peak crowds. Weekdays in April, September and October are dramatically quieter, with queue times on most rides staying short. Check live wait times for Medusa and Superman on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits. The bayside setting makes for pleasant walking even on quieter days.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom live queue times

05 · Questions

Californias Great America or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

Which is better, Californias Great America or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: it averages about 25 minutes a ride on a typical day against 40 at Californias Great America, roughly 15 minutes back on every queue you join. Californias Great America has 12 rides with recorded waits against 17 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Californias Great America also runs its rides more reliably - 89% of opening hours against 84%.

Which has shorter queues, Californias Great America or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, by about 15 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Discovery Kingdom averages 25 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Californias Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for the full ride lists.

Is Californias Great America bigger than Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the bigger day out: 17 rides against 12. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 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 calendarSix Flags Discovery Kingdom calendarCompare other parks