Californias Great America
vs
Universal Studios Hollywood

On a typical day Universal Studios Hollywood queues less: about 36 minutes a ride against 42 at Californias Great America, a difference of roughly 6 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now Compare 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 Universal Studios Hollywood compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Californias Great AmericaUnited States	Universal Studios HollywoodUnited States
Average wait per ride	42 min	36 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	13	15 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Tiki Twirl78 min	Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge88 min
Shortest typical queue	Whitewater Falls6 min	Bowser Jr. Challenge5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	Not recorded	80%

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 Universal Studios Hollywood compared on live queue times
Right now	Californias Great AmericaUnited States	Universal Studios HollywoodUnited 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 Universal Studios Hollywood queues less: about 36 minutes a ride against 42 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 - 42 minutes a ride here against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood - for what Californias Great America has that Universal Studios Hollywood does not
Tiki Twirl is on your list - it is Californias Great America's longest typical queue at about 78 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 Universal Studios Hollywood if…

You want shorter queues: Universal Studios Hollywood averages 36 minutes a ride against 42 at Californias Great America
You want more to do: 15 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Californias Great America
Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge is on your list - it is Universal Studios Hollywood's longest typical queue at about 88 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Studios Hollywood'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

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood sits in Universal City, California, combining a working film studio with a full theme park. The famous Studio Tour trams run through real backlots, while the park's themed rides include Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World – The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, and the newer Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge in Super Nintendo World.

LA and Southern California visitor patterns keep Universal Hollywood busy much of the year, with US summer school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas driving the peak. Mid-January and early September are the quietest periods. Check live queue times before committing to long waits, and use our crowd calendar to pick a weekday outside California school breaks for shorter lines.

Universal Studios Hollywood live queue times

05 · Questions

Californias Great America or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Which is better, Californias Great America or Universal Studios Hollywood?

If you are judging on queues, Universal Studios Hollywood: it averages about 36 minutes a ride on a typical day against 42 at Californias Great America, roughly 6 minutes back on every queue you join. Californias Great America has 13 rides with recorded waits against 15 at Universal Studios Hollywood.

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

Universal Studios Hollywood, by about 6 minutes a ride. On a typical day Universal Studios Hollywood averages 36 minutes against 42 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 Universal Studios Hollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Californias Great America bigger than Universal Studios Hollywood?

By rides we track waits for, Universal Studios Hollywood is the bigger day out: 15 rides against 13. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Universal Studios Hollywood 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 calendar Universal Studios Hollywood calendar Compare other parks