Cedar Point
vs
Dorney Park

On a typical day Dorney Park queues less: about 20 minutes a ride against 28 at Cedar Point, a difference of roughly 8 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.

Cedar Point and Dorney Park compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Cedar PointUnited States	Dorney ParkUnited States
Average wait per ride	28 min	20 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	21 (best of the two)	13
Longest typical queue	Siren's Curse74 min	Wild Mouse42 min
Shortest typical queue	Power Tower Shot6 min	Dominator Red9 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	85%	90% (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.

Cedar Point and Dorney Park compared on live queue times
Right now	Cedar PointUnited States	Dorney ParkUnited 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 Dorney Park queues less: about 20 minutes a ride against 28 at Cedar Point, a difference of roughly 8 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 Cedar Point if…

You will accept a longer queue - 28 minutes a ride here against 20 at Dorney Park - for what Cedar Point has that Dorney Park does not
You want more to do: 21 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Dorney Park
Siren's Curse is on your list - it is Cedar Point's longest typical queue at about 74 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Cedar Point's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Dorney Park if…

You want shorter queues: Dorney Park averages 20 minutes a ride against 28 at Cedar Point
You would rather not find rides shut: Dorney Park's rides run 90% of opening hours against 85% at Cedar Point
Wild Mouse is on your list - it is Dorney Park's longest typical queue at about 42 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Dorney Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a legendary coaster park on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio. Founded in 1870, it's one of the oldest operating amusement parks in North America and consistently rated as one of the world's best coaster parks. The line-up is staggering: Steel Vengeance, Millennium Force, Magnum XL-200, Maverick, Gatekeeper, Raptor, Top Thrill 2, and many more across the park's 364 acres.

Cedar Point's season runs May to early November, with US summer school holidays, HalloWeekends and weekend days driving the biggest crowds. Midweek days in May, September and early October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Steel Vengeance and Maverick immediately on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date for marathon coaster days.

Cedar Point live queue times

Dorney Park

Dorney Park sits in Allentown, Pennsylvania, about 90 minutes north of Philadelphia. It's a mid-sized theme park with a strong coaster line-up for its size: Steel Force (a 200-foot hyper coaster), Talon (an inverted coaster), Hydra the Revenge (a floorless coaster), and Possessed. A Wildwater Kingdom water park is included with park admission during the summer season.

Dorney Park's season runs May to October, with peak crowds on summer weekends and during the Halloween Haunt. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live queue times for Steel Force and Hydra on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - most of the coasters stay under 15 minutes of wait time on quieter days.

Dorney Park live queue times

05 · Questions

Cedar Point or Dorney Park?

Which is better, Cedar Point or Dorney Park?

If you are judging on queues, Dorney Park: it averages about 20 minutes a ride on a typical day against 28 at Cedar Point, roughly 8 minutes back on every queue you join. Cedar Point has 21 rides with recorded waits against 13 at Dorney Park. Dorney Park also runs its rides more reliably - 90% of opening hours against 85%.

Which has shorter queues, Cedar Point or Dorney Park?

Dorney Park, by about 8 minutes a ride. On a typical day Dorney Park averages 20 minutes against 28 at Cedar Point. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Cedar Point best time to visit and Dorney Park best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Cedar Point and Dorney Park 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 Cedar Point and Dorney Park for the full ride lists.

Is Cedar Point bigger than Dorney Park?

By rides we track waits for, Cedar Point is the bigger day out: 21 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 Dorney Park 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.

Cedar Point calendar Dorney Park calendar Compare other parks