Cedar Point
vs
Universal Islands Of Adventure

On a typical day Cedar Point queues less: about 19 minutes a ride against 22 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, a difference of roughly 3 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Cedar PointUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride	19 min (best of the two)	22 min
Rides with recorded waits	21 (best of the two)	18
Longest typical queue	Maverick55 min	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™64 min
Shortest typical queue	Power Tower Shot5 min	Storm Force Accelatron®5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	83%	87% (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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on live queue times
Right now	Cedar PointUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited 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 Cedar Point queues less: about 19 minutes a ride against 22 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, a difference of roughly 3 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 want shorter queues: Cedar Point averages 19 minutes a ride against 22 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
You want more to do: 21 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
Maverick is on your list - it is Cedar Point's longest typical queue at about 55 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Cedar Point's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Universal Islands Of Adventure if…

You will accept a longer queue - 22 minutes a ride here against 19 at Cedar Point - for what Universal Islands Of Adventure has that Cedar Point does not
You would rather not find rides shut: Universal Islands Of Adventure's rides run 87% of opening hours against 83% at Cedar Point
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ is on your list - it is Universal Islands Of Adventure's longest typical queue at about 64 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Islands Of Adventure'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

Universal Islands Of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is widely regarded as one of the best theme parks in the world. Its line-up blends record-breaking coasters with detailed themed lands: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Pteranodon Flyers, and the classic Jurassic Park River Adventure. The Wizarding World's Hogsmeade is the park's most iconic area.

Like its sister Studios park, Islands of Adventure stays busy year-round, with Hagrid's and VelociCoaster consistently posting the longest queues. Peak periods are US school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head to Hagrid's first. Use our crowd calendar to pick the quietest possible date for your trip.

Universal Islands Of Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Cedar Point or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Which is better, Cedar Point or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Cedar Point: it averages about 19 minutes a ride on a typical day against 22 at Universal Islands Of Adventure, roughly 3 minutes back on every queue you join. Cedar Point has 21 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. Universal Islands Of Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 87% of opening hours against 83%.

Which has shorter queues, Cedar Point or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Cedar Point, by about 3 minutes a ride. On a typical day Cedar Point averages 19 minutes against 22 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Cedar Point and Universal Islands Of Adventure 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Cedar Point bigger than Universal Islands Of Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Cedar Point is the bigger day out: 21 rides against 18. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Cedar Point 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure calendar Compare other parks