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Park Queue TimesPQT

Disney California Adventure
vs
Seaworld San Antonio

On a typical day Seaworld San Antonio queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 24 at Disney California Adventure, a difference of roughly 16 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.

Disney California Adventure and Seaworld San Antonio compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSeaworld San AntonioUnited States
Average wait per ride 24 min8 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 20 (best of the two)9
Longest typical queue Radiator Springs Racers65 minRio Loco23 min
Shortest typical queue Jessie's Critter Carousel5 minTexas Stingray5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running88% (best of the two)85%

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.

Disney California Adventure and Seaworld San Antonio compared on live queue times
Right nowDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSeaworld San AntonioUnited 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 Seaworld San Antonio queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 24 at Disney California Adventure, a difference of roughly 16 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 Disney California Adventure if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 24 minutes a ride here against 8 at Seaworld San Antonio - for what Disney California Adventure has that Seaworld San Antonio does not
  • You want more to do: 20 rides here have recorded wait data against 9 at Seaworld San Antonio
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Disney California Adventure's rides run 88% of opening hours against 85% at Seaworld San Antonio
  • Radiator Springs Racers is on your list - it is Disney California Adventure's longest typical queue at about 65 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Disney California Adventure's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Seaworld San Antonio if…

  • You want shorter queues: Seaworld San Antonio averages 8 minutes a ride against 24 at Disney California Adventure
  • Rio Loco is on your list - it is Seaworld San Antonio's longest typical queue at about 23 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Seaworld San Antonio's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Disney California Adventure

Disney California Adventure sits directly opposite Disneyland Park across the Anaheim esplanade and is the more thrill-led of the two. Its big draws are Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land, the Incredicoaster on Pixar Pier, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! and Avengers Campus with WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure. Grizzly River Run and Soarin' Across America round out a line-up that leans older than the classic park next door.

Radiator Springs Racers is the ride that sets the pace here: it draws the longest queue times in the resort most days, often from park opening. If you are visiting both parks, the crowd calendar will show you which day to give to California Adventure, and the live wait times will tell you whether to head for Cars Land first or leave it for the evening.

Disney California Adventure live queue times

Seaworld San Antonio

SeaWorld San Antonio is the largest marine-life theme park in the world by area, sitting on 250 acres in San Antonio, Texas. It combines marine animal shows with a solid coaster line-up: Wave Breaker (a jet-ski themed coaster), Great White (an inverted coaster), Steel Eel (a hyper coaster), Texas Stingray wooden coaster, and the newer Tidal Surge swing ride. A separate Aquatica water park operates next door.

Texas heat drives summer crowds into early mornings and late evenings, with the coolest queue times usually at the start of the day. Halloween Spooktacular, Christmas Celebration and US school holidays are the peak periods. Check live wait times for Texas Stingray and Wave Breaker on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek day for shorter queues.

Seaworld San Antonio live queue times

05 · Questions

Disney California Adventure or Seaworld San Antonio?

Which is better, Disney California Adventure or Seaworld San Antonio?

If you are judging on queues, Seaworld San Antonio: it averages about 8 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Disney California Adventure, roughly 16 minutes back on every queue you join. Disney California Adventure has 20 rides with recorded waits against 9 at Seaworld San Antonio. Disney California Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 88% of opening hours against 85%.

Which has shorter queues, Disney California Adventure or Seaworld San Antonio?

Seaworld San Antonio, by about 16 minutes a ride. On a typical day Seaworld San Antonio averages 8 minutes against 24 at Disney California Adventure. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Disney California Adventure best time to visit and Seaworld San Antonio best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Disney California Adventure and Seaworld San Antonio 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 Disney California Adventure and Seaworld San Antonio for the full ride lists.

Is Disney California Adventure bigger than Seaworld San Antonio?

By rides we track waits for, Disney California Adventure is the bigger day out: 20 rides against 9. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Seaworld San Antonio 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.

Disney California Adventure calendarSeaworld San Antonio calendarCompare other parks