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Park Queue TimesPQT

Disney California Adventure
vs
Silver Dollar City

Disney California Adventure and Silver Dollar City queue about the same on a typical day - 21 minutes against 21 minutes across 22 and 27 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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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 Silver Dollar City compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSilver Dollar CityUnited States
Average wait per ride 21 min21 min
Rides with recorded waits 2227 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Radiator Springs Racers58 minElephant March47 min
Shortest typical queue Jessie's Critter Carousel5 minMighty Galleon6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running85%92% (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.

Disney California Adventure and Silver Dollar City compared on live queue times
Right nowDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSilver Dollar CityUnited 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 Disney California Adventure and Silver Dollar City queue about the same on a typical day - 21 minutes against 21 minutes across 22 and 27 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 21 minutes a ride
  • Radiator Springs Racers is on your list - it is Disney California Adventure's longest typical queue at about 58 minutes, so it is the one to do first

Pick Silver Dollar City if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 21 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 27 rides here have recorded wait data against 22 at Disney California Adventure
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Silver Dollar City's rides run 92% of opening hours against 85% at Disney California Adventure
  • Elephant March is on your list - it is Silver Dollar City's longest typical queue at about 47 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Silver Dollar City's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is a 1880s-themed park in Branson, Missouri, sitting above the famous Marvel Cave. It mixes a traditional craftsmen village with a strong modern coaster line-up: Outlaw Run (one of the world's best wooden coasters), Time Traveler (a record-breaking spinning coaster), Powder Keg, and the newer Wildfire and Mystic River Falls. Live music and period crafts are core to the park's identity.

Silver Dollar City's peak periods are the US summer break, the extremely popular Pumpkin Nights and Old Time Christmas events, and weekend visits from Branson tourists. Weekdays in May, September and early December stay calmer. Check live queue times for Time Traveler and Outlaw Run first thing, and use our crowd calendar to plan around peak event weekends.

Silver Dollar City live queue times

05 · Questions

Disney California Adventure or Silver Dollar City?

Which is better, Disney California Adventure or Silver Dollar City?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 21 minutes a ride on a typical day. Disney California Adventure has 22 rides with recorded waits against 27 at Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 85%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Disney California Adventure or Silver Dollar City?

They are level. Disney California Adventure averages 21 minutes a ride on a typical day and Silver Dollar City averages 21 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Disney California Adventure best time to visit and Silver Dollar City best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Disney California Adventure and Silver Dollar City 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 Silver Dollar City for the full ride lists.

Is Disney California Adventure bigger than Silver Dollar City?

By rides we track waits for, Silver Dollar City is the bigger day out: 27 rides against 22. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours.

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 calendarSilver Dollar City calendarCompare other parks