Skip to main content
Park Queue TimesPQT

Disney California Adventure
vs
Six Flags Great Adventure

On a typical day Disney California Adventure queues less: about 24 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 9 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right nowCompare 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.

Disney California Adventure and Six Flags Great Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSix Flags Great AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride 24 min (best of the two)33 min
Rides with recorded waits 2020
Longest typical queue Radiator Springs Racers65 minSUPERMAN™: Ultimate Flight71 min
Shortest typical queue Jessie's Critter Carousel5 minBuccaneer19 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running88% (best of the two)76%

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 Six Flags Great Adventure compared on live queue times
Right nowDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSix Flags Great 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 Disney California Adventure queues less: about 24 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 9 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 want shorter queues: Disney California Adventure averages 24 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great Adventure
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Disney California Adventure's rides run 88% of opening hours against 76% at Six Flags Great Adventure
  • 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 Six Flags Great Adventure if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 33 minutes a ride here against 24 at Disney California Adventure - for what Six Flags Great Adventure has that Disney California Adventure does not
  • SUPERMAN™: Ultimate Flight is on your list - it is Six Flags Great Adventure's longest typical queue at about 71 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Great Adventure'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

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure sits in Jackson, New Jersey, and has long been one of Six Flags' flagship coaster parks. The line-up is exceptional: El Toro (one of the world's top-rated wooden coasters), Nitro, Jersey Devil Coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Batman: The Ride, Skull Mountain, and Green Lantern stand-up. Kingda Ka was the park's signature ride until its closure; a Safari Off Road Adventure drive-through exhibit also operates on the property.

NJ and NYC school holidays, Fright Fest and US summer weekends drive huge crowds. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for El Toro and Nitro on arrival - they build up fast - and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit for shorter waits across the whole coaster line-up.

Six Flags Great Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Disney California Adventure or Six Flags Great Adventure?

Which is better, Disney California Adventure or Six Flags Great Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Disney California Adventure: it averages about 24 minutes a ride on a typical day against 33 at Six Flags Great Adventure, roughly 9 minutes back on every queue you join. Disney California Adventure has 20 rides with recorded waits against 20 at Six Flags Great Adventure. Disney California Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 88% of opening hours against 76%.

Which has shorter queues, Disney California Adventure or Six Flags Great Adventure?

Disney California Adventure, by about 9 minutes a ride. On a typical day Disney California Adventure averages 24 minutes against 33 at Six Flags Great 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 Six Flags Great Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Disney California Adventure and Six Flags Great 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 Disney California Adventure and Six Flags Great Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Disney California Adventure bigger than Six Flags Great Adventure?

They track the same number of rides here - 20 each. Acreage matters less than how many of those you can actually get on in a day, which comes down to queues and opening hours, and there Disney California Adventure is ahead.

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 calendarSix Flags Great Adventure calendarCompare other parks