Skip to main content
Park Queue TimesPQT

Disney California Adventure
vs
Six Flags Magic Mountain

On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain queues less: about 12 minutes a ride against 24 at Disney California Adventure, a difference of roughly 12 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 Magic Mountain compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSix Flags Magic MountainUnited States
Average wait per ride 24 min12 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 2036 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Radiator Springs Racers65 minFull Throttle28 min
Shortest typical queue Jessie's Critter Carousel5 minTaz’s Tazmanian Train Tours5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running88% (best of the two)86%

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 Magic Mountain compared on live queue times
Right nowDisney California AdventureUnited StatesSix Flags Magic MountainUnited 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 Six Flags Magic Mountain queues less: about 12 minutes a ride against 24 at Disney California Adventure, a difference of roughly 12 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 12 at Six Flags Magic Mountain - for what Disney California Adventure has that Six Flags Magic Mountain does not
  • 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 Magic Mountain if…

  • You want shorter queues: Six Flags Magic Mountain averages 12 minutes a ride against 24 at Disney California Adventure
  • You want more to do: 36 rides here have recorded wait data against 20 at Disney California Adventure
  • Full Throttle is on your list - it is Six Flags Magic Mountain's longest typical queue at about 28 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Magic Mountain'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 Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, holds the world record for most roller coasters at a single park - currently 20 distinct coasters. Highlights include X2 (a 4-D prototype), Twisted Colossus, Tatsu (a flying coaster), Full Throttle, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Goliath, and Wonder Woman Flight of Courage. The park's hilly footprint gives many rides dramatic terrain-following drops.

Magic Mountain's LA-area weekend visits, US school holidays, Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park events drive peak crowds. Weekdays outside school breaks can be dramatically quieter. Check live queue times for X2 and Twisted Colossus on arrival - they build up fastest - and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date if you want to ride all 20 coasters in a single day.

Six Flags Magic Mountain live queue times

05 · Questions

Disney California Adventure or Six Flags Magic Mountain?

Which is better, Disney California Adventure or Six Flags Magic Mountain?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Magic Mountain: it averages about 12 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Disney California Adventure, roughly 12 minutes back on every queue you join. Disney California Adventure has 20 rides with recorded waits against 36 at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Disney California Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 88% of opening hours against 86%.

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

Six Flags Magic Mountain, by about 12 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain averages 12 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 Six Flags Magic Mountain best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Disney California Adventure bigger than Six Flags Magic Mountain?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Magic Mountain is the bigger day out: 36 rides against 20. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Six Flags Magic Mountain 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 calendarSix Flags Magic Mountain calendarCompare other parks