Disney California Adventure
vs
Universal Islands Of Adventure

Disney California Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure queue about the same on a typical day - 26 minutes against 25 minutes across 21 and 18 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Disney California AdventureUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride	26 min	25 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	21 (best of the two)	18
Longest typical queue	Radiator Springs Racers70 min	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™68 min
Shortest typical queue	Jessie's Critter Carousel5 min	Storm Force Accelatron®6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	75%	89% (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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on live queue times
Right now	Disney California AdventureUnited 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 Disney California Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure queue about the same on a typical day - 26 minutes against 25 minutes across 21 and 18 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 26 minutes a ride
You want more to do: 21 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
Radiator Springs Racers is on your list - it is Disney California Adventure's longest typical queue at about 70 minutes, so it is the one to do first

Pick Universal Islands Of Adventure if…

Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 25 minutes a ride
You would rather not find rides shut: Universal Islands Of Adventure's rides run 89% of opening hours against 75% at Disney California Adventure
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ is on your list - it is Universal Islands Of Adventure's longest typical queue at about 68 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.

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

Disney California Adventure or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Which is better, Disney California Adventure or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 25 minutes a ride on a typical day. Disney California Adventure has 21 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. Universal Islands Of Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 89% of opening hours against 75%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Disney California Adventure or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

They are level. Disney California Adventure averages 26 minutes a ride on a typical day and Universal Islands Of Adventure averages 25 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Disney California Adventure best time to visit and Universal Islands Of Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Disney California Adventure 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 Disney California Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Disney California Adventure bigger than Universal Islands Of Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Disney California Adventure 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.

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 calendar Universal Islands Of Adventure calendar Compare other parks