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Disneyland Park
vs
Six Flags Darien Lake

On a typical day Disneyland Park queues less: about 18 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake, a difference of roughly 4 minutes on every queue you join.

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.

Disneyland Park and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDisneyland ParkUnited StatesSix Flags Darien LakeUnited States
Average wait per ride 18 min (best of the two)22 min
Rides with recorded waits 34 (best of the two)13
Longest typical queue Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance44 minBrain Drain51 min
Shortest typical queue Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes5 minBoomerang8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is runningNot recorded67%

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.

Disneyland Park and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on live queue times
Right nowDisneyland ParkUnited StatesSix Flags Darien LakeUnited 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 Disneyland Park queues less: about 18 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake, a difference of roughly 4 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 Disneyland Park if…

  • You want shorter queues: Disneyland Park averages 18 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake
  • You want more to do: 34 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Six Flags Darien Lake
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is on your list - it is Disneyland Park's longest typical queue at about 44 minutes, so it is the one to do first

Pick Six Flags Darien Lake if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 22 minutes a ride here against 18 at Disneyland Park - for what Six Flags Darien Lake has that Disneyland Park does not
  • Brain Drain is on your list - it is Six Flags Darien Lake's longest typical queue at about 51 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Darien Lake's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Six Flags Darien Lake

Six Flags Darien Lake sits in Darien Center, New York, between Buffalo and Rochester. The coaster line-up includes Ride of Steel (a 208-foot hyper coaster from Intamin), Tantrum (a 98-foot Eurofighter), Motocoaster launched coaster, Predator wooden coaster, and the classic Viper stand-up. A Hurricane Harbor water park and a camping resort operate on the same property.

Western New York school holidays, US summer weekends and the Fright Fest event drive Darien Lake's peak crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October stay dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Ride of Steel and Tantrum on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - many rides run near walk-on levels on quieter mornings.

Six Flags Darien Lake live queue times

05 · Questions

Disneyland Park or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Which is better, Disneyland Park or Six Flags Darien Lake?

If you are judging on queues, Disneyland Park: it averages about 18 minutes a ride on a typical day against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake, roughly 4 minutes back on every queue you join. Disneyland Park has 34 rides with recorded waits against 13 at Six Flags Darien Lake.

Which has shorter queues, Disneyland Park or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Disneyland Park, by about 4 minutes a ride. On a typical day Disneyland Park averages 18 minutes against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Disneyland Park best time to visit and Six Flags Darien Lake best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Disneyland Park and Six Flags Darien Lake 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 Disneyland Park and Six Flags Darien Lake for the full ride lists.

Is Disneyland Park bigger than Six Flags Darien Lake?

By rides we track waits for, Disneyland Park is the bigger day out: 34 rides against 13. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Disneyland Park 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.

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