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Park Queue TimesPQT

Disneyland Park
vs
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

On a typical day Disneyland Park queues less: about 18 minutes a ride against 21 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a difference of roughly 3 minutes on every queue you join.

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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.

Disneyland Park and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDisneyland ParkUnited StatesSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited States
Average wait per ride 18 min (best of the two)21 min
Rides with recorded waits 34 (best of the two)18
Longest typical queue Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance43 minMedusa41 min
Shortest typical queue Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes5 minAcme Fun Factory2 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running89% (best of the two)84%

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 Discovery Kingdom compared on live queue times
Right nowDisneyland ParkUnited StatesSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited 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 21 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, a difference of roughly 3 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 21 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
  • You want more to do: 34 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Disneyland Park's rides run 89% of opening hours against 84% at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is on your list - it is Disneyland Park's longest typical queue at about 43 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Disneyland Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Discovery Kingdom if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 21 minutes a ride here against 18 at Disneyland Park - for what Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has that Disneyland Park does not
  • Medusa is on your list - it is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 41 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Disneyland Park

Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California is the original Disney park, opened in 1955 and still built around the hub-and-spoke layout every later castle park copied. It is compact by Disney standards, which means a lot of classic rides in a small space: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and the Matterhorn Bobsleds are all within a few minutes' walk of each other. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge added Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure took over the old Splash Mountain flume.

Because locals visit on annual passes as well as tourists, weekends and school holidays fill the park quickly and queue times at the headline rides can pass an hour by late morning. Check the live wait times before you set off and use the crowd calendar to find the quieter weekdays.

Disneyland Park live queue times

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sits in Vallejo, California, on San Francisco Bay's northern edge. The park combines a theme park with a marine-animal section, running coasters like Medusa (the West Coast's first floorless), Kong (an inverted coaster), Superman: Ultimate Flight, Joker 4-D Free Fly Coaster, and the newer DC Stunt Coaster. Dolphin, sea lion and bird shows run throughout the day.

Bay Area weekend visits, California school holidays, and the Fright Fest event drive Discovery Kingdom's peak crowds. Weekdays in April, September and October are dramatically quieter, with queue times on most rides staying short. Check live wait times for Medusa and Superman on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits. The bayside setting makes for pleasant walking even on quieter days.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom live queue times

05 · Questions

Disneyland Park or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

Which is better, Disneyland Park or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

If you are judging on queues, Disneyland Park: it averages about 18 minutes a ride on a typical day against 21 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, roughly 3 minutes back on every queue you join. Disneyland Park has 34 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Disneyland Park also runs its rides more reliably - 89% of opening hours against 84%.

Which has shorter queues, Disneyland Park or Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

Disneyland Park, by about 3 minutes a ride. On a typical day Disneyland Park averages 18 minutes against 21 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. 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 Discovery Kingdom best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Disneyland Park and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 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 Discovery Kingdom for the full ride lists.

Is Disneyland Park bigger than Six Flags Discovery Kingdom?

By rides we track waits for, Disneyland Park is the bigger day out: 34 rides against 18. 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.

Disneyland Park calendarSix Flags Discovery Kingdom calendarCompare other parks