Dollywood
vs
Kings Island

On a typical day Dollywood queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 17 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now Compare 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.

Dollywood and Kings Island compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	DollywoodUnited States	Kings IslandUnited States
Average wait per ride	15 min (best of the two)	32 min
Rides with recorded waits	31 (best of the two)	24
Longest typical queue	NightFlight Expedition68 min	Flight of Fear69 min
Shortest typical queue	Lucky Ducky5 min	The Racer (Red)14 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	81%	Not recorded

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.

Dollywood and Kings Island compared on live queue times
Right now	DollywoodUnited States	Kings IslandUnited 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 Dollywood queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 17 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 Dollywood if…

You want shorter queues: Dollywood averages 15 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island
You want more to do: 31 rides here have recorded wait data against 24 at Kings Island
NightFlight Expedition is on your list - it is Dollywood's longest typical queue at about 68 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Dollywood's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Kings Island if…

You will accept a longer queue - 32 minutes a ride here against 15 at Dollywood - for what Kings Island has that Dollywood does not
Flight of Fear is on your list - it is Kings Island's longest typical queue at about 69 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Kings Island's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Dollywood

Dollywood is Dolly Parton's theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, tucked into the Smoky Mountain foothills. It's a large park with a strong coaster line-up: Lightning Rod (a wooden-launched coaster, since converted to a steel track), Wild Eagle (the first wing coaster in the USA), Thunderhead (a GCI wooden coaster), and Mystery Mine. Southern-style food, craftsmen and live country music are integral to the park's character.

Dollywood's season runs March to early January, with peak crowds during the Smoky Mountain Christmas event and US summer school holidays. Weekdays in spring and autumn stay far calmer. Check live queue times for Lightning Rod and Wild Eagle on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date - the mountain weather also affects ride availability day to day.

Dollywood live queue times

Kings Island

Kings Island is a huge theme park in Mason, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. It's one of the Cedar Fair (now Six Flags) parks and runs a strong coaster line-up: The Beast (the world's longest wooden coaster, opened 1979), Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Orion (a giga coaster), Banshee (the world's longest inverted coaster), and Racer. A full water park operates on the same site during summer.

The Ohio summer school break and Halloween Haunt event drive Kings Island's busiest periods, with weekend queue times on Orion and The Beast often exceeding 90 minutes. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit if you want to ride everything in a day.

Kings Island live queue times

05 · Questions

Dollywood or Kings Island?

Which is better, Dollywood or Kings Island?

If you are judging on queues, Dollywood: it averages about 15 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Kings Island, roughly 17 minutes back on every queue you join. Dollywood has 31 rides with recorded waits against 24 at Kings Island.

Which has shorter queues, Dollywood or Kings Island?

Dollywood, by about 17 minutes a ride. On a typical day Dollywood averages 15 minutes against 32 at Kings Island. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Dollywood best time to visit and Kings Island best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Dollywood and Kings Island 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 Dollywood and Kings Island for the full ride lists.

Is Dollywood bigger than Kings Island?

By rides we track waits for, Dollywood is the bigger day out: 31 rides against 24. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Dollywood 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.

Dollywood calendar Kings Island calendar Compare other parks