Dollywood
vs
Silver Dollar City

On a typical day Dollywood queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 22 at Silver Dollar City, a difference of roughly 7 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 Silver Dollar City compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	DollywoodUnited States	Silver Dollar CityUnited States
Average wait per ride	15 min (best of the two)	22 min
Rides with recorded waits	31 (best of the two)	28
Longest typical queue	NightFlight Expedition68 min	Hugo & Mary's Carousel95 min
Shortest typical queue	Lucky Ducky5 min	Fireman's Flyers9 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	81%	93% (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.

Dollywood and Silver Dollar City compared on live queue times
Right now	DollywoodUnited States	Silver Dollar CityUnited 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 22 at Silver Dollar City, a difference of roughly 7 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 22 at Silver Dollar City
You want more to do: 31 rides here have recorded wait data against 28 at Silver Dollar City
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 Silver Dollar City if…

You will accept a longer queue - 22 minutes a ride here against 15 at Dollywood - for what Silver Dollar City has that Dollywood does not
You would rather not find rides shut: Silver Dollar City's rides run 93% of opening hours against 81% at Dollywood
Hugo & Mary's Carousel is on your list - it is Silver Dollar City's longest typical queue at about 95 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Silver Dollar City'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

Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is a 1880s-themed park in Branson, Missouri, sitting above the famous Marvel Cave. It mixes a traditional craftsmen village with a strong modern coaster line-up: Outlaw Run (one of the world's best wooden coasters), Time Traveler (a record-breaking spinning coaster), Powder Keg, and the newer Wildfire and Mystic River Falls. Live music and period crafts are core to the park's identity.

Silver Dollar City's peak periods are the US summer break, the extremely popular Pumpkin Nights and Old Time Christmas events, and weekend visits from Branson tourists. Weekdays in May, September and early December stay calmer. Check live queue times for Time Traveler and Outlaw Run first thing, and use our crowd calendar to plan around peak event weekends.

Silver Dollar City live queue times

05 · Questions

Dollywood or Silver Dollar City?

Which is better, Dollywood or Silver Dollar City?

If you are judging on queues, Dollywood: it averages about 15 minutes a ride on a typical day against 22 at Silver Dollar City, roughly 7 minutes back on every queue you join. Dollywood has 31 rides with recorded waits against 28 at Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City also runs its rides more reliably - 93% of opening hours against 81%.

Which has shorter queues, Dollywood or Silver Dollar City?

Dollywood, by about 7 minutes a ride. On a typical day Dollywood averages 15 minutes against 22 at Silver Dollar City. 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 Silver Dollar City best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Dollywood and Silver Dollar City 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 Silver Dollar City for the full ride lists.

Is Dollywood bigger than Silver Dollar City?

By rides we track waits for, Dollywood is the bigger day out: 31 rides against 28. 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 Silver Dollar City calendar Compare other parks