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Dollywood
vs
Six Flags Great Adventure

On a typical day Dollywood queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 10 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.

Dollywood and Six Flags Great Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDollywoodUnited StatesSix Flags Great AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride 15 min (best of the two)25 min
Rides with recorded waits 31 (best of the two)23
Longest typical queue NightFlight Expedition68 minTHE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity49 min
Shortest typical queue Lucky Ducky5 minBuccaneer9 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running81%91% (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 Six Flags Great Adventure compared on live queue times
Right nowDollywoodUnited StatesSix Flags Great 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 On a typical day Dollywood queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 10 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 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure
  • You want more to do: 31 rides here have recorded wait data against 23 at Six Flags Great Adventure
  • 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 Six Flags Great Adventure if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 25 minutes a ride here against 15 at Dollywood - for what Six Flags Great Adventure has that Dollywood does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great Adventure's rides run 91% of opening hours against 81% at Dollywood
  • THE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity is on your list - it is Six Flags Great Adventure's longest typical queue at about 49 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Great Adventure'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

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure sits in Jackson, New Jersey, and has long been one of Six Flags' flagship coaster parks. The line-up is exceptional: El Toro (one of the world's top-rated wooden coasters), Nitro, Jersey Devil Coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Batman: The Ride, Skull Mountain, and Green Lantern stand-up. Kingda Ka was the park's signature ride until its closure; a Safari Off Road Adventure drive-through exhibit also operates on the property.

NJ and NYC school holidays, Fright Fest and US summer weekends drive huge crowds. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for El Toro and Nitro on arrival - they build up fast - and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit for shorter waits across the whole coaster line-up.

Six Flags Great Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Dollywood or Six Flags Great Adventure?

Which is better, Dollywood or Six Flags Great Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Dollywood: it averages about 15 minutes a ride on a typical day against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure, roughly 10 minutes back on every queue you join. Dollywood has 31 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Six Flags Great Adventure. Six Flags Great Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 81%.

Which has shorter queues, Dollywood or Six Flags Great Adventure?

Dollywood, by about 10 minutes a ride. On a typical day Dollywood averages 15 minutes against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure. 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 Six Flags Great Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Dollywood and Six Flags Great 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 Dollywood and Six Flags Great Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Dollywood bigger than Six Flags Great Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Dollywood is the bigger day out: 31 rides against 23. 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.

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