Skip to main content
Park Queue TimesPQT

Dorney Park
vs
Hersheypark

Dorney Park and Hersheypark queue about the same on a typical day - 14 minutes against 14 minutes across 13 and 50 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

See both right nowCompare 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.

Dorney Park and Hersheypark compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDorney ParkUnited StatesHersheyparkUnited States
Average wait per ride 14 min14 min
Rides with recorded waits 1350 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Wild Mouse28 minLaff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 min
Shortest typical queue White Water Landing5 minJolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running64% (best of the two)60%

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.

Dorney Park and Hersheypark compared on live queue times
Right nowDorney ParkUnited StatesHersheyparkUnited 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 Dorney Park and Hersheypark queue about the same on a typical day - 14 minutes against 14 minutes across 13 and 50 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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 Dorney Park if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 14 minutes a ride
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Dorney Park's rides run 64% of opening hours against 60% at Hersheypark
  • Wild Mouse is on your list - it is Dorney Park's longest typical queue at about 28 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Dorney Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Hersheypark if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 14 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Dorney Park
  • Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster is on your list - it is Hersheypark's longest typical queue at about 48 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Hersheypark's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Dorney Park

Dorney Park sits in Allentown, Pennsylvania, about 90 minutes north of Philadelphia. It's a mid-sized theme park with a strong coaster line-up for its size: Steel Force (a 200-foot hyper coaster), Talon (an inverted coaster), Hydra the Revenge (a floorless coaster), and Possessed. A Wildwater Kingdom water park is included with park admission during the summer season.

Dorney Park's season runs May to October, with peak crowds on summer weekends and during the Halloween Haunt. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live queue times for Steel Force and Hydra on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - most of the coasters stay under 15 minutes of wait time on quieter days.

Dorney Park live queue times

Hersheypark

Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania was founded in 1906 as a leisure park for Milton Hershey's chocolate factory workers and has grown into one of the best coaster parks in the United States. It runs more than a dozen roller coasters: Skyrush and the racing wooden Lightning Racer, the launched Storm Runner and Fahrenheit, the classic Comet, the newer Candymonium and Wildcat's Revenge, and the Great Bear inverted coaster. The Boardwalk water park is included with admission.

The park is busiest on summer weekends and during Hersheypark in the Dark in October, and because it closes several rides early on some days, the schedule matters as much as the crowds. Check the live wait times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a weekday when the big coasters run with short queues.

Hersheypark live queue times

05 · Questions

Dorney Park or Hersheypark?

Which is better, Dorney Park or Hersheypark?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day. Dorney Park has 13 rides with recorded waits against 50 at Hersheypark. Dorney Park also runs its rides more reliably - 64% of opening hours against 60%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Dorney Park or Hersheypark?

They are level. Dorney Park averages 14 minutes a ride on a typical day and Hersheypark averages 14 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Dorney Park best time to visit and Hersheypark best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Dorney Park and Hersheypark 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 Dorney Park and Hersheypark for the full ride lists.

Is Dorney Park bigger than Hersheypark?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 13. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Dorney Park calendarHersheypark calendarCompare other parks