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Park Queue TimesPQT

Dorney Park
vs
Lake Compounce

On a typical day Dorney Park queues less: about 11 minutes a ride against 16 at Lake Compounce, a difference of roughly 5 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now

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 Lake Compounce compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDorney ParkUnited StatesLake CompounceUnited States
Average wait per ride 11 min (best of the two)16 min
Rides with recorded waits 1025 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Wild Mouse24 minBoulder Dash37 min
Shortest typical queue Snoopy's Rocket Express7 minRainbow Riders5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running70% (best of the two)67%

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 Lake Compounce compared on live queue times
Right nowDorney ParkUnited StatesLake CompounceUnited 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 Dorney Park queues less: about 11 minutes a ride against 16 at Lake Compounce, a difference of roughly 5 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 Dorney Park if…

  • You want shorter queues: Dorney Park averages 11 minutes a ride against 16 at Lake Compounce
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Dorney Park's rides run 70% of opening hours against 67% at Lake Compounce
  • Wild Mouse is on your list - it is Dorney Park's longest typical queue at about 24 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Dorney Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Lake Compounce if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 16 minutes a ride here against 11 at Dorney Park - for what Lake Compounce has that Dorney Park does not
  • You want more to do: 25 rides here have recorded wait data against 10 at Dorney Park
  • Boulder Dash is on your list - it is Lake Compounce's longest typical queue at about 37 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Lake Compounce'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

Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut, opened in 1846 and is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America. Boulder Dash is the standout, a wooden coaster that runs along the side of the mountain, alongside the 1927 Wildcat, the triple-launch Phobia Phear and Thunder N Lightning. The park also has the Crocodile Cove water park, and in the autumn it adds Halloween haunts on select dates.

Summer weekends and the July holiday week are the busiest. Weekdays in June and the autumn weekends before the haunts open are quieter. Check the live queue times before you go and use the crowd calendar to choose a day.

Lake Compounce live queue times

05 · Questions

Dorney Park or Lake Compounce?

Which is better, Dorney Park or Lake Compounce?

If you are judging on queues, Dorney Park: it averages about 11 minutes a ride on a typical day against 16 at Lake Compounce, roughly 5 minutes back on every queue you join. Dorney Park has 10 rides with recorded waits against 25 at Lake Compounce. Dorney Park also runs its rides more reliably - 70% of opening hours against 67%.

Which has shorter queues, Dorney Park or Lake Compounce?

Dorney Park, by about 5 minutes a ride. On a typical day Dorney Park averages 11 minutes against 16 at Lake Compounce. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Dorney Park best time to visit and Lake Compounce best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Dorney Park bigger than Lake Compounce?

By rides we track waits for, Lake Compounce is the bigger day out: 25 rides against 10. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Dorney 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.

Dorney Park calendar