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Park Queue TimesPQT

Dorney Park
vs
Magic Kingdom

Dorney Park and Magic Kingdom queue about the same on a typical day - 20 minutes against 21 minutes across 13 and 23 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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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 Magic Kingdom compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyDorney ParkUnited StatesMagic KingdomUnited States
Average wait per ride 20 min (best of the two)21 min
Rides with recorded waits 1323 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Thunder Canyon43 minTRON Lightcycle / Run56 min
Shortest typical queue White Water Landing8 minPrince Charming Regal Carrousel7 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running66%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.

Dorney Park and Magic Kingdom compared on live queue times
Right nowDorney ParkUnited StatesMagic KingdomUnited 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 Magic Kingdom queue about the same on a typical day - 20 minutes against 21 minutes across 13 and 23 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 20 minutes a ride
  • Thunder Canyon is on your list - it is Dorney Park's longest typical queue at about 43 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Dorney Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Magic Kingdom if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 21 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Dorney Park
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Magic Kingdom's rides run 91% of opening hours against 66% at Dorney Park
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run is on your list - it is Magic Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 56 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Magic Kingdom'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

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is the original Florida Disney park, opened in 1971, and still the most-visited theme park in the world. The classic line-up is iconic: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TRON Lightcycle / Run, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Cinderella Castle anchors the central hub with nightly fireworks.

Magic Kingdom is busy almost every day of the year, with peak crowds during US school holidays, the December holidays, and special events like Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Mid-January through early February is the quietest period. Check live wait times across Disney's free Lightning Lane system, and use our crowd calendar to plan your visit around Disney's Extended Evening Hours and holiday patterns.

Magic Kingdom live queue times

05 · Questions

Dorney Park or Magic Kingdom?

Which is better, Dorney Park or Magic Kingdom?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 20 minutes a ride on a typical day. Dorney Park has 13 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 66%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Dorney Park or Magic Kingdom?

They are level. Dorney Park averages 20 minutes a ride on a typical day and Magic Kingdom averages 21 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Dorney Park best time to visit and Magic Kingdom best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Dorney Park bigger than Magic Kingdom?

By rides we track waits for, Magic Kingdom is the bigger day out: 23 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 calendarMagic Kingdom calendarCompare other parks