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Park Queue TimesPQT

Europa Park
vs
Heide Park

On a typical day Heide Park queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 14 at Europa Park, a difference of roughly 6 minutes on every queue you join.

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.

Europa Park and Heide Park compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyEuropa ParkGermanyHeide ParkGermany
Average wait per ride 14 min8 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 49 (best of the two)37
Longest typical queue Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac33 minCOLOSSOS - KAMPF DER GIGANTEN18 min
Shortest typical queue Madame Freudenreich Curiosités1 minWESTERN-RIESENRAD5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running95%96% (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.

Europa Park and Heide Park compared on live queue times
Right nowEuropa ParkGermanyHeide ParkGermany
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 Heide Park queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 14 at Europa Park, a difference of roughly 6 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 Europa Park if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 14 minutes a ride here against 8 at Heide Park - for what Europa Park has that Heide Park does not
  • You want more to do: 49 rides here have recorded wait data against 37 at Heide Park
  • Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac is on your list - it is Europa Park's longest typical queue at about 33 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Europa Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Heide Park if…

  • You want shorter queues: Heide Park averages 8 minutes a ride against 14 at Europa Park
  • COLOSSOS - KAMPF DER GIGANTEN is on your list - it is Heide Park's longest typical queue at about 18 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Heide Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Europa Park

Europa-Park is Germany's largest theme park, set in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, close to the French border. Run by the Mack family (who build the rides themselves), the park is split into themed country areas: Silver Star towers over the French quarter, Blue Fire launches through Iceland, Wodan snakes through Scandinavia, and the newer Voltron Nevera coaster anchors Croatia. An extensive hotel resort sits alongside.

Europa-Park is consistently one of Europe's busiest theme parks, with peak crowds during German, French and Swiss school holidays, plus the extremely popular Halloween and Winter seasons. Queue times on Voltron, Silver Star and Blue Fire often top an hour on busy days. Check live wait times the moment you arrive, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter midweek date if you can.

Europa Park live queue times

Heide Park

Heide Park sits in Soltau, Lower Saxony, on a large wooded site in northern Germany. Owned by Merlin Entertainments, it has one of the biggest and most varied coaster line-ups in Germany: Colossos (one of Europe's tallest wooden coasters), Desert Race, Flug der Dämonen wing coaster, Krake dive coaster, and Limit. A dedicated resort hotel sits adjacent to the park.

Heide Park's busiest periods run through the German summer school holidays (July-August) and the Halloween/Horror season in October. Midweek visits in May, June and September stay noticeably quieter. Check live wait times for Colossos and Krake first thing in the morning, and use our crowd calendar to avoid peak holiday weekends if you want to ride everything in a day.

Heide Park live queue times

05 · Questions

Europa Park or Heide Park?

Which is better, Europa Park or Heide Park?

If you are judging on queues, Heide Park: it averages about 8 minutes a ride on a typical day against 14 at Europa Park, roughly 6 minutes back on every queue you join. Europa Park has 49 rides with recorded waits against 37 at Heide Park.

Which has shorter queues, Europa Park or Heide Park?

Heide Park, by about 6 minutes a ride. On a typical day Heide Park averages 8 minutes against 14 at Europa Park. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Europa Park best time to visit and Heide Park best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Europa Park and Heide Park in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in Germany, 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 Europa Park and Heide Park for the full ride lists.

Is Europa Park bigger than Heide Park?

By rides we track waits for, Europa Park is the bigger day out: 49 rides against 37. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Heide 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.

Europa Park calendarHeide Park calendarCompare other parks