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Park Queue TimesPQT

Hersheypark
vs
Kings Island

On a typical day Hersheypark queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 18 minutes on every queue you join.

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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.

Hersheypark and Kings Island compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyHersheyparkUnited StatesKings IslandUnited States
Average wait per ride 14 min (best of the two)32 min
Rides with recorded waits 50 (best of the two)21
Longest typical queue Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 minFlight of Fear55 min
Shortest typical queue Jolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 minThe Racer (Red)10 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running60% (best of the two)59%

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.

Hersheypark and Kings Island compared on live queue times
Right nowHersheyparkUnited StatesKings IslandUnited 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 Hersheypark queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 18 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 Hersheypark if…

  • You want shorter queues: Hersheypark averages 14 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 21 at Kings Island
  • 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

Pick Kings Island if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 32 minutes a ride here against 14 at Hersheypark - for what Kings Island has that Hersheypark does not
  • Flight of Fear is on your list - it is Kings Island's longest typical queue at about 55 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Kings Island's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

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

Kings Island

Kings Island is a huge theme park in Mason, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. It's one of the Cedar Fair (now Six Flags) parks and runs a strong coaster line-up: The Beast (the world's longest wooden coaster, opened 1979), Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Orion (a giga coaster), Banshee (the world's longest inverted coaster), and Racer. A full water park operates on the same site during summer.

The Ohio summer school break and Halloween Haunt event drive Kings Island's busiest periods, with weekend queue times on Orion and The Beast often exceeding 90 minutes. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit if you want to ride everything in a day.

Kings Island live queue times

05 · Questions

Hersheypark or Kings Island?

Which is better, Hersheypark or Kings Island?

If you are judging on queues, Hersheypark: it averages about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Kings Island, roughly 18 minutes back on every queue you join. Hersheypark has 50 rides with recorded waits against 21 at Kings Island.

Which has shorter queues, Hersheypark or Kings Island?

Hersheypark, by about 18 minutes a ride. On a typical day Hersheypark averages 14 minutes against 32 at Kings Island. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Hersheypark best time to visit and Kings Island best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Hersheypark and Kings Island 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 Hersheypark and Kings Island for the full ride lists.

Is Hersheypark bigger than Kings Island?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 21. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Hersheypark 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.

Hersheypark calendarKings Island calendarCompare other parks