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Park Queue TimesPQT

Hersheypark
vs
Silver Dollar City

On a typical day Hersheypark queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 17 at Silver Dollar City, a difference of roughly 3 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 Silver Dollar City compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyHersheyparkUnited StatesSilver Dollar CityUnited States
Average wait per ride 14 min (best of the two)17 min
Rides with recorded waits 50 (best of the two)28
Longest typical queue Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 minHugo & Mary's Carousel45 min
Shortest typical queue Jolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 minAmerican Plunge6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running60%92% (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.

Hersheypark and Silver Dollar City compared on live queue times
Right nowHersheyparkUnited StatesSilver Dollar CityUnited 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 17 at Silver Dollar City, a difference of roughly 3 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 17 at Silver Dollar City
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 28 at Silver Dollar City
  • 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 Silver Dollar City if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 17 minutes a ride here against 14 at Hersheypark - for what Silver Dollar City has that Hersheypark does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Silver Dollar City's rides run 92% of opening hours against 60% at Hersheypark
  • Hugo & Mary's Carousel is on your list - it is Silver Dollar City's longest typical queue at about 45 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Silver Dollar City'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

Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is a 1880s-themed park in Branson, Missouri, sitting above the famous Marvel Cave. It mixes a traditional craftsmen village with a strong modern coaster line-up: Outlaw Run (one of the world's best wooden coasters), Time Traveler (a record-breaking spinning coaster), Powder Keg, and the newer Wildfire and Mystic River Falls. Live music and period crafts are core to the park's identity.

Silver Dollar City's peak periods are the US summer break, the extremely popular Pumpkin Nights and Old Time Christmas events, and weekend visits from Branson tourists. Weekdays in May, September and early December stay calmer. Check live queue times for Time Traveler and Outlaw Run first thing, and use our crowd calendar to plan around peak event weekends.

Silver Dollar City live queue times

05 · Questions

Hersheypark or Silver Dollar City?

Which is better, Hersheypark or Silver Dollar City?

If you are judging on queues, Hersheypark: it averages about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day against 17 at Silver Dollar City, roughly 3 minutes back on every queue you join. Hersheypark has 50 rides with recorded waits against 28 at Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City also runs its rides more reliably - 92% of opening hours against 60%.

Which has shorter queues, Hersheypark or Silver Dollar City?

Hersheypark, by about 3 minutes a ride. On a typical day Hersheypark averages 14 minutes against 17 at Silver Dollar City. 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 Silver Dollar City best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Hersheypark and Silver Dollar City 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 Silver Dollar City for the full ride lists.

Is Hersheypark bigger than Silver Dollar City?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 28. 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 calendarSilver Dollar City calendarCompare other parks