Skip to main content
Park Queue TimesPQT

Hersheypark
vs
Six Flags Darien Lake

Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake queue about the same on a typical day - 14 minutes against 15 minutes across 50 and 8 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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.

Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyHersheyparkUnited StatesSix Flags Darien LakeUnited States
Average wait per ride 14 min (best of the two)15 min
Rides with recorded waits 50 (best of the two)8
Longest typical queue Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 minPredator24 min
Shortest typical queue Jolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 minBoomerang5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running60%70% (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 Six Flags Darien Lake compared on live queue times
Right nowHersheyparkUnited StatesSix Flags Darien LakeUnited 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 Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake queue about the same on a typical day - 14 minutes against 15 minutes across 50 and 8 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 Hersheypark if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 14 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 8 at Six Flags Darien Lake
  • 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 Six Flags Darien Lake if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 15 minutes a ride
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Darien Lake's rides run 70% of opening hours against 60% at Hersheypark
  • Predator is on your list - it is Six Flags Darien Lake's longest typical queue at about 24 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Darien Lake'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

Six Flags Darien Lake

Six Flags Darien Lake sits in Darien Center, New York, between Buffalo and Rochester. The coaster line-up includes Ride of Steel (a 208-foot hyper coaster from Intamin), Tantrum (a 98-foot Eurofighter), Motocoaster launched coaster, Predator wooden coaster, and the classic Viper stand-up. A Hurricane Harbor water park and a camping resort operate on the same property.

Western New York school holidays, US summer weekends and the Fright Fest event drive Darien Lake's peak crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October stay dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Ride of Steel and Tantrum on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - many rides run near walk-on levels on quieter mornings.

Six Flags Darien Lake live queue times

05 · Questions

Hersheypark or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Which is better, Hersheypark or Six Flags Darien Lake?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day. Hersheypark has 50 rides with recorded waits against 8 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Six Flags Darien Lake also runs its rides more reliably - 70% of opening hours against 60%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Hersheypark or Six Flags Darien Lake?

They are level. Hersheypark averages 14 minutes a ride on a typical day and Six Flags Darien Lake averages 15 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Hersheypark best time to visit and Six Flags Darien Lake best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake 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 Six Flags Darien Lake for the full ride lists.

Is Hersheypark bigger than Six Flags Darien Lake?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 8. 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.

Hersheypark calendarSix Flags Darien Lake calendarCompare other parks