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Park Queue TimesPQT

Hersheypark
vs
Six Flags Great America

On a typical day Hersheypark queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 21 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 7 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 Six Flags Great America compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyHersheyparkUnited StatesSix Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride 14 min (best of the two)21 min
Rides with recorded waits 50 (best of the two)22
Longest typical queue Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster48 minMaxx Force35 min
Shortest typical queue Jolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 minDemon5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running60%74% (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 Great America compared on live queue times
Right nowHersheyparkUnited StatesSix Flags Great AmericaUnited 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 21 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 7 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 21 at Six Flags Great America
  • You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 22 at Six Flags Great America
  • 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 Great America if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 21 minutes a ride here against 14 at Hersheypark - for what Six Flags Great America has that Hersheypark does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great America's rides run 74% of opening hours against 60% at Hersheypark
  • Maxx Force is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 35 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Great America'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 Great America

Six Flags Great America sits in Gurnee, Illinois, between Chicago and Milwaukee. The coaster line-up includes Maxx Force (with one of the world's fastest inversions), X Flight wing coaster, Goliath (a Rocky Mountain Construction wooden coaster), Raging Bull, American Eagle duelling wooden coaster, and Batman: The Ride. A Hurricane Harbor water park is included during summer.

Illinois and Wisconsin school holidays, Chicago-area weekend visits, and the popular Fright Fest event drive Six Flags Great America's busiest periods. Weekdays in May, June, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Maxx Force and Goliath on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date for shorter queues.

Six Flags Great America live queue times

05 · Questions

Hersheypark or Six Flags Great America?

Which is better, Hersheypark or Six Flags Great America?

If you are judging on queues, Hersheypark: it averages about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day against 21 at Six Flags Great America, roughly 7 minutes back on every queue you join. Hersheypark has 50 rides with recorded waits against 22 at Six Flags Great America. Six Flags Great America also runs its rides more reliably - 74% of opening hours against 60%.

Which has shorter queues, Hersheypark or Six Flags Great America?

Hersheypark, by about 7 minutes a ride. On a typical day Hersheypark averages 14 minutes against 21 at Six Flags Great America. 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 Six Flags Great America best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Hersheypark and Six Flags Great America 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 Great America for the full ride lists.

Is Hersheypark bigger than Six Flags Great America?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 22. 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 calendarSix Flags Great America calendarCompare other parks