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Park Queue TimesPQT

Kings Island
vs
Six Flags Great America

On a typical day Kings Island queues less: about 29 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 4 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now

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.

Kings Island and Six Flags Great America compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyKings IslandUnited StatesSix Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride 29 min (best of the two)33 min
Rides with recorded waits 2121
Longest typical queue Flight of Fear53 minRaging Bull71 min
Shortest typical queue Delirium13 minRue Le Dodge8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running72%78% (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.

Kings Island and Six Flags Great America compared on live queue times
Right nowKings IslandUnited 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 Kings Island queues less: about 29 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 4 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 Kings Island if…

  • You want shorter queues: Kings Island averages 29 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great America
  • Flight of Fear is on your list - it is Kings Island's longest typical queue at about 53 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Kings Island's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Great America if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 33 minutes a ride here against 29 at Kings Island - for what Six Flags Great America has that Kings Island does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great America's rides run 78% of opening hours against 72% at Kings Island
  • Raging Bull is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 71 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.

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

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

Kings Island or Six Flags Great America?

Which is better, Kings Island or Six Flags Great America?

If you are judging on queues, Kings Island: it averages about 29 minutes a ride on a typical day against 33 at Six Flags Great America, roughly 4 minutes back on every queue you join. Kings Island has 21 rides with recorded waits against 21 at Six Flags Great America. Six Flags Great America also runs its rides more reliably - 78% of opening hours against 72%.

Which has shorter queues, Kings Island or Six Flags Great America?

Kings Island, by about 4 minutes a ride. On a typical day Kings Island averages 29 minutes against 33 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 Kings Island best time to visit and Six Flags Great America best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Kings Island bigger than Six Flags Great America?

They track the same number of rides here - 21 each. Acreage matters less than how many of those you can actually get on in a day, which comes down to queues and opening hours, and there Kings Island is ahead.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Kings Island calendarSix Flags Great America calendar