Kings Island
vs
Universal Islands Of Adventure

On a typical day Universal Islands Of Adventure queues less: about 25 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island, a difference of roughly 7 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now Compare 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.

Kings Island and Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Kings IslandUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride	32 min	25 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	24 (best of the two)	18
Longest typical queue	Flight of Fear69 min	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™68 min
Shortest typical queue	The Racer (Red)14 min	Storm Force Accelatron®6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	Not recorded	89%

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 Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on live queue times
Right now	Kings IslandUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure queues less: about 25 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island, 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 Kings Island if…

You will accept a longer queue - 32 minutes a ride here against 25 at Universal Islands Of Adventure - for what Kings Island has that Universal Islands Of Adventure does not
You want more to do: 24 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
Flight of Fear is on your list - it is Kings Island's longest typical queue at about 69 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Kings Island's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Universal Islands Of Adventure if…

You want shorter queues: Universal Islands Of Adventure averages 25 minutes a ride against 32 at Kings Island
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ is on your list - it is Universal Islands Of Adventure's longest typical queue at about 68 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Islands Of Adventure'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

Universal Islands Of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is widely regarded as one of the best theme parks in the world. Its line-up blends record-breaking coasters with detailed themed lands: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Pteranodon Flyers, and the classic Jurassic Park River Adventure. The Wizarding World's Hogsmeade is the park's most iconic area.

Like its sister Studios park, Islands of Adventure stays busy year-round, with Hagrid's and VelociCoaster consistently posting the longest queues. Peak periods are US school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head to Hagrid's first. Use our crowd calendar to pick the quietest possible date for your trip.

Universal Islands Of Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Kings Island or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Which is better, Kings Island or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Universal Islands Of Adventure: it averages about 25 minutes a ride on a typical day against 32 at Kings Island, roughly 7 minutes back on every queue you join. Kings Island has 24 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure.

Which has shorter queues, Kings Island or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Universal Islands Of Adventure, by about 7 minutes a ride. On a typical day Universal Islands Of Adventure averages 25 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 Kings Island best time to visit and Universal Islands Of Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Kings Island and Universal Islands Of Adventure 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Kings Island bigger than Universal Islands Of Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Kings Island is the bigger day out: 24 rides against 18. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Universal Islands Of Adventure 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.

Kings Island calendar Universal Islands Of Adventure calendar Compare other parks