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Knoebels
vs
Knotts Berry Farm

On a typical day Knoebels queues less: about 7 minutes a ride against 24 at Knotts Berry Farm, a difference of roughly 17 minutes on every queue you join.

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.

Knoebels and Knotts Berry Farm compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyKnoebelsUnited StatesKnotts Berry FarmUnited States
Average wait per ride 7 min (best of the two)24 min
Rides with recorded waits 56 (best of the two)16
Longest typical queue Flying Turns25 minGhostRider64 min
Shortest typical queue Umbrella Ride5 minLos Voladores7 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running43%90% (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.

Knoebels and Knotts Berry Farm compared on live queue times
Right nowKnoebelsUnited StatesKnotts Berry FarmUnited 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 Knoebels queues less: about 7 minutes a ride against 24 at Knotts Berry Farm, a difference of roughly 17 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 Knoebels if…

  • You want shorter queues: Knoebels averages 7 minutes a ride against 24 at Knotts Berry Farm
  • You want more to do: 56 rides here have recorded wait data against 16 at Knotts Berry Farm
  • Flying Turns is on your list - it is Knoebels's longest typical queue at about 25 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Knoebels's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Knotts Berry Farm if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 24 minutes a ride here against 7 at Knoebels - for what Knotts Berry Farm has that Knoebels does not
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Knotts Berry Farm's rides run 90% of opening hours against 43% at Knoebels
  • GhostRider is on your list - it is Knotts Berry Farm's longest typical queue at about 64 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Knotts Berry Farm's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Knoebels

Knoebels is a free-admission, pay-per-ride park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania - one of the last major "trolley parks" in America, family-owned since 1926. The park is famous among coaster enthusiasts for two wooden coasters: Phoenix (rebuilt from a 1948 design and widely considered one of the best woodies in the world) and Flying Turns, a rare modern bobsled-style coaster.

Because it's free to enter, Knoebels stays genuinely busy on summer weekends and holidays, with queues building on the signature wooden coasters well before dinnertime. Weekdays are usually very relaxed. Check live wait times before queueing for Phoenix or Flying Turns, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter day if you want to re-ride freely.

Knoebels live queue times

Knotts Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm sits in Buena Park, Orange County, California, with a long history dating back to Walter Knott's original berry farm and boysenberry jam stand from the 1920s. It's now a full theme park famous for its coaster line-up: HangTime, Silver Bullet, Xcelerator (a hydraulic launch coaster), GhostRider (a large wooden coaster), and the classic Timber Mountain Log Ride.

Southern California locals keep Knott's busy all year round, but peak crowds align with US school holidays, the extremely popular Scary Farm Halloween event, and Knott's Merry Farm at Christmas. Check live wait times for Xcelerator and HangTime on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a weekday outside local school breaks for shorter queues.

Knotts Berry Farm live queue times

05 · Questions

Knoebels or Knotts Berry Farm?

Which is better, Knoebels or Knotts Berry Farm?

If you are judging on queues, Knoebels: it averages about 7 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Knotts Berry Farm, roughly 17 minutes back on every queue you join. Knoebels has 56 rides with recorded waits against 16 at Knotts Berry Farm. Knotts Berry Farm also runs its rides more reliably - 90% of opening hours against 43%.

Which has shorter queues, Knoebels or Knotts Berry Farm?

Knoebels, by about 17 minutes a ride. On a typical day Knoebels averages 7 minutes against 24 at Knotts Berry Farm. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Knoebels best time to visit and Knotts Berry Farm best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Knoebels and Knotts Berry Farm 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 Knoebels and Knotts Berry Farm for the full ride lists.

Is Knoebels bigger than Knotts Berry Farm?

By rides we track waits for, Knoebels is the bigger day out: 56 rides against 16. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Knoebels 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.

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