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Park Queue TimesPQT

Knott's Berry Farm
vs
Six Flags Great America

On a typical day Knott's Berry Farm queues less: about 19 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 3 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.

Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Great America compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyKnott's Berry FarmUnited StatesSix Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride 19 min (best of the two)22 min
Rides with recorded waits 1723 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue GhostRider57 minMaxx Force38 min
Shortest typical queue Supreme Scream8 minRue Le Dodge8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running93% (best of the two)71%

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.

Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Great America compared on live queue times
Right nowKnott's Berry FarmUnited 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 Knott's Berry Farm queues less: about 19 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 3 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 Knott's Berry Farm if…

  • You want shorter queues: Knott's Berry Farm averages 19 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Great America
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Knott's Berry Farm's rides run 93% of opening hours against 71% at Six Flags Great America
  • GhostRider is on your list - it is Knott's Berry Farm's longest typical queue at about 57 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Knott's Berry Farm's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Great America if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 22 minutes a ride here against 19 at Knott's Berry Farm - for what Six Flags Great America has that Knott's Berry Farm does not
  • You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 17 at Knott's Berry Farm
  • Maxx Force is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 38 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.

Knott's 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.

Knott's Berry Farm 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

Knott's Berry Farm or Six Flags Great America?

Which is better, Knott's Berry Farm or Six Flags Great America?

If you are judging on queues, Knott's Berry Farm: it averages about 19 minutes a ride on a typical day against 22 at Six Flags Great America, roughly 3 minutes back on every queue you join. Knott's Berry Farm has 17 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Six Flags Great America. Knott's Berry Farm also runs its rides more reliably - 93% of opening hours against 71%.

Which has shorter queues, Knott's Berry Farm or Six Flags Great America?

Knott's Berry Farm, by about 3 minutes a ride. On a typical day Knott's Berry Farm averages 19 minutes against 22 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 Knott's Berry Farm best time to visit and Six Flags Great America best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Knott's Berry Farm 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 Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Great America for the full ride lists.

Is Knott's Berry Farm bigger than Six Flags Great America?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Great America is the bigger day out: 23 rides against 17. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Knott's Berry Farm 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.

Knott's Berry Farm calendarSix Flags Great America calendarCompare other parks