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Park Queue TimesPQT

Lake Compounce
vs
Six Flags Magic Mountain

On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 16 at Lake Compounce, a difference of roughly 8 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.

Lake Compounce and Six Flags Magic Mountain compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyLake CompounceUnited StatesSix Flags Magic MountainUnited States
Average wait per ride 16 min8 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits 2537 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Boulder Dash37 minFull Throttle19 min
Shortest typical queue Rainbow Riders5 minTaz’s Tazmanian Train Tours5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running67%82% (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.

Lake Compounce and Six Flags Magic Mountain compared on live queue times
Right nowLake CompounceUnited StatesSix Flags Magic MountainUnited 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 Six Flags Magic Mountain queues less: about 8 minutes a ride against 16 at Lake Compounce, a difference of roughly 8 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 Lake Compounce if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 16 minutes a ride here against 8 at Six Flags Magic Mountain - for what Lake Compounce has that Six Flags Magic Mountain does not
  • Boulder Dash is on your list - it is Lake Compounce's longest typical queue at about 37 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Lake Compounce's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Magic Mountain if…

  • You want shorter queues: Six Flags Magic Mountain averages 8 minutes a ride against 16 at Lake Compounce
  • You want more to do: 37 rides here have recorded wait data against 25 at Lake Compounce
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Magic Mountain's rides run 82% of opening hours against 67% at Lake Compounce
  • Full Throttle is on your list - it is Six Flags Magic Mountain's longest typical queue at about 19 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Magic Mountain's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut, opened in 1846 and is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America. Boulder Dash is the standout, a wooden coaster that runs along the side of the mountain, alongside the 1927 Wildcat, the triple-launch Phobia Phear and Thunder N Lightning. The park also has the Crocodile Cove water park, and in the autumn it adds Halloween haunts on select dates.

Summer weekends and the July holiday week are the busiest. Weekdays in June and the autumn weekends before the haunts open are quieter. Check the live queue times before you go and use the crowd calendar to choose a day.

Lake Compounce live queue times

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, holds the world record for most roller coasters at a single park - currently 20 distinct coasters. Highlights include X2 (a 4-D prototype), Twisted Colossus, Tatsu (a flying coaster), Full Throttle, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Goliath, and Wonder Woman Flight of Courage. The park's hilly footprint gives many rides dramatic terrain-following drops.

Magic Mountain's LA-area weekend visits, US school holidays, Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park events drive peak crowds. Weekdays outside school breaks can be dramatically quieter. Check live queue times for X2 and Twisted Colossus on arrival - they build up fastest - and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date if you want to ride all 20 coasters in a single day.

Six Flags Magic Mountain live queue times

05 · Questions

Lake Compounce or Six Flags Magic Mountain?

Which is better, Lake Compounce or Six Flags Magic Mountain?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Magic Mountain: it averages about 8 minutes a ride on a typical day against 16 at Lake Compounce, roughly 8 minutes back on every queue you join. Lake Compounce has 25 rides with recorded waits against 37 at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Six Flags Magic Mountain also runs its rides more reliably - 82% of opening hours against 67%.

Which has shorter queues, Lake Compounce or Six Flags Magic Mountain?

Six Flags Magic Mountain, by about 8 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain averages 8 minutes against 16 at Lake Compounce. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Lake Compounce best time to visit and Six Flags Magic Mountain best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Lake Compounce and Six Flags Magic Mountain 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 Lake Compounce and Six Flags Magic Mountain for the full ride lists.

Is Lake Compounce bigger than Six Flags Magic Mountain?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Magic Mountain is the bigger day out: 37 rides against 25. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Six Flags Magic Mountain 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.

Six Flags Magic Mountain calendar