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Seaworld Orlando
vs
Six Flags Great America

On a typical day Seaworld Orlando queues less: about 20 minutes a ride against 24 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 4 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.

Seaworld Orlando and Six Flags Great America compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallySeaworld OrlandoUnited StatesSix Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride 20 min (best of the two)24 min
Rides with recorded waits 1723 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue ALL NEW! - Expedition Odyssey Fire & Ice47 minWrath of Rakshasa48 min
Shortest typical queue Super Grover's Box Car Derby7 minRue Le Dodge6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running54%75% (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.

Seaworld Orlando and Six Flags Great America compared on live queue times
Right nowSeaworld OrlandoUnited 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 Seaworld Orlando queues less: about 20 minutes a ride against 24 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 Seaworld Orlando if…

  • You want shorter queues: Seaworld Orlando averages 20 minutes a ride against 24 at Six Flags Great America
  • ALL NEW! - Expedition Odyssey Fire & Ice is on your list - it is Seaworld Orlando's longest typical queue at about 47 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Seaworld Orlando's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Great America if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 24 minutes a ride here against 20 at Seaworld Orlando - for what Six Flags Great America has that Seaworld Orlando does not
  • You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 17 at Seaworld Orlando
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great America's rides run 75% of opening hours against 54% at Seaworld Orlando
  • Wrath of Rakshasa is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 48 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.

Seaworld Orlando

SeaWorld Orlando is the Florida flagship of the SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment group. Beyond the marine animal exhibits, the park has a strong coaster line-up: Mako (one of Florida's tallest coasters at 200 feet), Manta (a flying coaster), Ice Breaker, Kraken (a floorless coaster), Pipeline (a surfing-style stand-up coaster), and the newer Penguin Trek.

SeaWorld Orlando is usually less crowded than Disney and Universal, but Florida school holidays, Halloween Spooktacular and Christmas Celebration push peak attendance higher. Weekdays in September, October and January are dramatically quieter. Check live queue times for Mako and Pipeline on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits across the coaster line-up.

Seaworld Orlando 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

Seaworld Orlando or Six Flags Great America?

Which is better, Seaworld Orlando or Six Flags Great America?

If you are judging on queues, Seaworld Orlando: it averages about 20 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Six Flags Great America, roughly 4 minutes back on every queue you join. Seaworld Orlando has 17 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Six Flags Great America. Six Flags Great America also runs its rides more reliably - 75% of opening hours against 54%.

Which has shorter queues, Seaworld Orlando or Six Flags Great America?

Seaworld Orlando, by about 4 minutes a ride. On a typical day Seaworld Orlando averages 20 minutes against 24 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 Seaworld Orlando best time to visit and Six Flags Great America best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Seaworld Orlando 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 Seaworld Orlando and Six Flags Great America for the full ride lists.

Is Seaworld Orlando 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 Seaworld Orlando 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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