Seaworld San Diego
vs
Six Flags Darien Lake

On a typical day Seaworld San Diego queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake, a difference of roughly 9 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.

Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Seaworld San DiegoUnited States	Six Flags Darien LakeUnited States
Average wait per ride	13 min (best of the two)	22 min
Rides with recorded waits	14 (best of the two)	13
Longest typical queue	Arctic Rescue24 min	Brain Drain51 min
Shortest typical queue	Sea Dragon Drop5 min	Boomerang8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	77% (best of the two)	67%

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 San Diego and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on live queue times
Right now	Seaworld San DiegoUnited States	Six Flags Darien LakeUnited 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 San Diego queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake, a difference of roughly 9 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 San Diego if…

You want shorter queues: Seaworld San Diego averages 13 minutes a ride against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake
You want more to do: 14 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Six Flags Darien Lake
You would rather not find rides shut: Seaworld San Diego's rides run 77% of opening hours against 67% at Six Flags Darien Lake
Arctic Rescue is on your list - it is Seaworld San Diego's longest typical queue at about 24 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Seaworld San Diego's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Darien Lake if…

You will accept a longer queue - 22 minutes a ride here against 13 at Seaworld San Diego - for what Six Flags Darien Lake has that Seaworld San Diego does not
Brain Drain is on your list - it is Six Flags Darien Lake's longest typical queue at about 51 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Darien Lake's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Seaworld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego sits on the shore of Mission Bay in San Diego, California. It's the original SeaWorld park, opened in 1964, and blends marine-animal exhibits with modern coasters: Emperor (a floorless dive coaster), Electric Eel (a triple-launch coaster), Manta (a launched family coaster), and the newer Arctic Rescue straddle coaster.

Southern California weather keeps SeaWorld San Diego open year-round, with peak crowds during US school holidays, Halloween Spooktacular and Christmas. Weekdays in January, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for Emperor and Electric Eel on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek day for shorter waits. The park pairs well with a full-day visit to nearby San Diego attractions.

Seaworld San Diego live queue times

Six Flags Darien Lake

Six Flags Darien Lake sits in Darien Center, New York, between Buffalo and Rochester. The coaster line-up includes Ride of Steel (a 208-foot hyper coaster from Intamin), Tantrum (a 98-foot Eurofighter), Motocoaster launched coaster, Predator wooden coaster, and the classic Viper stand-up. A Hurricane Harbor water park and a camping resort operate on the same property.

Western New York school holidays, US summer weekends and the Fright Fest event drive Darien Lake's peak crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October stay dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Ride of Steel and Tantrum on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - many rides run near walk-on levels on quieter mornings.

Six Flags Darien Lake live queue times

05 · Questions

Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Which is better, Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Darien Lake?

If you are judging on queues, Seaworld San Diego: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake, roughly 9 minutes back on every queue you join. Seaworld San Diego has 14 rides with recorded waits against 13 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Seaworld San Diego also runs its rides more reliably - 77% of opening hours against 67%.

Which has shorter queues, Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Seaworld San Diego, by about 9 minutes a ride. On a typical day Seaworld San Diego averages 13 minutes against 22 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Seaworld San Diego best time to visit and Six Flags Darien Lake best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Darien Lake 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 San Diego and Six Flags Darien Lake for the full ride lists.

Is Seaworld San Diego bigger than Six Flags Darien Lake?

By rides we track waits for, Seaworld San Diego is the bigger day out: 14 rides against 13. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Seaworld San Diego 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.

Seaworld San Diego calendar Six Flags Darien Lake calendar Compare other parks