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Seaworld San Diego
vs
Six Flags Great Adventure

On a typical day Seaworld San Diego queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 12 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 San Diego and Six Flags Great Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallySeaworld San DiegoUnited StatesSix Flags Great AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride 13 min (best of the two)25 min
Rides with recorded waits 1423 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Arctic Rescue24 minTHE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity49 min
Shortest typical queue Sea Dragon Drop5 minBuccaneer9 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running77%91% (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 San Diego and Six Flags Great Adventure compared on live queue times
Right nowSeaworld San DiegoUnited StatesSix Flags Great AdventureUnited 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 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 12 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 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure
  • 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 Great Adventure if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 25 minutes a ride here against 13 at Seaworld San Diego - for what Six Flags Great Adventure has that Seaworld San Diego does not
  • You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 14 at Seaworld San Diego
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great Adventure's rides run 91% of opening hours against 77% at Seaworld San Diego
  • THE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity is on your list - it is Six Flags Great Adventure's longest typical queue at about 49 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Six Flags Great Adventure'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 Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure sits in Jackson, New Jersey, and has long been one of Six Flags' flagship coaster parks. The line-up is exceptional: El Toro (one of the world's top-rated wooden coasters), Nitro, Jersey Devil Coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Batman: The Ride, Skull Mountain, and Green Lantern stand-up. Kingda Ka was the park's signature ride until its closure; a Safari Off Road Adventure drive-through exhibit also operates on the property.

NJ and NYC school holidays, Fright Fest and US summer weekends drive huge crowds. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for El Toro and Nitro on arrival - they build up fast - and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit for shorter waits across the whole coaster line-up.

Six Flags Great Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Great Adventure?

Which is better, Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Great Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Seaworld San Diego: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure, roughly 12 minutes back on every queue you join. Seaworld San Diego has 14 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Six Flags Great Adventure. Six Flags Great Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 91% of opening hours against 77%.

Which has shorter queues, Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Great Adventure?

Seaworld San Diego, by about 12 minutes a ride. On a typical day Seaworld San Diego averages 13 minutes against 25 at Six Flags Great Adventure. 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 Great Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Great Adventure 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 Great Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Seaworld San Diego bigger than Six Flags Great Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Great Adventure is the bigger day out: 23 rides against 14. 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.

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